Ghanaian blog post week 2
(Some context for this post.
In Ghana, we were divided in to two groups, one stayed in Tamale, the fastest growing city in West Africa, while the second team were deployed in the large town of Sandema several hours of rough roads away.
Other than that I hope you can work out any other details, please leave comments if I don’t make something clear or write badly, I am new and appreciate feedback.)
Blog post week two
Well, it seems like only yesterday that we uploaded the first blog, mostly because it hopefully was. Internet in the REACT office is a complicated issue with two solutions; go 5 minutes down the road to the International Service office, or hotspot with some of team leader Chris’s ridiculous amounts of data. In trying to upload last week’s blog we used both, picture upload is slow and we kept running out of time in the day.
But those are excitements for later in the week. We should, as before, begin at the beginning.
Monday began the week with a pair of surprise guests, Sal and Gary, a blind volunteer and team leader from the Sandema group, dropped in on their way past to a medical check-up, [actually Sal was on a disciplinary charge but I wasn’t allowed to mention that in the original post]. It was great to see them both, partly because they’re cool people and we wanted to catch up, but mostly because we enjoyed hearing about how much hotter it is with them. The schadenfreude was real! I tried to be sympathetic by mentioning that my host-home’s air-conditioning had cut out for an hour during the power cut the day before, a comment that drew complaints from the whole group. Apparently I am alone in living in an air-conditioned house. So maybe I am the only one who truly appreciates the sweet sweet schadenfreude.
Apart from enjoying the misfortunes of others, the morning was spent on details: writing letters to radios and schools, preparing scripts for media appearances and maybe I was still putting the finishing touches to last week’s blog post.
Monday Lunch was probably the most exciting lunch so far, as Nikita found pineapple at a local market stall and brought it back to the office to share. She also insisted on teaching us the art of pineapple eating.
“Standing in a row with bum out, straight back, raised chin and bite!”
A technique designed to keep clothing relatively pineapple juice free, the same cannot be said for your hands, face or even the floor. I was not alone in needing a thorough cleaning after my pineapple chunk.
The afternoon was similar to the morning in the tasks to be done, with the addition of the beautiful moment when Hamza, a Tamale wheelchair basketball player, taught Amadu, a totally blind volunteer from Bawku, to play basketball with a homemade VI ball. A feat made more impressive as neither share a first language.
Tuesday saw the team beginning to split up a bit more as groups start to take responsibility for different aspects of the project:
Recording video footage, writing letters to churches, collecting resources from town, making a first attempt to access the international Service internet etc.
The most interesting part of the day was the afternoon, I was out as part of a group following a man named Shasha meeting the radio stations of Tamale. Shasha, a Ghanaian team leader from a project that started later in the week, has been hanging around the International service office with Tom and Cat, the UK team leaders from the other project. Shasha also appears to be a local legend of the media. Whether its blogging, presenting on radio or producing television, Shasha has been there, done that and has got the contacts… and a fan club! Honestly I was stunned by the effect he had, women hugging him with squeals of excitement, editors and producers taking the time to meet us purely based on his presence. Shasha’s presence opened doors for us, not to mention the advice he gave after the first meeting that lead to far more success later.
However, it wasn’t just us having a jolly out in media town who had excitement, back in the office they were working on their goalball teaching skills. Team leader Chris gave a master class on how to break down the basic motions in goalball and explain why each is important.
Wednesday was a slow start, protests in the centre of town lead to orders from International service high command that no-one should leave the house before midday. A precaution that worked well as by the time we reached the centre of town at midday it seemed, if anything, calmer than normal.
On arriving at the office in early afternoon, Nikita and Hassana introduced their new accessible game.
This is a tradition started by last week’s fun and games with the VI cricket ball, each week a UK and Ghanaian volunteer pair must introduce or invent a new accessible game. Nikita and Hassana created the new game christened “Ring of sound”, [a name I suggested]. Ring of sound requires players to form a standing circle around a blindfolded [for want of a better word] competitor, the competitor is forced to rotate while those in the ring silently rearrange themselves then stand with hands extended into the circle. The blindfolded competitor moves until they find a hand gives the command “make a noise…” inserting the noise they would like to hear. The competitor must then identify the person based on the sound they make.
Initially people stuck to farm animals although we soon expanded into vehicles and sporting equipment. There is no particular winner in ring of sound, although I like to think that I was the most enthusiastic and skilled sound maker. My car noise was particularly spectacular, beginning with the ignition and taking the rumbling Mercedes engine up through the gears as I accelerated up to motorway speed, it was just unfortunate that I had been asked for a cow and not a car.
The rest of the day was spent in a whirl of memory sticks as we tried to juggle our electronic resources and our requirements, finishing with the confirmation of our specific roles and duties.
Thursday was a day of drum roles as prototype eye-shades, elbow pads and knee pads were completed and demonstrated. The eye-shades were particularly impressive as they seem to be professional standard eye-shades and yet they cost an average of 5 pesewas[pes wes], or approximately 0.8 pence each.
After lunch Helene and Amadu lead a cracking beginner’s lesson in goalball. Not having been in the office for team leader Chris’s class earlier in the week, I was delighted to see that Helene was already pushing the class to take a three step run up and not sticking to the simpler but inefficient standing throw. She also gave all the right instructions and reasons for specific details, for someone who had never played goalball before she really understood the intricacies that most players take years of experience to realise. Meanwhile Amadu, the key demonstrator, almost destroyed the cupboard with an impressively smooth shot.
Friday was all hands on deck [making Ant very jealous] as we started the production line for the goalball kit unveiled on Thursday. Cutting out fabric, packing empty water sachets inside each other for pads, cutting out eye-shades and gluing on the foam and straps, it was like watching the industrial revolution start all over again. I was delighted when our team leaders set us the target of creating 50 sets, as I don’t think they noticed that they were asking us for 50 shades… which are indeed a dark grey in colour.
The only people excused from the production line were the group dedicated to procuring radio appearances, of which I was one. It was a case of the right tool for the right job, my Tamale born Dagbani speaking Roommate Mahe was that tool and I am pleased to say that we have now pinned Zaa FM down to a 15 minute slot between 12 and one on Tuesday and Angel FM for the same day between 3 and 4.
Jill and Ross joined us just before lunch for a constructive two hours, discussing how the project is going as well as reviewing the progress and plans that have been made so far. Many topics were discussed with solutions suggested and considered.
With that, we shall bring the week to a close. It was a week that rang to the beat of progress, a week of production lines to warm the heart of Henry Ford himself [Henry Ford, inventor of the factory Production line for mass production of cars. Solid pub quiz knowledge right there].
So, until next week naawuni ti be beow [ pronounced approximately as: now un e tibib yow]
Good bye.
Blog by Richard Wheatley
Richard is a blind UK volunteer from London with a degree in Theoretical physics from Lancaster University and a passion for radio comedy.