The Akosombo Dam

Our latest road trip was to the Akosombo Dam, about a 2 1/2 hour ride from Accra.  This dam was started by the first President of Ghana, Kwame Nkruma in 1961 and the Akosombo Dam was officially opened by Nkrumah on January 22, 1966.  Kwame Nrumah described it as "the greatest of all our development projects."

Before arriving at the dam we passed a beautiful arching bridge over the Volta River.  The nice road to the Akosombo Dam makes for a very pleasant drive.    

The dam is impressive (not on the same scale as Hoover or Aswan) and has created the largest man-made lake in the world, Lake Volta, collecting water from the Red Volta, the White Volta, and the Black Volta Rivers.  The hydroelectric energy harnessed at this dam powers all of Ghana and several of our neighboring countries. 

For security reasons, it is not possible to drive across the dam.  But, an outside walking tour is available giving one a bird's eye view of the six turbines.
I am personally very grateful for this dam as I have learned that with enough air conditioning, I can do Africa!

South African Safari Part 2 : Game Drive

In hopes of seeing the Big Five we went on an all day game drive.  The phrase Big Five was coined by white hunters and refers to the five most difficult animals in Africa to hunt on foot.  The term is still used in most tourist and wildlife guides that discuss African safaris.  The collection consists of the lion, African elephant, Cape Buffalo, leopard and rhinoceros.  The Big Five were chosen for the difficulty in hunting and the degree of danger involved, rather than their size.

We arranged our Game Drive with Kololo.  They provided the vehicle and the guide.  The vehicle was a tri-level (each row was a different height) all-terrain vehicle which was not totally enclosed.  We were told that the animals are accustomed to the presence of the vehicle, but to keep our arms and hands inside; no standing up or leaning out lest we become lunch.  The property (game reserve) we actually went on is called Welgevonden and is huge.  We signed our release of liability; if a lion eats you, it's not their fault.  

We drove through the gates and Gregg immediately spotted a white rhino grazing.  He was a big bull and completely indifferent to us.  We saw evidence of elephants, lions, and cape buffalo, but no actual sightings.   


However, we did see many things we have never seen before out in nature including a serval cat, antelopes - reedbuck, red hartebeest, waterbuck, klipspringer, lots of zebras and many great birds including the kingfisher, hammerhead bird, brown snake eagle and the secretary bird.  

And since we didn't see all that we hoped to, we signed up for another game drive.  This time we saw some amazing new things:  a hippo in the water, a cape buffalo, and vervet monkeys.  The most amazing part of this day was getting to watch from 10 yards away a cheetah and her 3 cubs feasting on an impala she had just killed .  She dragged it under a tree in the shade to hide it from other predators.  The cubs were big enough to eat meat and to be the lookout while she ate.  They were totally indifferent to our presence.  

And, since we did not see ALL the Big Five...you guessed it, this means that we MUST go on another safari.  Next time we are thinking about the Serengeti or Kruger Park.

South African Safari - Part 1

This time we took our adventures beyond the borders of West Africa.  We did a 1 week safari camp in the Waterberg Biosphere of South Africa (northwest of Johannesburg and Pretoria and not far from the border of Botswana).  

The trip began as we watched a torrential downpour for two hours from the Accra airport lounge while we waited for our late plane.  They don't call it the rainy season for nothing!  Little did we know that our bags were out in that rain until we opened a bag in South Africa.  Everything was soaked!  

If you are going to South Africa from an African country, you had better be sure to take your immunization record, because they WILL check to see that you have had your yellow fever immunization! 

The first part of our adventure was finding our way out of Johannesburg on wide beautiful roads at high speeds with many vehicles...but driving on the left side of the road.  We truly appreciate so much that the British did as they left their footprint on many countries, with the exception of this driving on the left side of the road business.  We bought lots of groceries on our way out of town.  What we took with us was what we would eat for the week.   

Our safari camp was named Dinkweng and was about 3-4 hours northwest of Johannesburg.  It is called a safari camp, but is actually self-catering, luxury lodges (meaning no restaurants available) set on a South African game reserve.  It is common in this area for the local land owners to put up 3 meter fences and stock it with exotic wild African animals.  As we understand it, most of the native animals were literally hunted almost to extinction.  How wonderful that there is this effort to restore it to the way it used to be.  

Our #1 fun activity at Dinkweng was to take the Polaris (4X4 golf cart) around the property where we saw giraffe, wildebeest, impala, warthog with two babies, greater kudu, steenbok, black-backed jackal  and the tracks of baboons.  These animals are not domesticated in any way and are on their own to survive.  They are accustomed to the vehicle and did not consider us a threat, but are shy and very careful about their "personal space."  For example, the wildebeests decided that we were too close to the giraffe and began stomping and snorting, while they "stared us down."  It kind of reminded me of bison  behavior.  We took the cue and moved on along.  Wildebeests are pictured below.  Greater kudu is at the bottom of the page.  Gotta love those antlers!  







You can always tell which reserves have lions, leopards, etc.  because they have more substantial fences which are electrified.  I was very happy that our camp was not one of these.  But to see more African animals, a Big 5 Game Drive is the ticket.  Tune in next week for "South African Safari - Part 2."  

Home Leave

For the last month, Gregg and I have been on home leave in the USA.  When we got off the airplane in SLC and spent our first hours in Costco, Walmart, and our local gigantic grocery store, we had 2 reactions:

1. There are a lot of white people in Utah.  It would be nice to have more "color."
2. We in America have far more than we actually need.  Most of us that were born in the US are grateful for our many blessings; but we have come to know from our Africa experience that we who have so much have a responislibty to use these blessings to help others.

We got to be with all of our children and grandchildren for a week.  It was wonderful, fun, chaotic, crazy and we are so glad we did it.  Gregg was amazed at all the diapers (we had not seen that in a while).  He was sure we were violating some city ordances with all the people in our house.  We actually got a picture of us with our 6 grandchildren wearing the Ghanaian soccer shirts we brought them.  Each family also has a Ghanaian soccer ball.
 
We also enjoyed a week in Maui; it's a little piece of heaven.  The scuba diving, sun, and golf was just what we needed.  (We hadn't been on a dive in 18 months). 

So, we are tan, we are rested, and we are ready to go to work back here in West Africa!


PS - I love being an American.  I love going through Customs and Immigration where I am always greeted with, "welcome home."  My nature would be to hug this complete stranger; but I restrain myself, smile, and say, "thank you."  It was great to be home for the 4th of July.

Dancing and Drums

Africans have an amazing gift of rhythm which is most often expressed in drum playing and dancing.  They seem to be born with this gift; as soon as they can stand, they can dance.  When Africans hear music, their bodies begin dancing - no matter when or where.

I recently attended a performance showcasing talents of the children who live at the Liberian Refugee Camp Orphanage (located just outside of Accra).  It is hoped that through performing, these young people can grow in confidence and earn some money to help sustain the orphanage.  This was the maiden voyage of their show.

By tradition, men make and play the drums.  Some of them start very young.  You can tell I had a favorite drum player.   

These girls and young women danced with all their hearts in the performance.  You could tell that it meant a great deal to them.  I was truly amazed how quickly their feet could move.  I have no idea how they danced on the stones of that parking lot with bare feet.  They told me later that it was no problem at all.  

My favorite moment was watching the younger girls run off stage into the arms of the older girls, celebrating their success.  I felt very proud of them.  

Do you want to know how to make an African laugh?  Just have a white person dance. 




  

Help Bless the Children

I remember turning 6 years old and feeling so happy that I would be going to first grade at Hodgin Elementary.  I knew where the school was and that there were teachers there.  I had no idea that this was not true for every child.  For some children in Africa there is no school.  One of our first lessons here in Ghana has been the realization that all our lives we have had so much, and taken it mostly for granted.

Since arriving in Ghana, I have become involved with building a school in a tiny village named Ayi Mensah about an hour outside of Accra.  This little school began with a teacher and about 15 children meeting under a tree.  No desks, no protection from the rain or sun, and nowhere to store any books. 

A few years ago, this situation came to the attention of some ambitious American Expats who believed that we could make a difference.  Everything that has happened since then has been through the generous donations of people who share that vision.  The humble teachers at Ayi Mensah tell me that it has all happened "by the grace of God."  Today Ayi Mensah is a very basic 2 room school with about 65 students.  Once there is a building and you prove to the district that children are coming, they will provide a teacher.  Ayi Mensah now has 3 paid teachers.  The 3rd classroom just got a tin roof and the dream is to complete that classroom for the beginning of school in the fall.

Some years ago, when Gregg and I couldn't think of what to give each other for Christmas someone suggested giving each other a wheelchair (for the wheelchair project).  Polio is alive and well in Africa and we have seen firsthand what a difference a wheelchair can make in someones life.  It may have been the best Christmas gift we ever gave each other.  

Because education can change a child's world, I'm suggesting a similar gift you can give.  Think of a way that you can make a donation to Ayi Mensah or of a group that you can encourage to raise funds for this little school.  All that you donate will go directly to the building of the school.  We know that because Gregg and I take the funds directly to the school and monitor the progress. The first time I took Gregg there his comment was, "those little children deserve a school."  And they do.  Please help us.

Yes, there is a way to donate money to Ayi Mensah School.  The donations should be made payable to the 'Forever Young Foundation' and sent to Sally Murray.  She ensures the funds get to Sterling Tanner, the CEO of Forever Young, who deposits the money to the Komart Foundation in Ghana. I know that this sounds like a long and winding road, but it ensures that anyone who donates money has a tax deductible donation, as Forever Young is a legally registered Charitable Organization.  You should know that none of the contributions are used for overhead; all of it goes to help the school.  These children pay no fees to attend school here.

Just send your check to: 

Forever Young Foundation

c/o Sally Murray
8695 S. 4770 W.

West Jordan, UT 84088

This is Akpormang, the previous school built by this group.  One day, we hope Ayi Mensah looks just this good.

Road trip to Koforidua

The adventure for today was a Sunday road trip and worship services in the Koforidua district.  This was a 2 hour drive out of Accra.  As we ascended the hills north of Accra we had a spectacular panoramic view.  A recent rain made the sky remarkably clear and we could see all the way to the ocean.

The remainder of our trip was through beautiful forest jungle passing little villages along the way. 

In the city of Koforidua we visited 3 different LDS church buildings.  The funnest part of the trip were the little children who stole our hearts.  One little tiny girl walked over and just stood in front of me until I picked her up and sat her on my lap.  We had a picture taken and she was really pleased to see the photo. 

Outside a swarm of children surrounded Gregg (maybe the tallest man they've seen). I had to capture this in a photo.   

It was fun to make the trip with 2 other couples, Elder and Sister Dickson (Area Presidency) and Elder and Sister Powell (missionary couple serving as Executive Secretary to the Area Presidency).