A new team to Ghana!

Written by Ruth:

Up early today, both Megan and I had a good night sleep – we were warmer than I would have thought and it rained, and lots of it, felt good. The room was nice at the Airport View Hotel in Accra and breakfast was good. I had oatmeal which felt just like home in North Carolina, as well as toast with strawberry jam. Megan had toast and rice plus water – lots of water. Packed and repacked twice – too much stuff, where did it all come from?

Bus driver “picked us up” (a colloquialism from North Carolina) at 9:00 am. Esther, her two children, Isaac and Yaw (nine and almost three years old respectively), and her sister, Lydia, were with us on the trip – made it very easy for us to settle in from the very beginning. Esther is very fashionable and she is calm and caring for both her children and her charges (us). I tried to take a few pictures during the trip, but was unsuccessful – the bus drove too fast for my camera to handle but not too fast for Megan’s camera.

The road was good – except of course for the “speed bumps” which are not really speed bumps at all but where the paving has worn away. We passed Twin Rock Quarry sporting some very magnificent rocks which looked to have faces on them, the front one reminded me of an American Indian. I noticed a sign about a place for old folks, Esther explained that it was the first place of its kind in the area where the elderly with no children, whose children had left or who had no place to live, can be taken. The population of New Akrade is ~2000 people and the proportion of those that include the old folks is growing, fast.

We arrived at the St. James Guesthouse – lonely behind its tall walls. The owner, Agathar, brought water (2 cases) and Esther told us to drink, drink, drink. The room is quite nice, two single beds – the mattresses are softer than at the Airport view hotel. Plus air conditioning, windows with screens, chair and table, and a dorm-sized refrigerator (nice and cold too! Good for my protein bars.) There are four closets with shelves and keys to lock them although the keys seem to be only for decoration. Toilet is nice and has large towels.

We met Esther in the guesthouse dining room to introduce ourselves formally and discuss our goals for the trip, summarized as:

1. To Learn About the Culture
2. To Have Fun
3. To Serve, and
4. To have a Personal Experience

We also chose some characteristics that a volunteer should have, they were: Creative, Hardworking, Flexible, Spontaneous, and Friendly.

We went outside and Megan tried to “catch” the lizards on film. The breeze was wonderful – much needed for a hot day – and fortunately few flies and mosquitoes and lots and lots of green.

We ate lunch – chicken, rice, pineapple, and salad (without tomato for Megan). After our delicious lunch Esther drove us to the Volta hotel to exchange money (Megan’s card did not work however). The Hotel had a wonderful view and we took many great pictures of the dam. Inside was a small gift shop where I was able to get postcards to send back home – however no patches or shot glasses so alas we shall continue to search.

At around 5:00 pm the community leaders came to the guesthouse to greet us – normally a larger team would meet them at the community centre however as there were only two of us they decided to come to us. The entourage consisted of:

1. Mr. Samuel Adomako – the Host
2. Wana Asafootse – the Chief’s Representative
3. William – the Mayor of New Akrade

We performed the introductions and were formally welcomed into the community. We discussed at length the goals of the trip and determined whether we would be in the clinic or the school. Esther did an excellent job, she is a very good emissary for Global Volunteers. Samuel and William told us they would meet us in New Akrade tomorrow to visit each site.

Dinner was wonderful – pasta with green bell peppers and carrots, and of course the recommended water. Sleep that night was punctuated by the sound of the TV permeating through the walls – ear plugs are great.