Kumasi, Ghana
Posted by pertorkelson | Filed under Ghana
I have left Accra for now, with great memories in mind. I met lots of people there and I have several people to call the next time I come back to the city. Now on to my life in Kumasi…(20 Oct) I left Accra for Kumasi at around 04:30 am on a 5 hour ride on an STC bus which included laughter, bumpy roads, a not so great Ghanaian movie (”Woman On Top”), a German girl laying next to me taking half of my seat with her rear part of her body (I’m trying to write in a proper way). Six volunteers including me were picked up at the STC bus station in Kumasi and introduced to each volunteer project, and afterwards a British guy called Paul (working for the same NGO as me) met me and took me to our host family. Paul is a real nice guy with a motivation to work for the people and really trying to make things happen, just like me, so I’m pushing him all the time. I’m sharing a room with him in the Dote area in Kumasi, which is a city with more than 1 million inhabitants. Our host family is great, and the people from the family living next to my and Paul’s room is; Sadat (man, 22), Suweba (17, woman) and Madame (around 60, woman). Then we have Sala (24, woman) whose siblings Sadat and Suweba live with their mother Madame. Sala is living with Mr Abu (36) and their son Mumin (who will turn 3 on Christmas day) in Adukrom (another area in Kumasi). Mumin is an amazing kid, funny as hell and I have never seen a kid eat like he does (he eats more than what I and Paul can eat together). I gave Mumin a Pippi Long-stocking doll as a gift and whenever he sees me he shouts: “Mr Erik, Pipi, Pipi!”. People call me “Mr Erik”, because pronouncing “Per” is too difficult in general for the Ghanaians. I gave Sadat some sports clothing and my Reebok shoes I bought in March in Stockholm (do you remember David?), and he was very grateful. I didn’t think of giving away my Reebok shoes now, but I have another pair with me and when Sadat told me he’s a runner then I thought he could have them instead. The next morning he had cleaned them and they looked brand new.The first night in Dote was really warm, and since it stays around 21 degrees Celsius and above all night long then it gets warm in our room when you don’t have a fan. I’m also already used to a cock outside who makes noise sporadically early in the mornings and the neighbours playing reggae music before 06:00 am. The reggae music is really nice though waking up to and lots of the songs are either Ghanaian or Nigerian. I have also bought my first Ghanaian CD album with an artist called Obrafour, he’s one of the biggest right now and he performed before Jay-Z played in Accra a couple of weeks ago. Some of the songs on the new album are really great. I currently use one of Obrafour’s songs “Ako” as a ring tone on my cell phone.
The second day I was in Kumasi I met Mr Abu, he’s the head co-ordinator of the NGO I’m working for, called SYDD (Solidarity for Youth and Disabled Development). It’s an organisation working in different fields, but it’s working mainly with an orphanage and street children, currently there are 71 orphans; most of them have lost either one or both parents. SYDD also works with some ladies from the street working with sewing machines and SYDD also run evening lessons for elders trying to learn basic English and maths. I met most of the orphans, both girls and boys in the beginning of the week when it was a public holiday. We gave them drinks and biscuits and they are lovely kids, you feel very appreciative when they want to talk to you all the time and keep asking: “When will you be back Mr Erik? When will you play football with us?” I have told Mr Abu that I have definitely come to the right forum and NGO, because I like that there are different problems and things to work with all the time. E.g. this week I have played football with the boys from Nuriya Islamic school, I have handed out TB (tuberculosis) reports to health centers and clinics; I have worked in the office with the computer, paid a visit to a juvenile center (Akodabone) with children who has committed various crimes, we’ve had a meeting with OICI Ghana (who is funded by USAID) about a food delivery etc. I make sure there are things to do everyday.
Some of you are probably wondering how the food is, and I can honestly say that I enjoy almost every meal I have (but it’s always too much on the plate). I have never finished eating everything on the plate, because here in Ghana if you do eat everything then it’s a sign of something bad, it means that you are still hungry. In general the Ghanaian food is quite spicy, they eat a lot of rice, chicken, pasta and lots of other fried dishes. I drink mainly water all the time and since my host family and most of the people around me are Muslims, there’s no alcohol at any time. Sala (24, woman) is the one that cooks all the meals and she is a really good cook, she also serves fresh oranges or bananas every evening after dinner which is great. I love the oranges. Speaking of the oranges, one evening Mumin put an orange in his mouth and looked at me and kept it in his mouth for about 20-30 seconds without holding it. That’s the one time I have laughed the most since I arrived in Ghana. My host family also won’t let me do my own laundry, so I give them my laundry and they will do it for me (clothes, sandals etc). As you can understand they really treat you well when you live with them.
Another thing worth mentioning is the shower situation in my house in Dote. Sometimes the water is running in the shower, but I haven’t experienced it yet, instead I’m using a bucket of water and poor the water on myself with the help of a kalabash shell. I’m already used to it.
The weather in Kumasi so far varies a lot, everything from sunshine to rain, but one nice thing I truly appreciate is that it’s between 21-31 degrees Celsius all the time, no matter what time of the day it is. For instance when I, Paul, Sadat and Sadat’s girlfriend Elizabeth were at Lake Bosumtwi last weekend, then it was sunny and very warm at first and then we had some heavy rain showers when we travelled back to Kumasi.
Let me tell you about the traffic; the taxis, cars, tro-tro’s (minibuses) and so on. All I can say is that the traffic here is a well-organized chaos, with everybody honking the horns all the time, trying to get customers or just telling you that someone is standing in their way. I have been in several taxis and tro-tro’s so far and most of them are in a very bad shape and it feels like you are lucky when you have arrived to your final destination. When you get into a taxi that is quite nice, then it feels strange, because they are in minority.
Another thing which I ‘m already used to is the phenomenon that they cut the power here. No matter where you live the power is on for 48 hours and then the power is off for 12 hours in your area, and so it goes on all the time. Either the power is off between 06:00-18:00 or 18:00-06:00, so you have to remember to charge your cell phone, computer etc when the power is on. Speaking of time, for those who don’t know, Ghana uses GMT (Ghana Maybe Time).
I have got a membership at the British Council for 6 months, so that I can go and surf the Internet whenever I want to and also read British newspapers and magazines, borrow DVDs or books if I feel like it. I will probably only use the internet service, but I like the idea of just showing your membership card every time. The membership cost about 30 USD for 6 months (around 210 SEK I guess), which is not so bad.
One of the most special things that have happened during the past week was when I was with Sadat and Mohammed Ramadan (Mr Abu’s brother) down in Aboabo when the Alahbar celebration took place. It was incredible to experience so much people in one street celebrating and I was definitely the only white person there, it was a special feeling for sure. I really enjoyed it and both Sadat and Mohammed Ramadan were very protective of me, they are very kind and nice people. I also got to meet part of Mr Abu’s family that day, his father and mother and some of the brothers. I love meeting new people all the time. I’m in a totally different environment now with lots of Muslims and it’s great because I learn so much everyday. E.g. I have met the highest Islamic leaders in the Ashanti region (Kumasi belongs to Ashanti region) while walking around with Mr Abu in his home area called Aboabo.
To sum it all up; I feel very welcomed in my new environment and with the host family that I have around me, people are so nice to me and wherever I go the children and grownups shout “Mr Erik” or “Oboruni” (white person, European) and come up to me, shake hands etc. I have said to Paul; “I really feel like this is my home” and Mr Abu have already told me “you should come back in 2008 when Ghana is hosting the Africa Nations Cup because you feel like family” and I feel the exact same way.
My cell phone number in Ghana: +233-24-6830917