Jungle Walk

Went for a walk out of the other end of the village today. It's about a 10 mile loop to go out to the next village and back round to come back via the other road but that was a bit far to undertake by the time I left. I'd knocked out a quick design for a new canteen before lunch (2 mono pitched "wings" with goat-slide roof since you ask. One "wing" joins the other at a jaunty angle taking advantage of 2 different floor levels so that one roof can oversail the other forming a porch for both; if that makes any sense. Perhaps I should enter it into the Hyde Park Pavilion competition). Anyway, the walk took me out past farms farmed by the community and into a rolling jungle landscape reminiscent of a never ending Winkworth Arboretum. Background noise was like a low level dawn chorus – nothing to be heard apart from the birds.

Back with the work gang

First day with a proper work gang today – 4 masons (who happen to be men), 4 masons labourers (who happen to be men), 6 general labourers (who happen to be women). Great to be working with people who know what they are doing when it comes to checking levels, digging trenches, marking lines (we are constructing a drainage channel). To some extent it's a novelty for these people to be working with a bruni (literally: white person but normal applying to non-Ghanaians so a black Londoner would also be a "white person"). They ask questions: about are clothes dried in the UK, do white people fish? When it comes to get the cement from the yet-to-be-stocked-with-books library it becomes apparent that all the cement is missing. Much exclamation on site about this "stolen" cement which is worth about 170 Ghana Cedi (equalling 110 1 litre bottles of Star Beer, 850 portions of rice and stew, or monthly pay for a teacher). The assembly man, who is my interface with the local people, borrows 4 bags from the village to keep people going. Things continue in a manner typical of construction world-wide when it is discovered that there is a wheelbarrow but no wheel. Man cycles off to next village with a wheelbarrow wheel in need of repair but by the time he comes back a complete wheelbarrow has magically appeared. By now it is 1pm so assembly man (in true construction style) is off to the woman who makes fresh doughnuts and returns with 25 of them – very nice too. Work carries on to good standard with me constantly encouraging, "less cement, less water, more mixing". By the end of the day, about 2 tonnes of concrete has been laid which is about a third of the way through.

Enquiries regarding the missing "stolen" cement lead to the suggestion from a child that the cement has been moved for safekeeping. Sure enough, but to my surprise, through the shutters of the primary school storeroom, I see 18 No. 50kg bags of finest Ghana cement.

Viper Day

On site again and due to recent rain, snakes are being found in the grass: a shout from a man pushing his bicycle through some undergrowth and suddenly men are running with clubs (well, hoes actually) suitable for flattening. Apparently the snakes are harmless, unless disturbed.

Sunday 26 April – oh what a lovely day.

Lovely day weather wise today here in Ghana. If only all days in Ghana were like this – dull, overcast, slightly chilly breeze coming off of the sea, no bright sunshine to burn the skin. Fantastic.

Vampirical Research

Noticed first hand evidence today that I'm only 6 degrees from the equator – when you walk at certain times of the day, you don't have a shadow because the sun is almost directly above you. This also means that unless you're bird spotting, the sun doesn't shine in your eyes.

the next land mass to the south of here is made of ice

The beach at Brenu, Ghana

Elders Meeting

Here's a photo (complete with bewildered onlooker) showing some of our party returning with the elders and other local people after the last Elders' meeting.  

Easter Monday Snapshot(s)

So, the Church do in the village square finally comes to an end after 4 days of amplified singing and dancing from 6am to, well, sometime after I've gone to bed. The speakers are packed away and the 30% of the village people who chose to attend have slipped back into their flip-flops and gone back to carrying things on their heads.

Snapshot 1 –

There's meant to be an Easter Beach party at the Brenu Beach Resort and it's been advertised along the coast. Apparently there are 2 chiefs of Brenu village which is a fairly poor fishing village that adjoins the beach resort. There's an incoming chief and an outgoing one. One is in favour of the party and one is not. Trouble is predicted so the 2 volunteers who are lodging at the resort whilst helping out at the Brenu school have been told that the resort kitchen and bar is closing and they should leave in case there is trouble. I arrive at 1030hrs with a view to the 3 of us walking towards Elmina. Indeed there are people dancing about in masks and frilly colourful
outfits. There's also 15 armed police. After a while there's a group of people shouting, "go away" at the dancing people and a bit of pushing and shoving. Police join in and there's a bit of hitting with battens and the pointing of guns. The 3 of us make a semi-casual exit along the beach. Palm trees and peaceful sandy beaches for about 3 miles.

Snapshot 2 –

Pass by the Coconut Grove Beach resort which is pretty posh with bars, dozens of staff, swimming pool, red brick lodges, etc. Obviously this is to be scoffed at as it's mainly for Brunis and rich Ghanaians. They do however have toilets that flush and soap and towels so closer
examination is warranted. Passing along the beach there's a strange sign that says that the resort ends in 300m and that we should enjoy our walk – somehow it suggests that it won't be enjoyable after the first 300m. After 300m the beach turns into the launching place for
fishing boats from the village but also unfortunately into a bit of a human toilet. We turn back after 1km or so and are passing by the Coconut Grove as the sky darkens in a 10 mile radius and there arespits of rain. A reintroduction to decadence is called for as we sit to order sandwiches and chips whilst we await the passing of the rain. 5 mins later the rain and wind is horizontal and everyone is in the corner of the semi-indoor restaurant. Staff are helping shepherd the elderly parents from one family group to the dry. The scene outside is one I've only seen on TV those scenes where one normally sees a hanging traffic light swinging to horizontal in the hurricane force wind. Luckily no one has told the kitchen about the mayhem outside so
our food duly arrives.

Snapshot 3 –

We hear that the party at Brenu was given the permission by the police to proceed so it's decided to go to a different resort as it'll be too noisy at Brenu to spend the evening there. Our regular driver, Osmanu (who picked us up from Mole in North Ghana a few weeks ago) picks us up and on the main road there's an awful lorry/truck accident in the rain and the dark. Reportedly, 15 people have died but it later appears that the number dead is 4. Osmanu – whose accent I'm understanding better now – explains all about Brenu riots and their
causes, the carelessness of the long distance lorry driver, the value of the rain to farmers, the number of women village chiefs (quite a few but no Muslim ones). Osmanu is a Muslim and was surprised to hear that there are Muslims in Britain.

Snapshot 4 -

In the courtyard to the Besease village guest house where we stay, there's a courtyard where I can spend some time, when not working, playing ball with JJ who is Ama's 4 year old brother. JJ is short for Joey Justice and he's the one who's a great drummer. He listens to Itunes on my Laptop if I'm working sometimes (it stops him trying to learn the AutoCAD programme that I'm normally using). He likes to drum along on the table – currently favourites of his are Jungle Boogie and also a Rush track. His brother's name is Rockman. He speaks in short sentences. He's pleased I'm not leaving this weekend.

Work gang update

The work gang is the local farmers who gather to help on local projects. The system is that the village elders decide when community work needs to be done and they instruct the men of the village to turn up on a certain day at a certain place. If a man chooses to go to his farm instead, he is fined a sum of money. In effect this becomes a local tax which can be paid by labour or by cash.

This week however, the elders have in effect announced a tax holiday by decreeing no work needs to be done this week – the reason being, I think, that the Easter week means that the farmers will want to spend the time at their individual farms.

The idea of us being here is to facilitate local improvements, not carry them out, so, as tempting as it is for us to just start digging, we will await the work gang.

A new home

Tuesday Morning as I type this having been awoken at 4am by something or other but now 8am having had breakfast and helped the school children that visit every morning to carry out our chairs which they borrow for school. Been here in Besease for 2 mornings now having moved in on Sunday evening. It's quite a bit noisier here but that's okay. I've set out the profiles for the kindergarten drainage channels and we now await a work gang – probably Wednesday morning.

The weekend

Saturday 4 April. Long time returning from the beach as the road was blocked by lorries carrying (illegal) loads of sand from the beach. The lorries having sunk into the road because of the rains overnight. Georgie, long term volunteer tried to negotiate our access through an
adjoining school but the pupils were adamantly against it, as they feared that the lorries would follow through too.

Nice morning sleep for an hour with fan switched on followed by nice afternoon sleep with beach breeze switched on.

Home for dinner and (first) game of Lexicon.

Saturday 4 April Easter Friday – or is it?

3 April 2009 I don't actually know if it is Easter Friday today as it appears to be here in Egyeigrem but not in Besease where it is promised next week – maybe the people of Besease are planning to be take advantage of out of date and reduced price hot cross buns by celebrating a week late. The other 4 of us here in Egyeigrem are today supervising a football match between this community and the next one plus when I left to walk to the main road at 7am there seemed to be hawkers milling around – these 2 things indicating a bank holiday, possibly Easter Friday.

After walking to the main road I got a TroTro to Kissi which is a biggish community – maybe 900 people - on route for Besease. It was hard enough to say hello or Good Morning to the hundred or so that I passed on my way to town and even harder on the way back to remember
to whom I had spoken. Exposed the foundations of the kindergarten that the drainage channel is being used and they are good, solid and not going to be washed away by rain from the small area of runoff that is to the rear. Nevertheless, a channel will be built. I had a wander around the community testing the GPS system – it will be fine for setting out a plan of the area but the elevation figure jumps in one spot from 20 to 40m above sea level so that's not going to work for
checking levels. Another way will be found.

Back for lunch as we are all going to the beach to camp overnight to celebrate Will's birthday. Should be good, and a bit cooler.

Friday Evening

Friday 3 April –

The afternoon was probably the best part with the 5-year-old brother of Ama – housekeeper at Besease – playing the drum for us on the bus on the way and Ama singing. Then some sea swimming followed by a bit of ad hoc beach volleyball.

Evening consisted of camping following a simple open-air buffet dinner but then having to get shelter when it started to rain in the middle of the night. Lying underneath the stars is great but when you realise that the moon has disappeared there's a chance that rain might soon by coming through the mosquito net. Met a chap, Ben, who I think described himself as British Ghanaian who is completing, with his partner, Suzie, a development of maybe 8 apartments for luxury holidaylets.

Been thinking about and discussing whether the long term happiness of the local people will be enhanced by our upgrading the schools towards Western standards.

Thursday Week 1 of being in Ghana, week 4 or something of being away from home.

2 April 2009 - Took the drawings that I prepared yesterday to a site in Besease (where I'll be staying next week). The drawings relate just to a drainage channel to protect a kindergarten that Sabre finished off for the local community. My only worry is that my specification is to a British standard and the local work force may be used to poorly mixed concrete strengthened by a high cement content rather than the more economical approach of a "well mixed but not too much cement"concrete.
The second part of my work at Besease is the continued examination of the community's drainage problems; these problems are due partly to poor maintenance and more importantly due to the fact that the village is built in a big bowl. Bowls of course are renowned for their ability to hold water: Besease is no exception. Initial hopes are that an area that is currently farmed may be suitable for forming a large lagoon/lake that could take the excess water during the rainy season. 2 problems in working this out: 1) not knowing how much water falls in one go and 2) it's such a vast area that I don't have the equipment to survey it all. I've got hold of a GPS system that shows heights on it, which I will try tomorrow. I'd be amazed if it is that simple – we shall see.
Went to the big town today that is Cape Coast. Came back from the TroTro station which are the 12-seater minibuses that leave to set locations but only when they are full. The station heaves with buses and with hawkers selling, water bags, boiled eggs, doughnuts, pies, packets of biscuits, bread, toothpaste – all being sold from the tops of their heads. It was my first solo trip so I had to find the right bus going to Ayensudu junction and work out which passenger is actually the Tro-boy who takes the money. Although Ghana has English as its official language, most people speak Fanti so there's lots of speaking "English as a foreign language" to work out what's going on. Everyone is friendly and the ones that speak English well use it in a relatively formal way as demonstrated by the chap who got on after me and said, "Good Afternoon to you, why do you not sit at the front?" Anyway, we had a little chat and I lean out the window and attract the girl who has a pan of bags of water on her head. I give her 10 peshwars for a 500ml bag of water, she gives me 5 peshwar back, I give her the coin back and take another bag as I thought they were 10 each. 10 peshwar is about 6p. Half hour later I get out of the bus and walk up a red dust track weaving through tall green palm and banana trees. 30mins later and half a dozen hellos from locals, I've drunk my 6p litre of water and am arriving "home". Feeling really good as I sit down to my lunch that has been saved for me by Mister Ofori.
An hour later, Alice, who is one of the 2 volunteers helping out at the school asks me to come to their newly-initiated Thursday 5pm reading group. Unfortunately for one reason or the other, the children have not been told about the group by the school. This is easily sorted by the 5 of us walking pied piper like through the village, not with pipes but with "Where's the bear" and "Bob the Builder" books. We settle in the community "hall" which is a 12m by 12m roofed but open sided building. About 60 children are there spread between the 5 of us who each have 3 or 4 books each. I get my group spotting animals or vehicles from the books and repeating the noises in the Dr Suess book. After an hour of constant attention from the 12 children sitting on each of us, we form a big circle so that everyone can clap themselves and we can leave for an early dinner on the veranda. The books came on the bus down with us and the children are fascinated by the bright colours and images therein as there is currently just one picture book in school - most of the lessons are just spoken words chalked on a board.

Vegetarian Meat Pies

Cornish pasty style but with a spherical bulge in the middle with shows the boiled egg that is inside. They don't however have any meat in them. Everyone seems to like them and the pastry looks good but I'm yet to be tempted.