Walbridge Settlement Foundation

This is No Ordinary Old Lady in Big Girl Panties

2010-11-23T12:32:00.004-06:00

Today started out in the usual fashion. About 6AM I woke up to the sounds of my ‘pet’ rooster outside the window, crowing his head off. One day that rooster won’t have a head, or so I would like to believe, but I know he will be replaced with another, so it may as well be him. We have established a long lasting relationship after 6 weeks. It was chilly this morning, so I snuggled down under my sheet and enjoyed the last few minutes of a snooze before it was time for my walk.

My hired car is on the fritz due to some bad gas and today was my day to go to downtown, in a cab, by myself. First off though, was the walk and stop at the local ‘Kinko’s’ where the nice young lady always has my copies prepared neatly, promptly and with a smile. The electricity was off yesterday afternoon so we decided that I could pick them up on my way to Adum in the morning. Got the copies. It was now taxi time. After a deep cleansing breath, I start in. Getting a taxi in the morning here is tricky. There is a special hand gesture, with your index finger out pointing the way you want to go, then a wrist movement that I think only Ghanaians have. Most taxis are full this time of morning and some not going to where I was. I ended up walking past the roundabout in order to get one. No problem, it was still cool and a nice day for a walk, even though I was going to be late.

Finally I get a cab. There was the driver and another man, in the back seat. You know how sometimes you just have ‘a feeling’? I had one. Let me insert here, I have traveled around the world. That does not make me an expert but there are a few things that I know and precautions I always take. Never carry a lot of money, keep your passport and credit cards on your body, if you have a bad feeling go with it or keep your guard up, be sure you have copies of all your documents (passport, credit cards, etc) kept in a safe other place, if you have a purse or back pack always keep it zipped and in the front of you, be aware of your surroundings, and always be ready to scream.

Back to the feeling. I had one which prompted me to mentally go thru scenarios of what to do in case of ___________. You fill in the blank. The traffic was awful. I know the roads to Adum so am familiar with landmarks and things along the way. There is a ‘short cut’ that the driver took. Then a right turn, which was crowded, but not that bad. He suddenly pulled over and said the traffic was too bad and I should get out and find another taxi. Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding…….Insert here, I am not the brightest bulb in the light socket this early in the morning but suddenly could feel the adrenalin kick in. He said there was to be no charge…..ding, ding, ding, ding……and I could NOT get the door open. My first thought, OMG, what if we had an accident. Second thought as the man in the back seat leaned over me (and please, I am from the Mid-West and we from Kansas City LIKE OUR PERSONAL SPACE!!!!!!), my purse. The door opened and in those split seconds of them trying to push me out of the car I checked my purse, which had been zipped and secure in my lap with my arm across it, was NOT zipped! My little attached wallet was out and open, and as a couple of ex-husbands could tell you, when I yell, watch out. I started in at the top of my voice, “You give me my money back, you robbers…you give me my money back now” and I stuck my foot in the door (not bright but hey, it worked only because they were surprised at my sudden yelling and screaming). The ‘street’ sellers converged on the car, God Bless them, and I just kept yelling. By this time my yells also included some words in which my dear Roman Sisters would not approve of, but the words came flying anyway. The street sellers started yelling too. It was a yelling match, total chaos. “Damn it you little ________, give me my ______money NOW!” Don’t know that the Street Sellers were yelling Twi but I can only imagine. The driver told the guy to give up the cash. He did, I grabbed it, still swearing away (not good for International Relations but worked for me at the time) and off they went as that direction was not crowded with traffic.

Now you ask, get the license number. Well, I tried, and if it would have been a Missouri plate where I know the format of the numbers and letters, yes, I could have gotten 4 or 5 out of the 6. Here, no way, I only remember about four 0’s at the start and a 6. Call the police? What police? Where are the police? 911 does not exist. The street sellers were my police. So here I was, in the middle of the street, the nice street sellers apologizing all over the place. My money was safe (I didn’t have a lot but still money), the rest of the contents of my purse accounted for. All was okay. Shaken, scared, and disoriented for a moment, but, you don’t mess with this old lady. I had on my big girl panties! If I could have gotten a nice swift kick in, in a heartbeat I would have. Sorry guys but no mercy at this point.

And now what? Another taxi???? Walk???? Sit on the curb or was there a curb?? Cry? Suddenly I heard a voice speaking in good English. “Madame, Madame, come, come.” Here was a man, in a red truck, with a lady in the passenger seat and an older man in the back. He said, “Are you going to Adum? I will give you a ride if you wish.” Good feeling here, I hopped in the back. He asked what I was doing in Ghana, how long I had been here, and if the robbers had gotten anything. This man also apologized for the behavior of his countrymen.

We sat in traffic, yes my purse was securely tucked away and they were kind enough to allow me my own thoughts and compose myself. Gusty you say? Yes, but no bad feeling this time and it was okay. He let me off by the grocery store close to where I was going. I thanked him for his generosity and kindness.

I have been to Ghana about 4 or 5 times now and this is the first time such an experience has happened. I know it does, it does in my own neighborhood in St. Louis, as we are now the #1 City in the US for crime. BUT, for every very ‘bad’ person, there are many, many more good. Disheartened no, not really. Not surprised either. Violated, somewhat but they didn’t get away with anything, I had done everything I could for prevention and during the attempt had done everything right. One just has to pay attention and trust those feelings.

Besides, this is no ordinary old lady with the big girl panties you are dealing with! They didn’t know that.

Riding Shot Gun

2010-11-20T13:32:00.002-06:00

Sorry sorry for no blog post for the past 10 days or so. Since my trip to Tamale I have been quite busy either at the village, in Adum (downtown), getting paperwork for licenses, teaching Pizza Making Class, doing paper work, not to mention a laundry process that is different than ours. Although I must say, Irene and Laurene do have a washer so it isn’t too bad to do.

Riding Shot-Gun- “Riding shotgun refers to the practice of sitting alongside the driver in a moving vehicle. The expression was applied originally to the movie depiction of stagecoaches and wagons in the Wild West, in danger of being robbed or attacked. An employee or passenger would sit beside the driver, carrying a shotgun or rifle, to provide an armed response in case of threat to the cargo or passengers. More recently, the term has been applied to the contest of a group of friends to determine who rides beside the driver in a car. There may be elaborate rules involved in the game. It is also used to mean giving actual or figurative support or aid to someone in a situation or project, i.e. to "watch their back." This definition is from Wikipedia, giving credit where credit is due.

This term occurred to me as I rode in the cabs in Tamale. But I will expand on the term, not only to mean keeping us from being attacked in the cab (ha, fat lot of good I would be in that situation) but to also look at the ‘watch their back’ portion. And to examine that term, let’s think of the US and how they ‘watch the consumer’s back’. For example, seatbelts. There are seatbelts in the cars in Ghana…somewhere, I just have yet to find them. The US is watching our back, by having seatbelts installed in cars and there being laws to use them. If not, you get a ticket. Not so here, I wear a seat belt when with my driver but his car is not a taxi either. I can’t find the seat belts in the taxi. If you look around at the cars on the roads and the people in them, not many people have on seat belts. Along those same lines, infant seats for babes and small children? Have yet to see one in use. I have seen them on the side of the road for sale, but never one in use.

And those darn laws when you are building a house, code enforcement for electrical, plumbing, smoke alarms in your city or town. In Ghana, well, maybe I’m getting old, being a nurse and more concerned about safety, or just used to a safer environment, there are days when I wonder why more car accidents don’t happen, or you don’t hear of people dying in house or building fires that often, although I am sure they do. Example: We are living on the second floor of a 4 family ‘flat’. After the obligatory couple of adjustment days, I began to look around. There are heavy bars on ALL the windows, there is a door into the stairway going upstairs, and a door onto the porch. The door to the porch also has a huge grate that is locked at night, then the door. Robbers you know. Of course, as I thought about it, there is no way to get out in case of a fire…but we don’t have to worry about robbers. At least, that is how it was explained to me by a Ghanaian friend. I have been going to sleep at night these past weeks wondering how to get the heck out of here in case of a fire……let me jump the 2 stories…just get me out!

Back to the vehicles. It is NOT unsual to see a tro-tro (a micro bus from the 60’s) packed with people, babies on mom’s back, the top carrier piled as high as the tro-tro with stuff that is sorta tied down and sorta not, then add about 2 to 4 goats/sheep riding on the top. All that whizzing around a round about that would be virtually impossible for any person in the US to navigate. Let’s so some simple physics. How do they remain upright? I am not Catholic, but do stay with some Catholic sisters and I can say a Hail Mary and Our Father in about 30 seconds as we approach a round about to ask God to get us safely around the round about. I have yet to see a car accident at one though.

Side walks? Humm, maybe I have encountered some in Adum, but they are crammed to the street with vendors. Then there is the open sewer/drainage ditch about 2 ½ feet deep you definitely don’t want to fall into! So you spend your time walking in the street with the cars. A challenge and one must be on their toes all the time.

Another safety issue I see a lot. Barefoot children and broken glass. How those little kids miss the glass I don’t know, but they seem to. As I take my walks each day, the children all come running out of their houses shouting “broni, broni”, in barefeet, with broken glass and it truly amazes me that I don’t have any blood to mop up after all those little feet.

These are just some thoughts and observations. I am not being critical but keeping my eyes open and looking around me. How people live in different parts of the world is a study to me. Children play, adults work, laundry gets done even by hand in streams, food cooks, cars go, people travel, drink water clean or not, ways of life are different yet we all find a way to proceed with our lives. The US society is so busy trying to keep us from hurting ourselves while other societies are busy just trying to exist day to day. I gaze around myself in Ghana in wonderment some days, I think of coming home and gazing around myself in wonderment in the US. How different yet alike we all are.

Galvenized Buckets

2010-11-09T15:09:00.001-06:00

Today was a day that will stay in my memory for many years to come. As is said in Ghana, sorry, sorry, I am just writing in Word and will not edit nor correct as I am very tired and want to share my day with you. Right now I am in Tamale, in the northern part of Ghana. Not real far north, but far enough to be different from the Ashante Region. The homes are round with thatched roofs, it is primarily Muslim, more in the country (Tamale is not as big as Kumasi), more laid back (if than can even begin to be possible), red dirt, lots of motorcycles with up to 4, yes that is 4, adults on them without helmets….

I am staying with a new friend named Emelia. She has an organization she is starting to take care of the many orphaned children and the many aged (and I mean aged!) that have little family left. She has provided me with the best of meals, jollif of rice, guinea fowl, a wonderful display for breakfast, a private room with great shower (cold of course), regular toilet, nice big bed, truly the comforts of home.

We got in last evening after a long bus ride; details may or may not be later. The restroom story was the best for sure. But we got in, she had a nice meal prepared, cold water to drink, cold water to shower in, and we talked for about 2 hours afterward. Dropped into bed…up at 6AM

Again, another wonderful meal of oatmeal, fried egg sandwich (very popular here), coffee. And off we went to visit some of her clients. This is where the day really began. At 9 we left the house, it was already hot. We walked to the main road. Oh and before I forget this is the best part. The neighbors down the road have TWO turkeys….Thanksgiving here we come! It will just be a problem of quietly bagging those birds and the bus ride to Kumasi with live turkeys. Then figuring out how to kill and dress them. Well, maybe chicken will do.

So it is hot already but I have my water, toilet paper, peanut butter and jelly, and supplies to do some physical assessments…and my camera. People are VERY particular about taking pictures here. You need to ask permission, so while I have pictures, I only wish I had more of what I saw today. But out of respect, for these people, I understand. We get to the road and hail a cab. Off to visit a family with 3 children, the mother died giving birth to twins (that is common, death in childbirth) and an older child who did not like me at all! Darn scary white lady! This family was kind enough to let me photograph their compound, with the round houses, little round houses for the animals, fires, and a new mom breastfeeding a baby inside a round house. The pole up the center is a tree trunk; say 4 to 6 inches in diameter…then the house build around it and a thatched roof. There is a door and window. Dad had to go get the kiddos out of school. They come back, all on one motorcycle, no helmets. The twins were great, the male child or elder much larger than the female child or second child. The oldest female was the one that didn’t like the white lady, but that is okay, I understand. I checked over the twins…heart, lungs (cough probably from cooking fire smoke), pulse, little tummies. The little boys tummy was quite large and distended…worm’s maybe? The little girl was great. Got pictures. This father is not employed full time, there are probably 3 families, all related, living in this compound. Can I describe it? No…you must be there to hear the sounds, smell the smells, see the clothes hanging, and see the fire heated for dinner with dinner cooking early in the day. But I will say, I have seen poverty in the US…..but nothing, absolutely nothing like this before. And the people, smiling, happy to see me, happy their children are getting a rather cursory check over physically, happy for visitors.

Then off to another home. Another cab, another walk down red dusty roads, smiling people, waving and saying hello. We dodged motorbikes, bicycles, cabs, sheep, goats and cows. ( This is ANOTHER language now…not Twi. I have decided to only learn hello in this language and concentrate on my Twi.) We arrive at another compound similar to the first. The Grandmother greets us and Emelia converses with her for about 20 to 30 minutes (this is done at each stop…socializing and stating your business there). We meet the family there. I am ushered into one of the round houses to see the Grandfather. He is 85 or 90. No one keeps track of birthdates (Muslim primarily, but Christians of this age bracket, or even MY age bracket don’t have a clue about their age. He is ill and I am afraid he might be dying. He has not eaten for 2 or 3 weeks, drinks very little water or tea, is so thin I can put my tiny hands around the calves of his legs. He doesn’t poop often and urine a dark red. One foot is enlarged..he was bitten by 3 snakes on the same foot during his life. I assume the swelling may be due to tissue damage there. His knees are as big as tennis balls and larger from arthritis. I check him over. His BP is running low, about 100 / 60, HR is about 80, lung sounds good. No belly sounds, but he hasn’t eaten. Now this is what disturbs me. He is laying on a cement floor, no mattress, no mat, no sheet, pillow yes,…but nothing else. Yet, he smiles at me as I examine him and asks Emelia to find something to show me. A beat up tennis ball to use to exercise his hands. This, this is one of his few belongings and he is sharing it with me, showing me how to use it and smiling. Wow….at this point, I don’t know whether to smile with him or start crying for the misery he is in. I go with the smile and cover his hands to help him. We have a few moments of fun. Fortunately he is in no pain. I am afraid he will pass away soon.

On to a school. Another taxi, more red dirt, more cows, goats, sheep (and may I add in case you haven’t figured out, droppings in the road to dodge!). This school is wonderful. I was not expecting what I saw. This is a school for children 1 year 2 months to age 6 when the kids start regular school. We get there at recess, and you know 130 kids at recess (oh, by this time is must be 11:30 and if it was hot before, it is hotter now and the headmistress serves us water). There was mass pandemonium, how in the heat, I have not a clue, but you know kids. The headmistress shows me around, a library and they have library on Friday, a crèche or nursery for the little ones up to about age 3, classrooms for the over 3 crows. Suddenly there was total organization in the yard…children putting toys away, rolling up mats, and lining up to wash their hands. The headmistress explains it is back to class. They go to class, the women workers take the towels, and wash them so each time the children wash, which is often, they have a clean towel to use (granted 30 kids may use that towel, but it is clean). We visit the class rooms and am I impressed. The children all sitting at a sorta long desk on a bench. The 5 year olds learning division, spelling in another room….reading in another and these kids are under 6 years old. The behavior is perfect.

Off to visit another older person. This a grandmother to Emelia. Same song with the red dust, cabs, trashy street (PLEASE someone suggest what to do with those plastic bags!!!), poop to dodge, urine smell outside the homes or in the fields, and hotter. But we get to Grandma’s house. She is sitting on the cement porch waiting for us with a huge smile on her face. Again the introductions, conversation and statement of business. A granddaughter (she must be about 25 or so) gets a mat for Grandma who is 95 or 96 they think (this they knew by counting back Chiefs…not the Kansas City Chiefs…tribal chiefs). Heart rate perfecto, lung sounds perfecto, tummy sounds perfecto…some hypertension but hey at 95 it wasn’t that bad…let it go. She has some waist pain….lower back pain. But she is sitting and probably sleeping on a cement floor….and of us would have that too. Then, this was the most interesting, she has a granddaughter bring out her funeral basket. This is my first exposure to a Muslim funeral practices so some of you may be familiar. I do know or think that the burial must take place soon after death and there is no casket. The granddaughter brings out a basket about 3 feet in diameter. Inside there are calabashes (?), pans for bathing her after death, and 3 shrouds that this elderly woman has made! By hand from raw cotton. They are woven strips about 2 inches wide, then hand sewn together. Grandma has the granddaughter get me her spinning tools and proceeds to show me how this is done. The grandson is trying to explain this all to me, and in between profusely thanking me for coming over. Wow…I am humbled, truly humbled by their kindness and sharing of the intamacies of their life with me.

After this, I don’t know. How can anyone on the US say they are poor? I know they are, but these people have no beds, flies all over the place, no clean water, no potties, hardly any food to eat and what they have are carbs no fruit or veggies, mom’s dying giving birth or shortly after, families know their children should go to school and struggling to get them there, kids that are well mannered and well behaved, poop everywhere, urine smell all over the place………Emelia provided me with some experiences that are once in a lifetime. And for that I am grateful. Oh, one last note. Remember the new born babe? Well, when a baby is born that baby gets a new, galvanized bucket for his own. That may be all he/she gets, but it is his, to use for bath, washing clothes, water, or whatever. But THAT is the shower gift. That is the shower gift…a new bucket. Think of that next time you buy one.

So, off to bed. Another busy day tomorrow. Thanks for listening and reading. I wish there were ways to send the smells, the sights the sounds….

Baked Beans, Potato Salad and Beer

2010-10-30T16:16:00.002-05:00

Today wasn't as I expected, but most days are that way. Any of you who are really fanatical about lists, getting things done on time, or meeting deadlines, don't plan on spending a lot of time in Ghana. The best laid plans seem to go asunder most days. Not that you don't get anything accomplished, but this is not the goal oriented society as in the US.

Laurene, Cindy and I went to Adum (pronounced a-doom) or the downtown area as Irene is having a birthday this week. Laurene needed to get her a present and fabric was the item. I LOVE to go fabric shopping, especially here. I could fill my suitcases with yards of beautiful fabric to bring home! Colors, designs, textures, it is a virtual haven for fabric freak like me. Then another trip to Opoku for supplies…this is a daily event here.

We caught a cab to Adum and got out in the heart of Kumasi. Saturday, market and shopping day, cars, loud African music, people everywhere and poor Cindy has to herd Laurene and me around in this confusion, making sure we don't fall in the open sewers or get hit by a car. She takes us to fabric stores, I look, touch, feel, and dream of how beautiful these pieces would be made up in a long skirt, or maybe some nice table linens for a very festive table, tote bags, shirts, and I wonder if I can get by with wearing a lab jacket to work in some beautiful bright colored Ghanaian fabric? Okay, no more dreaming, this is serious business. We find a piece of fabric that screams IRENE all over it, so we purchase. I drool, they drag me out. Up the hill to the post office. Not your usual post office as all the boxes are outside, under cover but outside for 24/7 access. Cindy gets the mail for Laurene, and Laurene turns me loose to go 1/2 block to the book store man. Now, first of all, Edward NEVER turns me loose. That spells trouble. I have 1/2 block of total freedom. The book seller man has a great place on the street with a ton of books (literally). Lots of medical books, law books, old Time magazines, old National Geographics. Next to fabric, book stores are my favorite! Cindy and Laurene show up with the Book Store Man himself in tow. We are introduced and he hugs me like we have been friends for 40 years and I haven't seen him in 25! Anyway, this is funny because last night we were talking about him. He has this 'shop' and then his home, which was described as being very nice, very large and full of books. I saw pictures…rooms full of boxes of books! He invites me over to see his house before I go back to the US and that will happen!

Next off to Opoku again. My favorite spice lady vendor has spices for the spaghetti tonite (how did I get stuck cooking 2 nights this week????) so I am pleased. Laurene is in Opoku standing by her tote basket which is on the floor. The place is packed. She reads off the list, Cindy and I run and get stuff, bring it back, dump it into the basket and before you know it, the shopping is done, complete with Chinese toilet paper, which is 3 ply I might add for extra strength I guess. I call Edward who has ended up getting his car fixed all day. He says he will be right there….hummmm, I have heard that before just a few hours ago. While in the check out line there are two abrone girls and I start a converstaion, as usual. They are from Germany and here for a year working in an orphanage out of town. We check out and go outside to wait for Edward. There is a plasic table with chairs we can sit at, so we set our stuff down and get comfy.

Darn, forgot the chocolate. Back into Opoku runs Cindy. Now let me explain something here. If you look up Ghana exports, you will see that cocoa is one of their major exports…and gold. I have yet to see any gold shops or fine jewlry shops in Kumasi (maybe Accra has them all) and chocolate????? We went to three places today and couldn't find a bit! Okay, maybe not a good year for production.

As we waited for Edward, the girls turned me loose again and I walked up the block to the Opoku Wholesale shop. I go in. This is the Sam's Club of Ghana…100 pounds of rice..you got it, 6 pack of Corona (that IS bulk by the way) you got it, Boxes of drinking water, you got it and I think I even remeber a 12 pack of Coke. It was great. I only wish I could get pictures of these places, or you could experience them first hand. It is truly wonderful!!! Really.

Back to the girls. I am sitting with them watching the women with their wares on their heads. Fish, water, fabric, anything you want to buy, it is on their heads. I see a lady walk by with ribs on a tray on her head. My thoughts immediately turn to….KANSAS CITY BBQ!!! Baked Beans, Potato Salad and a nice cold Boulevard. It is hot enough, and my mind drifts. I find myself smiling, thinking of great times with friends, eating ribs, baked beans, potato salad, sigh…no I am not homesick but food sick. Laurene jars me back to reality. "hey Mary, there are those rats you were talking about on your land last week" and she points to the lady and the 'ribs' on the tray. WHAT????? I look closer. Darn she is right, those are road kill grass cutter, flat, hard, and looking like a slab of ribs.

Moral to this day, well, I love Ghana. I love being here, I love being hot, I love cold showers, I love the people. Thus, ribs, baked beans, potato salad and nice cold beer. Things I love and am thankful for each day that God has given me to be here. Each day I learn something, experience something and make a new friend.

A visit to the Asantehente

2010-10-28T16:20:00.003-05:00

Wow! What a great day today was. First of all I could sleep in a little bit. Second, today was court day at the Royale Palace so Edward and I left the house at 10AM to see the events. Let me say to start that, most of the pictures that are included are NOT mine. Pictures are not allowed in the Palace and I will not take pictures of in or around government buildings. That just seems like an international incident in the making. There may be included a couple of pictures of the outside the palace, of the Adrinka symbols decorating the fencing that are mine.

Some history of this Court, as I understand it. The Asantehene, or Ashanti King is not the president of Ghana but the king of the region and people where I am located. He has a beautiful palace in Kumasi and presides over and settle disputes for the people. I am quite sure he does a lot of other things also, but this one of his duties as king. Now, whether these settlements are legally binding per Ghana law, I don't know. He holds court two times a week, unless he cancels as in the case of this past Monday. Many of these disputes have to do with the deceased and their families. For instance, Edward told me he overheard one woman say their loved one had not been buried for 7 years because of a family dispute over land. Another woman was in some sort of problem with a 10 year old child who had not been buried. I did ask about where these people (the deceased) are and Edward assured me they are in a mortuary somewhere, hopefully on ice. But, imagine not being able to have the finality of burying or cremating your loved one because someone in the family (and this could be extended family) has some objection to a land claim or what ever.

We arrive about 10:30AM after the usual traffic in Kumasi. It is here I will tell the story of what I saw on the road to the palace. For those of you faint of heart or love animals, DO NOT READ! As we were driving through one section of town, I saw a man off to the left with the normal 'stuff' on his head, and then things over both his shoulders. Over his left shoulder, it looked like a dog. Indeed, it was a dog and as we passed him, I saw it was a dead dog. I asked Edward about this, thinking of Lewis and feeling sad for a few moments. This dog the man was carrying was dinner for him. Fortunately, breakfast had been a few hours earlier.

We arrive at the Palace and it is buzzing with activity. There are many cars in the car park and even more people milling around in the car park dressed in funeral clothes. Edward explains to me that there must be many disputes over the property or problems with the deceased, and this is traditional dress. We walk into the large open court yard in the palace grounds where we meet up with the nice gentleman we spoke with on Monday. He helps us get our own plastic chairs (for 50 pesowas each) and they are placed for us near an overhang. All around the yard are living areas for people built into the walls. The whole time we are there, there are women going in and out of some of them selling water, restocking, and back out. Edward had called the Queen Mother from Kyekyewere to meet us. She came in and we offered her a chair. This is a social event also and she was off to the meet and great with her friend at her side. She is a popular woman and knows many people in the crowd. Inside the court yard a mode of 'working the crowd', meeting people, chatting a few moments, seeing and being seen, then moving to the next person was going on. I even knew about 5 people there either from Kyekyewere or people I had met on my travels around town!

The Queen Mother had moved on to a more 'exclusive' area where we were not allowed. Probably an area for those who are close to the King. The Elder went along with her so Edward and I contented ourselves to relax in the chairs and watch the people. He has the advantage over me though as he can eavesdrop on the conversations and I can only people watch. But, I love the people watching. The variety of fabrics used, designs in the fabrics, how the men wrap themselves in the cloths, the women and their clothing, the shoes…it is absolutely fascinating to me to watch and see all that is going on. There must be maybe 3 yards of fabric that I would guess to be 60 inches wide that is wrapped around the men. Now, what you might ask is underneath? Let me tell you, I saw basketball shorts, hiking shorts, cargo shorts, regular shorts but my favorite was the middle aged man with the regular shorts low on his hips and the NIKE underwear band showing! The men then take the cloth, center it on their body about the back, take about 1/2 up the width on each arm and do this wrap thing that no matter how I studied the technique, I cannot explain, nor could I do. But, the outcome is most attractive. The black cloth may have gold designs in it, a lacy edge, Adinkra symbols woven in, so many possibilities. A fabric freak like me goes nuts in such a situation. There were a few men in shirts and ties and I recall seeing a suit or two but Western clothing was rare.

Through-out the crowd there were vendors selling wares. This is not obnoxious vendors selling 'stuff', but nice mannered women and men with water on their heads (in plastic bags about 500ml each) or gum, or ice cream, papers, hankies to wipe sweat (which is pouring off me), Mentos, and of course the calendar with the Asantehente's pictures all around the months. Didn't check if it was this years or on to 2011.

The crowd was calm respectful and by in large quiet spoken. There was the occasional greeting of two or three men who apparently hadn't seen each other in a while. Cell phones were quiet, there was an air of calm, of course it is a little difficult to get worked up in the heat or at least I think so. A couple of Chiefs came by our seats. You can tell a Chief or Nana at a formal occasion as many have their entourage and umbrella boy carrying a large umbrella over the Nana's head.

Some people behind us and to the right moved their chairs away. This spot was right by the entrance door, under the eves so if it rained we would be dry and the major bonus, out of the sun. Edward moved us there and it turned out to be a great spot. If I needed to see anything, I could just stand on my chair to look over the heads, as when the Asantehente came in. I sent Edward out to the car to get my overheated, two day old peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It was past noon and I was hungry. Travel tips: 1. always carry toilet paper and/or wet wipes and 2. always carry a PBJ or crackers or cheese or something to eat that will stick to your ribs.

As I was enjoying my lunch in the shade, in walks a man with a sheep. Sheep here don't have all the wool sheep at home do, thus my confusion on goats and sheep. About 5 minutes later another man comes in with a sheep, then another with 2 sheep. Then the guy with the case of booze. Edward explained this may be to pay off debts later. The sheep and alcohol go back into the area on the other side of the court yard. There seems to be a lot of commotion in the back, and a most of the people leave that area. All is quiet again and the crowed evens out. Then, the big moment.

The Asanatehete enters the court yard. This happens without any announcement so I am caught by surprise. I scramble up to stand in my chair and a nice gentleman comes over to me to tell me to watch for the umbrella. There are men in the procession carrying a stool, and the sword and some other gold relics. Then comes the King under a huge green umbrella and behind him the 5 guns we saw at the Palace on Saturday. There are a couple of army or police, but not many, walking along side. The King is seated under a roofed in area on a platform with petitioners in front of him. Proceedings begin, and from here out I don't understand all that is going on. I must confess though I did pick up the use of a couple of my Twi words and felt quite proud. One side presented their story, the other side their story. Each side may have 30 to 40 people with them to help tell the story. Multiply that by the numbers of cases that might be present or wanting to be heard. The King said something and there is a man who says 'yum' after every sentence the King says. I guess to tell us to listen up. This went on for about 45 minutes. I made faces at the baby in front of me, watched people, and tried to understand some of the words. Edward sensed my loss of interest and suggested we leave. I came away with the thought of, if one thinks the wheels of the US Court and Government move slow, come to Ghana and you will see a real court back up.

Outside the gates, there were vendors and people milling about. The car park was somewhat empty and no one had blocked us in. There was no organized parking there, so it could have been a possibility that we would have been blocked in by 1 or 2 or 3 or more cars.

So off we went, after seeing the King! What a beautiful day it was!

Looking for Mozzarella

2010-10-26T15:16:00.003-05:00

Deciding on topics to blog about is always difficult for me, not being a writer. Today I decided that it is not important that I write on a serious topic, something earth shattering, or depressing, or way of life that, by our standards, needs to be fixed. A more routine day here in Ghana is just as important as there are lessons to be learned,.

At the end of each day I make a list of things I would like to get done the next day. Sometimes those goals are met, sometimes not, but it is a map of the day's plans. Today's goals were to go to the University, to visit the pharmacy schools and nursing schools. If possible to speak with the Deans of both colleges about lecturing on a guest lecture basis thinking that some extra CD's ($$$) never hurt. Having some affiliation with one or the other college would also be good as a source for students for the clinic. Nest, to Barclay's Bank to set up an account, Opoku Trading (my favorite and only grocery store in Kumasi), then home.

I started out for the University this morning. It is along way to there from here and actually one needs a camera to take film of the traffic, and how the drive goes. For you all in St. Louis,Highway 40 in the rain or snow during rush hour is a walk in the park, believe me. I arrived about 40 minutes later and found the pharmacy school. Nice buildings, students around, all dressed up and wearing white coats, very professional and impressive for an outsider. After asking directions about 15 times, I found the Dean's office. Thank goodness it was air conditioned because it felt wonderful. The Dean was at a meeting somewhere about a PharmD program. I made arrangements to call and make an appointment for later. Another twenty questions later, I found the nursing school. A v ery nice lady gave me insructions as to where to get an application, fill it out, fifteen copies made of that plus my resume, and whe would give it to the Dean who was ill that day. So, back to the Administration which was about 2 miles away to see Charles on the 4th floor who has the applications. Now, the humor here, Charles has a nice office. Not like a Western office, but a nice office. No file cabinets though. He files (and most everyone I have seen in Ghana) in the horizontal method. As I was waiting for Charles to find an application, I studied the horizontal method. There were groups of papers, composition books and like items ( I assume) bound together with string. Then those bundles stacked on top of each other. Truly, I could not even begin to make heads or tails of the filing system.

Back to the nursing school, with my filled out application, resume, business card and Irene was kind enough to offer water and a chair in another air conditioned office….YES!!!!!! I explained that I have no way to make copies (darn Office Max is closed…right…WHAT Office Max???) and would she be able to guide me to a place that could make the copies. Of course, no problem, for X number of CD's SHE will do it. That beats running around campus and a city of a million looking for the same thing, so I left papers with her, got both her number and the Dean's number and will call next week, hopefully for an appointment.

Whew…all that was 2 to 2 and a half hours. Lunch time…my nice fresh grown banana and some cookies on the run, along with the water. Now back to Adum (downtown) to Barclay's. April 2009 I was there finding out about a bank account. Got sick, did nothing, but before I left this time I did have Emmanuel sign the papers and got the documents from the US I would need copied and brought along. The bank was packed and fortunately I go to the corporate banking. I found the corporate section, got past the guard and found my way to where I remember speaking to the man in 2009. Of course the man from 2009 is not there anymore but I was directed to a very nice man who took the time to help me recreate the application steps. Yea….but….NOW I will have to get my status papers from Accra (that means the government office) on an NGO. The government experience will be many blog posts!

Fortunately Opoku Trading, right across the street from the Bank. My MOST FAVORITE PLACE. They have foods from all over the world. Tomorrow night I cook dinner and Cindy's choice was home made pizza. When I was at Opoku Trading yesterday I forgot the Mozzarella… s0 that is my main reason for being here today. Please, do not think of this store having a whole section of cheeses…the whole store is about the size of the cheese section! Off to the back near the registers…there are two rows of freezers and four upright commercial refrigerators. I find the refrigerator with some cheese and at this point begin to pray they have mozzarella. Edem, Enthemaler, yellow chedder, white chedder, then Wa Laa…a HUGE and I mean HUGE package of Mozzarella! Yes, Ask and ye shall receive…in a huge quanity! But not to fear, I reach way in the back behind the large packages of Mozzarella, and there are some smaller ones, just right for the Pizza.

And where does this leave us? Starting with a list of things to do, the back up contingent plans just in case there are problems, and looking for Mozzarella for dinner. Get your list together, be persistent, patient and kind….and the mozzarella is in the back!

Water.....pure and simple

2010-10-24T03:16:00.004-05:00

I awoke a few days ago at 4:30AM Ghana time to the sounds of the woman in the apartment downstairs doing her dishes, the ever present rooster crowing, dogs barking, and there was a new sound of distant thunder. It was still dark outside but as I looked out the window I could see lightening in the distance. I lay in bed wondering if it was worth it going back to sleep. The temperature began to drop in my room. I got up, closed the windows, got back into bed and snuggled under my sheet a little more, and watched Cindy and Laurene close the kitchen windows. The rain began to fall, softly at first then increasing in intensity. Somewhere in time I fell back to sleep only to wake with a drip drip drip on the floor in my room…yes the ceiling leaks.

This morning started with water and as the day progressed I thought more and more about water. We all know of the water crisis in many countries around the globe, we know not to drink the water in Third World Countries, we know that hundreds of thousands of people die every year because of water borne illness. I came close to being one of those statistics. But, today I looked at water in a different way. DEALING with unclean water on a daily basis from morning to night. Think about it. What do you have to DO in the US to make the water clean for use? Think about the water you use every day, what you might use it for, where you might use it, how do fetch it, where does it come from, where does it go, how much do you waste? Let me take you on my daily journey with water from Kumas and Kyekyewere, Ghana.

Look at the chemical properties of water. "Two hydrogen's and one oxygen bound together by covalent bonds. Water may exist as a liquid, a solid or a gas. Water covers 70.9% of the surface of the earth and is vital for all known forms of life. On earth, water is found mostly in oceans and other large water bodies, with 1.6% of water below ground in aquafers and 0.001% in the air as vapor, clouds (formed of solid and liquid water particles suspended in air), and precipitation. Oceans hold 97% of surface water, glaciers and polar ice caps 2.4%, and other land surface water such as rivers, lakes and ponds 0.6%. A very small amount of the earth's water is contained within biological bodies and manufactured products. Water on earth moves continually through a cycle of evaporation or transpiration (evapotranspiration), precipitation, and runoff, usually reaching the sea. Over land, evaporation and transpiration contribute to the precipitation over land." That information was from Wikipedia, I don't remember all that from Pharmacy School or Chemistry but I think you get the gist, we are here by the Grace of God and water.

Remember the morning started snuggled under my sheet listening to the rain fall outside then the gentle dripping from the ceiling onto the floor inside. When in Kumasi, I am most fortunate to stay with two Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary. They live in a three bedroom 2 bathroom apartment, with a washing machine. Pretty nice digs for Ghana. (This you need to know because my daily dealings with water are no where near my friends in the Village of Kyekyewere where the Health Clinic is being built.) I crawled out of bed, through the ceiling drips on the floor. There is a toilet with running water. It works funny and is in a separate room from the sink and the shower, but it is a 'regular' toilet. The toilet room is one place I don't have to worry much about water but am grateful for it being there. I go next door to wash my hands with soap and water from the tap. I go back to my room, get my toothbrush, toothpaste and a bottle of water. I wet my toothbrush with the water from the bottled water, put some toothpaste on the brush, brush, then rinse my mouth out with water from the bottle. Next, I rinse my toothbrush with water from the bottle. No using the tap here…why, because I have no clue where the tap water comes from other than it comes from a large tank outside the apartment building. Once the water goes down the drain, I don't know where the water goes after toilet, sink, or shower. Needless to say MSD (for those of you not from St. Louis that is Missouri Water/Sewer District) doesn't have a branch here.

Next into the kitchen to make coffee. I grab a cup, and a bottle of water from the fridge. Fill the cup with the bottled fridge water. This water has been boiled the day before and purified overnight, then the water bottles filled during the day. I set the microwave (hey, we do have some comforts) for about 2 minutes, get my boiling water out, add my two teaspoons of instant coffee and sit down to chat with Laurene and Cindy. Then off to the shower. Now the shower isn't too bad, just that I can't shave because that is how I almost died last year. Bummer! Last year we had to take bucket baths because the water was not working out of the tap in the house. I turn on the tap for the shower. Remember it is a chilly morning for Ghana. There is one temperature and it isn't hot. Nothing like starting your morning off with some real gusto. After the shower back to the microwave to warm up my coffee to take the chill off.

After dressing I prepare for my morning in the village for an initial meeting with Nana and the Elders. I make sure to have about a liter of water with me that is drinkable for the morning. By now it is getting hot and I begin drinking a lot of water. On the way to the village there is a 'creek'. After the rain this morning, the creek is now approaching river stage. The road is not paved, the dirt has a red tinge to it, and the land is getting washed out around the creek. Edward had to put the car in 4WD to get through the mud. This creek is important in the lives of the villagers in the area. It is used as a bathing facility,a place to wash clothes, a gathering place for the women to chat as they do some of their daily work, and probably a source of water for cooking and drinking.

The content of this day is not important for this discussion so let us fast forward to later in the afternoon. Cindy fixes dinner and I help. Usually at home, I clean and wash dishes as I cook, but Cindy will rinse the dishes, then saves them until dinner is cooking to wash. All this time a huge pot of water is on the stove heating to a boil. Once that water is boiling, some is used for washing and rinsing the preparation dishes, the rest will be used for washing the dinner dishes and pans. We have dinner and tonite it is my turn to wash dishes. I scrape and rinse all the dishes, putting the garbage in the pail and stacking the dishes to be washed. To the stove for some of the boiling water, and enough tap or cool water to comfortably put my hands in, and some dish soap. Dishes are done as normal but the rinse water. Again, boiling water from the stove and some cool from the tap although this time I leave the rinse water a little hotter and let the dishes soak to get rid of the bacteria. A rinse and dry then finish up.

To bed, well the same tooth brush routine at in the morning.

And your water? Did you have to brush your teeth and use a bottle of water for rinsing? Were you able to have a hot shower in the morning? Were you able to rinse your dishes in hot water if you washed them by hand, or maybe use a dish washer? How much did you waste today, letting it run while you brushed your teeth, or make a trip to the fridge while cooking? What about your laundry? Did you gather it in a basket on your head, walk two or more miles to the overflowing creek to wash by hand?

This entry may be a little long, maybe even a little too much detail for you. But getting clean water is a long and detailed process in Ghana. I am blessed to be staying in a wonderful home where the water details are small. I think of the Village of Kyekyewere and what the residents do there for clean water. The residents don't have a tap to turn on in their homes for water. It is carried from the well or the creek. That water is not boiled before use, it is not clean (I have a sample if you want to see sometime), it is used for cooking, washing, laundry, drinking, what ever you use water for. You or the children must carry it from the creek or well, on your head. I guess having the water bottle in the bathroom to clean my toothbrush isn't that much of an inconvenience, and I can live without a hot shower for a while. Every time I use water, get thirsty, see water, see laundry being done, dishes being done, ANYTHING that has to do with water, makes me think about where the water comes from, reminds me not to waste, and makes me grateful for clean water.

Did you ever once today think of where your CLEAN water comes from? All you have to do is to turn on the tap. I don't think of it either much when in the US. But in Ghana….it is a different story. Every single time I use water, yes, every single time I use water here, I think of where it comes from, is it clean, where does it go afterward, will I have water where I am traveling to, will I have a toilet with water where I am going to. Water….think about it.

Catching up in Ghana

2010-09-29T15:46:00.005-05:00

In the last post you learned some about the building process for the Clinic. That was just the building. There are plans also for a well with purification system on it and latrines. We can all learn about that later. My apologies for the lack of pictures on the slide show and movie on this blog. It seems as if I just can't get Picasa and Blogger to connect, thus nothing happening. But I continue to try to figure it out and one day, wa..la, it will be there. I have about 50 pictures from Ghana in the movie that I so want to share with you all. Have faith, the will appear, someday.

This morning I Skyped with a friend in Tamale. He is from Zambia and is completing his training with the Christian Brothers in Tamale. We met last April on the eventful trip to Tamale and have continued to email, Facebook, Skype ever since. He is a very nice and talented young man that has chosen a profession dedicating his life to his people. Our chats always leave me hopeful and excited to return to Ghana. We discuss his current studies, his hopes, his fears, yet this young man's dedication and optimism leave me with a feeling of joy and happiness in my heart. As I think about that, all my Ghana friends provide that feeling of being loved and cared for. They are wonderful people. Hopefully, I will be able to take a week and visit with Sydney and the Brothers and meet Emelia, a new friend in Tamale. She works with orphaned children and the elderly in the Tamale area in the northern part of Ghana. Emelia and I Skype frequently also, sharing ideas and information about our projects. I have offered to spend some time with her also as she makes her rounds, examining children the elderly.

Sisters Irene and Laurene are back in Kumasi after the summer in the US. Their wish list is in my hands, taking over those oh so yummy American treats they miss. Even Cindy, the cook has a list for me this time! Parmesan Cheese (only the Kraft kind) measuring cups and things of that nature. Last year it was note cards. Did you know you cannot find note cards in Kumasi...Office Max are you listening? Cool Whip packets, tea...just little things of enjoyment. I am anxious to see their new apartment and spend time with them again. Laurene and Irene are working on a library at the Spiritual Center in Kumasi. For many years Laurene has been holding a lending library on the porch of their home a couple of nights a week, then on two other nights, she tutors English. My friend Lydia from Kyekyewere has been taking English lessons from her and sent me a letter this past winter that she wrote herself! Now the Sisters are in the midst of building their dream library at the Center.

Actually I was going to write about the state of health in the Village of Kyekyewere and my plans for this longer trip. But, I gabbed on about my friends instead. That is good; you should meet Sydney, the Sisters, Cindy and Lydia, then Daniel, Edward, Emmanuel, Nana and the list could go on. You would love them too. Maybe tomorrow I will tell you of my health plans for the trip.

Remember your donation for the clinic building and/or medications is much appreciated by the Village of Kyekyewere. If you send me a picture too, I will post it on a board with other donors so the Villagers can 'see' those in the US who care about them.

2010-09-28T21:10:00.000-05:00

Building a Clinic in Ghana...What really goes on!

2010-09-20T20:23:00.004-05:00

Plans are beginning to take shape and form for this coming trip to Kyekyewere, Ghana, West Africa. Even though there are so many preparations to make, I know it will come together even at the last minute!

Over the weekend I spoke with Nana, the Chief of the Village. He assures me all is well, his family, my friends, and the people of the Village. They will continue to make more blocks for the clinic so that building may begin.

In the last post, I informed you of what was accomplished in 2009. Land Title, land cleared, block making machine purchased, blocks made and Nana is in the process of having more blocks made over the next few weeks. We should be ready to begin building. It will be exciting to see the land marked off for the clinic and to begin to build the footings for the building and maybe even a wall or two.

Let me explain to you a little of what I know about the building process in Ghana. The blocks are made, one by one, on site, thus the block making machine. These blocks are made of cement, sand, and water. This mixture is then put into the block making machine, two men squish the top of the machine down to form a block. The blocks are then removed and stacked. Yes, that is as you read one by one. The blocks are about 18 inches, by 9 inches, by 5 inches and very heavy. There should be about 2500 of them made now, all by hand. You get the idea the building process is very labor intensive. Once the block walls are up, there will be a finishing coat of a plaster or cement over the blocks. Cement will make up the floors, but I feel it necessary to have a drain in each room with pipes that lead to a grey water area in order to properly disinfect and clean the floors. Close to the top of the walls, maybe a foot to 18 inches down, there will be blocks with design openings in them to promote circulation throughout the clinic. Then a tin roof will top it off. These plans are quite subject to change, but you have an idea of what the process is like. Nana, his advisors and I will need to discuss these plans in more depth once I am there.

At the top of this post are pictures of the block making machine and some of the blocks so you can get the idea of what they look like.

Didn’t know I would need a degree in construction too! There is always something to be learned in this world, and sometimes ignorance is bliss when learning a new ‘craft’.

A bag of cement costs about $35.00USD, a truck load of sand about $70.00USD with delivery. Each bag of cement mixture makes about 30 to 35 blocks. If you wish to contribute to the block making, please use the Pay Pal button on the Blog or on the www.walbridgesettlementfoundation.org web site, under donors, at the bottom.

2010-09-16T21:22:00.001-05:00

The end of another summer, only this one not quite as sedentary as last. As I sit outside, enjoying the cool air, watching the sky darken, my thoughts turn to a small village in Ghana. Kyekyewere. You know, that Village I have visited several times now. The one where I am working to build a health clinic. Only my last visit turned into a near death experience for me, thus the long absence from work on the project.

You see, we women shave in the USA. My accommodations with the Sisters were beautiful, but most of my 3 weeks there we didn’t have any running water into the house. So, making do as one does in Ghana, we would bucket water in for toilet and bathing. Drinking water was all bottled and purified. Yes, I know I am a nurse and a pharmacist, and I am more than aware of the problems associated with the lack of clean water, but it really never occurred to me that bathing, nor shaving could have near disastrous effects. That small little spot under my arm I noticed prior to my departure turned into a massive cellulitis by the time I got to New York about 48 hours later. And, yes, I will admit, not following my Doctor Daughters instructions of going to the hospital immediately, almost cost me my life. But I was so close to home….so close…. I could make it home. Yes, that I did, and, on the humorous side, know how to get through the packed waiting room at Barnes Hospital. But as my blood pressure continued to fall, more IV’s started , more tubes being put in and the questions of my next of kin, religious preference, legal advisor, and oh by the way how do you feel about intubation began to hit me, I realized just how sick I was. Thank God for the many prayers from the Sisters in Ghana, The Christian Brothers there, my friends here, I made it through, but am not 20 anymore either, so the healing process has been long.

Over the past 15 months of recovery and getting my life stabilized again, my thoughts turn to Kyekyewere daily. Friends have come and gone to Ghana this summer. How I wish I could have joined them. Friends from Ghana call and wonder where I am, but I don’t think they quite understand how sick I really was. Sister Irene and Sister Laurene are here for the summer, and will be going back soon. And so will I. The doctors have given me clearance to go, providing I get some gamma globulin and carry a stock of antibiotics. Water…well, a little bleach in the bathing water should kill the bacteria or maybe just not shave at all! There is much to do there, so I plan on spending almost 2 months overseeing on the clinic building and getting legal papers taken care of.

On the last trip, Nana, the Chief of Kyekyewere, titled over the land for the Clinic to the Walbridge Settlement Foundation. I was able, through your generous donations, to purchase a block making machine and the last I heard over 2000 blocks for the clinic have been made. Sand and cement and labor from your donations made these blocks. I went to Barclays Bank to get papers to open an account there. A trip to Tamale in North Ghana gave me insight to a beautiful health compound Dr. David has established for the HIV/AIDS patients. He also brings in lepers from the East for care. It was an amazing visit…so clean, patients so well taken care of, so orderly. A goal to reach for. Seeing the round huts for patients and family to stay in, peeking into the operating room, visiting with some of the patients, and a very nice (and very tired) nurse spending an hour showing us around are just examples of the orderliness and generosity of the people there.

So you can see why my thoughts turn to Kyekyewere daily. There is much to be done which necessitates a longer visit. But I am anxious to return. Anxious to see Nana, his wife, Daniel and Naomi, Lydia, Sisters Irene and Laurene, my new friend Emelia in Tamale, Sydney in Tamale also. Mercy in Accra, Edward, Emmanuel and Joseph my drivers and dear friends. Anxious to see how the children have grown and what new babes have been born. Anxious to spend time in the heat, (yes, that too), see what new adventures await, get some stakes out for the building, meet with Nana and his Elders….so much. And maybe even an ice cold Star beer!

Things are moving along. This past 15 months has given me time to reflect on plans, develop goals, think about what is important to teach the people. Your help will be needed. Any donations will be more than appreciated. Money for the building primarily, but also some medications to purchase while there. A donor has given me a microscope to take this time. Various donors have contributed almost $3000 for the building…this will go a long way. And anonymous donor has given $2500…can we meet that? The people are so grateful. They have enjoyed pictures I have taken of various donors. The people in the Village can see a face from across the world that has given up a couple of lattés, or a piece of clothing…for them! They are grateful.

Keep you posted on the plans. Medase!

2009-05-12T07:03:00.003-05:00

Catch up day

2009-04-28T12:40:00.005-05:00

Sometimes, the best laid plans of blogging every day do go astray. Oh well, in Ghana, that is fine. As I was drawing water this morning, and thinking of what all needed to be done on my 'day off', thoughts turned of what to write about here. The exciting Sunday at the Durbar where we were at the Kumasi Soccer Field, with thousands of people? Seeing children in the village yesterday? How the land is coming along? Discussions with Nana on how to proceed with the clinic? And then I thought, maybe, just maybe a little writing of the ADL's (for you non medical types there, that is activities of daily living) that go on here, and just why some days blogs don't get written for a few days.

So, this entry will be an informational piece on what goes on in the daily life here, in Kumasi with the Sisters. Just the household living and chores that are done each day. We have only had running water in this neighborhood one day in the week I have been here. Meaning, water that comes from the tap, running out! Now, this is a beautiful house with about 5 bedrooms and an equal number of baths or half baths, a beautiful living room, dining room, two upstairs porches, a porch across the front of the home, beautiful trees in bloom, wall around the property, tile floors, kitchen, washer/dryer, gee, most everything one could ask for. But of late, no running water, except for what comes from the spigot in the back. In the evening the night watchman, Apia, fills our 55 gallon drum in the kitchen with this water. He is proud and happy to do this, and with extra visitors, it is a full time job for him. This water is NOT water to drink, wash dishes in, just for bathing and using in the toilets.

We each have our own bucket in the bathroom for water...bathing, other washing, flushing. So, of course during the day, if we are around like I was today, I go out to the spigot (don't want poor Apia to work too hard and we do all share tasks) and fill some buckets for Kathy and myself. Those get filled, and have to be taken upstairs. This may take 15 minutes, or more depending on the water pressure. And for sure at night, I am compulsive on filling my bucket for that awful, just-in-case time I get the tummy issues. Then in the morning, once again, but generally I use the water from the plastic drum in the kitchen, call me lazy.

Brushing teeth, well, that is water that we have boiled and filtered. Then we fill old wine bottles and store in the fridge. So, another bottle of water in our rooms for any oral consumption. I hope you are beginning to get the picture that getting up and dressed in the morning, can be a very labor intensive process!

In the evening, sometimes Cindy, the house help, fixes dinner, or we trade off fixing dinner. Like last night I offered. Thank goodness I threw in a couple boxes of macaroni and cheese (Kraft) at the last minute. We had that and salad and the best fresh pineapple. But doing dishes involves boiling water for wash and rinse water. Fixing vegetables, well, those are purchased about every other day from the road side, are cleaned, then soaked in a small amount of potassium permanganate to kill any bacteria, and rinsed with clean water. So a salad, is an hour process to fix. And doing dishes, no dishwasher here. We all chip in and wash, dry, clean the table, put things away etc. All in this heat/humidity.

No wonder come evening, we all collapse! But this is a different way of life. And when I get home, well, how appreciative I am of being able to turn on the tap and get fresh clean water to drink, or turn my washer on to do clothes, or load the dishwasher up with a couple days of dishes to do at once, then put away all clean and sparkling!

Enjoy the picture of Nana driving his gold Mercedes from Sunday and I will tell you all about that maybe later tonite or tomorrow. We whizzed thru Kumasi, intersections, lights, dressed in our Kente, parking in front of the stadium....

Thought for the day

2009-04-23T03:12:00.004-05:00

Happy Thursday to all! Just a quick thought upon arising here in beautiful Kumasi. One should never, never take the comforts of life for granted. For instance, the cool running water (not at a high presure but enough to bathe and clean in) from the tap yesterday, can be gone when you wake up in the morning! Enjoy your hot showers and be thankful for them.

Ah yes, and one more thought for the day. Always wear steel toed shoes in tropical climates no matter how much going barefoot is appealing. Those stubbed toes REALLY hurt! :) But free toes to wiggle also feel good. Maybe, just watch where you are walking would help!

Carpe Diem

Wednesday

2009-04-22T15:09:00.004-05:00

And look at this crew working on clearing the land this morning! Nana had the most wonderful surprise for me this morning at before our 10AM meeting. Edward and I were there early, and Nana met us at the door, telling us to go to the land. And as we walked toward the land, here it lay before us, about 1/2 cleared of the vegetation! What a wonderful surprise and how exciting to see work being done. Of course there are palm trees to be cleared and we will leave the large trees for shade and fruit, but this was a great gift. We have discussed planting the land this year for 2 crops of corn with part of the monies from the sale of the corn to go to the Foundation.

I then met with Nana, his uncles, Mom and Elders concerning transferring land title to the Foundation. We had an excellent discussion and the land will be the Foundation's in Perpituity!

Now, are you interested in giving feedback? Anyone know about goats? How to milk the little critters? Maybe how to make soap? Any other uses for goats (besides eating???) Just a thought for the economy here to help the villagers fund the clinic. How about trash bags? You know, those black plastic kind? Global Momma's makes little make up bags from them (crochet) but what about cleaning them, twisiting them into a 'yarn', any information on that? Composting? Help there too? Gosh, with 2 acres of land, part can be a garden for a while. There is so much to learn, observe, ask, and of course with a different society and lifestyle, well, I do ask a lot of 'stupid' questions...but necessary. Any kind of recycling information for the clinic land is more than welcome. Not to mention health teaching information, etc.

Sunday is a Durber the Queen Mum has invited me to. Guess I had better get out my Kente for this...the Asanti king's 10 anniversary is being celebrated at the beautiful stadium in Kumasi that day. I know, take plenty of water and my Driver Edward!

This has been a beautiful day. God has blessed me once again. As I sit in the home of the Sisters of the BVM, feeling (well, imagining) a breeze through the window, listening to the night sounds of Ghana, I know that slowing down to enjoy the flowering tropical trees, examining how a yam grows, watching a villager clean corn off the cob for flour...well, there are many many things we have to be thankful for, each and every one of us.

Akwaaba

2009-04-21T06:40:00.002-05:00

This is just a test post for now. I have arrived in Kumasi and the most generous Sisters of the BVM had a delicious meal and beautiful room awaiting my arrival. But most important is the company they provide and conversations about their work and mine that develope. So much to be learned. This is the perfect enviroment to, relax, enjoy the beauty of nature (and yes, even the roosters at all hours), converse, and contemplate my work here. Edward should be here soon and we will visit Kyekyewere so I may begin to gather my thoughts as to what needs to be done. You see, in my haste of packing, I forgot the most important white notebook with my notes. But people are helping me remember, much is in my computer or in notebooks, so it will be alright. And tonite, after homework here, plans to be made, I will try to post some pictures of the Manna Mission in Teshe and other pictures taken on the long drive from Accra to Kumasi. So, onward, drinking tons of water, sweating it out and loving every minute of it!

Edge Outreach Water Conference

2009-04-12T19:51:00.006-05:00

The weekend of March 20 and 21, I attended the Edge Outreach Water Conference held at Dardenne Presbyterian Church in St. Peters, Missouri.

http://www.edgeoutreach.com/) There were about 50 people there to learn about a simple, yes simple, water purification system. Not only did we learn how to put one of these together, but also educational tools to teach to the people to prevent the spread of disease. After all, if you have clean water, but don't back it up with clean hygiene practices, it rather defeats the purpose. It was an intense two days, but well worth the time and energy. We spent half of each day setting up a system, one day a one tank system, the other day a two tank system. Then the other half of the days we learned about the importance of hygiene teaching, and ways to include ownership of this system by the village peoples. Most of the supplies can be purchased in the country where one is going, and maintenance is taught to the villagers so this is a sustainable system of water purification. Can you imagine how many illnesses can be prevented with JUST CLEAN WATER??????? I am anxious to share this experience with Chief Nana upon my return next week. And, to begin some elementary teaching classes now.

A referral

2008-11-26T08:47:00.001-06:00

As my daughter Erin, is doing such a great job of journaling about our trip, I am going to refer you her her blog. http://dullpost.blogspot.com/ for a more descriptive narrative of our ventures in Ghana. Enjoy!

Visiting another Village and Hospital

2008-11-08T16:37:00.011-06:00

As usual, things get rather jumbled when you don't have access to a computer all the time, and what access you do have can get a little iffy at times. How lucky we are in this country! So, I will retrace in depth, some highlights of our journey and learning experiences.

First let me tell you about our trip to the village where Pastor Gabriel is. This is a village along the Sunyani Road, on the way to Kyekyewere, where Pastor Ben (in Kumasi) and Emmanuel Opoku (here in STL) are working on a sanitation project. Our first stop was at a home. It consisted of 3 rooms, one that was the 'kitchen' or primarily storage for cooking utensils and some food, a hallway that lead to the second room which contained the occupants clothing (a man and wife live here) and another room with mosquito netting and only large enough for a double sized mattress on the floor. The gentleman was kind enough to allow me to take pictures of his home. His home are the pictures you see above. The kitchen area, where the shelving is, is only for storage of cooking items and some food. Food preparation is done outdoors. Actually most living is done outdoors.

We then visited the village latrines, yes, that is village latrines. You see, the village is about 1/4 mile from the potties. In the women's side, there were about 6 small 'stalls' which inside were a hole in the floor, a basket for paper (like newspaper, magazine paper for wiping) and that was it. Now, being a nurse, I have seen and smelt things that are quite unique, but I about made it 2 stalls down before gagging. This type of set up is not uncommon there. While I purposly haven't gone into explicit detail, nor included the pictures I took, it is important for us to understand the lack of not only water, but clean sanitation facilities. These are the things that make diseases common areas like this, diseases we rarely see in the US. This spread of disease is why education, sanitation, clean water are important. Such simple tools to provide good health.

Pastor Gabriel then showed us the remainder of the village. I will insert here that during this tour, his little 3 year old girl had my hand and was following me along in her bare feet. She was proud when we reached her family and we were able to meet her Mom, brothers and sisters. A huge smile broke across her face as she looked at them, then at me. We were made very welcome and the children shyly practiced their English skills with us.

Later that day were visited a hospital in Dafura. It is about 50 beds consisting of a women's ward, men's ward, pediatric ward, labor/delivery/post delivery ward and 2 operating rooms. It is built in a square with a nice large open area in the center. All the windows are covered with mosquito netting and all the beds were full. In the lobby of the out patient department, there must have been 80 to 100 people waiting....waiting to see the ONE doctor on duty for the entire hospital. He not only sees the out patients, but makes rounds 3 times a day. Nursing staff is there to assist. We saw the laboratory, dispensory, medical records area and both OR's. Seeing this facility was good as I began to formulate in my mind what is needed in a health facility in Kyekyewere.

So, I think I will leave you with these thoughts now. Seeing for myself what I have only read about or seen pictures of, was a learning experience in itself. One cannot begin to envision the need for items and practices that, in the US are common and expected by patients in the health care system. When one doesn't have even clean water, how can one expect to raise a family to live to adulthood? See their children educated? See their grandchildren run and play? One may not see their child reach the age of 5 years and every day is a struggle against disease and potential death. My cold shower that night was a blessing....

Tomorrow I will post about our meetings with Nana and the customs involved in the discussions along with the outcomes of the discussions.

From GhanaWeb

2008-11-08T10:04:00.001-06:00

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=152500

2008-11-06T06:29:00.003-06:00

Wow...so much has happened the past few days. We were in Accra during the election process here in the US and Erin stayed up all night (day) and watched with our hosts in Accra. We took a lot of Obama buttons with us and everyone in Kyekyewere, Kumasi, and Accra wanted one.
It is good to be 'home', although we aren't in St. Louis yet. The cool weather feels wonderful and a hot shower....what luxury that was! So another flight home today and then my own bed.
Our trip was a huge success in more ways than one. We were able to establish some relationships there, got some estimated prices on buildings, and made many notes on what the WSF would like to accomplish.
This is a quick entry as another airport to conquer today. Will have a more extensive report in a few days.

Saturday Novemberr 1

2008-11-01T15:08:00.004-05:00

Hi All! Happy Halloween a day late and I do hope you are all well. These past few days have just flown by. We have visited with 2 Chiefs now, and another was interested in a health clinic. My priority though is with Chief Nana at Kyekyewere. We have had a number of visits with him and his elders and he has even come to the hotel to 'chat' on his way back to his palace after filling in for the Ashanti King (the King was in South Korea). Yesterday we met Chief Nana's family and discussed the clinic. An architect has drawn up plans and hopefully Chief Nana and I can discuss those before we depart Kumasi in Tuesday.

We have visited a health clinic and hospital (or did I tell you that already?). These were interesting and gave great examples of the standard of care along with how business is run. We also visited another village where sanitation facilities are in dire need. One little girl, about 3 or 4, took my hand and walked with me as we toured. I understand now why the people in the middle ages carried a pomander with them...fortunately a cold, kleenex and some patchouli helped in this visit.

Today we saw about 50+ patients at the Chief's palace in Kyekyewere. We could have seen more but between the heat, no lunch and being very tired...well, we had to stop. I was quite surprised to find the numbers of hypertensive adults is very low. But, they do exercise (walk everywhere) and have a low sodium diet for the most part. We gave out a lot of vitamins to adults and children who were with their parents. Some skin disorders were seen, actually one very interesting child with two sores about the size of a quarter on his left leg. Both sores had good granulation tissue although one did have some pus. Dr. Erin cleaned them up and referred him to the local clinic as she thought they may be due to an internal infection of sorts.

Thursday night we had a wonderful dinner with Sisters Irene, Jackie and Lorraine at their house which isn't too far from our hotel. They are lovely ladies and the evening flew by. As for food we have had a good mix of the local and pizza. Breakfasts can consist of omlet or sausage (wonderful but I won't ask what is in it!), toast (sometimes with mystery meat inside) and canned baked beans! Most days we don't get lunch as we are visiting or traveling. Then dinners may be of the local variety, chicken, vegetable rice, a salad with beans and mayo (no thank you there, the mayo sits out all day), baku ( a corn-like dumpling), talapia, or fufu. Thankfully, non dried fish...yet!

We have seen all kinds of sites in and around Kumasi and will get some pictures posted probably when we get back to the US. It is a little difficult to do that here. We did get to the cultural center for about an hour a few days ago and such beautiful hand work from jewlery, to prints, baskets, batiks....carvings.

And....I must share this with you all before I leave for the evening..yesterday I was made a Queen Mother! This is quite an honor...I even got to sit on the 'stool' used for Chief's and Kings! I was presented with my own Kuente cloth 'outfit" at Madame at the hotel has provided me with dress jewlery (necklace and bracelet ) and everyday bracelet that signifies a Queen Mother.

Edward, our driver, is great. He takes such good care of us, translates and keeps us in the know!

So, while we have along way to go, Life is going well here in Ghana and I am pleased with the progress we are making in discussions. That is very important in the clinic establishment. Each day is a new adventure...and each night I collapse into bed and awaken to the Muslem Mosque across the street (that is at 4AM! then 5AM)! Truly a cultural melting pot on our little block.

So...we will go to a celebration at Pastor Ben's church tomorrow afternoon. And in the morning take a little side trip to visit the local lake. We are in need of a break and relaxation.

If it's Tuesday it must be Kyekyewere

2008-10-28T13:34:00.000-05:00

Akwaaba from Kumsasi! For family and friends, we are here and arrived safetly, all be it, a long day and long flights. The flight from JFK to Accra wasn't that crowded so I was able to sleep somewhat laying down. We arrived on time and breezed through customs. Emmanuel was there waiting for us so we collected bags and boxes, and out to the care. Edward is our driver and we have a nice 4WD. All the luggage was able to fit in the car so off to Kumasi. That was a long ride as there was road construction....now for those of you from St. Louis, this construction makes the Highway 40 project look like child's play. They rip up the whole road, re-route you along side a dirt road along the side of the construction site. And traffic...well, I won't comment on that.

After a stop for lunch at the famed Linda Dor rest stop, back in the car. We all slept almost all the way into Kumasi. We arrived at the Beauty Queen abour 3PM and were shown to our rooms. Amy and Lizzy, if you are following, Erin has your room. I am fortunate to have the Fred Garvey Memorial Room! We contacted Daniel, Pastor Ben and Bea. After a dinner of some pretty good pizza, along visit with Daniel and Lydia (who was quite sick) it was good to get a shower and literally crawl into bed about 8:30. The staff at the Beauty Queen sends their greeting for those of you on the Habitat trip last year. The Madam, Quamie, Hobie....

This morning we had a great breakfast of scambled eggs, baked beans and sausage (that would be hot dogs to all of you) and some great instant coffee. Edward picked us up at about 9AM after Daniel arrived. We were off to Kyekyewere. This was the informal meeting with the Chief (no Schnapps this time Ken, that is the formal meeting on Thursday). We were seated in his Palace in a semi circle. The Tribal Elders entered and Chief Nana last. We were officially greeted and welcomed. Part of this custom includes sharing a beverage and the Chief kindly provided sodas for us. Then I was asked to speak. After thanking Chief Nana and the Elders for their kind hospitality, I explained our visit and briefly what we came to accomplish on this trip. Erin to see some patients, discuss land and building and medical legal issues and Chris to explore water, electricity and sanitation.

Chief Nana arranged for an architect from the University/Habitat office to be there so that we might explain what we will be needind. The village is in need of a 'maternity' hospital. In order to actually see this, we went to a CHPS facility clost by where there was a birthing facility. The nurse there was more than kind and showed us the small compound which included a labor room, delivery room, ante-natal room, and 2 general exam rooms. There was also a dorm facility on the property. Toilet facilities were outside. Pictures of this will be posted later as the computer servers are slow here tonite.

Daniel took us back to the village and we were able to see the existing wells, and, the houses that were built by the group last year. This was a long day, so back to the hotel for a nice late lunch and nap.

Pastor Ben and his wife, Pricilla, came by in the morning to greet us. Then Pastor Ben also stopped by late this afternoon. We will go see his sanitation facilities tomorrow afternoon after we visit another hospital. These visits to various hosptials and clinics are wonderful as we are able to take pictures and visually see how the medical facilities are set up. Same with the water and sanitation.

The people here are most interested in the US Elections. The weather is hot, partly cloudy..and the people are wonderful as ever.

The server here in Ghana is running slow this evening. So I will close and pray that this message gets posted. Hopefully, tomorrow we will be able to post some pictures and write more.

All our bags are packed....

2008-10-25T17:50:00.002-05:00

And am I exhausted! It was a busy day getting the dogs to the kennel, more sorting and packing, listing, laundry...well, you know how it goes when you are leaving for overseas. But we are ready to go. Dr. Erin has called a couple of times and she is all ready to go too. We meet at JFK tomorrow around noon and get to spend the afternoon there before our flight to Accra in the evening. It was such a beautiful day outside today and when driving back from taking the dogs to the kennel, I enjoyed the trees and colors against a clear blue sky. They will probably be gone by the time we return. It is hot in Ghana and looks like rain most of the time we will be there. So, it is early here, only about 6PM but 3AM will come all too soon and there are some last minute things to accomplish before bed. More from Ghana!

A week and counting

2008-10-19T18:22:00.002-05:00

It hardly seems like it will be a week until we will be winging our way to Ghana. This picture is from the plane last year as we flew over the Sahara. Couldn't see the desert but the clouds were beautiful. This time we will be flying at night though, so hopefully we will be asleep. Today was such a busy day, it just flew by. We got our clothes together and Chris hung a line outside and sprayed them all with long lasting (through 4 washings) mosquito repellent. Of course in the middle of that project one of the dogs got into some mouse poison that was in the garage so off to the vets to induce vomiting and a 3 week round of vitamin K for Thumper.

While Chris was off doing that, I spent 2 hours in the basement organizing and making an inventory of supplies, one for inside the box and another for the notebook. People have been so generous and we are doing well. One box is ready to go and we will probably have two more of medical supplies. I have picked up most of Sister Irene's wants and those are ready to be packed. We also got some crayons and construction paper for the children to draw us pictures that will then be made into cards to sell! My notebook of information is getting full of the don't forget information, phone numbers while we are there, and discussion points for the various people we will be meeting and talking with.

Friday Harriet and I had lunch. She was kind enough to fill me in on the appropriate manners when meeting with Chief Nana Yaw. Emmanuel's father will go with us for the initial meeting as we need an 'elder' to go along. I must remember to get a bottle of Schnapps for him once we get there. That is a tradition in Ghana. We then share a cup of the Schnapps.

This week I will call the hotel again to double check on reservations, contact the driver, and try to contact Chief Nana Yaw. Plus do some shopping for the fill in items still needed.

Erin is working this week, all week, so it quite busy at the hospital. When we spoke yesterday, she is getting her clothes packed and getting her donations organized too.

Postings will get more interesting once we get there. I just thought you all might like to know how much is being done here at home! And I am off to bed!

Two weeks and counting

2008-10-11T10:14:00.002-05:00

This has been a busy week with a lot of paperwork to do. Dr. Erin and I have been working on a H&P form (for you non-medical types, that is history and physical) in order to capture the data we are looking for, keep it simple, and hopefully get it on a computer. Of course, electricity is always at a premium there, so that can be a problem. The village has none and the hotel...well if someone trips over the extension cord from the Volta River Dam...everyone down stream is out of luck! We will get that figured out. Also, another issue is to tag pictures (possible skin infections etc) with the chart. Hummm...any ideas?

A neighbor brought down about 3 large trash bags of items for us. My basement is begining to look like a warehouse. These were mostly gauze pads, PVP iodine in great handy to carry packets and gloves, lots of gloves! Part of yesterday was spent organizing that. I will also be taking items over for Sr. Irene and Emmanuel..then bringing things back for them. Now, looks like I am down to two changes of clothes! :) That is fine tho.

As you can see, our web site went live this week too. I hope you like it. Brian did an awesome job with pictures and getting it set up. Thanks Brian and Vintage Turtle (his company). I also spent some time at REI yesterday, got some really cool bug spray that you treat your clothes with and it stays in for a few washings. Then I thought a nice collapsable 5 gallon water jug with some purifier tablets would be a great addition, if nothing else for Dr. Erin to wash her hands in between patients.

This was just a little check in, to let you know we are getting organized for the trip. Monday I will call the Chief again, and my friend Daniel to let them know we will still be there.

Thanks for following our project. If any of your are on Facebook, look under Walbridge Settlement Foundation...there are some great pics (Thanks Terry Shaw from White Plains, New York!) of the people and homes. And almost time to start taking the anti-malarial!

October 1, 2008- Pre-Trip

2008-09-30T20:48:00.003-05:00

Only 25 more days until we leave St. Louis for Ghana. There is so much to do in preparation I sometimes wonder if it will all get done. My list of things to take for friends there is longer than my list of clothes to take! Plans have been made for the driver to pick us up at the airport. The Beauty Queen has our reservations for staying in Kumasi and I have asked Sister Irene's assistance in contacting Chief Nana Yaw explaining our plans. I called last week, but don't think he understood all I was saying! There are certainly challenges. Neighbors are begining to bring over the counter medications down and nursing friends are packing boxes. Dr. Erin is gathering supplies from Temple University Hospital from her friends. She even has asked that she be given no birthday presents this year, but donations for the Villagers of Kyekyewere! Happy Birthday Erin! Today I organized all my papers and am begining the list making for discussions with the Chief, the Representative from the Ministry of Health, supplies, and of couse what room there will be for personal articles. Someone send me some peanut butter and Pepto Bismol! Vintage Turtle is helping get the web site up too...so we are making headway. I am excited to see old friends and meet new ones, like Sister Irene who has been a tremendous help in communications. Pastor Ben too...he has made 2 or 3 trips to Kyekyewere to personally visit with Chief Nana Yaw on my behalf. Tomorrow will be another day comprised mainly of computer work for Vintage Turtle...wait till you see the web site. It is beautiful!