From: Leanne Robinson [jelehjeleh@yahoo.com.au]
Sent: Sat 2004-08-21 2:14 PM
Subject: Yanko!!!!
Hello everyone,
So I finally managed to extricate myself from all the emotional attachments at camp (incredibly difficult and ridiculous amounts of tears shed) about 2-3 weeks ago. Armed with my backpack, lonely planet guide to West Africa and my parasitic friend giardia, also known as Wilbur (?), I left "little liberia" for what has been a wonderful albeit smelly burping/farting exploration of Ghana - an amazingly beautiful country full of stunning beaches, lakes, villages, mountains, surprisingly few tourists (which is kind of nice) and millions of wonderfully warm, friendly, spirited and incredibly strong Ghanaians. Please feel free to tune out now if the details get boring but I feel the need to describe some highlights...
We started in Cape Coast (Wilbur was remarkably well behaved at this point) where I planned on spending only a day or two lazing on the beach getting over the shock of leaving camp....one week later I was still there!! but thats the beauty of independent travel i guess. I became really good friends with a bunch of young people who worked at the place I was staying and they kept convincing me to stay "just one more day!!" So I would spend my mornings exploring surrounding attractions like Elmina (a really cute little fishing village that is also the site of St George's castle, the oldest European structure still standing in sub-saharan africa and which served as a slave trade post for the Dutch and then the Portugese from 1482-1872) and Kakum National Park (where i braved walking along one of the highest canopy walkways in the world and although didn't see monkeys or elephants, we did see hundreds of brilliantly coloured butterflies!!) and then in the afternoons would chill out on the beach learning fante (the local dialect) with my new friends. I can now proudly say all the basic greetings, count to thirty, say "I want to eat fufu" etc etc. One evening after work we went to "the" cape coast nightclub and danced until about 4 in the morning...many amusing stories!! I also spent several afternoons with Vivian and her family, where I learnt how to "pound fufu", to eat fufu and soup the traditional way (ie- with your right hand only, no utensils!!). ok so just take a minute to picture this....me, a big bowl of groundnut soup, a few pieces of whole fish with a big glob of sticky dough (fufu) in the middle, and only my hand with which to try and get some of each of these things including soup (?) into my mouth!!! Quite amusing not to mention messy but i soon got the hang of it and now almost enjoy eating that way (you also lose all credibility the minute you ask for a spoon...) Was a really wonderful week where i felt as though i really integrated into the Ghanaian community and way of life rather than the Liberian,,,while many things are similar there are notable differences. One marked similarity though is the frustration both share at not being able to afford a higher education. Vivian for example is 21 and has finished high school and is now working at Oasis as a waitess to support her father and 2 younger sisters who are still at school. She would really like to go to college to become a nurse but cannot afford it. She makes 200,000 cedis a month (about $30 aussie).
When I finally moved on form Cape Coast, Kwesi (one of my new friends) decided to come with me and show me around his home village of Busua, a really cute little village on a stunning beach...Ghana's own Byron Bay if you like. Its full of rastafars who spend most days smoking ganja, playing drums, dancing singing etc while chilling out on the beach, maybe doing a bit of batik, woodcarving or painting here or there if they feel like it....sound familiar?? We had a great time here hanging out with Kwesi's "brothers", I was introduced to Akpeteshie - an incredibly potent locally brewed spirit from palm trees that burns all the way down and then some!!! We stayed in Kwesi's family home (more very amusing stories to do with me locking myself in and then almost falling in the outside toilet!!) Also spent one day travelling to and looking around the other UNHCR refugee camp which is right on the border of Cote d'Ivoire. Krisan is a much smaller settlement than Buduburam but they receive alot more assistance from UNHCR...weekly food and water distributions, free education programs and more than 1500 of them are currently in the process of being resettled to none other than our beloved Australia, can you believe it...we do accept refugees??? While we were out that way we also visited Nzelezu, a traditional stilt village where a tribe of some 500 people still live according their traditional ways and beliefs (ancestral gods etc) and on homes that sit on stilts above the water. They row everywhere in canoes, even the small children each have their own canoe. It took us an hour or more to row out there but was worth it. With the overwhelming Christian presence here in Ghana (which i think i've already described), I really enjoyed seeing a tribe that has held onto their traditions/spirituality and still live according to tradtional beliefs.
When we finally left Busua (could have stayed forever) we headed to the central region of Ghana, Kumasi, where Wilbur reared his ugly head and I attempted to murder him for the 4th time. We stayed at Lake Bosumtwi, a crater lake ringed by lush green hills and some 9 awfully cute villages. The lake is sacred and the Ashanti believe that their souls come here after death to bid farewell to their god Twi. It is taboo to take any form of dugout canoe out onto the lake and so fisherman use flat wooden planks!!! Learnt so much about the history of and culture of the Ashanti people while here and in Kumasi and its just fascinating. Especially love all their adinkra symbols, each with their own little proverb or meaning. Also just loved (weird mixture of fascination and fear) wandering through Kejetia market in Kumasi...certainly the largest, most furious and vibrant local market i've come across in all my travels.
From here Kwesi had to go back to Cape Coast (probably a good thing considering the renewed presence of WIlbur and his effects...) and I headed east to the wonderfully peaceful and very scenic Volta region. I stayed in a lovely little village at the top of a mountain, called Amedzofe, and spent the next few days climbing Ghana's 2 highest mountains (Mt Afadjato and Mt Gemi) and hiking to a couple of really nice waterfalls (Wli and Tagbo) in rainforests around the area. I really really enjoyed my time here despite WIlbur's company and the fact that all the climbing and hiking made me realise that after 4 months of doing no exercise I'm very very unfit!!!!
So in just under 3 weeks WIlbur and I have travelled some 3000 km, spent about 50 hours in local trotros (no plush intercity STC buses for us) and have spent no more than 250, 000 cedis (about $40 aussie) on bus tickets!!! A direct result of only taking cheap local trotros has been the fact that i have always been the only white person in the vehicle which has both advantages and disadvantages. While I've hardly ever had to carry my heavy pack more than a metre and have been totally looked after (never feared for safety or well being once), I have also been a constant source of amusement to locals, especially to the children (who among other things have tried to pick my freckles off) and most especially when I've wanted to take a pee or as they would say "a pee pee." Omigod, noone in this country even notices or is the least bit disturbed (not even me anymore) to see an African woman standing on the side of a busy road with her feet on either side of the drain, hand up her skirt pulling underpants to one side whilst taking a pee...but when the white woman wants to squat behind a bush in the middle of nowhere, what a fuss and spectacle it causes!! On one trip a woman even went so far as to order all the men to one side of the bus while the woman formed a barricade around me with their backs turned...I could hardly even pee I was laughing so hard!!
So now I find myself back in Accra, the city I landed in almost 4 months ago but have yet to explore (unless you count knowing where the closest Barclays bank to camp is?) and where I have just tried to murder Wilbur for the 5th and final time (same drug but double the dose!!!!) Am spending this weekend checking out Accra and then go home (camp) on Monday for almost 2 weeks to finish up some work, spend some time with my family and friends and say final goodbyes...
Such a strange mix of emotions to realise that I am due to depart Ghana on the 5th Sept... While I am certainly ready for some good food, coffee, chocolate and hopefully no Wilbur, I just know I am going to miss the African spirit so so so much, their incredible strength, no-nonsense approach to life and wonderful sense of humour is just so uplifting. But i guess thats what life and travel is all about, you experience amazing things but need to move on and use them to enrich your own life. So my next email will probably be from London or Europe somewhere...no fixed plans yet??
Take care and please keep writing me with your news, I love hearing from everyone and think about you all the time.
Nkabom (cheers)
Leanne or Efua (Fante/Twi/Ewe/Asante for Friday born)
From: Leanne Robinson [jelehjeleh@yahoo.com.au]
Sent: Wed 2004-07-28 11:11 PM
Subject: Still here...still laughing and crying!!!
Hi everyone,
OK so I'm back!!!!!!!! Sorry for the terrible lack of contact but unfortunately despite spending ridiculous amounts of money on larium and repellent I managed to get malaria and so have spent the last 2 weeks or so in bed (very painful, very frustrating but am back on my feet now and madly rushing around trying to finish everything off) and prior to that life was just incredibly busy and really quite difficult emotionally such that I had trouble finding the time and energy to write about it.
I have however been thinking of you all alot and I hope this mail finds everyone really really well. How is the Australian winter?? someone told me it kind of snowed a bit in sydney recently??? true???you'll be pleased to know that its cooled off a little bit here in Ghana or little Liberia (as we like to call the camp) with the arrival of the rainy season but its still around 30 most days.
Well the past 2 months has just flown by and I can't quite believe that I'm meant to leave my new home on Saturday??? so much so that i think I'm not going to...not 100% sure yet but thinking of staying round for a few more weeks and just not travelling through West Africa for as long as originally planned. It is just too hard to even contemplate leaving right now....
SO what have I been up to....?
Well I've attended just about every traditional celebration/ceremony you could possibly think of....birhdays, an engagement, two weddings, a funeral, two wakes, birthing (yes thats right I delivered a baby...AMAZING..I am now officially a birth mother!!!!), circumcision ceremony, christening, baptism, revival (don't even ask???), celebrated Liberia's Independence Day 157 years and I'm sure I've left some things out...all in all its just been amazing to be able to become a real part of people's lives here, so much so that it really does feel like home (although I don't think I will ever get over how much Celine Dion and Whitney Houston I have to listen too or get used to the sight of children pooing into plastic bags....). The one weekend that I have left camp to go to Togo (so I could get my passport stamped for another 60 days upon re-entry to Ghana) I was just too happy to reach the camp again...it was the same sigh of relief you breathe when you walk in the door after a huge day at work or a huge road trip. I have so many more mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters than i ever thought possible.
Oh and guess what...I've finally found myself some men that can actually dance!!!!!!! Its just too much fun to go out with guys who not only want to dance and enjoy dancing but who can just move in a way I've never seen before!!! I only wish i had a video camera so I could carry a snippet of it with me?? Thats one thing about the people here is that despite having little money they still love to party and most nights there is dancing on the street until midnight and easpecially on a sunday night!!! Those who can afford a beer drink most are happy to just shake their bootie!!!!
As an organisation CBW is still finding its feet and as such it can often seem that we making little if any progress in many areas but i know that this is not true. Despite the fact that the school is still very disorganised my students have improved alot which is really encouraging...they now know that a butterfly does not have feathers despite the fact that it can fly!!! also we have just set up an after-school tutorial program where we have selected students who are struggling (eg. in grade2/3/4/5/6 still cannot read or write) and we are working with them in small groups and its already making a huge difference.
The sanitation network that I have been trying to coordinate since the day I arrived finally had it first meeting about 3 weeks ago and on monday conducted its first education workshop in 2 of the zones on camp. Huge breakthrough let me say!!!! it went really well and we had another one today which was even better. The people are very responsive and would be more than happy to keep their community clean if only they were provided with the means to keep it clean...proper bins, disposal points etcetc. Anyway its just so satisfying to finally see all the groups working in a coordinated fashion and in a way that i think will be sustainable once i leave (fingers crossed)???
Outside of all that I have working with a couple of the doctors on camp who work from their home as well as the main UNHCR funded clinic to help them keep more accurate record of the number of patients they see with which ailments, numbers of deaths from which diseases etc etc etc and that has been really really interesting. Also I have becoem quite good friends with a woman who practices traditional tribal medicine and she has taught me so so much. Still not sure about the way she busted open a child's infected tonsils but I did let her give me a traditional treatment for the fever/aches associated with malaria and it worked better than anything i was given from the clinic....
On a personal level the past month and a half has been the hardest by far. I was not prepared for how close I would get to people here and how much i would therefore start to feel their frustration, pain and suffering. I mean every day here is a real struggle for so many people and many of them are people who up until the war were living a life not that different to yours and mine. For example one of my friends Richmond was in his last year of a communications degree majoring in journalism, working at the local newspaper, living in an apartment with his sisters in Monrovia, going to the beach on the weekend, to movies, nightclubs for fun etc etc...so just imagine how frustrated he is with life here in Ghana. Unable to work to support themselves and their families, having to buy every single thing needed to live...water to drink, water to bathe, food to eat, rent for their home (most of which leak when it rains) and then they still need to try and find money for medicine and education...despite being refugees any of them wanting to attend a Ghanaian university have to pay international student fees??? I could go on but i won't I think you get the idea...its hard and it can just be really really hard to see people i love and care for so much go through this day after day knowing that soon i won't be here but they will still be struggling through the same old frustrating routine day after day.
I reached my lowest point about 5 weeks ago when a child I had been especially close to from my first day here passed away. Stanley's mother and I had just spent about 5-6 weeks nursing him back to health from a really bad dose of malaria and he appeared to be getting stronger and stronger every day. We were so happy that he was starting to play again and to be really alert and responsive etc and then his little heart just gave up while he was sleeping in my arms one afternoon...it was certainly the most unreal situation I've ever found myself in, I kept wanting to wake up and realise it was all a terrible dream...so much so that sometimes I can't even remember bits of it??? I really do feel like i've lost a part of myself, I just can't describe the way I feel...never knew i could cry so much. I think the hardest thing is that the pain, grief, sorrow i feel doesn't even register as a blip on the scale of things his mother and others on this camp have experienced and yet they cope, they deal with what life (or god...) throws their way and just keep on thanking god for every day they are blessed with life...its remarkable and often just totally incomprehensible...mostly I admire it so much but I have found myself at times just wishing someone would say "why me, what did I do to deserve this, its not fair" but I'm still waiting...
Despite everything I've just described I think I've still experienced more joy here than pain...its just the pain has been harder to deal with!!!
So belisai (goodbye in Kru) until i begin my travels again.Take care and appreciate and enjoy everything you have...
Always
Leanne xoxoox