Now for the Sense of Smell

I want to first make a disclaimer. This entry is NOT meant in any way to disgust or insult or offend. It is merely what I have observed through the sense of smell.

As I open the gate to leave home every day the sweet scent of flowers mingling with Omo detergent fills my nostrils. I proceed through the wafting of animal manure from nearby chicken coops and goat pens. If there is a breeze, fresh clean air brushes by me. Around the corner just behind a hedge the strong sent of urine burns my nostrils as the heat of the African sun increases the ammonia odor. Somewhere around 1PM acrid smoke creeps into the Resource Center as the wood fires are stoked in the school kitchen preparing lunch for students.
Walking around campus as students and staff pass the scent of Lux and Imperial Leather soap trails behind them. Oftentimes the scent is that of body odor from the perspiration of manual labor. In the evening the charcoal fires are accompanied by the scent of evening meals cooking. I can pick out tomato, onion, groundnut, sometimes shito (their spicy sauce similar to a salsa). As I open the door to my room warm air brushes past me filling my nostrils with a stale, musky smell. I reach for the air -freshener turn on the ceiling fan to stir in the sweeter smell of lavender. Later after my evening “baf” my bathroom picks up the scent of clean soap and the night air joins. Once in a while as I climb into my mosquito net cave the smell of insect repellent is stirred up and settles in to do its job. Reclining at days end the clean, fresh sometimes herbal sometimes fruity scent of lotion on my arms is the last scent of the day as I close my eyes and breathe in deeply.

Changes in Me

I have noticed a huge change in me that I pray remains upon my return home. I have become more focused on the present moment. That’s the way people live out their lives here. Living each day is challenge enough without worrying about what tomorrow may bring. We are grateful for each new day and the chance to live it!
Something else I have noticed ….. little annoyances don’t seem to trouble me anymore. When you live in a world when things like electricity, water, food and health are all so capricious the minor obstacles in life leave little impact on your own life. I am humbled by the people whose lives I share. No matter how little they may have they are always willing to give. Each day I am awestruck at the wonder of nature. Though days and weeks go by without water the land is still lush and green though withered in places. When the drenching rains come, the earth drinks heartily and plants straighten. I use my sense more; I notice sounds and rhythms in those sounds; I notice smells both pleasant and unpleasant; I notice the air and sun and their effects on my skin. I am walking more surefooted and rooted to the earth, I practically glide! I have even come to appreciate a COLD shower!

African Cuisine

Eating in Ghana is a unique experience; not only the food but the conditions in which you dine. Eating is not a social experience in fact guests eat alone at table or at a tray table in front of the TV. Eating is done for your nourishment not for socializing. People eat what they have available which means what you grow yourself or get from going to market day. Most of what I eat is grown by the family I live with. Right outside my window are 2 huge mango trees (they will soon ripen). Across the path from the front door are plantain, cocoyam (the huge leaves are the only green leafy vegetable I have seen kontumire), oranges, papaya, banana ( the tiniest and sweetest I have ever tasted) yam and pineapple. Around back grows the palm tree with palm nuts used to make soup and the dried palm fronds make the brooms I awake to the sound of every morning. In the back field are cassava, maize and more yam. Traditionally people eat with their right hands, yes even the soup. Fufu becomes the spoon by which you scoop up the liquid. Fufu is made by pounding together cassava and plantain. The pounder stands with a very tall wooden pole whose base is a flattened circle about 6 inches in diameter. The kneader sits on a low stool and places the plantain and cassava in what looks like a large version of a mortar. The pounder pounds the ingredients while the kneader moves the ingredients when the pounder is in the air. I have yet to witness anyone’s hand getting pounded but I am sure it happens on occasion. I have noticed many things have a rhythm to them and this is certainly one of them. After about 15 minutes of this you are left with a doughy mound called fufu. This is placed in a bowl and usually light soup is poured over it. You eat this by scooping a piece of fufu up and through the soup and then it is in and down. You do not chew fufu. As old as this continent is and considering this is a developing country these people make great use of their natural resources.

So here is what I do on any given day.....

As I come to the half way point in my African adventure I think it is time to give you all more details about what I do here day to day so here goes:

Just like in America my alarm rings at 5:15AM except it is my cell phone because electricity is irregular and batteries expensive. I lift up the mosquito net and climb from my latex foam slat bed. I am lucky enough to have running water and indoor plumbing though no hot water from the faucets or large shower head. I am walking to mass on campus as the sun rises (mass is at 6AM daily) which can be an amazing sight. Just the other day it was completely dark except for one bright star which must have been a planet. Daily mass includes harmonized vocal music by all, readings by students and an inspirational homily by my friend Rev. Father Matthew. Every day after mass the entire student body and whatever staff members comes to mass have a quick assembly. Often this involves disciplinary issues. Students who have gotten in trouble are called forward to be publicly shamed and awarded punishment. A student recently left campus by climbing over the wall without seeking permission. His punishment was to remove a tree, roots and all using the only tool anyone has, a cutlass!!!!!!!!! It took him a week working pretty much all day long in this grueling heat and powerful sun.
After mass I walk back home and Adwoa usually has breakfast ready for me. This consists of a thermos of hot water for tea, instant coffee ( I really miss fresh brewed coffee!) or Milo (Nestle makes this, an enriched cocoa drink ) fresh bread, fresh fruit and one of 3 hot cereals : millet, oatmeal or Koko( a fermented maize cereal). When I say fresh fruit I mean grown right on this land, right outside my windows! When I say fresh baked bread, Adwoa makes her own teabread, YUM! I take my vitamins, malaria pill, brush my teeth and off to the Resource Center.
Every day at the Centre is different. Initially I spent most days there full time getting the place set up. First year students came and I taught classes; 7 each week of 40-50 students. Toward the end of the semester 2nd year students began to come to work on their various projects; 7 classes per week of about 40-50. The campus has a demonstration school which I visit at least once each week to see how the teachers are using the materials they have made in workshops I have given. This is the place with an empty library and I am patiently waiting for the Headmaster to organize a PTA meeting where I may launch my challenge to FEED THE LIBRARY. I found a place in Kumasi where Children’s books may be purchased for 5000 cedis. These books are reading textbooks from the US which means each book has over 20 or so stories in it. I have purchased four and will ask each family to purchase one per child. Each child will then write their name inside the book to acknowledge their contribution. Every one US dollar is worth 9000 cedis so 5000 cedis is not a lot of money.
I also arrange meetings with the District Director (similar to our Superintendent) and college Principal (similar to college President) about workshops and training ideas. To date I have conducted 11 workshops and have 12 more planned for the second semester. The workshops are for college staff and district teachers. I have supervised students on attachment (student teachers) as well as pupil teachers in the Untrained Teacher Training for Diploma in basic Education (UTTDBE). Many districts in rural areas have a difficult time attracting trained teachers because they cannot provide accommodation and the schools are run down with little or no materials. Teachers must be in the classrooms so townspeople will ask just about anyone who is remotely good with children to be their teachers. These are what we call pupil teachers, they are students themselves .It is believed that in this region alone there are 8000 such teachers and the UTTDBE program has enrolled about 3000; this program takes four years to complete and occurs during Christmas break, Easter break and summer. These people tend to teach the way they were taught: beating with switches or canes, having students repeat everything you say, telling students they are stupid when they get a wrong answer….there is so much work to do here as far as education goes!
Days like today I spend in the center with many others bringing workshops that took weeks to plan and coordinate to fruition. I am especially proud of today’s session .Back in December I began meeting with Principal and District Director discussing my idea. The town of Bechem is lucky to have a teacher training college so why not link the community with the college? I devised “Bridging Theory and Practice: Creating a Support Network for Ghana’s Teachers” bringing Circuit Supervisors, Head teachers and Mentors together along with a variety of presenters addressing issues I have come to know as necessary to address. The District Director was invited to open the day and he stayed the entire day!. Principal spoke utilizing much of what I have taught him about teacher induction and mentoring. The Tutor(college “professor”…remember they only hold Bachelor’s Degrees at Teacher Training College level)in charge of the Practice Teaching Program talked about the mentor program we established and appears to be working this year. Another JOSCO Tutor spoke on the format and rationale for Lesson Notes Writing ( yep lesson plans are in every country…UGH!) I spoke on the value of Resource Centers and later on taught all a constructive problem solving technique I developed using the Appreciative Inquiry Approach which is participant oriented. Every participant left today with a solution to solve a problem they are having with a mentee POSITIVELY!
Sounds like everything goes smoothly and let me tell you it does not! Today’s workshop was to start at 9AM it began at 10!.At the break I provided meat pies (homemade by Adwoa) and a cold cocoa drink, some wanted water instead. During the workshop people get up and leave to visit the latrine or talk on their phones which go off throughout the day. At the end of the session lunch is always served, you should see the mess they leave behind. When students use markers to work on project they leave the covers off, brush scraps on the floor, move chairs roughly, ripping the linoleum that has been merely rolled out on the floor and is only 4 months old. Overall though when you look at the bigger picture these issues are not what is important. What is important is the learning going on and the enthusiasm for knowledge and the pride in their acquisition of the new knowledge demonstrated more and more every day.
Lately I have had teachers in town stop me and ask when I am coming to see the TLM that have made or invite me to observe a lesson using an idea developed in a workshop I conducted. Tutors on campus have sought me out over the weekend to help them develop lesson activities or asked me to come observe their class. That is when I know the 6 – 10 hour days I put in are paying off. That’s when I know I have come to the right place to have an effect. That’s when I know I am a teacher teaching teachers who are teaching teachers all of whom teach Ghana’s children!
I come home to dinner again prepared by Adwoa (lately sometimes I am allowed to help). Meals are predictable by day as what we eat is provided by the land either grown or an animal raised nearby. After dinner I usually relax and read or just sit; sometimes I take a walk or play a game with the youngest member of the family or visit a neighbor. Later on I do anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a half of yoga. After which I will take my evening “baf” some times a cold shower is welcome other times I boil water in my electric teapot, let it cool down a bit and savor in a sink bath using my 8 inch sink. By 10 PM I am tired so I grab my cell phone, turn off the ceiling fan and lights and make my way into my mosquito net cave as I have come to call it grateful for a successful day looking forward to another.
My family tells me that a story I wrote for the World Cocoa Foundation ( they donated a computer and printer, photocopier and laminator for the centre) has been published on their website. I have been working on another project I will for now refer to as the Cocoa Project which has been given a very strong vote of confidence recently, more on that later….

Farmer's Day Surprise!

On my first journey from Accra to Bechem we made a stop at a cocoa farm in Nhyese (Nchezee) where Mr. Mensah asked the farmer if we could have a cocoa pod for me. He proudly plucked a pod from the tree and offered me “Akwaaba.” The cocoa pod was put in the van with everything else of mine. A week or so later we opened the pod and I saw the white seeds. They were soft and slippery and sweet to the taste. That sweet outer coating I have since learned helps in the fermentation process. I did not realize it at the time, but Clement took the seeds and planted some. December 1st is Farmer’s Day in Ghana where agriculture is celebrated and farmers are given awards and prizes by President Kufuor and the whole event is televised nationally. After the celebration was over and the prizes were awarded Clement called me out front to the plantain trees on the farm where he presented me with 6 cocoa seedlings I have plans to plant at least 2 by the Resource Centre before the end of the year since the World Cocoa Foundation has been so generous to us here and to commemorate by first Ghanain gift.
I can’t help but make an analogy to my growing into Ghana. The seedlings are currently in little plastic bags resting on the ground, soon they’ll be planted and their roots will reach deep into the red African soil. I continue to nurture young teachers, their teachers and district teachers who in turn will nourish their seedlings in the form of students. Though my roots are resting on this soil and feeling more and more grounded every day my hope is that my work will take root as I find my way home at the end of my volunteer tenure.