Stories from Bimbilla

On Thursday of last week, myself and Karim (the program manager at my NGO) went to a town named Bimbilla to do some research and find out what new projects could be implemented in some of the communities we work with. Here a little diary of the trip:

Thursday -

Our bus was booked for 11:30, however they are notoriously late so we didnt even bother turning up till 12:30, and the bus didnt leave till 14:00...
Arrived at the guesthouse, which was a little basic so I had to learn how to wash myslef out of a bucket, amazing how little water you actually need to clean yourself!

Friday -

Woken up at 5:00 by Karim praying, had breakfast of Ghanaian porridge and doughnut like bread, then headed off on the motorbikes to a village called Kadjeso, on the way stopping off at the Nanumba South district assembly anbd ministry of agriculture to say hello.
The road was so dusty that by the end I was more orange than a footballers wife.
We met with the community and discussed their development and their needs. I pumped a bucket of water out of the bore hole (surprisingly hard work), met the village alcoholic, chief and drug addict. Also lots of breastfeeding, which is a very public thing here. We also spoke to a man who showed us a huge hernia through his clothes, that could be easily treated but whether its due to lack of transport, his fear of hospitals or something else he wont visit a health centre, and will probably die from it.
I also discovered that ive become a christian priest; in these rural areas they rarely see white people and when they do they are usually priests. So as we were travelling through these villages all the children shouted out to me "father!".
In the evening I think I spent my first ever Friday night without any other Jews.

Saturday -

Went to a village called Gundow, on arrival saw a baby lying on a mat outside looking very sick with a swollen head and covered in flies. What I found most disturbing is that I didnt find this particularly shocking, its terrible but ive actually become acclimatised to the poverty here.

I also got another marriage proposal from the cook at the restaurant we went to in the evening!

Sunday -

Rained in morning so didnt get up till 8:00, travelled to village called Kukuo where women accused of witchcraft are sent to be "controlled". We had a meeting with around 20 of them, I asked them a list of prepared questions, following which (pun not intended) we discussed more about their lives. It was very sad to find out about what they had been through. The women accussed of witchcraft are normally from 3 particular groups:
1. Widows
2. Those who are infertile (or havent had children)
3. Those who only had girls as children
Some are also accused if their fellow villagers become envious of them and want to steal their money or produce.
However once taken to Kukuo they are treated relatively well. (theres lots more to say about the women but not enough time, so ask me when im back)

We then travelled to Juanayilli, on the way we were stopped at 2 police checkpoints by polie looking for bribes. We didnt cough up though.
In Juanayilli we had the pleasure of meeting the most drunk man i have ever seen! He stumbled up to me pointing at the 4 toes on his left foot while making aggressive begging gestures. All the villagers found this hilarious and proceeded to take all the money out of this mans pockets. Once the meeting with the community started he kept coming over and interrupting with his load grunts. Every time this happened soemone would pick him up over their shoulder and carry him away whilst everyone else laughed at him (it was very funny!) I later learnt that he was a mad man and had won the lotto to the tune of 40 cedis (about 20 pounds, a v.large sum in these areas) and spent most of it on booze. I also found out he has a wife and 3 children which is pretty sad, what hope have they got?

Monday -

Met the local water and sanitation board that services around 28,000 people. They told us of how they are in massive debt as noone pays their water bills. When they cut people or institutions off for not paying they invariably recieve a call from some local politician demanding reconnection. If this continues they may have to stop operating, so we have begun to plan a strategy with them to get people paying their bills. (There's more to say but no time, so again ask me when i get back)

Went to local hospital to discuss building of new nutrition centre that we are looking for funding for.

That concludes the diary of my trip to Bimbilla! hope you found it interesting (even if I didnt write everything I wanted to). Will write soon xx