Plans

The following week will be my last one volunteering with Lady Volta. It is amazing how fast the time has gone. I remember thinking with trepidation, in Montreal, that 5 weeks was such a long time. Now it seems like it is going to be the blink of an eye.

I am definitely just not built in the same way as the youngsters today. Clara said to me when i told her about my plans, 'Mom, you are going all that way why don't you stay for a long time?!' ...so i changed from 4 weeks to 5 and found myself very daring!! Clara is gone for two months. Cathy is here for 3 months, Clarice for 4 and Shoko will be here for 2 years!!! ... i guess i am not that daring at all!!

I have learnt so much though in the two short weeks i have been here. Rome was not built in a day... rather day by day, I keep telling myself. I came here with no expectations but with an idea to bring home beads and volunteer.

The volunteering has surpassed any ideas i could have had. And i will be bring a part of this home with me. I really would like to see if i can have a go at fundraising for Lady Volta in the form of getting their product out in Canada. I like the idea of women in the world uniting to help each other.

Also i have learnt a lot about the Bead Business. I have found out how to locate the beads, to negotiate and buy them and a lot about the beads themselves and their sellers. While here in Ho, i have gone each weekend to the two markets that have beads that are accessible. I have bought quite a few beads, not enough to fill a store by any means.. just enough to seed my idea ... the idea of becoming the Bead Lay and selling beads on the internet first. If the business does take off my next trip will be much easier to plan. In order to really shop for beads I now know things like: one really needs to hire a car and a driver and have a plan in place to ship the beads home. The beads i have bought will fit into a small suitcase but they weigh about 50 lbs!! ... i had not even realized the difficulty just carting the beads around would imply! Also, their weight makes bringing home any significant amount in one's luggage impossible!

I have decided that my next leg of my journey will be more of a fact finder than collecting a lot more beads... I will be going to Kumasi next weekend to the market there. I will only buy beads that are very special but the trip will give me more experience. Also it is in this area that the brass beads are made in Ghana. I would like to see these being made.

Dela and i will travel to Kumasi by tro tro and explore the area for a couple of days with these aims in mind.

Then i will come back to Ho to pick up my luggage and say good by to everyone.

Christianne will bring me and my luggage to Accra. The girls might come with us and we will explore Accra together over the weekend.

Then i will go and check out all the bead markets there in the days before i catch my flight on Thursday, Feb. 23rd.

By the end of my trip, the goal i have set for myself is to feel quite comfortable in the Bead Market world so that if the Bead Lady venture does start to pan out Ghana will be a real and known resource for me.

---- some of my bead stash!!!