At work the past 2-3 weeks; loads of administrational (office) work and visits to various institutions, departments etc. We have also paid a visit to a home for mentally retarded children outside of Kumasi (Offinso). Four days ago I met a Member of Parliament in the area Aboabo in Kumasi and we discussed about SYDD’s presentation on May 5th, the Zongo (Muslim) community and he also showed me sketches of a very interesting project which he wants to start in Aboabo. Two days ago SYDD bought three sewing machines which are meant for three new female orphans, who are interested in learning the skills.

Presentation (5th of May) – The past weekend SYDD had an official presentation of mosquito nets and students mattresses for the orphans. We had invited politicians, teachers, Islamic leaders, representatives from other organizations and media. In the morning when everyone was finishing the preparations around Adukrom Central Mosque (Nuriya Mosque), where we held our presentation, I and Issah went to the Latex Foam branch office to receive the mattresses that we had bought, which we then transported to the location of our presentation. I was very happy that the presentation was held in Adukrom and that GTV (national TV) was there and did video coverage, because the Zongo community needs loads of exposure to make other Ghanaians realize the importance of not neglecting Zongo forever. The presentation started and selected people held speeches, including myself. I had written a speech a couple of days earlier and memorized it, because I feel that telling the audience something without looking in any papers gives a much better contact with the listeners. My speech included thanks to everyone who had contributed to our presentation, and also the importance of showing concern and care for the orphans (as I see it, the majority of the elders within Zongo are lacking this). Through showing concern and care, the chance is big that the child will receive a good self confidence. After the speeches we distributed the mosquito nets and student mattresses to the children. Seeing them receiving the items made me happy, because I want the needy children in Zongo to be in focus. I found out yesterday, that our presentation will be broadcasted on GTV and radio (nationwide) in a couple of days.

A thing which has encouraged me during the past week is that different people; Member of Parliament, regional directors, high leaders, doctors etc has thanked me for my great work in Kumasi and told me that I have really made an impact on people’s lives. I can feel it in my heart.

Good bye Kumasi! Two days ago I packed my things and went around in Kumasi and said good bye to my friends. The head at Nuriya Islamic School wanted to say good bye to me in the evening, so I went to him and I was given books about Islam, a watch, pens etc (everything from Saudi Arabia). It was a very nice gift and gesture, it came straight from his heart.

Accra – Yesterday I, Abu, Mohammed and Issah flew to Accra and checked in at La-Palm Royal Beach Hotel, which is a very nice place. We are staying here one night, and later today I’m leaving Accra, Ghana. It feels strange going to Europe again, as I know how different the lives are here and there. To sum it all up; I’m enormously glad and grateful for everything I have been able to experience during my 7 months here in West Africa, and Ghana is now a part of my life forever.

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Trip to the north (16^th-22^nd March)

16^th of March – This day we stayed in Tamale, we visited an aunt of Mr Abu and Issah and were roaming around the city. There aren’t any really big tourist attractions in the city, but we liked it very much anyway and also our accommodation was very nice; Gariba Lodge.

17^th of March – I started this morning by browsing the Internet at our hotel; Gariba Lodge. The internet connection at their place is the fastest one I have experienced during my time in Ghana, the speed while browsing was sometimes above 100 kb/sec. After breakfast we were picked up by our rental car driver; Stephen and we passed by a few relatives and friends in Tamale before heading for Yendi. When we arrived in Yendi, we first visited a cousin of Mr Abu and Issah, a very nice guy who took us to our accommodation for the two nights in the Yendi. It was a guesthouse for military men and district assembly men. In the afternoon we visited several relatives of Mr Abu and Issah, we drove around in town. It’s just like my mother told me; “you will never get this opportunity getting invited to so many different Ghanaian homes if you are a normal tourist” and it’s definitely true. In the evening we had dinner at the same place where we had lunch, it was a place called “Your Restaurant”. The place didn’t look anything special, but they served very good food and the staffs were service minded and friendly. That night I experienced the warmest night since coming to Ghana, it was awfully warm. Our driver Stephen, Mr Abu and Issah slept outside under the bare sky.

18^th of March – The morning started by having breakfast at Your Restaurant which served really nice breakfast. From there we got the opportunity to visit the regent of the Dagomba kingdom; Kampakoya Naa Abdulai Yakubu Andandi. Both I and mamma truly enjoyed meeting the regent, he is a very simple and kind man. After leaving the chief’s palace, we then continued our visits to different relatives in Yendi and outside of town to a village. In the village, one of the boys took us to the only dam where they fetch water which they drink, shower in and wash their clothes with. It’s sad to see, but the water was extremely dirty and unhygienic. After all the visits, we then drove back to our guesthouse to rest for awhile before going for dinner at Your Restaurant.

19^th of March – Started the morning with breakfast at Your Restaurant, and then we continued our journey going south through Bimbilla, Nkwanta, Jasikan and we finally arrived in Hohoe. The road from Yendi and almost all the way to Hohoe was bumpy and dusty, but most of the time ok. I’m glad we had a car with air condition, so we didn’t have to have the windows down like when we had the Opel Astra rental car (without any air condition). The place we stayed in Hohoe was called Matvin Hotel, and we had lunch there before going to Fesi to see some pottery and a shrine in Abgenoxde. On our way home in the evening, we passed by a village called Alavanyo, there we met Dicky Poison, a man who was drunk and told me; “do something before you die yo, do something before you die yo”. We ended the evening by having lunch at a lodge near our hotel.

20^th of March – We continued our trip and passed by Amedzofe, a nice village close to the second highest peak in Ghana; Mt Gemi. From there we drove to Tafo Abuipe, a small village known for their Kente weavers. We just stopped quickly, before continuing down to Ho where we checked in at our hotel in the afternoon. After a nice lunch, all of us relaxed in the swimming pool. Our hotel, Chances Hotel, was located in a very nice area with the Kalabaka hills in the back. We all truly enjoyed our stay; the food, swimming pool and the peacefulness.

21^st of March – After a short drive in the town of Ho in the morning, we then went to the Volta Dam and had a guided tour. The guide was around my age and most definitely the rudest Ghanaian I have met. He started the tour by telling me and Mr Abu; “Let’s go! Let’s go!”. I asked; “are you the tour guide?” and he just replied; “Let’s go! Let’s go!”. We then found out that he was the tour guide and Mr Abu told him, you are the guide, you should take the lead and I got very annoyed with him too and more or less shouted at him; “now you listen to me, you don’t start off the tour by being in the way you are, you are supposed to be polite and guide us!”. I don’t know if it was too much sugar in the blood, but I can’t stand people like him. Everything he said was right, everything we said was wrong. Enough about this idiot. Lake Volta is the biggest artificial (man made) lake in the world, and the hotel where we stayed was next to the Volta river. Akosombo Continental Hotel was a very nice and peaceful place, being in the Volta region gave me feelings like being outside of Ghana, it felt like we were abroad. We had a great late lunch on the river and then we spent hours in the swimming pool. The hotel also had several different animals in its garden; crocodile, monkeys, birds etc.

22^nd of March – Left Atimpoku early this morning to get to Koforidua, to meet Mr Abu’s and Issah’s sister Hamida. In Koforidua, I and mamma bought some necklaces in the beads market. From Koforidua we continued our journey back to Kumasi, and when we were getting close to Kumasi, then our rental care started getting problems. I was very glad that we got home to our apartment, because we had suffered enough during our trip. Our driver, Stephen, stayed the night as the mechanics needed more time to repair the problems. In the evening we went out and had dinner at Roses Guesthouse.

5 days back in Kumasi, at work: we visited Latex Foam to discuss about sleeping mattresses for the orphans and submitted a proposal letter, we have also received 200 mosquito nets through UNICEF, we have together with my mother donated clothes to female and male orphans at Nuriya Islamic School in Adukrom that used to belong to her and me.

Mail: I have received postcards from mamma, my grandparents and a friend in Stuttgart (Maria, I finally received one!).

Trip to the coast (28^th of March-

28^th of March – On Wednesday, around noon, I and my mother rented a car and driver who took us to our hotel in Elmina; Elmina Beach Resort. We arrived in the afternoon and had a late lunch. I was here last year in November together with a couple of friends and I have great memories from this place since last time. I also love coming out to the ocean, and the hotel itself is a real nice place.

29^th of March – This day we toured both the Elmina Castle and the Cape Coast Castle. Especially the tour guide at the Elmina Castle was very good and the castle looked very nice as they had been renovating it. After hours of visits to the castles, we then returned to our beach resort and relaxed.

30^th of March – Went to the Kakum National Park this morning, did the canopy walk, but I’m very glad of the tour I had when I was here in November, because we were given a lot more information and also back then we were not around 30 people like this time.

31^st of March – I was sick and weak this morning, so we left Elmina around 11:30 and were driven to Accra in about 2-2½ hours. We arrived in our hotel; Labadi Beach Hotel, had a lunch in an outdoor restaurant and I then just relaxed for awhile. Later in the afternoon I was in the swimming pool for a short while. In the evening we had a nice and quiet dinner in hotel. The hotel is very nice. I was still feeling weak in the evening.

1^st of April – This morning I was feeling a little better, but still I’m not 100%. I have been out by the swimming pool and am going to have lunch soon. I still feel weak. Tomorrow evening mamma leaves Accra, Ghana and returns to Europe on Tuesday.

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1^st of March – I went to Accra in a rented car together with Issah and Mr Abu to meet my mother at Kotoka International Airport who arrived at 18:15. I’m very glad that she is here visiting and that she gets to see how I live and work. Since my mother arrived in the evening, we then decided to stay one night in Accra as the majority of the drivers on the roads are not competent enough and are driving in a very risky way. We stayed in a hotel called Hilltop Hotel and had dinner in the evening together with Zach (Mr Abu’s and Issah’s brother). It was nice to see the road between Accra and Kumasi as I haven’t been on the road since October last year. Even if we stayed in Accra for a short time, it was nice to go there. Accra is a much bigger city and more metropolitan, compared to the cool and slow Kumasi.

Mamma in Kumasi: during her first 8-9 days in my home town we visited family and relatives, and we went around the city to different areas. She got the opportunity to experience the celebration of Ghana 50 years (6^th of March); during the day before and the night of the Independence Day we witnessed big fireworks up in Roman Hill. On the Independence Day I was out with mamma and Issah at Miklin Hotel and had a nice dinner. The following day the three of us went by tro-tro out to Lake Bosumtwi, which is the second time for me (I was there in October). Mamma also witnessed a big fire on Friday the 9^th of March, it was burning a lot in Kumasi Central Market. It was the second big fire in two weeks close to where we live, it is almost surrealistic to see it with your own eyes.

At work: Office (administration work), monthly meeting with the orphans, sent out appreciation letters to donors etc. Mamma has been following along during our project rounds.

Trip to northern Ghana (11^th March-)

11^th of March – I, mamma, Mr Abu and Issah started our journey last Sunday. We had rented a car from a friend, which unfortunately has problems every now and then. The first day we had to go with the car to some mechanics in Techiman. We arrived after dark to a rest house in Boabeng, and I was very happy when we had arrived, and it was even better when we were served a very nice dinner with pasta together with a stew made up of tuna and vegetables.

12^th of March – The rooms we had were nice, and the following day I had great pancakes for breakfast and it was the first time since I got to Ghana. That morning we went three minutes by car to the Boabeng Fiema monkey sanctuary and we had a guided tour in the village of Boabeng, where we got the chance to see the nature and watch the mona monkeys and colobus monkeys. I enjoyed the tour, because there weren’t any other tourists around. We continued our journey from Boabeng up to Kintampo, where we went to see the Kintampo falls (waterfalls) which were in a quiet and peaceful area. The big waterfall was beautiful. The guesthouse where we stayed in Kintampo was very nice too, probably the best accommodation I have had so far in Ghana with very clean rooms.

13^th of March – There was problem with our rental car in the morning, so it had to get fixed at the mechanics. We left Kintampo around 11 o’clock and continued our journey up to Fufulsu and Damongo, and the road between these two places was very bad for our old rental car, so we had a flat tire and one of the absorbers broke. When we got to Damongo, we then had to go to another mechanic to repair some broken parts on the car. Later in the evening, we did arrive to Mole Motel where we stayed in Mole National Park and before going to bed we had our dinner.

14^th of March – 6:30 in morning, that’s when our safari drive started. We went on a two hour drive in Mole National Park and saw; elephants, warthogs, bucks, python, monkeys etc. It’s always nice to go on a safari drive and I always appreciate seeing elephants out in the wild. After the two hour drive and breakfast, then we left for the village of Larabanga to see the oldest mosque in Ghana (dated back to 1421). After one hour in Larabanga, we then returned to Mole Motel and I relaxed in the swimming pool the whole afternoon together with Issah and mamma.

15^th of March – We left this morning and drove very slow on the bumpy roads back out to the main road between Kumasi and Tamale. Since our rental car is too weak and has suffered a lot, we therefore had to go in an average speed of 15-25 km/h for about 4-5 hours. You can just imagine the feeling of a slow drive on bumpy and dusty roads. Later in the afternoon today, we arrived to Tamale and we are staying here for two nights in a nice place called Gariba Lodge just outside of the city. I like being up here in the Northern Region, it’s different from where I live in Kumasi, but it is also warmer, today we had above +40 degrees Celsius and the last couple of days it has been 38+ and above, so it’s warm and dusty right now.

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At work: I have contacted several diplomatic missions (embassies and consulates) in Ghana to promote the activities of our organization. Last week I taught the Muslim women English at our non formal education programme.

Last week I bought five DVD movies; “A Lot Like Love”, “Hooligans”, “Stateside”, “Madagascar” and “Failure To Launch” and this week I have bought two audio CDs with Lucky Dube; “Serious Reggae Business” and “Soul Taker”. I really like his music, he’s a reggae artist from South Africa.

Mail: last week I received ten packages of goods which my mother sent with things mostly to give out. I also received three postcards and two letters.

Pictures of Mr Erik; I have added two pictures of myself, so I hope that the ones that have been asking for it are happy now. Hehe, I know some of you will laugh when you see the picture with me and the sunglasses.

The last couple of days I have been sweating a lot; it’s been around +35 degrees Celsius during the daytime.

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Two weeks ago I received two packages and two postcards from my mother, one of the postcards was from Gothenburg and the other one was sent from Varberg. It’s just like my brother have said; “it’s much nicer receiving a postcard than an e-mail”.

I wish that the TV channels we have could broadcast foreign movies in the evenings and especially during the weekends, but instead they show foreign movies at noon on weekdays. One day they showed “King Arthur” with Richard Gere, Sean Connery and another day “Air Force One”ith Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman and Glenn Close was on.

Last week, 29th of January – We received stormy weather in the evening. It started by heavy winds blowing in, then there was thunder and lightning, and finally the rain came. I was home by myself when it started; I later thought that I had to document some of it with my digital camera, so I went up on the roof top of our story building and started taking pictures and recording video clips. It took me quite some time until I finally got what I wanted.

The charger to my laptop stopped working last week, so I couldn’t use my laptop for a couple of days, which was annoying because I need it for both work and private. Luckily enough I live in a big city, where I can get most of the things I need, so I bought a new charger three days ago.

At work: challenges, challenges, challenges. We received an extra (additional) food delivery from OICI last week. I have taught English at the Alhudah School (both a mosque and Islamic school) to women and men. The past Saturday was the SYDD Orphans Monthly Meeting, which included a lot of counselling and advice. Most of the orphans are in big need of better self confidence, and I know that they will gain it by time.

This past Sunday – I visited the Kumasi Zoo together with Mohammed and Issah. It was nice to do something different; the zoo itself needs a lot of work and the way the animals are being treated is a poor sight.

Yesterday we distributed sorghum, Tom Brown and vegetable oil to female orphans. I truly enjoy meeting the orphans and I can tell that they like having me around too.

Pictures of me are wanted worldwide, how much are you willing to pay for it?

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Two weeks ago I received two late arriving Christmas cards, one (with sound) from my mother and one from my grandfather’s brother and wife. I always appreciate receiving postcards; it’s something special about it.

On 12th of January we received a new volunteer, a female (25 years old) from Gothenburg, Sweden. It is her first time in Africa. The first evening she had arrived, she told me; “I don’t think this is the right project for me” and I gave her the answer; “you should at least give the project a chance for a week”. Two days later she left Kumasi and went to an orphanage 1½ hours outside of Accra. She had definitely made up her mind even before she came to Kumasi. I only feel sorry for her, because she is missing out on a great opportunity to get to know and experience a totally different community; the Muslim community (Zongo).

Sunday 14th of January – I went to see off an American friend who left Kumasi and Ghana the following day. We had a lunch and discussed the world. She’s now in Europe skiing with her dad in the French Alps. Then she’s off to Bucharest (Romania) where her parents live and from there to?

Last week, Tuesday, Issah (Mr Abu’s youngest brother) came to the SYDD apartment in the morning and when he stepped inside the entrance door I could see that he was having tears in his eyes. He told us that when he got to school (Armed Forces School) this morning they were caning about 30 students severely. When Issah saw the caning from a short distance, then he decided to not enter the school premises and go back home instead. When I heard Issah’s story I got both sad and angry, because in what way will it help boys and girls between the ages of 15-25 by caning them? Issah told me that when ever someone isn’t obeying the rules at the school, then that person will be caned and afterwards he or she has to weed. He also told me that the school staff never lets any of the students explain before being caned, they will just cane the students no matter what. Issah has been caned before and it makes me really angry and sad to hear that, because he’s probably the kindest 20 year old boy I have ever met. He has about 1 hour and 30 minutes walk to school everyday (one way) and sometimes when he has been late, then he has been caned. He hasn’t had any chance to explain that he has a long way to school, they have just caned him. He told me that they cane the students where ever they like, and that they use wire.

Last week Monday, SYDD Non Formal Education (evening classes) started again, but this semester Mr Abu and I will not teach as much as last year, because we have so much other work to do. We are only going to go there once or twice in a week to supervise the lessons. During the last week we also held discussions about the future of the organisation and which things that needs to be structured. There is so much work to do within the Muslim community (Zongo), where we mostly work, and the problems and challenges are bigger there than in other communities.

I went to Aboabo Post Office three days ago (Friday 19th of Jan) to check the post box and I had received 7 packages from my mother containing all different kinds of items such as; sun block, medicine, gifts etc. The personnel at the post office told me; “we want our share!”. Hehe, no way I was going to follow the corruption that exists within the Ghana Post Company and dash the workers something. Someone has to break the corruption trend. I had also received a letter from my aunt, and it’s always nice to get private mail in the post box.

This past weekend we had several visitors in the apartment. On Saturday Sadat was visiting for a few hours and also Issah was around, and in the evening Mohammed came as well as Mumin, Ahmed (Mr Abu’s son) and Manaf (Mumin and Ahmed’s cousin). The three children slept over and in the evening I was taking care of them for 1 h 30 min when Mr Abu was out. The amount of energy the children had was crazy and they triggered each other all the time! They put on reggae music on the cassette deck, ran around, fought with each other, screamed, they did absolutely everything! They also put on their sandals and started gliding around on the floor, and after awhile when they started getting warm; “Mr Erik, Mr Erik, shirt!”, which meant that they wanted to take of their shirts and continue to glide around on the floor. It was ultimate chaos! Yesterday morning, the three kids (Mumin, Ahmed, Manaf) had too much sugar in the blood again, when they were playing with the Mumin house my mother sent. But I could see that Mumin really liked the Mumin house, because he went for it every time we had put it away. Late morning yesterday; Zaliya came to visit together with her friend Amdela, and they were around for a few hours. Yesterday afternoon Mohammed was around together with Haamis (Mr Abu’s brother). So, these past two days have been crowded in the apartment. It’s nice with visitors, but the peaceful quietness is priceless.

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New Years Eve in Adum was surprisingly quiet, and the fireworks were few and less spectacular. It’s just like I told Mr Abu; “where ever you go in the world, the importance of the twelve o’clock stroke is different”.

I received three Christmas cards last week, which arrived a bit late. Two of them were from my mother and one of her Christmas cards had a tune when you opened the card (I know my brother will laugh when he reads it, because it’s a typical thing for my mother to send). The third Christmas card was from my grandfather’s brother with wife, and it was really nice to receive a card from them.

I have moved to a new apartment! A couple of days ago I moved to a new apartment, which is located in Akwatia Line. It’s in the city, so it’s between 2-3 km to Adum (downtown Kumasi), which I like. The apartment is quite big; 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom/toilet, 1 lounge room, 1 kitchen and a great balcony with a view of the city. The apartment is on the top floor, so the view is very nice. Another thing I like about the apartment building is that we have a security guard watching all the time, so you can’t enter the building without being recognized. This apartment is for SYDD staff and volunteers, currently it’s only I and Mr Abu who use it, but we except another volunteer coming soon. There are lots of things which we still need in the apartment, but so far we have got a TV, a fridge, beds, fans, office desk, a dining table and kitchen utensils. It always takes time before you get settled when you move to a completely empty place. We also have our own cook, Munira (21), who cooks dinner for us in the evenings. I like her cooking a lot, and it’s much more hygienic where I live now as we have our own kitchen. I’m very happy about my move!

The Harmattan winds are around, and it has clogged my nose completely for about a week now. The Harmattan winds blow from the northeast, bringing dust from the Sahara and reducing the visibility to less than 1 km (as you can see on some of the photos). Everything gets dusty quickly.

Work since last post: we have held our monthly meeting with the orphans telling them about various important things in life and we also told them that we have budgeted to buy them e.g. mosquito nets. We have been working in the office several days, discussing the future of SYDD. There have been different visits to organizations. The big thing has been the move to the new SYDD apartment.

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