Me and My Driver

I have spent the best of two weeks driving around the Northern Region of Ghana supervising a large scale survey. More about that later. The best part for me has been getting to know my driver. This is actually a rarity in Ghana, as most people are cautious about what information they give out to you. The colleague I’ve been working most closely with for the entire 8 months announced to me the other day that his wife had just given birth. I had travelled and worked with him constantly, daily for all that time and he’d never mentioned her or the impending pregnancy.

So my driver and I went on a mission to small communities in 3 districts. These were sometimes as small as 14 houses. He was the most cautious, safe driver I have had, so this was reassuring for the duration. He would stop and ask for directions (imagine a man asking for directions!) and his English was great, so we talked the whole time.

He told me some fantastic stories, of the highlights:

·         Recipes – he cooks most Ghanaian dishes (including cat and dog).

·         How he won a regional award for his animal farming and was so proud. Aiming for a national award now. It was so nice to see how proud he was, and also how he treats his animals.

·         He bought a ‘home used’ (ie second hand) bicycle and was so excited he rode home 40kms. He rode so fast it took the same time it does to drive, but when he got home he was so exhausted he didn’t know what was happening to him. So he took himself to hospital! He was sore in the joints and they treated him for malaria!! He said he’ll never ride like that again. People here tend to ride pretty slow and laid back.

·         We discussed many things and he said he wants me to be a Big Woman. This does not mean fat (he thinks fat women are too slow), but an important person. He kept saying I should be a lawyer… probably in relation to my arguments pro-women’s rights. He had some interesting views…

I won’t share all the conversations and details, so as to betray his trust in our friendship. But there were some gems…. and some hypotheticals;

·         F: “What would your parents say if you came home with a black baby?”

·         Dee: “Would it be mine?”

·         F: “Yes, for example if you and I had a baby”

·         Dee: “I guess they would be upset that I kept it from them for 9 months!”

·         F: “I think the best thing would be if you got in really late, in the dark and did not wake them. You go to bed, and in the morning when they come and wake you, they see the baby?”

·         Dee: “Oh! I don’t think I’d want to give them a heart attack!”

But we were talking about racism. It is an interesting topic. He was so happy when I said that it is ok to be black at home, and people do marry different races. I guess for someone who has never travelled out of your own country, and have only met 2 white people in your life, you don’t know these things.

He was such a gentleman. Buying me all types of local foods. Carrying my bags. Ensuring my room was ok before I went in, and getting me to the places I needed to go. It’s been such a wonderful experience, and my first work on my own too!

Best Driver Ever

Parts of the weeks was sort of like being on holidays. We stopped at this ant hill for a photo. Nothing work related at all!