Fellow Free-Spirit Traveler Flies On

June 20th, 2006 | By Joshua | No Comments »

“On a camel to heaven,” is how the friends and family of Kinga Freespirit describe her latest journey, the one that began with her death from cerebral malaria a few days ago at the Military Hospital here in Accra. Kinga met many people during her solo African sojourn, and made even more friends on her previous trip: a five-year hitchhiking journey around the world with her partner, Chopin. Her book, Led By Destiny, tells all about it, and the long lists of comments on her site and places like the Thorn Tree show just how many people she touched.
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Accra: sight-free, soccer-insane city by the sea

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

There are no “sights” in Accra. None to write home about, anyway. There is a National Theatre, a museum (I think), and a zoo that we have yet to visit, but in general, I agree with our guidebook that, from a tourist’s perspective, Accra is downright “disappointing.”
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Africa, AIDS, and the Earth-Wide Web Sandwich

June 14th, 2006 | By Joshua | 1 Comment »

A few months ago, I received a note from fellow world traveler Jonathan Rawlinson, regarding the Nata Village Blog and efforts to combat HIV/AIDS in this Botswana village. I shelved the message and forgot about it, until today, when I was serendipitously led back to Nata after viewing Jon and his brother, Duncan’s, historical completion of the World’s First Earth Sandwich.
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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 | 2 Comments »

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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