Friday June 25th 2010
Over the past week I’ve received several questions from some of the beautiful folks at EWB-UNB about my experience in Ghana. Their questions have been super interesting, and I’m really appreciative of the effort that has gone in to them. I thought it would be worthwhile to write a post with my response to one of the questions that I could share with everyone here. Their questions also gave me a new idea for encouraging dialogue between my blog and its readers, which you can read more about in the last paragraph.
Q: What has been the hardest thing to get used to in Ghana? What is it that makes you say ‘Wow, this is a whole different world’ ?
A: There are certain aspects of life in Ghana that generate a sense of wrongness within me. It’s not that I know certain things are ‘wrong’ or ‘right’— clearly no one can claim to be the sole arbiter of that. But, this sense of wrongness starts to percolate into my consciousness when I’m exposed to situations that are unfamiliar and that go against what I’ve always known in Canada. Here are two examples to help illustrate the point I’m making:
Example 1: Recently I witnessed Bosit, a 2 year old boy in our compound, fall while playing outside. He scraped his chin on the cement ditch that boarders the perimeter of the compound, and was left with a terrible gash. His mother Stella, hearing his cries, attentively scooped him up into her arms and began sopping up the blood with a dishtowel, not the sterile, one time use gauze pad or band-aid that my mother may have used. It’s certainly not that Bosit’s mother is a negligent parent—it just simply isn’t as common to have ready access to basic medical provisions at home. These goods do exist at the Hohoe District Hospital, but given that the hospital is a 50 pesewa taxi ride across town, and that upon arriving you’re undoubtedly greeted by a long wait due to the mass of other individuals waiting for service, Stella chooses to remedy Bosit’s situation on her own.
Thankfully this was a relatively minor incident and Bosit wasn’t in dire need of professional attention. But, what if the injury had been more serious? I don’t know how things would play out, and I hope I don’t have to find out any time soon. Certainly, it wouldn’t be as easy and dialling 911, waiting only minutes for an ambulance, and promptly receiving world-class medical care.
Example 2: Last week, Hohoe township was without running water for five days. Rumour was that a pipe in town had burst, but after asking around I noticed that no one seemed to have more information than that.
I’ll ask you to think for a moment about how disrupted your life would be if the water stopped running in your community for five days. That means your toilets don’t flush, you can’t run the dishwasher, and you have to purchase water every day for cooking, drinking, and washing. What would you do? Who do you call? What are your questions?
Lack of reliable, hygienic, safe infrastructure in Ghana is not Haiti, BP, or the Gaza blockade. The media won’t have any casualties to report on, or stories of shock and despair to capture. Although on a lesser magnitude than some of the heavy hitting crises mentioned, I believe the story of infrastructure in Ghana still deserves a blip in the global media’s spotlight. Living side by side with those who aren’t empowered to call on their government, to expect honest and reliable answers, and to advocate for solutions they feel are appropriate, seriously makes me stop in my tracks and think about how different the life I’ve known in Canada is from the one I’m beginning to feel a part of here.
Superficially, the clothes, the food, and the scenery take my breath away and make me appreciate all of the beautiful ways in which Ghana differs from Canada. However, it’s not the new people and their culture; it’s not my being the only white girl around that truly makes me feel like I’m in a foreign place. It’s when I so starkly see a contrast to what I’ve always known, and what I’ve always thought was right, that I realize I’ve grown up in a place that operates with a completely different set of rules than Ghana. Those rules, both formal and informal, govern what individuals expect from themselves, their community, and their government. Ultimately I think it’s these rules that are different between nations, and that people behave differently largely as a result of their existence.
I plan on posting my responses to questions I’ve received from you, the reader, once per week for the remainder of my placement. You can either ask questions by commenting on this post, or by sending an email to erinflanagan@ewb.ca. This series of question-based posts is meant to compliment the type of writing you’ve already seen from me, not replace it.
This plan hinges on your participation, so please jump in with both feet and take advantage of it. There are no limits to the type of questions you can ask– from my work, to the JF experience, to culture and life in Ghana, and everything in between– I’ll do my best to answer all of the questions each week.
Alright, Canada, now the ball is in your court. I can’t wait to read and reflect on your questions.
Thanks for reading,
Erin
