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West Africa and the former Gold Coast of Ghana was to be my final destination on my voyage and was to be a voyage of discovery for Ama who was returning to the country where she was born after nearly 27 years. As the plane landed in Accra and everybody clapped, we just knew it was going to be fun! Although Ghana is considered one of the more stable countries in West Africa, it's still got an inflation rate of about 12% and the first of many power outages we experienced that night reminded us that standards are somewhat different here. Corruption and bribery are rife; we experienced it daily, passing through police 'checkpoints' when drivers are expected to give the police money to stop them checking the car and finding any faults, a much more expensive and time consuming option. Bribery is commonplace for even the simplest of transactions, if you have money here you can do anything, unfortunately the opposite is also true. White people are pretty rare in Ghana and somewhat of a novelty, certainly with the children who shout 'bruni' (white man) as you walk by, and don't generally stop until you give them a wave or a smile or speak to them. On one amusing occasion I managed to stop an entire football game as I was walking past a school and all the kids turned around to look at me walk by. Football is the only sport worth mentioning here and especially after the recent world cup when the Black Stars did the country proud. Kids play football with whatever they have - a tied up ball of rags or a plastic bottle is as good as a real football to them and it seems the enjoyment they get out of it is just the same. For all the problems the country faces however, it's got many positives: it's a beautiful country, from the Southern Cape Coast to the wild North and the Volta in the East. I was surprised by the vivid green everywhere which at times reminded me more of Ireland or Wales than West Africa. A good climate and fertile soil over much of the country allows crops and fruit such as yam, cocoa, kasava, plantain, banana, pineapple and oranges to be grown easily in even the smallest patch of land that people have beside their home. This gives them a much needed supplement to their diet and income. In fact many people trade rather than buy here - not a bad idea when the largest denomination of currency is so small that people have to deal with wads of notes for even inexpensive transactions. The education system, although lacking much, is reasonable and even since the slave days Ghanaians have always been known for being clever and more recently well educated, especially with numbers, a stark difference to other 3rd world countries I've visited (ie Bolivia!). Without doubt its people are its greatest asset however. They are truly warm and fun loving - I never laughed so much anywhere else in the world - but generally hard working and determined to try and make the most of the lives. Family and religion are very important and that seems to drive most people along with the desire to better themselves. In a country where many university graduates set up roadside stalls just to give themselves something to do, all people need here is the opportunity and they'll sort the rest out themselves. With the 50th anniversary of Ghana's independence approaching, life goes on here in an African kind of way and progress comes slowly, but it's hard to see how real improvements can be made until the corrupt system changes to allow it and give people real opportunities to better themselves. However, the ruling National Patriotic Party's slogan of "So Far So Good" doesn't inspire much confidence!
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