Dee Silting

What a job! Removing the silt from a dam so the dam has better water-holding capacity, by hand!
This community group is participating in a work for food scheme, where the whole community works on this project and gets 'paid' in food rations. It is another group affected by floods and the UN is trying to improve their livelihoods.

There was much talk about the project, how it could be improved etc, it was fascinating to watch. It was a Saturday, and so many of the community were at a funeral, so I can only imagine what it is like when the full community is present.

Tough work in the hot sun, even for me just standing there taking photographs! 

The Case of the Mosque and The Missing People

Not to let work get in the way of a good adventure, the team stopped outside of Wa for a look at one of the ancient mosques of Ghana. It’s made from mud and sticks, and is reminiscent of the Mali ones, yet maybe on a smaller scale (I haven’t seen the ones in Mali). It was great. 

The mosque, looking into the women's entrance

Inside, it was very small, but it would fit many people at prayer time

We got to enter (me through the female access of course) and even go to the roof through a tiny opening. The local kids caught onto the sight of cameras and went nuts. Can’t keep them away from the lense.

Next door to the mosque

View of the local town from the roof

Exiting the roof through a small hole. and windy mud stairs backwards. quite the skill.

A 16th century mosque, I didn't actually learn all that much about it but just enjoyed being a tourist. I looked it up to maybe shed some light or interesting facts on the mosque, but the best I could find is that it is "a very solemn place". Ghana has to work on it's online tourist presence a little bit... or I should listen more. But at least I didn't go AWOL...

No shoes were harmed during filming

After maybe half an hour investigating the place, we set off in the convoy again. However our car was missing the two journalists that had come along for the day…. So the security vehicle called the convoy to a halt and we searched the town for the journos. I’m talking a tiny village with a handful of houses. I couldn’t get my head around the fact we’d lost two people in this small town. And they weren’t from here too, so I’m sure they’d be noticed. After an hour of waiting, we found that they had caught a bus back into town. Who knows why. There was mention that they probably had a more lucrative story waiting for them in town. That is how the media works here, you pay for the journalists. Crazy. So this was an interesting insight into the media world!

The team was not happy, outraged at having lost an hour of time... even though we'd just spent the morning sightseeing. But we soon set off for more work site inspections, (sans journalists).

Camera spotted! posing starts. The children love tourists.

Children and their toys.... and giant smiles

security escort courtesy of the local kids

Waiting for the journalists to appear... the town locals quite enjoyed the drama

Upper West Family Meeting

Continued…

The convoy arrived in Wechiau, in the Upper West Region, a small community affected by flooding. The project we were inspecting was a livelihood development project, to move the income dependence of the community from farming to other areas. This women’s group was going to be supported in 1) making shea butter, 2) making soap and 3) baking bread. The floods and water shortages were compromising this community, the major flooding occurred in 2007, and I don’t think the community really recovered.

We were welcomed warmly;

There was a strong emphasis on gender, and it was quite ironic that the NGO staff were all men, representing this women’s group. So we asked the ladies to talk to us. They were clearly excited about having hobs and responsibilities, and reported their husbands are supportive. The Upper West is the worst in the country for women’s rights and equality, so this was great to see.

A lady explaining the women's group to us

We inspected the building of their proposed workplace, the building is currently under construction. The women come every day but have nothing to do. The team promised to install toilets (as the town has none, and people must defecate in the open) and basic sanitation, and proposed some literacy classes which caused a stir. This moved many of the women and they were so happy, it was pretty motivating, you know, exciting to see problems being looked at and promises being made. I hope I get to see the project come to fruition, the health sector promised some nutrition education as well which I was so happy to hear, a captive audience like this could really benefit from well-placed interventions.

The new building under way

It’s hard not to be skeptical, I really hope these things are followed through, but I feel maybe some of the promises were a bit empty. Time will tell, and for the moment there’s a group of women who are being promised the world, and I hope they get it because they deserve it.

The NGO representative (male) introducing the women's group

UN country team with the women's group. Girl power!

The UN team and women's groups

Leaving the meeting and the building, back to work in the house...

Women of the West

During a field trip last week I was at a 'Work for Food' community project in the Upper West Region. The community was de-silting a dam so when the rains come the water can be collected and last a long time. In my experience people in Ghana, particularly women, aren't too excited about getting their photo taken, and you need to work on trust, rapport etc because you can get a shot. I was taking overall shots of the work scene, as time was too tight to disturb the workers and interrupt. But these ladies came asking for photos, each lady lined up for a photo, and on viewing it laughed all day! They would come up to me with great smiles and ask for a photo, and when I pointed the lense they quickly became serious and stopped smiling.  Unlike other communities I had been to, they spoke great English and I was able to interact, however they soon had to be told to get back to work by the elder after a frenzy of photographs. They were such fun and really made my day, the children too were so keen on getting themselves photographed.