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This is now the third blog I have tried to start and I am determined to get it done in one go! So much has happened since my last blog that I will have to separate it into a work blog (I finally has so much work that it can fill full blogs!) and VSO business combined with fun. On top of that I am frantically trying to finish blogs from before I went on holiday!
This blog is going to be about the VSO business and fun. We will pick this up after my first successful training in Tumu (will be covered in work blog). As soon as that had finished I had to rush over to Jirapa. Now as the crow flies/pathetic excuses for roads go, Jirapa is only 100 km away. Not too difficult to reach. Turns out nothing in Ghana is easy! Due to it being in the middle of the rainy season, roads were flooded/collapsed and the chances of making it without incident on a moto were slim. So I thought I would chance the local transport. This requires going 160 km South East to Wa on a 20 year old bus that requires you to get up at 4 to get a ticket and stops at every village with a population of more than 3, have a 20 minute shouting match in a variety of different local languages before everyone makes up and we set off again. There is no chance of sleep because every 50 metres you are slammed into a window/the person next to you. This is the only time that the chronic overcrowding on buses works in your favour. The secret is to get wedged in between two sizable local women who act as buffers for each bump and genuinely find anything you do hilarious! Also the chances are they have a spare child that you get given to look after that acts as a handy airbag during an emergency stop… So after a quick stop off in Wa for the world's greatest tea and 'egg and bread' with a dollop of minced beef on top I hopped onto a tro with 22 other people and headed the 60 km north to Jirapa.
Now you would expect that after a journey of this length and difficulty I would be treated to a shower/bucket bath, a bed for a bit of a nap and generally given the chance to relax and recover. Not a chance! With the promise of a decent meal (there wasn't!) I was whisked off the closing part of the KG programme going on. In true Ghanaian fashion the closing took three hours. Then it was off for some local bonding which did involve drinking pito. Now because a beer is relatively expensive compared to the local wage 'pito bars' can be found all over Ghana. Pito is a locally brewed alcohol made from maize. To do it well is quite an art form as it takes days of drying, fermenting, boiling, skimming etc. It is then served in Gallons. So a Gallon of Pito costs 60p and then is poured into 'calabashes' (the outside of a large watermelonesk fruit that is soaked and sanded until it is a hardened shell). It tastes a bit like a local farm cider in the UK and is not all that unpleasant if you get a decent batch.
So as the evening wore on we were joined by more and more locals of varying degrees of intoxication and we also learnt a rather unusual behavioural management technique! If a child is crying, give is some pito until it stops. (Check the picture of Ellie force-feeding a defenceless child!). It was a rather successful technique. I suppose it's the equivalent of the dipping your pinkie into some whiskey and rubbing it on the Childs gums.
I have just realised that I have got 600 words into this blog and not even explained what I was doing in Jirapa (apart from gate crashing KG meetings and getting a little squiffy on locally brewed alcohol). As of September myself and Ellie have been voted in as regional reps for the Upper West! That means that between us we are in charge of the wellbeing of all the volunteers in our regions and VSOs first port of call. The job description involves coming up with a kickass amalgamation of our names (Jellie, my idea of a theme song was shot down), general welfare and running the regional meetings. So this weekend we had our first region meeting with us as reps. quite a big responsibility as I had to chair the meeting. Anyway this all went quite well (the secret to any good meeting is choosing somewhere with good food so no matter how bad the meeting goes the overriding memory of it are Ghana's best yam balls washed down with gallons of Ghana's best tomato and pepe sauce!). As it turns out looking after the affairs of 10 VSO volunteers is much more hard work than anything that happens in Tumu!
Once the meeting was over I rushed down to the Tro station and hopped on the last 'oven' to Tumu (this was a surprisingly enjoyable journey as I got a front seat and because of the shocking general state of the transport every 45 minutes we had to stop to top up oil and water which meant getting out and stretching my legs while they lifted my seat and worked frantically on the engine for a few minutes.
There was no rest though as that week was choc full with another workshop followed by an early trip to Bolga for a TSO meeting, Halloween parties and, most excitingly, meeting the newest member of VSO who I created quite a bond with over the weekend. All of that excitement will be covered in my next blog!
Homework: It is now just over a month until Christmas. That means everyone who wants to send me a Christmas card/present/stripogram needs to get their skates on! Also all you people back in England who promised me a letter (you know who you are!!!!!!) I expect my PO Box to be bulging in a few weeks time J
In case any of you are distraught from having lost my address and being incapable of sending a letter because of this:
James Heale,
PO Box 18,
Tumu,
Upper West Region,
Ghana,
Africa.
Jim xxx
- comments
Anna Can't believe you are now looking after all the other volunteers! That is amazing..love you xxxx
Simon Love getting the blogs. The more the merrier. Congratulations on becoming a regional rep. Hope it does not involve too much extra work. Much love BDS
cat I should be mightily shocked by baby-drugging stories, but as I can remember clearly drugging all three of you with some magic 'juice' on the 14 hour flights from HK, when I had three children under four, i don't think I can take the moral high ground. xxx Captain
Penny Baines Love reading your blog - keep them coming. Had your parents at Hale Barn for dinner last night, five courses and six wines.... much love, your favourite Aunt, Penny xxxx
Sara So thrilled to get the update and well done on your promotion! Really glad you liked the cafetiere and am sure it's being put to good use with all the great coffee you have there! Can't wait to hear all the news when the family get back after Christmas - you must be so excited. Lots of love Jimmy from us all x x x