Cassavas, Castles, and a day trip to Keta

June 12th, 2006 | By Joshua | 2 Comments »

It is nice to see some new landscapes, something other than the urban Accra grime. The 3-hour drive east along the coast is a long, flat expanse of lush cassava fields, pocked by red termite towers, the roadside dotted with clusters of watermelon and okra sellers. Although we are following the coast toward Togo, the ocean does not come into view until after we’ve crossed the wide Volta River, and dipped south to the coast.
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Doctor/health worker strike in Ghana

June 8th, 2006 | By Joshua | 2 Comments »

Today, nurses and other health workers joined Ghana’s junior doctors in an indefinite strike protesting the new Health Service salary structure. Public hospitals and clinics are effectively shut down (critical patients are still being cared for). It doesn’t really affect Tay’s work at the PPAG clinic, though patients seem to be staying away. In an unrelated story, many Ghanaian pregnant women were trying NOT to deliver their babies on Tuesday (6/6/06), for fear of bringing the AntiChrist into the world.

What’s in a Name: Ya-ya calls me “Uncle”

June 7th, 2006 | By Joshua | 1 Comment »

Ya-ya, our helper and housemate here in Accra, calls me “Uncle,” a term of respect for one’s elders. She sometimes also calls me “Kwame” (rhymes with “Swami”), because that’s the day on which I was born: Saturday. Everyone at work calls me “Kwame Joshua.”
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Planned Parenthood Ghana: Our New Gig

June 1st, 2006 | By Joshua | 1 Comment »

If the folks at PALM (with whom we worked in Sri Lanka) were some of the hardest-working NGO workers I’ve ever seen, then Planned Parenthood Ghana (PPAG) is one of the most developed organizations to which I’ve been assigned. To wit, PPAG has been addressing family planning and reproductive health issues in Ghana for 39 years!
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The Bermans meet The Schnurmans, and other African connections

May 31st, 2006 | By Joshua | No Comments »

Acclimating to our new home means meeting new people, from our cheerful office-mates at PPAG to our fellow volunteers in Accra. There aren’t many AJWS volunteers in town, so it was nice to make contact with Peter and Hinda Schnurman, AJWS Volunteer Corps vets on their fifth(!) assignment.
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Where in the World is Accra?

May 28th, 2006 | By Joshua | 1 Comment »

We are here:

Or, for a closer look, here:
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Akwaaba! Welcome to West Africa

May 26th, 2006 | By Joshua | No Comments »

Once again, to be met at the airport! To know that someone has been waiting for you! To see the happy and relieved look on their faces when you arrive! So it is when George, a driver from Planned Parenthood Ghana (PPAG), and Aseye, our in-country AJWS representative, pick us up at Ghana’s Kotoka International and take us to our home for the next two months.
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Witnessing the front lines of the AIDS battle in Uganda

May 24th, 2006 | By Joshua | 2 Comments »

The AIDS situation in Uganda is one of the better in sub-Saharan Africa, with an infection rate of 7 percent, a far cry from the rates of 20, 30, or even 40 percent found in some areas of southern Africa. The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, with whom Tay’s Aunt Linda has been for four years, is on the cutting edge of preventing mother-baby HIV/AIDS transmission in Uganda and 17 other countries. But there are numerous fronts to this battle and Elizabeth Glaser is only one of many games in town. On Friday morning, an opportunity arises to see one of these other organizations in action, and we take it.
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Entering Uganda: Across the Equator

May 23rd, 2006 | By Joshua | 1 Comment »

Twenty-four continuous hours of travel—by overnight ferry across Lake Victoria followed by a series of minivan “dala-dalas”—takes us from Mwanza, Tanzania to the Ugandan capital. Our midday border crossing at Mutukula is easier than expected. As our vehicle slows, touts surround us with their roasted corn, goat-liver-on-a-stick, warm bottles of Fanta, and baggies of shiny-fried beetle grubs; they are relatively calm and curious, and they briefly scatter when I take out my camera, but immediately regroup with smiles, relentless with their wares.
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Map: Our Tanzania Trail

May 19th, 2006 | By Joshua | No Comments »

Dar to Zanzibar, then Moshi to Mwanza (1200 km across the Serengeti), followed by an overnight ferry on the great lake to Bukoba–and the Uganda border. As these three weeks in Tanzania come to a close, I’ve neglected to paint a proper a map. There just hasn’t been time to bust out the watercolors, only this customized shot from a park visitor center. Enjoy.
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