Oh Baby Baby it's a Wild World

Today was a good day. As I have mentioned, I am an intern for WiLDAF Ghana, an NGO that stands for Women in Law and Development in Africa. They are a very vocal organization that deals with the entire spectrum of women's issues, from land ownership, to domestic abuse, to women in politics. I work for for the communication and advocacy department of WiLDAF, and most of the time I just follow the newspapers and note any news reports that deal with gender, youth, and the disabled.

Today was different. Since Ghana is holding their presidential elections in December WiLDAF held a dialogue conference on women. Here, 3 of the 5 main presidential candidates had to personally answer questions about social issues facing Ghanaians and share their specific strategies for reducing the problems. While the current president was not in attendance many other important government officials were still there. Even the ambassador of Israel which I had a chance to say hi to. I was crossing my fingers that my connection with WiLDAF would let me meet the candidates however they bolted before that was an option. Oh well. It was still pretty awesome to feel like an important member of a political dialogue such as this (especially since WiLDAF has a small staff and my direct supervisor was the main cause of the program.)

Even though this was a small feat in the progression of women's issues entering the public political discussion it was still noteworthy. There will be a few more events such as this one and I am excited for the opportunities that this job will bring.

Oh, someone asked me if I was journalist, I don't know why, but that made me happy, haha. Just another day in Ghana...

Happy Thursday Yall!

Hohoe Excursion!!!

This past weekend 6 of my friends and I traveled 5 hours north to the Volta region to Hohoe. What an adventure! Full of ups and downs, literally, we found ourselves in some difficult situations that ended up to be extremely worth while. I was up before dawn around 4am so that we could start our journey without delay. After wandering around Makola market in downtown Accra for an hour we finally found the correct bus to Ho (the midway point to our destination.) This bus was quite funny. My friend Terra had to hold on to a refrigerator so that it wouldn't fall over, there were live chickens on this bus, and everyone seemed to be carrying as much stuff as possible with them.

From Ho we picked a trotro to Hohoe. It was the best trotro experience we have had since there were only 7 of us in it instead of the average 11. After checking into our hotel (which I wouldn't recommend to anyone) we traveled to Mount Afadjato. This was the hardest hike I have been on in a long time. The 45 minute climb was vertical and, being the tallest peak in Ghana it's at an altitude of 885 meters. The view was beautiful! (Note on pictures: my camera and phone have dead batteries to I will share my friends' pictures with you as I get them...again.) Oh! I should mention that the trotro that took us to the mountain crammed 22 people into (and on-top-of) the car. Might I add that all trotros are the same size...so there are 11 seats...

On the way down from the mountain we went by a different trail. I think we all spent more time on our butts and hands and knees than on our feet. We basically fell down the mountain! Luckily we had no injuries so it was all laughter. The unfortunate part of coming down was when we came to the realization that we had ended up on the other side of the mountain in a different village...still a tourist destination because of Tagbo falls yet a separate entity when it comes to travel and tours. After explaining why we had basically trespassed into the village we got motorbikes back to Hohoe, and honestly, this was the best part of Friday. None of us could wipe the smiles off our faces when we got off the bikes- we all had a blast. We got back to Hohoe a little after dark; what a full day!

We had some problems with the hotel that we were staying in so we decided to relocate the next day (Saturday) to a different hotel called Taste Lodge. This was the best decision ever! They had food, blankets, towels, toilet paper, hospitality, and little mold, all of which were not part of the previous hotel. So starting the day off with another round of bread, peanut butter, and bananas we left around 10am to Wli Waterfalls. These are probably the most spectacular waterfalls in Ghana. Another plus, the trotro ride had less people and less bumpy road.

Since the rainy season has experienced less rain than usual we were able to hike to the upper falls. This included an hour and a half extreme hike to the  falls. I thought I was gonna die. The hike up to the gorgeous falls was very similar to the mountain hike, and there were points were I literally though my legs were not long enough to reach the next step. The physical pain was well worth what we came across at the falls though and I was proud that I was able to accomplish the hike. I will show yall pictures of the upper falls later but I currently have pictures of the lower falls that we saw once we climbed back down. Funny enough, for a dry rainy season it started to rain when we were at the lower falls. By the time we got back to the main building to catch a ride back we all had to ring out our clothes because we were so soaked.

We left Sunday morning for Accra, getting back midday. It was interesting because while I was gone I had really missed my Ghanaian family. They all really feel like my real family now so it was great to come home and be welcomed back with the same feelings. Not to mention an amazing meal of fish and waakye with salad was there when I got back!

We had some intense bumps along the way since this was our first independent travel experience. I can't say for sure that I will be doing much more of that except around Accra and maybe a little later in November to the northern region to see Mole National Park and Tamale. Perceptions of foreigners often leads to ciaos at points and it became a little overwhelming, especially when we were trying to get transportation. Nevertheless, going to Hohoe was well worth the trials. Another fun fact is that my adopted sister, Bridget, comes from Hohoe. I was happy to see her part of Ghana.

I want to take a moment to let everyone know that with all the violence happening in Africa right now, I am safe and do not see any problems occurring Ghana in the near future. While Anti-American sentiment is high and rising this is mostly not a problem in Ghana. Just as there are many different sects and beliefs in Christianity, the same exists with Islam. Ghana in general is very peaceful and stays in good relation with the US. It is also about 16% Islamic, and mainly exists in the northern half of Ghana. Above all, even though Islamic sects are present in Accra there is constant talk of peace and it never has presented a problem. I caution everyone to keep in mind the intersectionality that history, politics, international relations, geography, religion, poverty, and more play a role in the development of violence and uprisings. So while it is true that a large amount of Islam exists in Ghana, the circumstances, context, and style of all issues play out in a very different way here than in countries with violence at the moment. Also, Libya, Sudan, Tunisia, and Egypt are all located in Northeast Africa, so very far away from Ghana considering Africa to be the second largest continent in the world. Anyways, I just bring this up because I have had many people ask of the safety and situations occurring here because of recent events. Thank you everyone for the concern; I am safe :)

On a less dense note, I can't believe that I am entering my 7th week in Ghana, AH! Time is flying by! So, I am choosing to take advantage of today and days to come, I hope yall do too!

Love and miss you all!

Kumasi!

Hello all! I am happy to say that my trip to the Asanti Region in Ghana was a success! It took us (CIEE students and staff) 5 hours by bus to get to the capital of this region, Kumasi. To give you an idea of our path, we went from Accra through the Eastern Region and then across to Kumasi. Once we were out of Accra the mountains started to appear and everything became more green and forest-like. Ghana truly has one of the most beautiful landscapes that I have seen. The Asanti Region is not mountainous however, even though it does maintain more greenery than the coast of Accra. Think tropical- the bananas grow everywhere here, including the side of roads.

Our first destination in the Asanti Region was the traditional homes of the kingdom of Asanti. The history of this group of people stretches far and wide. Before borders were drawn and British gained complete control over the area, the Asanti Kingdom reined over country borders into Burkina Faso, Togo, and Cote D'Ivoire. Today only 10 traditional homes remain out of the thousands that existed before. 

We then headed to Bonwire Kente Cloth Shop. Here, Kente cloth, a traditional and expensive luxury, is made. The fabric is woven by hand, and the best Kente comes from this shop in Kumasi. Everything in the shop was so beautiful! The only downside to this place was the extreme amount of outside vendors that wanted us to buy anything and everything from them. The hasting was quite overwhelming for most of us so we didn't spend as much quality time at Bonwire as I would have liked. I think the amount of us that showed up was the cause for such a commotion. Nevertheless, it was a one-in-a-lifetime experience.  

The next day we had the unique experience of listening to Adadam Agofomma and his drummers. They played Palm Wine Music, a Ghanaian genre of music that incorporates drums, guitar, vocals, and dancing. It was awesome!! If you have a moment to google it, I highly recommend it. Here are some of the drummers and dancers that we got to watch.

 We then went to the Palace House Museum. This is the old palace of the Asanti kings (the new one located a few meters away.) I definitely learned a lot of history about the Asanti kingdom in general and got to see some beautiful antiques. The last main stop on our trip in Kumasi was to the Central Market. This is the biggest market in West Africa...quite a sight to see, I must say. Another interesting thing to learn was that everything for the most part is less expensive in Kumasi than in Accra. So for instance, I bought a bunch of fabric. In Accra most cloth runs for 4ish cedi a yard however at the Central Market I was able to get most of my fabric for 1.5 cedi a yard. Bargain? Hell yes. 

My friend Jessalyn and I met a high school student named Emmanuel on a walk that we went on the morning before we left Kumasi. He shared a lot of facts about Kumasi with us and even brought up the cost of living. He said that Accra is by far more expensive than the Asanti region. I had no idea. I can also say that he is one of the nicest people that I have met on the streets of Ghana. Emmanuel's private tour of the little suburb in Kumasi was definitely a positive and light-hearted way to end the trip.

Today, Monday, has also been a wonderful start to the week and I have high hopes for the rest of it. Just to give some photo-credit to my friends, all of these photos were taken by someone other than me. In my defense, my camera needs to be charged...so until that happens you can see my experiences through the eyes of some of my friends :)

Hope everyone is doing well! I miss and think ya'll often.
With Love,
Anna