(Unfortunately this final blog was never posted on the original REACT blog site, so this is a first addition. I hope you enjoy this last chapter of my Ghana extravaganza as after this post I hope to start a new regular blog on this site.)
Well well well, here we are on the last week of our project. In some ways, bucket showers and a heavily carb based diet, 7 weeks have dragged by and yet in other ways, the plans we made for our legacy and the friends we have made, our time has flown. But time enough at the end of the blog for wistful thoughts and looking back, I hope you know the drill by now, we start, as always, at the beginning.
Sunday was our first goalball session of the week and our first opportunity to meet our VIVIP, [very important visually impaired person]. Georgie is a similar age to myself and has been a member of the team GB international goalball squad for more than 9 years, with Olympic Games and world championship experience her international goalball caps far exceed my own. Not only does Georgie play goalball at a high level but she is also one of the creators of this project idea.
After watching our training session she took a particularly promising Sagnarigu player called Maltiti aside and coached him personally in an advanced rotational shot. I moved closer at this point as Georgie has significantly more training and experience than me and I hoped to learn some tips to improve my own rotation, although I found it difficult to focus on lesson as children quickly spotted the new game and joined in, spinning as they ran up and threw a flat basketball to one another.
The goalball, however, was not the most exciting moment of the day as Mahe and I arrived in his blind brother’s yellow-yellow [tuctuc], although I was disappointed to find out that the blind brother wouldn’t be driving it himself.
Monday was our second goalball session of the week, this time we had teachers from all around the region converging on the university volleyball court, [volley ball courts are exactly the same size as a goalball court]. Teaching teachers was a very different experience to students, they asked far more specific questions and were possibly a little less willing to lie down on the dirty ground. I thought that the “over under” game was entertaining when performed by five-year-olds but at least they were all the same height, it gets even better with towering games-masters stooping to collect a ball being passed through some-one-else’s legs before dropping it over their head onto a diminutive female teacher.
After a successful morning of coaching we returned to Ross’s workshop at International Service to ready the kit for our big day on Tuesday. I formed a one-man production line for knee pads, others made trophys and medals while we all got high on the fumes as logos were sprayed on kit before it was divided up into bags for the next day.
The next day was, predictably, Tuesday and we made it three for three, having our third goalball event of the week, the Tamale regional invitational tournament. Sagnarigu district and Tamale metro, the teams we have been training every weekend, both came, along with the Tolon team and a university students’ team.
The day started peculiarly as, [I can’t believe I’m saying this], the goalball court needed to be cleared of cow pats. Never before have I considered the possibility of cancelling a goalball tournament due to bio hazard, fortunately, team leader Chris stepped up and had the court clear in the space of a couple of well held breaths.
The rest of the day was a resounding success apart from the faulty sound system. All teams acquitted themselves well and both the players and crowd enjoyed the experience, eventually experience showed and Tamale metro and Sagnarigu district came first and second respectively, beating the newer teams from Tamale technical university and Tolon district in to third and fourth.
After a long hard day on Tuesday we were given no time off on Wednesday. The major part of our project was over but there were still loose ends to tie up, the last batch of pads were sent to the tailors to make in to knee-pads, kit was recounted and checked before Thursday’s project finale and debrief documents were handed out.
Thursday was the big day, our project climax, the REACT grand finals. A handpicked team from Sandema and the victorious Tamale metro both competed with the Ghana national team for the Silver Goalball Trophy, [Ross had run out of gold spray paint].
Part of the excitement and grandeur came from the planned venue, the allium Mahama stadium. A football stadium built for the African cup of nations with a sprung running track that is approximately a goalball pitch’s width. Local schools and media were invited as well as dignitaries from the Ghana Blind Sports Association. This event was the culmination of weeks of training and preparation from the volunteers and months of planning and paper-work from Georgie and ICS… and then we hit a glitch.
I mentioned in the first blog that scheduling complications are an ever present part of life in Ghana, never was this more true than when we found out that a football match had been postponed from last week to three o’clock on Thursday with our event running from to until 5. This would not have been much of a problem if we had found out in advance but Georgie first heard of the clash by accidentally asking the right person the right question on Wednesday afternoon.
Thursday morning turned in to a mass of negotiating, begging, threatening, cajoling and wheedling but nothing could be done, the football had to start at three, the Ghana Goalball team had to leave in the evening and the advertised start time was fast approaching. So Georgie made the call to move out to the car park. It made sense, the players are used to playing on hard ground and concrete, so the car park is pretty much the same as their training grounds. In fact we found a volleyball court next to the car park which was in better and smoother condition than anything we had found previously. An hour later and we had a goalball court and someone found some stacks of chairs as well as a Markey which was set up to shade the judges table and audience. The result was an improvised stadium that, while a far cry from the national arena we had expected, was still way more impressive than anything we had yet played on.
The rest of the day was a resounding success, with both tamale and Sandema teams beating the Ghana national side, but the younger Sandema team proved too strong for the Tamale veterans despite their lack of experience meaning they took the title.
The highlight of my day came when I was permitted to referee with the assistance of Panayota, a Sandema volunteer, [giving legitimacy to the conviction of sports fans throughout the ages that the referee is blind].
After a medal ceremony we also gave a pair of professional Goalfix eye-shades to the top goal scorer, David from Sandema, and most valuable player, Maltiti from Tamale.
And with that we draw our project to a close. Today is Friday and we just have to tidy up and organise bags of kit to be sent to various clubs, we have a couple of debriefs to do, including a meeting tomorrow morning then we leave Tamale on Monday. Actually, I call the thing tomorrow a meeting but it does include some sort of talent show from each team, so I’m currently writing a parody of The Sound of Music’s favourite things for us to sing as a group. [Inspired because team leader Chris Can’t say the word favourite.] Maybe one day you can ask some of us to sing it for you, but that will have to wait for another day.
Until then it is goodbye from me and all the react team.
Good bye.
Appendix
Below is a short message from a few of the UK volunteers on the team, each with their own advice and memories. This may be of interest to any future REACT or International Service volunteers.
Emma
My most valuable bring was my portable rechargeable fan! It helped to keep me sane through every single power out, I’d recommend every future volunteer brings one! My favourite memories were when my host parents turned up to support our goalball training and just all the daily laughing/cackling that happens when the team is together.
Nikita
The thing I will take away from this project, is a whole new suitcase of clothes! Buying endless amounts of fabric to be made into shorts, dresses, bags and anything else I can imagine was definitely one of my best memories. I also really enjoyed being the source of positivity and motivation for my team including designing daily quotes for us to live by. Remember, be so happy that when others look at you, they become happy too!
Richard
My most valuable bring was my pen-knife, it cut fruit, opened water-sachets, drilled holes in bottle caps, opened bottles and whittled tent pegs in an emergency. I have enjoyed building kit but my take-away from this is that I love blogging and may continue, possibly with the title “VI=power”, a physics/blind pun.
until then, I bid you one last good bye.
(you won’t have to wait too long.)