Although Dave and I are living in Africa because of the abundance of gold on this continent, Ghana’s number one industry is actually cocoa. In the mid 1800’s a Ghanaian named Tetteh Quarshie, who was a farmer at heart, traveled to Equitorial Guinea (a country southeast of Ghana) with the intention of bringing back cocoa beans to plant. According to Michael (and folklore), Quarshie ATE the cocoa beans, and that’s how he safely transported them back to his home (you can deduce for yourself how THAT happened.)
Between 1910 and 1980 Ghana was the world’s largest exporter of cocoa, and continues to be of the highest quality. The country has earned hundreds of millions of dollars annually from the export of the beans and processed materials. Nestle has a regional office here in Accra, which I was sure would mean that my choices of chocolate would be immense. Not so. While Ghana does have a small cocoa manufacturing plant in Tema (city about 20 miles east of Accra), there are no other such processing plants. The vast majority of the cocoa grown throughout Ghana is exported and processed in other countries.
As mentioned in a previous blog entry, Ghanaians LOVE signs (or sign boards, as they call them over here). There are signs EVERYWHERE, but this one, in particular, stood out. It’s just not something you would expect to see in the U.S. It was enormous; had to be 30 feet tall (hard to miss). Pictured was a little boy, about 5 or 6 years old, holding up his hand as if to give a “high five.” The sign said, “Pledge to get rid of diarrhoea….Life Buoy.” I did not misspell diarrhea….the sign maker did! Obviously, Life Buoy is promoting something a little different than Dove! Another sign I saw the other day was “Toilet Puller,” (waste management). Made me laugh!
From time to time, Dave brings home the local newspaper - The Daily Graphic. In a recent article, I discovered that only 10% of homes in metropolis Accra have indoor restrooms. We’ve been told that there are 4 million people living in Accra, but I’m not sure how the reporter defines “metropolis Accra.” Regardless…that’s a LOT of people who have no access to restroom facilities. It is very common to see men, in particular, peeing by the side of the road. It’s not only common, it’s perfectly acceptable. No one blinks an eye….other than this Obruni! It still bothers me, mostly because it’s so unsanitary. Having said that….there are no public bathrooms. There are no “blue rooms.” And, according to the paper account, there is no other choice.
The lack of facilities also contributes to disease. The article went on to say that there had been 17 reported deaths from Cholera since January and more than 600 reported sicknesses. Keep in mind that these are only those deaths and illnesses that are reported. I would venture to guess that there are many more unreported cases, especially in the more rural areas of the country. Poor sanitation has been blamed for the outbreak as transmission occurs primarily by drinking water or eating food that has been contaminated by the feces of an infected person (have I grossed everyone out enough to quit reading??).
Michael and I see many different things as we drive from place to place. One day we saw a whole line up of UN (United Nations) tanks pulling through town - no idea where they were headed. As poor as the people are here in Ghana, there are also lots of people who obviously have money. Although many of the vehicles on the road that are in terrible shape (wobbling wheels, windows broken out, doors and trunks bungeed shut), so too are their luxury cars. This was a gorgeous white Porsche parked in front of us at the light. I told Michael I was taking the picture so that Dave would know exactly what car I wanted to buy when we returned to the U.S. in a couple of years!
On our way home from the gym one morning, Michael got to laughing and pointed out a man who was driving his motorcycle….with a goat laid across his lap. Michael assured me the goat was alive. Unfortunately, they were too quick to get a picture!
Abject poverty exists in Ghana still. Michael drove us past the Neema slum one day, and all I could think of was “Slumdog Millionaire.” If you’ve seen this movie, you’ll understand what I saw. I’ve recently discovered that there is an even worse slum - Sodom and Gomorrah. It is not only full of very poor people, it’s also very dangerous, according to Michael. He refuses to take me to that area of the city. He told me that a couple of years ago the government tried to demolish the slum area, but were met with resistance (understandably so). While the government claimed that the location was not fit for human habitation, the more than 55,000 people who live there have nowhere else to go. Very sad.
Michael is very religious and serves as a youth minister for his church. Unfortunately, one of his faithful was killed in a tragic trotro accident in the eastern region in March. As mentioned before, many of the vehicles here in Ghana are not road-worthy. This particular trotro was on the highway, probably moving at an unsafe speed based on the condition of the vehicle.
Ghana was the first black African country to gain her independence on March 6, 1957. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was the first prime minister of Ghana and was instrumental in the achievement of independence from Britain. March 6th is to Ghana what July 4th is to Americans.
OK….here is some GOOD news. Michael and his wife, Mabel, are expecting their second child in September or October. The new little one will join their 2 year old daughter, Nana.
Second good news….Charity and her husband, Enoch, are expecting again as well. Their son, Akufo, is 3 years old and she is due in December. Unfortunately, this story isn’t ALL good. While I’m very happy for Charity (as I believe SHE is happy) she will continue to struggle as a woman in the Ghanaian society.
Third good news (and the BEST news) is Dave’s oldest daughter, Christine, is due with her second child and our first granddaughter. It’s going to be a VERY exciting year with all of the new babies in our lives!
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Back to Charity…she told me (without me dragging it out of her) that Enoch wanted her to have an abortion, but she refused. When I asked why, she explained that he wanted Akufo to be five years old before they had another child. Well….I had several suggestions about how HE could have prevented HER from getting pregnant, but I held my tongue. Charity said that all of their friends were furious with Enoch, and that he has now come to terms with the new baby. I’m not convinced.
This led Charity and I to having a discussion about her family. She told me that her dad is 90+! Charity is the youngest of 7 children between her parents. Her mom is 17 years younger than her dad and is the 1st among 7 of his wives. Yep, you read it right - 1 of 7! Polygamy is a common practice in Ghana. She calls his other wives her “step moms.” She figures that her dad has fathered about 22 children with his wives.
Charity went on to say that her father used to be quite wealthy. Although he and his wife (#1) are from the Volta Region, he moved the family to the eastern region (around Koforuidia) in order to make a better living. He owned petrol (gas) stations, cows, and land. When Charity’s three eldest siblings become “of age” (I suppose that magical age is left up to interpretation), her father handed over the businesses to them (Adam, Pat and Eva). They, in turn, basically ran the businesses into the ground and the family lost everything. The family is practically destitute.
Charity’s father is furious at his three children. Her mom, however, is furious at her dad for being mad at the children. She says that “what has happened, has happened,” and there is no use in staying mad. As a result, she refuses to visit him, sleep with him, or to even be around him. Charity has within her the potential to be successful, but it just seems like for every step forward she takes….she goes back two.
I’ll end this blog with a funny story Michael told me. He has a motorbike (that’s what they call motorcycles in Ghana) which allows him to travel to and from his house to ours much quicker than the taxi and/or trotros. On Tuesday night he was driving home and came upon a snake. He said it was dark out, but somehow he saw the creature. As soon as he realized it was a snake, he swerved to miss it, but ended up running it over. He is convinced that the snake (being angry that he was being run over), reared his head back and bit the tire.
I know that anyone reading this blog is not going to get how funny it was to me as one just HAD to see Michael’s face and how his voice would rise anytime he would mention the snake. This is a grown man who was born and raised in Africa! Michael is terrified of animals, and according to him, especially snakes! This was a black mamba, the longest venomous snake in Africa, averaging around 8-10 ft in length. He said that this particular snake was about as big around as his forearm and that it stretched across the place in which he was driving (it sounds like it was on a very wide sidewalk). It is also one of the fastest snakes in the world, and I guess Michael knew this because he said he just kept going and wouldn’t even look back (I think he was afraid the snake would be chasing him!!).
A little ways down the road the chain on his motorbike came off (probably because he was hauling ass across a field) and he had to stop. He parked the bike, called a mechanic, and ran the rest of the way home. When he arrived at his house his wife asked him where his motorbike was, and he relayed the snake story. Evidently, he called the mechanic and told him where he could find the bike. The mechanic picked up the bike and it’s fixed. He told Michael on Thursday that he could pick it up, but Michael is reluctant to do so. He doesn’t seem to want to have anything to do with his bike. Dave is worried that the next time Michael is riding his motorbike he will be so worried about snakes that he won’t be focused on driving (which you really must be when riding a motorbike in Ghana) and will get in an accident.
I believe that Michael fears the snake is now a part of his motorbike since he bit the tire, and he is now forever cursed. OK….that’s my somewhat fantasy-based, warped theory.
