An Eye Opener - Life in West Africa

I'd like to share with you some episodes from the life story of a 17 year old Ghanaian young man.  His life has really opened our eyes.

When he was 3-4 years old, his father died.  As so often happens here, his mother deserted him to pursue a new life and he was taken to the father's village to live with his grandmother.  His grandmother couldn't support him and took him to his uncle's home and begged that the uncle take him in.  He remembers her begging and crying before the uncle finally said yes.  He and his sister were treated subservient to the family.  They were only fed once a day in the evening and he ate out of a calabash (dried gourd).  He developed smallpox and was not allowed in the house. He remembers the white pustules weeping.  His mother's sister stopped by to see him and brought some soap for his sister to bathe him.  Eventually the sores healed.

When he was 5 he began following the boys who tend cattle and was given permission to live with them.  They would leave very early in the morning and came home late at night.  They only carried with them a bag of water and a bag of porridge or groundnut soup.  Many times they were beaten by the rainstorms in the forest.  On one occasion he fell out of a tree; the arm never healed right and his lower arm and hand are crooked.  He feels blessed that he can still use the hand and arm.  

One day a cousin came and the owner of the cattle told him how industrious and intelligent this boy was.  So at age 10 he began kindergarten.  But, when he was in 3rd grade he was taken back to the village without any explanation.  His great desire was to continue school, so he began finding firewood in the forest to sell.  He did this for a year trying to get enough money to pay the fees for school; school is not free in Ghana.

Then one day, word came to him that he had an older sister in Accra, who sent for him. She worked as "house help" and didn't have extra money.  So, he continued to search for firewood to sell to pay for school fees.  Then he got a job setting up the tables and chairs for a food vendor early in the morning and taking them down at the end of the day.  Eventually, he found a man who let him sleep in a vacant room for the last several years (with no kitchen and no bathroom).  

An expat friend of ours met him while volunteering at a school.  When she returned to the US in 2011, she said to me, "I hope it is OK but I gave your phone number to this young man in case he needs something.  He has no one."  She also left some money with us for him.  We have met with him almost monthly this last year.  Most of the time he makes enough to continue school, but not quite enough to buy food.  He has just completed 8th grade and taken his exams.  He is very hopeful to continue on to high school, maybe up in the North of Ghana - Bolgatanga where his family came from. 

I believe he will succeed ... against all odds.   

  

Kente Weavers

Something not to be missed in Ghana is visiting a Kente Weaving village.  We visited Tafi Abuipe in the Volta Region (eastern Ghana).  All the families in this village are weavers.  Many have created their own unique and beautiful patterns.  

This special cloth is woven in long strips and originally was only to be worn by royalty for very special and sacred occasions.  Mythology has it that two Ghanaian men hunting in the forest came upon a spider.  They studied the spider weaving a web for 2 days and then went home and tried to recreate the web. Kente weaving has been around since at least the 1600s.  

Today Kente cloth is available to anyone.  The long strips can be sewn together and form larger pieces of "cloth."  It is expensive for a Ghanaian and could be called the fabric of a Ghanaian "tuxedo." 

The colors are bright, the patterns are geometric and the finished product is just beautiful.

The weavers are truly artists.  Notice how they use their feet.  The thread is strung through pieces of a coconut shell and the weaver's feet are continuously flying, while their hands are quickly shuttling various colors of thread through the loom.  

What can you carry on your head?

The women and men in Africa are amazing at their ability to carry just about anything on their heads.  Children begin very young and practice carrying items.  

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Yup, it's a sewing machine and we met him on his way to work.  

Most Ghanaians do not own a car or bike; they walk everywhere they need to go.  They also cook over a wood fire, so gathering wood is a task shared by all.

The street vendors are amazing.  This one gets an award for "best presentation."  These bananas are stacked 5 tiers high!  And how do you get it up on your head?  With a little help from your friends.

As you can see, I'm training Gregg in the art.
When men in the market saw Gregg carrying this, they wanted to know where his "woman" was (because culturally it would be my place to carry this).  Gregg doesn't mind carrying it for me.

R & R in Egypt

It was time for us to take a much needed break from West Africa.  With two other employee couples, also assigned to West Africa, we spent a week discovering ancient Egypt on the Nile.  Our visit included Cairo, Alexandria, Aswan, Abu Simbel, and Luxor.  We ended our adventure at the Sinai Resort town of Sharm el Sheikh. We stayed at a wonderful Marriott hotel which was as nice as any Marriott in California or Hawaii.  We needed a luxury hotel; they are very hard to find in West Africa.  

I was surprised what a step up Egypt is from West Africa.  In Cairo we visited a beautiful new 5 story mall called Sun City.  I was impressed with the shopping; Gregg loved the food court which was full of all the fast food restaurants that you can only dream about in West Africa.  I didn't even know McDonald's had a double quarter pounder with cheese.  Can you eat that and not feel guilty?  It's hard to believe but Gregg lost 5 pounds on this trip and he ate like a horse.  

We went SCUBA diving in the Red Sea.  What a magnificent and colorful aquarium.  Gregg's favorite was the giant moray eel.  I saw the biggest lion fish of my life; although they are venomous, they are not aggressive and left us alone.  The Red Sea is full of anemone and clown fish.  I love clown fish.  And I was just as happy that we never saw a single shark.

We celebrated my birthday in Sharm el Sheikh.  Gregg surprised me with a birthday cake delivered to our room.  It was a great and very memorable birthday.

Soul Names

In Ghanaian culture, a ceremony called "Out Dooring" is held the 7th day after the birth of a baby. On this day the child is named by a traditional process where the first name is tagged to the day of the birth and then followed by other (sometimes many) family names. By this ceremony they are welcomed into the family.

The "day name" is called their "Soul Name." Even though some Ghanaians may have English and religious names, everyone also has their "Soul Name" which may be used by friends and family.  


There are masculine and feminine names for each day of the week. Some tribes have slightly different names, but the same idea. 

Below are the Akan tribe male and female names used in Ghana:

                     Masculine             Feminine

Sunday:          Kwesi                  Akosua

Monday:         Kojo                    Adwoa

Tuesday:        Kwabena              Abena

Wednesday:    Kweku                 Akua

Thursday:       Yaw                    Yaa 

Friday:           Kofi                    Afua

Saturday:       Kwame                Ama

Shannon is Akosua (Sunday). Gregg is Kofi (Friday).

Who are you?

http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/

Characteristics of Each Day

• Monday's child is the father or mother in the family; nurturing in nature, dependable and organized, and protective of his/her family.
• Tuesday's child is the problem solver and planner of the family. They are structured in nature, neutral in all matters and never takes sides.
• Wednesday's child is fully in control of every situation, does not want to be told what to do, knows it all, is spontaneous, vibrant and cordial. Be sure not to cross his or her path, though...
• Thursday's child is quiet in nature and incredibly observant. They are generally listeners, not talkers, and analyzes situations very well.
• Friday's child is a leader, not a follower. He/she is very temperamental but has a big heart. Generally the instigator of everything.
• Saturday's child likes to take control of family situations. He/she runs the show and make the rules, but will go out of his/her way for others any time.
• Sunday's child is the passive, sensitive and warm member of the family. He/she tends to be shy and likes to keep to his/her self, but is very aware of his/her surroundings and usually is the secret keeper of the family. 

Shai Hills Reserve

Our Saturday outing was a visit to Shai Hills Reserve about an hour outside of Accra.  Yes, there are hills and the Shai people used to live here.  We have enjoyed the baboons outside the fence as we drove by, but have never gone in.  Check out these teeth; I wouldn't mess with this guy - alpha male for sure! 

We found out that there are 19 troops of baboons here.  The best fed are the troop that greet the visitors entering the reserve.  I'm sure the lady there selling bananas has something to do with that.  Unlike monkeys, who prefer green bananas, these guys are fine with yellow.

We also saw an enclosure of ostriches.  This was a big surprise to us.  We understand that over the next year they will be acquiring giraffes, zebra, and lions (inside a secure area).  Of these, the lions are the only animals that used to live here.  There are still a very few up in the north of Ghana at the Mole Reserve. 

We also saw  20-30 antelope, of two varieties:  the Uganda Kop, and the Orobi.  They look so majestic and almost posed for the camera.   

We climbed up a hill (with the help of a rope) and enjoyed the panorama.  We also visited the bat cave.  I had forgotten just how bad guano smells.  I guess being good fertilizer is its only redeeming quality.  In the days before the bats, this cave was the home of the Shai Chief.  The cave offered protection and they could roll boulders down on any advancing enemy.

Elder Holland's Visit

Our life shifted into high gear from Feb 10-19 during the Africa West Area Review.  Elder Holland and Elder Snow and their wives were our guests from Salt Lake City.  The review was to include Liberia, Ghana, and Sierra Leone.  To view a video of Elder Holland's comments visit:  http://www.lds.org/study/prophets-speak-today/unto-all-the-world/emerging-with-faith-in-africa?lang=eng

The harmattan was in full swing with dust and sand blowing off the Sahara and visibility at an all time low in Liberia and Sierra Leone.  We tried to fly to Liberia Feb. 10 and boarded the plane, but never took off because the visibility was too low in Monrovia, Liberia to land.  One Africa lady jumped up and shouted, "Don't get off this plane!"  Her idea was to have a "sit in" and refuse to leave until they flew us to Liberia.   Feb. 12 we tried again and flew all the way to Monrovia only to circle above the airport and return to Ghana due to poor visibility.  I loved Gregg's perspective: "'Live to fly another day."  Delta created an extra flight on Feb. 13 and we were able to get Elders Holland and Snow all the way there.  Local people on the plane were literally weeping and clapping at our landing, so glad to finally make it there.  

I had a lot of fun shopping in Accra with Sister Holland and Sister Snow.  We visited a fabric factory, a crafts display, and a sewing shop.  Here is our picture as we stood in front of the Accra, Ghana temple.  


We were edified and uplifted as we listened to Elder Holland teach us.  We were grateful for the Apostolic blessing he left.  It was a joy to have been part of his visit.