Akwaaba!!

This final post on Ghana will be a snapshot of all the other things that I did! I am no longer an American, I am referred to around the world as “Obama People”.

The faith of the people in Ghana is so indescribably extraordinary!!!! God is here in every smile, every building, every wave, He is EVERYWHERE. 99% of the buildings are labeled with a Christian reference. For example, “God is Good Beauty Salon”, “Alpha and Omega Liquor Store”, “Jesus Lives Market”, “Repent for He is Near Clothing Store”. The list goes on! Another store that I was fortunate enough to visit is “Global Mamas”. Global Mamas is a non-profit organization that sells the crafts and works of local women. The money then goes directly to the women, and to resources that they benefit from. The store was at capacity during our week in Ghana! One of the ladies working there is a Peace Corps Volunteer from Baltimore and said that us coming to town has been a huge blessing on their store. She said that the most spent in 1 transaction was $400 by one of our faculty! I didn't quite spend that much, but I did get some very nice stuff from here. The lady said that with this great increase, they will be able to hire some new women! This made me so happy to hear, and I hope that this company continues to thrive to help the people of Ghana.

Another trip that I was on was the “Slave Dungeons and Castles”. This was a real eye-opener to the history of Africans. We toured the facilities where slaves were kept imprisoned and where they were held captive until they would be shipped out to the Americas and Europe. The conditions and ways of running the place were beyond inhumane. There is no excuse for humanity to have allowed this to happen. Before the end of the tour, we took a pledge to never allow this kind of behavior or actions ever happen again. In 2009, President Obama and the First Lady visited the Cape Coast Dungeon, they had a plaque dedicated and hanging at the entrance of the woman’s prison.

On the way back to the ship from the homestay in Tagorme, we stopped by a game reserve. After driving an hour in to the reserve, we came across a heard of antelope. Then we saw a bunch of baboons. We then got off the bus and hiked up a steep mountain to a bat cave. It was really cool, but again, animals are not really my interest. Especially after an exhausting time in the village. OH, I forgot to mention in my last post about how I could not wash my hands the whole stay so I couldn't even take out my contacts at night! Ok, back to the reserve. It was cool.

My next FDP (faculty directed practica) was “Woman's Childbirth and Maternity Practices”. For this trip, we toured the Tema Hospital maternity ward. It was very interesting to compare this with my experiences from when I volunteered at the Riverside Community Hospital. The conditions of the hospital were so drastically different than that of the US. I cannot say that they were horrible, but there were definitely extremes. There is no privacy in the hospital, husbands and family are not allowed in the delivery room because there is no space. This is because up to 5 women can be giving birth in the same room at a time. THERE IS NO AIR CONDITIONING in the whole hospital. All of the instructions and protocol are handwritten on the walls. The vaccinations are left out on the counters. Because there is no privacy code, we were able to read patient's charts. Some students even had the option to go into the operation room as a woman was in surgery. It was definitely interesting to learn about this culture and the way they run things. Ghana does have universal health care, which is something that the country should be very proud of. The midwife said that on an average day, they deliver 10-15 babies.

When Semester at Sea people were in a bus out in town, we were escorted by police. This was one of the hardest experiences for me. We were escorted so that we would get from place to place faster and avoid traffic...The police officer on a motorcycle led us weaving through traffic. The officer was so aggressive! If a car did not move over enough for us, then he would reach over and kick the car! People were moving, but no one looked happy, which is completely understandable. We were glared at, we were stared at, we were given dirty looks. It really bothered me because we are in no way better than the locals. We asked the tour guide why they do this and he said “we want you all to be comfortable here in Ghana so that you will have a good memory of us”.

Ghana was the busiest port that I have on this trip as far as plans. I love love love Ghana and really want to return one day! I apologize that these blogs took so long to be written. I had a hard time putting my experiences into words, and just needed some time to let it all sink in. My words on this page in no way give Ghana the proper justice. There is only one way for you to truly understand this place, GO THERE!!!

Next stop....SOUTH AFRICA!!! Waka Waka!