Sweet Heart of Mine

Her gesture, motion, and her smiles,
Her wit, her voice my heart beguiles,
Beguiles my heart, I know not why,
Enriches life, my heart does Fly.

Check out this Blog...

My friend Matt and his girlfriend Angela have moved to Taiwan for a year or so, they are adding pictures as they go!

Working Hard for your Money

Getting some tips from Hard working construction Workers in Kumasi!!

Travelling through Ghana left me with feelings of Guilt when I compared our circumstances in Canada. The poverty was numbing in its appearance and scale. After awhile you almost did not notice it quite as much. I guess you just got used to it.

It is not that people do not want to work, it is that there are not many jobs that pay well. People are doing whatever they can to make a living. Most people derive a substantial part of the income from relatives living abroad. Recently I read that due to the current economic situation across the world foreign remittances have fallen by 16%. Combining this with a drastic currency depreciation of 25% and you can imagine that life is getting a little difficult for people! What would you do if your income fell by 41%!

Oh and don't forget about the price increases of food.

Here are some interesting statistics:

- The World Bank has estimated that the crisis has set back the battle against poverty by seven years, with an additional 44 million children suffering permanent physical or mental impairment because of rising malnutrition last year.
- An estimated 73 to 103 million more people will fall into poverty because of the global economic crisis. .
- The number of hungry people in the world is projected to hit a record this year – more than a billion.

I do not know what I or you can do to make this better. I just had to write about it becuase it makes me feel small.

My Favorite Kid Picture

We were walking through Patrick's family neighbourhood (Asenemaso)when we took this picture. As we got out of our car we started to hear "Obruni" coming from all over. People were coming out of thier houses to stare at us and the kids started following us as we went from house to house to say hello to what seemed like an unending supply of relatives. You had to be careful walking as it was almost like a path but with rocks and debris where you did not expect it. Lizards scooted out everywhere, some were really beautiful and others were camaflouged nicely against the walls.

The kids in this picture were the bravest!

Family Picture!

Patricks Father (Samuel Ampofo), Brother (Isaac Akowuah), Patrick and his mother (Marta Achiaah)

New Post

April 30th, 2009

I cannot believe we have only one more week to go! Time seems to be flying past. We are having a great time. Nicholas is playing with tons of kids and Isabelle is having a ball with walking around without many restrictions...having an walled property is great!
Patrick’s mom had surgery on Tuesday. She has been having serious pain in her back and we are hoping that this will help her to walk better as she has gradually having more difficulty getting around. I am not completely sure on what she had done but it must have to do with her nerves as it was a neurosurgeon that performed the surgery. She had it done at a private hospital for approx. $900. This includes a week’s stay & meals. The surgery went well and now she just has to heal! We visit her in the morning and the evening and Patrick’s sister has been staying with her. She is very strong.

One of Patrick’s old friends took us out for lunch this week as well. He took us to a “western style” restaurant...similar to a food court with a couple of different fast foods. Nicholas loved it! He gobbled his fries down and then proclaimed that this was the best restaurant in the whole world...not just Ghana! I have to admit that I too enjoyed the fries! His friend then took us on a mini tour and then to his home that is almost finished being built. It was a beautiful home and he should be very proud of his accomplishments. From my understanding he started life in a one bedroom home with his 7 siblings. He lived in England for over 30 years and recently started importing goods and re-selling them in Ghana. Standing outside of his home I could not help but be struck by the disparity of the mansion like home and the shack that was its neighbour.

Yesterday we bought our first souvenir...a beautifully carved lion. It is quite large and it stands on its own. Its mouth is open in a fierce growl – Nicholas loves it! We bought it from a man who has a “stall” outside of the Ghana War Museum. He initially asked for 20 Cedis (About $18) and Patrick got him down to $15 Cedis. P has a ball with negotiating....I would have paid double for it in Canada so I was happy either way!

Well, I better get going...time is running out! Sorry about the lack of pic’s...I can only seem to get one up at a time & it takes forever to load!

Lots to say!

Halfway break on the bumpy ride to Kumasi

We have a bit of a routine now. We sleep in until about 9:00 and then we all have showers and then breakfast is served. Patrick’s brother and his wife Georgina (Yaa) do all of the cooking and cleaning here and it is a strange feeling to not have to worry about anything but keeping my room clean. I asked Patrick why they will not let us do anything and he said that it is normal when people come home for vacations from overseas and that they would do this for anyone....Even so it is still very off putting at times.

After breakfast we usually sit on their beautiful front veranda and Patrick and his parents chat away. Patrick will occasionally stop to translate but I basically just sit and marvel. As we were talking a lady and her two children came through the gate. She had a very large scar that stretched from her eyebrow down to her mouth. I do not think that she could see out of her eye. She had a well used dress on and carried a machete in her left hand. Her children were dressed in very, very simple threadbare shifts. The eldest daughter had her head shaved (as seems to be the custom for young girls) and had a tray of small gathered fruits and peppers balanced on her head; I was struck by her grace as she walked. They were obviously very poor and none of them had shoes on.
Patrick’s father asked her to sit down on the veranda and she gave everyone a small bow before she sat. She had her youngest (a son I think) bring his bag and she took out a small pink gift bag and took out a picture. It turned out to be a picture of Patrick’s father that had been thrown out by accident. One of the children had been going through the garbage and had found it. She wanted to make sure that they had not stolen it from here as she had recognized his picture. They were thanked by both parents and Marta gave the children some food. Patrick said that they live down the road in a shack and that his father gave her about $5 last month for food as they had none. It was a few Cedi’s to buy meat, he gave her more than she asked for so she did not want the children to be causing trouble for them. I have been driving by poverty since I have arrived here but this really put it right in my face. I cried in my room afterwards at the scale of the poverty and the grace and kindness that is shown.
Last night Isaac took us to an open air bar/restaurant. I think he wanted to show us off to his friends....the music was really nice but as it got darker there were only 2 lights and everything seemed very dim and kind of intimidating. I was glad when we left...I am such a baby!
In the evenings after dinner (which has been delicious - every meal!) we again sit and chat on the porch or the patio. It has been wonderful to see Patrick so happy talking with his parents. I do not think his smile has dimmed a watt since we got here. Isabelle still will not let anyone pick her up (but she will let them feed her HAHA) and Nick is trying to be helpful for his grandparents.

After his parents and the kids are sleeping we slip outside of the gates and sit. I smoke my ass off (this is usually the only time I can) and enjoy the breeze...Patrick and Isaac usually have a Guiness. Where we sit is maybe 10 feet from the start of what looks to me like jungle -but I could be wrong! As I was enjoying my second smoke in probably as many minutes I could hear singing from far away. As it was quite late I was not sure why...Isaac said it was a church about a mile away and that they do this for all hours. He said he pities the people who live near them! There are a lot of churches here!

Sunday was a big day for the Ashanti region. It was the 10th (Golden)anniversary of the King's reign and as we were driving around we saw people drumming and having fun. It was in the Kumasi Stadium and was carried live on TV.
We also went to Obuasi to visit Patrick's Uncle. It was about an hours drive from Kumasi. He is an electrical engineer for Ashanti Gold Mines. They live in a lovely area that is provided for the workers to live in. There were big giant trees that made the area really cool. It was really nice to see everyone and Nick again had fun playing soccer with more cousins!

Well, Better get going...I am going to try and post some more pictures! I am at a different Cafe and it seems to be a little faster.

Danielle

Sorry Pictures not uploading..

I will try at a different Cafe next time.

Finally Here!

Had a rather uneventful plane ride...Nick loved it and Isabelle did not sleep a wink! I lucked out as she would only have Patrick hold her! She has been like that the whole trip...everyone is laughing about her "DADDY, DADDY, DADDY!". As soon as we stepped off the plane I was bowled over by the heat!!! It is incredibly hot and it does not help that the power goes off all of time.

We spent 3 days in Accra with Patrick's brother Philip, his wife Becky and two children. It was lots of fun and they all spoke English...which was a bonus!!! We hired a car to drive us up to Kumasi on Monday and it was 4 REALLY BUMPY Hours! I will never complain about our potholes again....We arrived in Kumasi and we were formally introduced to his Parents. They have a Beautiful home and everything is going well. I am even getting kind of used to everyone staring at us and sayign "Obruni, Obruni!" (White Person!) Everything is very loud here and it seems like everyone is selling something from thier tiny little shops that are really huts.

Well, I only have a few more minutes and I want to upload some pictures. I will try to be more descriptive next time.

One More Day!

I can not believe it but we are flying out tomorrow! It seems like the time has come so fast! I will try to post something every couple of days. I am hoping to get some great pictures that I will be able to share with you!

Here is a basic map of Ghana.



We will be landing in Accra and will be spending 2 days in the capital city. Will will then drive 3-5 hours to Kumasi.

Well, wish me luck with our plane rides...this will be the hardest part!

Ghana here we come!

Getting excited now! We recieved our Visa's for entry into Ghana! Official travel date is April 16th and we will arrive on the 17th! Not sure why this makes it feel so real! The suitcases lining the hall should have done it weeks ago...I will write more later. Check out this website if you are looking for info on Ghana.

www.ghanaweb.com

P.S Guess I must have been totally depressed by the damn election! Can not believe how long I have been away :-)