Kumasi, Ghana
Posted by pertorkelson | Filed under Ghana
Last week I received my first Christmas gifts, and the package was sent by my mother. I won’t open it until Christmas Eve. I also received a Christmas card from my aunt.
On Thursday (14 Dec), I went to the STC bus station in Adum to see off my German friends who left Kumasi that day. I have great memories when I think of them. From the first time I met them in the Pink Hostel in Accra two months ago, until they left Kumasi last week. I will remember Crash by being extremely happy and talking about everything after visiting Baze one night in Accra, I will remember Maria by telling me about her true love; Croatia (sorry Crash) and I will never forget Tamara in the waterslide in Cape Coast: “Ready? The heavy person!” (with an English accent just like Arnold Schwarznegger) and the stories goes on. I will see you in Stuttgart one day.
Last week’s work: we attended an HIV-meeting in Adum, I taught two days at the evening classes, updated documents and records, interviewed orphans. But the most special and emotional assignment last week, without any doubt, was our visit to the Edwenase Rehabiliation Centre, where we interviewed 12 disabled youths. We came to the rehabilitation centre and received a list with names of 13 youths (the worst cases), which we all interviewed during three hours. The first person we interviewed was a 14 year old boy, who told us that his biggest problem is that he wants to live with his uncle, but that he’s not allowed (because of legal reasons). The boy started crying at the end of the interview and it made me sad seeing him cry. The next person we interviewed was an 18 year old girl and she began to tell us about that her daily life in general is very tough; that she can’t afford daily life basic things, doesn’t have money to buy materials so that she can produce in school and that her footwear has been spoiled since a long time. When I heard all these things and she sat in her wheelchair and started to cry, then it was very difficult for me to hold back my tears. I had to look away and I tried to write what she was telling us, while Mr Abu embraced her to show concern and care. I saw that Mr Abu also started getting tears when she told us about her life situation. Another boy we interviewed was a 21 year old one, whose father died last year. His father had big debts and when he died then those debts were inherited by the rest of the family, and as they were in a tough financial situation, they couldn’t pay it all off and we found out that this boy’s family was evicted from their apartment recently. When I heard one sad story after another, it reminded me that some people just don’t know how lucky they are. But one of the worst cases that day was a 29 year old man who was completely blind and walked around with a cane and had problems walking too. He was laughing continuously (he was mentally challenged in some way). We found out that his mother was dead since a long time and that he sometimes stays with the stepmother when they vacate from the rehabilitation centre. The centre manager at the rehabilitation centre told us that the 29 year old man’s real father lives in Germany and he was visiting Kumasi two weeks ago, but the father refused to visit his blind son at the rehabilitation centre. We were also told that all the brothers of the 29 year old man have been put in schools by the father, but the father has refused to put his blind son in a school for blind people. I sighed when I heard this and it was an emotional rollercoaster inside of me. Mr Abu got very angry when he heard about the father and as for me, I was even more sad when I heard that this 29 year old man only had one visit in 6 months (and it was the stepsister). When everybody else has gone home for vacation, this 29 year old man has been left at the rehabilitation centre for three consecutive times, because no one wants to come and pick him. Another boy who we interviewed told us that his “only” problem is the loneliness that he feels; when he’s at home with the family then they never let him participate in any activities. He even told us whenever they go to church, he has to remind his family that he wants to come along, but the answer they give him is that “it’s too difficult to find transportation for you”. Oh, oh, oh! When I heard this, it almost became too much to handle for me emotionally. It was really emotionally pressuring listening and meeting these people, hearing about their lives and looking at which situations they are in; physically disabled, mentally challenged, poor, neglected (sometimes fully) by their own families, never receive visits etc. Once again I and Mr Abu told each other that; “there are so many people who don’t know anything about how lucky they are, being healthy and having someone who cares about them”. This day was definitely the biggest challenge since I arrived to Kumasi, Ghana.
This week at work: it has been mostly office work and at the evening classes we have had maths exam and yesterday we had English examination, and I was very happy when the men took the maths exam, because they felt very confident. Tonight we are going to give back their results and it is the last lesson for a couple of weeks, then we are giving the men and women vacation and we start again in January. It will be nice with a break for us too, because we have other things to focus on.
Today I haven’t been feeling well at all, so I have tried to rest and take it easy in Dote and Adukrom.
God Jul!
4 Responses to “Kumasi, Ghana”
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Kusin Niclas Says:
December 22nd, 2006 at 12:06 amJa du Per, vad skall man säga?? Jag följer dina texter noga och får själv stockningar i halsen. Förstår att det är jädrigt tufft för dig o Mr Abu. Här håller man på med julförberedelserna och har så mycket mat i kylen att man idag fick starta upp det nyinköpta extrakylskåpet i förrådet för att få plats med alla julens läckerheter. Livet är bra orättvist. Hoppas du snart mår bättre och att du får en riktigt god jul, för det är du ABSOLUT värd.
Många kramar!!!
Kusin Niclas -
Joel Says:
December 29th, 2006 at 7:22 amTjenare Per!
Riktigt kul att få vykort från dig. Det verkar ju vara ett riktigt intressant och utvecklande äventyr du är ute på. De är nog lite Lotta Frizton över dig ändå : )
Hoppas att julen ha varit bra!
Du får ha ett strålande gott nytt år!!!
Ha de bra
Joel
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Maria Says:
January 21st, 2007 at 1:03 pmHi Per,
How are you? I hope you are fine. Ich habe dir eine Weihnachtskarte geschrieben, ist sie noch nicht angekommen?
Jog saknar dig!! And I miss Ghana.
Do you have the right email-address of Lexi and Julie? Did you meet them again?
I hope you have a good time,
cu,
take care,
Maria -
Crash Says:
January 21st, 2007 at 1:10 pmYo Per,
whats up? I miss my old roommate!
I hope you still enjoy your project work. Did you already travel around?
Ähm… you gotta come to Stuttgart (the most beautiful city all over the world!)
Looking forward to hearing from you!cu, Crash
