Landed

in Toronto
Waiting to process thru immigration

Arrived at airport

up a time 4am Adu arrived at 5, bus left-at 6, arrived Accra 215: pick up by Benedict and off to airport. Had French fries and a coke, dreadful nutrition but boy did they taste good,
Now sitting waiting to check in at 7pm and wait to depart at 10pm, a little tired but here in good time

last night to sleep here

probably not sleep for two reasons, 1. anxious that every thing gets in the suitcase and that the house is left in vacation order, 2. I drank enough coke tonight to keep me buzzed at least to Amsterdam Tuesday morning when I land. Went to hotel to chat and drink coke with Eramus and Kingsley, great conversation, solved all the problems of the world of course, Adu is coming at 5 am,(painful just to think about but what can I say), VIP bus at 6 am Accra around 2 pm, Benedict is taking me from bus station to airport, such a treat and then I wait until departure at 10 pm. Back in Toronto around 11 am on Tuesday. The one thing I crave  here is a steak so Tanya told me she has one pick out for supper on Tuesday, sweet eh! Well I am packing the computer so ta ta till Amsterdam

Page reviews by country, I would love to know why Italy is the top as I do know anyone there, I find it very interesting though, I would like someone from Italy to write me on this blog and tell me

Italy	182
United States	39
Canada	25
Ghana	8
South Korea	8
Portugal	6
Germany	5
Russia	3
France	2
United Kingdom	2

visiting Anglican schools

I went with Fr. Kingsley and Canon Eramus yesterday, they are both worker priests (they have a secular job in the Department of Education as well as being a priest), they are both assigned to the cathedral for priestly duties.

to fulfill their secular position they both have as part of their position that they inspect the schools but for differing aspects. so today we went a visiting.I find it hard to get my head around the frank poverty of buildings in which Anglican children go to learn, the ones we saw today have no water and no electricity. Every morning someone goes to the local bore hole (well) and bring water back.

There were 4 schools today, I am very impressed with the dedication and perseverance that the staff exhibit in these school with such large gaps in resources but they come back day after day and some stay for years for very low pay.   

First school: please note, no windows or doors, they put a piece of scrap wood in the doorways at night to keep the animals out, when they have a heavy rain they have to clean the class rooms due to the open windows. To understand how this happened, one government built the school as it is but did not get reelected and the next government did not have it on their priority list. It was built about 9 or 10 years ago. We visited the District Council Manager after seeing this and he assured us that it was on his list to be completed, so hopefully it will be soon.

Second school: 

Doors are there, windows are open blocks for ventilation, all school have concrete floors. This school is in a central location to several villages. The dirt roads are in very bad shape with deep ruts and cracks due to rain runoff. In between the cracks are bumps and speed bumps to slow the traffic. If I was driving I would have difficulty going to quickly and the holes and bumps happen frequently.

Headmaster's office, a bit of a challenge in the rain

Third school
Another variation on window treatment is shutters without screening. I was told the difference depends on the builder and architect.

Fourth school 
sorry about the pic quality but I did not feel like walking back, building has bricks for walls, this site has a primary and jr. high school with the high school in town.

Kindergarten at most schools
these class rooms are usually board walls with benches to sit on, most with no backs, this building is someone's home with their out buildings but the class rooms are the same type of walls.

Kids the best part     the extra desks are there as they are planning at this site to build a jr. high school

hopefully no water under the door

Moses installed a door sill and put silicone under the wood
so here is hoping ....no flood under the door

BARBER SHOP IN BUSINESS

The shop is now in business, today the commandant from Accra is visiting so it is closed.

1. shop to sell goods produced at the prison

 
these tops are called smocks, thick denim like fabric that are very loose fitting. pockets in the front.




2. Barbering shop

 3. Waiting room for visitors















ta ta

a school in the diocese

Well the count down is in capital letters,  a week today I will be on the bus, the AYPA president offered to pick me up at the bus terminal and take me to the airport, such a relief to not have to barter with a cabbie.
the following pics are of one Anglican school in the Diocese of Sunyani

THE BAR

some of the students were able to meetup at the bar, others were ill (that happens over here more often than not), no UNO but chatting and the girls catch up with each other, I had 2 cokes, splurge of what and a sausage on a stick, spicey ++++ but good, it was fun to watch Franka pull food goodies out of her back pack: cookies, German bread, candies  and everyone got a taste, sitting under the trees, chickens walking to and fro, a dog wandered by who looked skinny to me

then it was time to leave, walked a bit to get a taxi, now you see in the pic above that there are 6  of us, 1 taxi, but ..... where there is a will there is a way, I got the front passenger seat and the five of them piled into the back with lots of laughter

4 were sitting and Franka laid across everyone's lap
So of course this the best pic of the evening
they will still be here when I get back at end of November so I promised I would get more hot dog buns made and we can have everyone come for a 'hot dog festival'

electronics... not my best feature I have to admit

- Mary typed a document into the diocesan computer and wanted to print it BUT printer is not working, so plan was to put document on pen drive and print it elsewhere,  document would not open in next computer, so I was asked to see it I could assist, well I reloaded the pen drive from the original computer, I tried to open document on my computer but there is a bug or something and it will not open, tried to reload it again and still no success     ...    2 steps forward and three steps back.

- Going to a bar near the airport with the students who came for hot dogs tomorrow afternoon to play UNO, not played it since 1990 with my kids in India, hopefully it comes back quick 

- started to get curtains washed and pack them away along with laundry, thank goodness for Afia getting it all done

new sandles

one of the skills the men are taught are the prison is making sandles, I ordered a pair and got delivery

recycled tires for the soles and leather uppers, quite nice I think,

 I have a couple of pairs if anyone is interested

Tuesday Tuesday

got the rest of the Kente woven at the men's prison and took it for stoles to be made

I was looking at pictures on Google, saved a couple for here

 This is Kakum National Park. I remember walking on this 'walk in the tops of the trees.' thinking that the rope looked a little old and the  whole thing swung somewhat but I did survive for another day.

NO 'TOYS R US' HERE SO KIDS BECOME VERY CREATIVE FOR THEIR TOYS

hot dog dinner part two

I could not get all the students from Germany here at the same time so had the same menu 2x
It is great to hear these young girls (just finished high school) talk about what they see here in Ghana and how it has effected them, Jonna at the back of the table is going to university to study English and Philosophy to teach at the high school level and Franka to the right,,, still debating what to study
I asked them to email me when they get back home and tell me how being here for a year has changed them, I hope they write. all four of the students are working in a school here, they will still be here when I get back end of November so the conversation should be interesting then

as you see dinner is over and the plates are empty

Saturday adventure in the blue van

firstly, no mechanical problems with the van, thanks be to God
We set out to a celebration of a church and school having their 80th anniversary in Kenyase
We went through a town where I noticed a grave monument covered with plastic and the closer we got to town there were hundreds and I mean hundreds of people walking toward the cemetery, I guessed for the unveiling of the monument.as it was uncovered when we passed coming back

 then continuing on
I realized that this was the part of the country that has gold mines. it is fairly easy to tell as the roads have less pot holes and there are many mountains of slag from the mining, several stories high. They do open pit mining so move tons of rock and earth to get to the gold and they are supposed to return the land to what it was prior to the mining (I hunch that does not happen often of at all)

                                                                     several stories high

then
on to the school and the church, kids filled the space with energy, music (2 trumpets, 1 slide trombone and of course lots of drumming)  ...............  festive or what eh!

termites at work

there are termites everywhere, thank goodness they are silent eaters
I have two places where they leave their trail, there are probably many more but no obvious trails

 This little pile of dirt is beside the gray door and white wall on the gray tile floor

 

this one is in the bathroom corner behind the toilet 

between the chrome shelve  unit and the  red and white wall tile on the gray tile floor

one shut off valve for the whole bathroom

STARTING TO GET NERVOUS

this is very normal as I now make lists upon lists to insure everything gets done here and that I take back what I need and make a list of what to bring back. you would think after several trips that this would get easier but alas ...no... it is the same at both ends. the mind is a wonderful machine but this part of mine does not seem to improve

A friend's granddaughter wanted a dress with an elephant on it so Daniel painted some cloth

but not the colours that were asked for but somehow in the translation the colours got changed
she sent me the pic below as to what was originally wanted so we will try to make another in time
personally I like both but I am not a young girl with specific tastes, we will try to get it done..

a new tub of chocolate mmmmmm good

air boots arrived at hospital

Dr. Mo on right and Dr. Seoud on left

took the donated air cast boots to the St. John of God Hospital as I had promised Dr. Mo two years ago when I was getting a cast put on my ankle, he seems please with the boots and the couple of piece of orthopedic equipment I used after my ankle surgery

THANKS TO ALL WHO GAVE UP THEIR BOOT FOR A GOOD CAUSE

ps:if you hear of any boots gathering dust in a cupboard & they want to come to Ghana, let me know
pss. Dr. Mo looked at Doris and she is to carry on and return in one year for further assessing, good news!

funeral at Nkoranza

To travel in the blue van is most often an adventure
leave at Ghana 11 am (1130) and then stop for gas and then a knocking in right front somewhere, I thought maybe a flat tire, after examination and seeing nothing untoward we drive on but the noise is still there, so stop at a mechanic's shop and everyone gets out and the mechanic determines it is the brake shoe, everyone finds a shady perch and settles. the brake shoe gets repaired and we are off again, it is now near 2 pm, we have a couple of pit stops

a parishioner from the cathedral at a pit stop, traditional funeral cloth worn somewhat like a toga

arrive at the mission house (rectory) in Nkoranza by 4 pm, we are greeted, given food and drink, then off to the funeral event, (remember after the church service everyone comes to the place in the community where the family can be greeted, under the tents with the pointy roofs),

our group gets announced (there is a emcee, sound system and music in between the donation announcements), we greet the family by shaking everyone hand (maybe 50 or so people sitting in the front row around the square) and we sit, then the family comes by and welcomes us, Akwaaba, without fail the old women are the most enthusiastic greeters to me with big smiles (a woman with a collar at last I wonder), then

 the chiefs (chief and 4 sub chiefs, who are from royal families to have these positions) and their entourage arrive, everyone stands until they enter

Drummers who accompany the chiefs to announce their arrival,
note the large round gourd being used as a drum

at funerals in Ghana there is an expectation that everyone makes a donation to defray the costs, there is an emcee, a sound system with music between the announcing of donations which includes the amount and the donors name,  our donation was given in and we left,

trip home included a couple of shopping stops at the side of the road for mangoes and watermelons

Orthopedic Clinic visit

Doris, Erasmus and Mabel's daughter is almost 3 yrs and is bow legged.
Her mobility has not been compromised as she runs, jumps down from the step, chases her 3 older brothers  and generally is a very active little girl.

So after due consideration mom, Doris and I were off to the St. John of God Hospital which has an excellent ortho department (where I went for my ankle cast). I have said this before but it bears repeating, ortho clinics are the same around the world, many given the same appt time so sitting and waiting 'by order of arrival' seems the normal. 

This is a children's clinic so the wait room has 60 or 70 moms holding and entertaining kids, some having fun and many are crying. 

Doris seen by consultant who acknowledged the situation and said that it frequently happens if the child walks early, Doris walked at 9 months, when the legs have difficulty handling the weight of the body at that age. The plan is to have the specialist examine her but let Doris  grow, often it corrects so he said by age 5 yrs. If not then a plan to correct it will be developed.  

I had promised to bring air boots to this hospital so we are going back Monday to donate them and the specialist will see Doris at that time. If nothing else Doris will be followed until she is 5 and then time will tell what happens next. 

a row of drums by Daniel

drum finished

with carving and shells (former unit of currency)