Monday

So today was our first real day where we 'volunteered' ... though for me it was more like playing!

Upon arriving, i went upstairs to join the Bead Ladies... over the weekend while browsing the books i had brought on macrame, a design had caught my eye... it would lent itself perfectly for this bead i had spied last Friday while doing my usual 'getting adjusted activity' ... cleaning (the harmattan wind covers everything in the dust it brings!!) ...so i gathered my beads and joined the ladies at the beading table and set to work...

I was instantly accepted by the other two beaders, Rita and Yayra.. who told me i was 'welcome' and then immediately resumed chatting away in Ewe.... and me? .. i felt in familiar territory (ha ha!!) ... people chatting away and me not understanding ....though here, not one word got throught!! But i relaxed and enjoyed the energy of the patter of the two young women with their clear and sparkling eyes!!

The place bustled as all the ladies came in to work ... the creche for the babies was just across from us so we got to see all the babies arrive...the moms unwound yards of colourful cloth to unveil tiny, beautiful babies..... their eyes as big as saucers with a surprised look on their face as they emerged ... a look that would turn to dismay when mom disappeared... but Belinda quickly distracted them with singing ...

Finally everyone was in place and there was that calm of concentrated industry that was only disrupted occasionally by a baby wailing ... but this was usually cut off pretty quickly as mom ambled up for a quick feed...

I took a break and wandered around with my camera ...which makes the ladies chortle ... 'can i take your picture?' brings the house down but they all are very demure when the shutter goes down!!

In the batiking room, it is a different matter. There my camera is totally ignored because the Batikers and Shoko are working in concentration n a new design... trying to line up the wax stamping just right... so i snap a few pics..

Upstairs after working on my necklace a bit more i remembered the beads i had bought at the market so hauled them out to show Rita who is the buyer. She was horrified that i paid so much so i started grilling her.... and awhile later i had amassed a nice selection of sample beads on a string with the price and name marked with masking tape!!

So now i am all ready for Korifudua Market on Thursday which is Ghana's biggest.... I will go with Dela, a guide i met last time but next week Rita has promised to go with me... This week i will get the lay of the land!!

Lunch was delicious... we are so spoiled! We have a great cook who cooks us all these Ghanaian dishes... today it was Palava Sauce with Yams and eggs... From Christianne's description palava sounds like the african equivalent to spinach and it was mixed with pulverized pumpkin seeds... very spicy and yummy!

On the way back to the office Cathy and i got dropped off for some phone and bank business ... then we walked back... we are slowly getting orientated...

i better be because my 'bike' has arrived and tomorrow i will sally forth... watch out drivers!

My necklace turned out fun ... but then the babies starting getting agitated... it was time to go home, Mom!!!... they screamed at the top of their voices... but Mom just went serenely on beading or sewing amidst the cacophony!!

i tried to keep working but gave up... so i went to bounce one of the babies who was yelling the loudest... i figured i couldn't make things worse... i grabbed him and brought him near the open door... either the new scenery or the breeze coming in brought his yelling to an abrupt halt and he peered around peacefully for awhile... must say, i felt quite triumphant !!

At the end of the day i was outside when i saw my brother, John had pinged me on facetime... so because i had wifi i managed to connect up with him!! Amazing! i was so excited to show him around... I got to show John all the way over in Canada the tiny bit of Africa that i am in!!! Isn't life amazing??!!

On the other hand Clara, who is in the country neighboring Ghana and I cannot manage to connect... strange.... She did manage to text me ... she says she is doing fine!!

Tomorrow is another day...

Beautiful in Red

Market Day!!

The market in Ho comes every 5 days .... and today, Sunday is the first Market Day of my visit.

I fell in love with Ghana's market during my last visit... and literally had dreams of visiting them!!

So I woke up very excited and looking forward to my first adventure. Cathy and I were setting forth on our own to brave the world of taxis in Ghana. Bernice had shown me the ropes on Friday so i was feeling very confident. Also, we had our landmark to indicate to the driver.... we are just past the Regional Hospital. (which is really big, Clara!!) And to get there we just say ....the market, please!! (no kidding, right?)

So we set off after breakfast. The sky is much clearer today. The Harmattan winds are blowing and apparently it has been really bad this year. Yesterday the sky was quite dark and heavy but today you could see the blue of the sky and there are white clouds... so maybe the winds are finally passing. The clear sky means that it is much hotter and sunnier, though, so we had hats and we were slathered in sun screen...

Our taxi, like most of them, looked like it had been sitting in the worst neighbourhood in New York and everything that could be removed was taken!!! It was basically a shell that shuddered along... but it got us there for the grand total of 50 peswas.. or in our lingo about 25 cents!

Arriving at the market , the bustle and movement was really something... and it was Sunday so this Market was not a 'good one' as everyone was in church we had been told... To really see it at its best, Bernice had told us we must come on a weekday!! Well ... for us this was a perfect introduction. A market in Ghana is so vibrant and alive. All the fruits and vegetable are artistically placed. The Ghanaian loves a spectacle... The lady selling some sort of white grain was dressed from head to foot in white!! Is this on purpose? Can't say... Black charcoal (made from the mangroves i understand ) turns the person"s clothes quite black ... so this scene is like a monochrome study in black... quite beautiful in its way... there was a fellow shopper dressed from shoes all the way up in red...

We walked around, our eyes feasting on all the amazing colours and shapes and combinations...

Of course, all the while i was searching for beads... I bought a straw mat for my room and some soap.... Then on our way out of the market i stumbled on my first stall of beads!! Wow, i was thrilled!!! Cathy memoriated this moment by taking some photos for me!!

My quest has really started as i have bought my first beads!!!

Home sweet home!

Friday January 20.... first Day at the Office!

My dates are out of whack a bit because i am still getting used to this blogging business!! I am actually writing this on Saturday after a 'settling in' day...

But back to Friday...

Christianne drove us in to the Office. A bike is being fixed for me and will be ready on Monday... this will make me much more autonomous... But i was glad to go with Christianne today as Ho is still a bewildering maze of streets seeming to go every which way!!

The Office is right in the middle of all the hubbub. A really nice building with two floors.

In front is a small cafe and store front where they sell the necklaces and batikking made by the Volta Ladies..

And what a beautiful and talented group they are!! I met the Bead Ladies who do beautiful necklaces and earrings with whom I hope to bead with.

The Batik Ladies were hard at work making this beautiful fabric... i even got to stamp the wax on a piece of fabric!! i want to do a photo essay on the whole batiking process so just hold that little mystery in your thoughts for a while and i will show you what this means hopefully early next week!!

The Seamstresses magically sew all this beautiful fabric into wonderful pants, purses, wallets and various other things with these ancient but beautiful manual Singer sewing machines!! Well... there is one electric sewing machine!

The ladies are all lovely young women who are very enthusiastic about their work. Shoko, a young designer from Japan has been volunteering for over a year. She will be there for 2 years in all. She is very much an integrated part of this dynamism!

The atmosphere is enlivened by the presence of lots of babies!! The mothers can bring in their babies and breast feed them during the day. One of the Ladies looks after the babies while they work but if a baby gets very fussy mom can go and visit him or her!!!

This is just the production side of VEG. There is a whole other part doing all the administration and office work where my fellow volunteer, Cathy, who is an accountant, is working. I have asked her to fill me in on that side of the Project as she gets into it. Cathy is here for 3 months so she should really get a lot done!!

And in front Bernice, a delightful young lady, runs the shop and the cafe.

My first impression of VEG is one of awe and amazement. This is a very viable and productive Project.... one which i will be so proud to be a small part of.

Friday afternoon, Bernice showed me and Cathy around Ho. She showed us where the tro tro station, and the market are... She pointed out all the various banks. She brought me to a pharmacy where i tried to buy the one thing you can't seem to buy in Ghana and the one thing i forgot to bring - sunscreen lotion!!!! (Don't worry, Christianne said she could lend me some! She is amazing!) And lastly Bernice brought me to all the cell phone oultlets looking for someone who knew how to put a data plan in the iPad!!!

This is new in Canada ... here it is cutting edge! But we found a young man, Emmanuel, who with his colleagues, managed to finally work it out after much trial and error. I was touched by their perseverance and Bernice's patience waiting for me!!!

It is thanks to them i can work on this blog!!

Tip: Bring your passport when you go to buy a chip for your phone or ipad!!

Landing in Accra

We left Montreal about an hour late even though the weather was cooperating beautifully! it had been a beautiful crisply cold day. Montreal looked very pretty in her pristinely white finery. I had gone for an envigorating walk after lunch, breathing in the fresh clean air!!!

Washington was a blur because I rushed from one plane to the next which was on time and boarding...my thoughts were with my suitcase ... Would it be loaded on time? But I wasn't overly worried as I had the essentials with me... My beads,my kindle and most fun my link to the world, the iPad. What a marvelous tiny tool!

The plane was only half full... But the excitement was there... People returning home, it felt like! Since there was no one next to me I got to stretch out across two seats...even though the arm rest could not be completely folded away..there was this big bump that I had to curl myself around... Why??? It was like the airline begrudged us this luxury! One of those mysteries in life.... but I took a gravol which gently and firmly closed the curtains of my mind!! So even though my body was uncomfortable, turning and twisting trying to find a good position my mind was enfolded in a lovely cushy cloud! It made me understand the beguiling nature of sleeping aids!!!

Bright sunshine poured through the plane window when I groggily(!) opened the window blind 8 hours later!! It took me awhile but I realized I felt really good and refreshed! wow, amazing.

Accra was a mix of oranges, yellows and reds below us. what a contrast to the stark black and white of Montreal! We landed and walked across the tarmack to the bus waiting to take us to the terminal. The warm thick air was like a caress after the stuffiness of the plane! I breathed in deeply.... Africa! I had arrived!

A smooth passage through customs for me after picking up my suitcase which was one of the first out!! Yeah! ...through a chaotic crowd of men in all different kinds of white garb with parcels of goods wrapped in white..... Colorful ladies with huge suitcases bursting at the seams all being inspected... The custom officers were not interested in me at all as they had their hands full!!

Already I knew where I was as lines did not exist ...let alone a place in a line!! But I sailed through unscathed..As I approached the waiting area I was accosted by 'taxi, lady?' over and over.. I said with more confidence than I felt, 'no, Someone is meeting me' It was so good to see the sign with 'Anita' on it...!!!!

Christianne Milev, the person in charge of Lady Volta was there to greet me. Later she told me in all the years the project has been going they only missed one volunteer whose plane was cancelled!! Another volunteer, Cathy from England and Felix who was our driver for the day was also there. My luggage was safely stored under a Tarmac in the truck and off we went...

This time the scene that greeted me was familiar so I was able to absorbe much more... the streets full of beeping cars , trucks and bicycles look more like a huge drive-in market than just roads.. Everywhere are people ..some of them so colorful and then with a huge basket full of either fruits or some goody perched majestically on their heads weaving in and out of the very slow moving vehicles.. everything from battery boosters to women's underwear to grapes are being offered to us through the car windows !!!

We are enthroned in luxury, an air conditioned truck which is a relief and protection from the noise and dusty humid air that will take us a bit of time to adjust to..

In between villages we are able to pick up speed... In fact we get stopped for speeding... 85 km per hour!!! But after a bit of persuasion Felix managed to sort things... when the villages appeared the 'street market' would slow us down... We passed one village where hundreds of pillows were on display... They harvest kapok here!!!! And are famous for their pillows...

finally we arrive in Ho... Even though it is early dusk is falling and by the time we have eaten and settled in our rooms darkness had fallen.... And I was ready for sleep .... Excited about the next day it took some time to fall asleep!!

Tomorrow we would visit the Office of Lady Volta!!

Montreal

Markets in Ghana are a vital part of everyday life. This is where you can find everything you need from vegetables to ... beads!!  Last time I was in Ghana the markets totally captivated me. I brought back a lot of wonderful beads that you have seen used in funkyFrog's necklaces.

This time I plan on doing some serious bead hunting!!

I will be volunteering with an organization called Village Exchange. Visit their site here  villageexchangeinternational.org  

My volunteer placement will be with the Lady Volta Beads project.  From the website this is a description of this placement:

Using primarily local recycled materials and various beads produced by artisans around Africa, the Lady Volta Beads project, initiated in May 2007, supports alternative livelihoods amongst young women. The young women currently producing the jewelry require training in new techniques and general support for the production of new designs.

The volunteer will be asked to create new designs using local materials with a focus on the export market, while at the same time supporting the implementation and production of new designs through interactive jewelry designing classes for our group of young women.

I am leaving on Wednesday, January 18. All my bags are packed... i am ready to go! Leaving on a jet plane...

 I hope you join me on this wonderful adventure!!