USA v. Ghana

Here we are, the kids' final days as residents of Ghana and the USA and Ghana are matched up in the World Cup.  Who will we cheer for?  It's an interesting metaphor for the feeling of being torn between the excitement of heading back to our true home and the sadness of leaving the little country that has captured our hearts in so many ways. 

But, when it comes to football, the answer was immediately clear:  GO GHANA.  As I've writeen so many times before, football here isn't just a sport.  It's a representation of a small country that achieved independence, is advancing democratically and economically and the powerful sense of hope and possibility  that prevails here.  When the Ghanaian footballers stand for their national anthem, they can often be seen praying, nearly weeping and generally in a sense of such reverence for their country and all it means to them.  The fans are the same - while watching, it's not uncommon for someone to stand at half time and sing "God Bless our Homeland, Ghana".  A goal can move people to tears.  In the past few weeks, people everywhere have been spending their precious few cedis on a Ghanaian flag to drape across their car or a football jersey knock-off to wear proudly around town.  Young women can be seen walking around in threes - one in red, another green, the last in yellow.  The three making their own verion of the Ghanaian flag. 

So, for all that Ghana and football represents, we will be cheering GO GHANA this evening as the Black Stars put their all into beating the odds once again......

100% Ghana

My dear friend, Colleen, arrived here on Thursday night.  We are showing her Ghana - 100%.  We woke her up early Friday morning to drive about 5 hours to Axim Beach on the western coast, near Cote d'Ivoire. The kids, pups, Colleen and I had a good (albeit not very relaxing - kids and dogs on a trip are fun, but NOT relaxing) time playing on the beach in between rain storms and watching World Cup matches.  We got an early start back to Accra on Monday.  The police seemed to be out in force for both directions of the drive - there were roadblocks frequently and I was pulled over a total of 6 times - mostly, it was harmless and I even had some fun bantering with the cops, but one stop took about half an hour of negotiating with a Commander on a power trip before he gave me back my license and let me go!  Less than 45 miles outside of Accra, we found that the overpass had been flooded and the road was closed.  I assessed the situation:  2 kids, 2 dogs, fairly remote location, 1 liter of water, a handful of nuts, about 4 hours until dark and cars rapidly parking every which way, with ours soon to be blocked in on the highway.  We got back in the car, turned around and drove another hour back to a resort I knew of and decided to wait out the road closure there - in the safety of a beach front room, good food and an abundance of drinking water.  After much mixed information the following morning, we finally got on the road to Accra and had a long, hot, traffic-filled drive back.  I must say that all 6 of us (dogs included) did a great job - no barking (me or the dogs), no biting (the kids or the dogs) and general making the best of the situation all the way around.  Colleen didn't even ask to be taken straight to the airport for the next flight home - that's a true friend :)

MoTeCH is in full swing right now, launching our pilot project in the Upper East and everyone working double time.  The kids, Colleen and I are flying up there tomorrow for a durbar (community entry celebration) and for me to monitor the work and generally trouble shoot as the inevitable "launch issues" arise.  The kids are hoping to show Colleen that the crocodiles really are friendly and I hope to get her out to a few rural health clinics (Colleen is a Physician's Assistant in the US) to get a slice of the "real" Africa.  Then, the kids are back in Accra a few days before saying goodbye and heading back to the US with Colleen as chaperone.  They will no doubt be totally worn out (as will I) by the time they board that flight. 

Tonight is a big Ghana World Cup Game - they are the last real chance of an African team making it to the next round.  Everyone here is rooting for them and it is sure to be an exciting evening all over Ghana!  Another 100% Ghanaian experience for us all!

Wrapping up an Amazing Year

As some of you may have heard, our time living in Ghana is coming to an end sooner than expected. While we have loved our time here, it's also been very intense for every one of us and we all need a rest. For a variety of reasons, the kids and I decided that it's best to head back to the US this summer. I'll keep my job and will be "commuting" to work - a nearly 24 hour trip - about once every 4-6 weeks while I ensure the project is on track and a leadership transition is successful.

As usual with the "G" family, we're making the most of every moment. My project is ramping up for a launch of our service in the Upper East Region in about 2 weeks. Most of the Accra staff have temporarily moved to the north and I spent about 5 days there with the kids last week. It was an amazing experience for them - we attended "durbars" which are community entry celebrations where the project is introduced to the community and approved by the chief, Sophie photographed lots of our field work and made it out to 6 of the very rural clinics where we're working and Xavier spent a lot of time playing football. We even touched a crocodile at a crocodile pond just near the Burkina Faso border and toured an ancient village (check out the photos link on the right and see the one with Xavier and his "friend" who are both missing their front teeth!).

The kids finish school this week and are looking forward to getting back to their US classrooms. My good friend, Colleen, is arriving on Thursday for 2 weeks. While she's here, we'll head out to our favorite beach for a few days and then all of us are traveling up to the north so I can work and they can touch more crocodiles :) And, of course, we will be watching every Ghana World Cup Game!!!!!!

The kids leave for the US with Colleen on July 2nd. I'll stay behind in Ghana for a couple of weeks, continuing to work, wrap up the house and figure out how I am going to get the puppies back to the US with Delta/KLM having a general pet flying ban from May-Sept.due to heat. Somehow, we’ll all make it back to our favorite little island…….

Africa in Our Souls - Sophie's View

Some days we love Africa, some days we just want to go home.  Either way, there is no doubt that Africa has found its way into our hearts and souls.  Sophie, who celebrated her 11th birthday this week, wrote the following poems about her time here:

I cannot bear the poverty in the air; sifting in and out of my world.
The smell nothing to me but the world to somebody.

_________

I see Africa.
I see Ghana.
I see life at the most happy extent.
Where there are the poorest people come the biggest hearts.
That is the way of Ghana.
That is the way of Africa.

__________________

A lapless ocean;
I stare motionless;
A lapless ocean. 

Tomorrow, I am taking the kids to the Upper East Region, where we are about to implement our mobile phone work.  It is the poorest region in the country and is the "real" Africa.  We will be in Paga, a town just at the Burkina Faso border.  All week, we have a series of "durbars" which are ceremonies where representative from the project go to the village chiefs in each village where we'll be working, brings them gifts and asks for their permission and blessing to do our work there.  He presumably grants us this permission and my understanding is that dancing and music ensues.  We'll see how it goes, but I have no doubt there will be many more deep impressions and processing from this amazing experience.......

It's Raining Something....but it's not Cats and Dogs

As a 3 year old sister of one of Xavier's friends explained to me yesterday as she looked up at the clouds, there is the "rainy" and the "not rainy" season. After several rain storms in the past week or so and many nights of semi-comfortable sleep without air conditioning, I think it's safe to say that we are now in the "rainy season."


Let's be clear that when it rains here, it's not like in the Northwest US. It's not drizzly with periodic rain showers and a few sun breaks. No, it's an absolute, complete and total biblical opening of the sky deluge, often accompanied by gorgeous and intense flashes of lightning and booming thunder. There is no doubt that it's mother nature in charge and all you can do is hunker down where ever you are and wait for it to pass - which it usually does in 20 minutes to an hour.

So, it shouldn't be surprising that the entire eco-system seems to have changed. The rain seems to be giving life to all sorts of......interesting creatures. There are more varieties of ants than I ever knew existed - large ones with wings that fly around just after the rains, termites that look like they could ingest an entire forest and itsy bisty ants that you can feel on your skin but cannot see unless you have supersonic eyes. Of course, the mosquitoes seem to have multiplied, as evidenced by me having 2 staff out with severe malaria last week. These little guys make it difficult to enjoy the cool evening breeze - even though it feels good to be outside after a nice, cleansing rain, the chance of getting a bite - and malaria - makes the safety of the house and air conditioning look pretty good. And, there are cockroaches. Previous to the rains, cockroaches were an occasional annoyance. Now, the ones that creep out from their hiding spots look like creatures in a sci-fi movie, coming to carry small children away. They are gross and are one of the few creatures that can make me scream like a pre-teen drama queen who's just noticed a fly in her food - I know, because I have a pre-teen drama queen who sometimes keeps her cool with the bugs and other times - like last night at a friends' dinner party - informs the host that there were small bugs in the onions (probably oregano, but the imagination runs wild here). They were cooked – we noted the protein value of bugs and encouraged her to eat up.

So, it's the rainy season. I keep thinking of the phrase "it's raining cats and dogs". Sometimes, I think that would be easier to take than flying ants and mega sized cockroaches.....

(Colleen – sorry if this blog is difficult to “swallow” - we’ll do our best to keep your food bug free when you visit in a couple weeks – xxoo, k)

Anything Can happen.....Anything

In the past week, I have learned something essential: anything can happen. Last Friday, relieved to finally be released by my physicians to return to Ghana, I boarded an Afriqiyah Airlines flight from London, headed to Tripoli with a 2 hour layover and planned to be in Accra within 10 hours. About the time we were supposed to land in Libya, an announcement was made in Arabic then a much more brief one in English. All I could understand was that we were landing somewhere other than Tripoli due to weather. I assumed it was a nearby airport in Libya. As we landed, I could see an amazing landscape with white cliffs plunging into the sea. Didn't remember this when I landed in Tripoli on my way to London. It was not until we were on the ground that I finally figured out we were in Malta. I had to rack my brain to recall where, exactly, Malta is. We got off the plane and filed into the Malta airport. No information about how long we might be there, what it might mean to connecting flights....nothing. After a moment of extreme irritation and anxiety, I took a deep breath and reminded myself that I was on Afriqiyah Airline (Libyan owned) and, therefore, was now operating under a totally different set of norms than I would expect from a US or European company. I took a deep breath and endeavored to make the most of it. After 6 hours and no information, all of a sudden, everyone went to the gate and we were ushered back onto our plane, headed for Tripoli. Once in Tripoli, most passengers found that their connecting flights had been held for them. All of them, that is, except the flight to Accra. It had left an hour earlier with a total of 7 passengers aboard. That left 35 of us stranded in Tripoli. After much confusion, we were told that Afriqiyah would arrange for a hotel and we'd get the next flight out to Accra. I'm thinking that would be the following morning. Wrong. That would be in 2 days!! Our passports were taken from us and all Afriqiyah officials left - presumably to get us visas. By 2:30am, I finally asked the only "official" I could find what was happening. I was told in broken English that there was "no hotel" and "no passports". I assessed the situation: I am the only American in the airport. American and Libya do not exactly have diplomatic relations. I do not have a passport. This is not good. Thankfully, Grameen has a great emergency support system in place, I contacted them and then got an emergency contact for the US Embassy in Tripoli. Finally, at 6am, the Afriqiyah officials reappeared and we were all ushered through customs and out to await transport to a hotel - without our passports. We were told we would get them back when we returned to the airport in 2 days for departure. They didn't want us "staying". Not likely I'll be emigrating to Libya.


I met a fellow passenger who is a pilot for Emirates and knew Tripoli. We spent the two days exploring Tripoli and learning a lot about the history and politics. Libya has some of the most intact Roman ruins in the world and was formerly an Italian colony. It felt amazing - I knew that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to be an American, in Qadaffi Libya, roaming around freely for 2 days admiring the ruins and the coastline, seeing how obviously progress has stopped in the past 40 years of Qadaffi's rule and noticing how much money must be spent on printing and erecting Qadaffi images of prosperity and African Unity everywhere and how little is spent on basic human needs.

Finally, nearly 72 hours after leaving London, I arrived back to Ghana to two very, very happy children, their relieved father and 2 puppies who were so excited they piddled when they saw me. Just glad it was the pups and not the kids who piddled!

Less than 2 days after arriving safely in Accra, I learned of the Afriqiyah airline crash on the approach to Tripoli. It stopped my heart, felt way too close for comfort and reminded me how very fragile life is and how blessed I was to be back safely with my kids.

Homeward Bound

After 2 weeks in London of poking, prodding and every test known to modern medicine, I'm finally heading back to Ghana later this week.  All in all, I've got a few underlying conditions that are manageable but have one very fatigued body that got a bad infection in Ghana and that never has fully recovered from 4 years of staggering physical and life changing events.  I've got to eat even healthier, get more consistent rest, reduce stress and generally hope that I don't get another infection anytime soon.

I miss the kids and puppies desperately but Cedric has done an amazing job of holding down the fort while I've been away which has made being here easier.  I think everyone will be happy to have mommy home but might be a little bummed when I open my bags and they're filled with wheat grass, raw food bars and herbal supplements :) 

Despite the conditions for being here, London has been a really amazing respite.  The medical system here has been holistic and world class on every level and I've been staying in a studio flat close to the clinic where I've been receiving care.  It's near Marleybone High Street, a very high-end part of town with an abundance of cool shops and little cafes a short walk away.  I'm feeling spoiled being able to walk to get fair-trade, organic cappuccinos, nap in the afternoons and be able to snack on rocket salads and stone oven pizzas anytime.  I've seen a couple of dance programs and a Pulitzer prize winning play, Ruined, that was set in the Congo. 

I have to get myself mentally prepared to return to Ghana.  I've been coddled with traffic lights that people actually obey, indicators painted on the street corners telling pedestrians which way to look for cars, level sidewalks with covered drains and a general sense of orderliness that is one piece of British influence that hasn't yet "stuck" in Ghana!  I can't wait to get back to the color and chaos of it all......

My favorite British motto - an old World War II propoganda poster that pretty much sums up life for me........