Teshie School Project – Volunteer Diary - Day 6,7

A report by ESB & ESBI Volunteers on-site this week at the Ghana School Project

Weekend Break Welcomed
By end of week we were happy to see what had been achieved but also happy to be availing of the break. The heat has been intense and most of us have reduced our food intake to safe bets such as bananas, bread and cheese bought in the only supermarket we came across, drinks from bottles opened in front of us and then the tops cleaned, pizzas at the hotel and crisps. It's amazing how much work we've been able to do on so little! And of course…endless water! People are feeling pretty burnt out and the weekend is more than welcome and hopefully by Monday all of the group will be re-energised and returned to full health.

Volunteers Venture Out To Accra
As a result, this is an opportune time to tell you a little bit about what we've seen and experienced. The drive to and from work goes through some pretty bad townships on the outskirts of Accra. We see the most horrendous scenes of poverty, dreadful sanitation, open sewers and mountains of rubbish. On the other hand the roads have large number of 4x4's and modern cars. There are of course other parts of Accra, which is a huge sprawling city, pretty well-to-do with some lovely buildings. Driving is horrendous and pretty much, you take your life in your hands. Taxis are cheap – the Cede is almost the equivalent of a Dollar. We would use only taxis from the hotel and it was best to pay them to wait for you even for a couple of hours. Construction staff are paid the equivalent of $16 dollars a week – so you can relate that to the level of poverty in the country. On a couple of nights we ventured out in groups to the centre of Accra. That was an experience! The place was buzzing with people and the couple of little bars we visited were on the street with terrific live bands blasting out African music and lots of street vendors. However, the other side of the scene was you had to be careful what you ordered, make sure it was unopened when you got it and also got a clean plastic glass. Sounds good once you know you were sitting a few feet from open sewerage!

Seeing the "Full Colour" of Africa
The guys on the group have been wonderful and the four women couldn't say enough about them. They took care of us and split us up among them when moving around. As always with ESB staff abroad – you would be overwhelmed by the obstacles they have overcome to get work done and the pride they have had in their work. We have been overwhelmed with some of the sights we have seen, the full 'colour' of Africa which is amazing and the wonderful teachers and pupils at the school who continue to visit us in little groups.

Group Trips to Elmina On Day Off
Those well enough to travel at the weekend (and thankfully that was the majority) clubbed together and hired a bus to take us to Elmina up the coast. The journey was about 3 hours and was something else in itself. We passed various types of landscape and both rich and poor areas. Markets ranging from some of the biggest in Africa on the outskirts of Accra to smaller markets and stalls on the way.

Elmina Castle, First Hand View of Slave Trading Post
Elmina Castle was built by the Portuguese in 1471 and became the largest Slave Trading Post in the World. It was here that the Slaves were kept until they were transported to their unknown destination. Many Afro-Americans originate from here. The tour of the Castle was chilling to say the least. The size of the cells that housed hundreds of men and women in total darkness with no sanitation for up to two years – fed on one meal a day to just keep them alive. The smell still permeates some of the cells and it's nauseating, even after this many years. The 'Room of No Return' contains a small opening where the slaves saw their last view of their homeland before they were sent out through it directly onto the ships.

Rain Forest, Rope Bridges and Alligators on the Deck!
A visit to a local convent where our Dunmanway colleague, Séamus O Ceallacháin, knew one of the nuns was another experience. Volunteers saw at first hand the work the missionaries were trying to do there in the Orphanage – young girls trying to type on the old typewriters of nearly 40 years ago and a couple of clapped out computers with floppy discs. A visit to a Rain Forest with lots of rope bridges 30 metres up looking down at the animals below and lunch at a hotel where the alligators came up on the verandah to be fed was a different experience again. A welcome break for the tired bodies, an insight into Africa and an understanding of the culture and the reason we are all here.

by Bernie Healy - Editor EM