Funeral Experience

On Thursday my boss invited me to attend a funeral in a small town about an hour away called Busunu. I wanted to experience more of the culture so I figured why not go?

The funeral we were attending was a Christian funeral. In the north, their funerals are three days; this is to represent Jesus rising on the third day. We went to the funeral on the third day and went to greet the mother of the deceased. My boss started to sing a song and started to weep as she entered the room where the mother was sitting on the ground.

Sidenote: There is something very strange about crying in Ghana (or at least the West Gonja District)- it doesn't happen. Nobody cries and if you do, nobody knows how to deal with it. Apparently at the funeral you have to cry.

Because this was my boss's first time attending the funeral she had to cry, but if she attended it on the second day too she would cry on the second day only, and not on the third day. Who can control their tears like that? Especially at a funeral. So she wept and then calmed herself down enough to talk to the mom for a bit. After this we went to the father's house. The father is dead so it was just more family sitting in a room. Once again, my boss sang the song and wept.

After this, we learnt that there was another funeral going on- a traditionalist funeral. There are a lot of traditionalists in Busunu- when I say traditionalists I mean they highly believe in witchcraft and spells. I have been told incidents of times when people were killed as a result of people saying spells and wishing bad things on others. They believe that homeless people or "mad" people on the street have been cursed by traditionalists for some particular reason. We went to the traditionalist funeral just to hear the music and drumming that they do. It was similar music to that of the Damba festival in January and was nice and upbeat!

Traditionalist Dancing!

After that we went to the ceremony of the funeral, which happened outside sitting on plastic chairs. The mother of the deceased does not attend the funeral because it will be too difficult for her. So other family members and community members attended. The priest spoke and we sang songs. Then it came time for donations/collection and individuals would say a prayer for every coin they wanted to donate. Some of them said the sweetest things. Thursday happened to be the first rainfall of the season, which was wonderful to see. One of the family member's said that God planned the rain so that the deceased didn't have to lie in the hot sound. All of the prayers were thoughtful and beautiful. We were then given food to take home- this is where it got strange.

I arrived back in Damongo and I told my friend about the food I got and he told me not to eat it. He said he would never take or eat food from Busunu because it could be cursed. They truly believe that strange things happen in Busunu and choose not to associate with the town if they don't have to. My friend was actually invited but said no because he really didn't feel comfortable going to the town due to the traditionalists. So in the end we threw the food away... It was one of the strangest things I have experienced so far!

Next week I am going to the big city of Kumasi for work. It is the end of the year for WUSC’s Uniterra Program so they are hosting a 2 day workshop to discuss the year’s achievements. I created a PowerPoint (which I will try to share with you somehow) and we will present it at the workshop! So I will definitely blog about that as we learn what other districts are doing and also learn some challenges that we are facing! Stay tuned! 

Lots of love,

Bianca

Cans of Worms

Hello!

As far as learning styles go, I am definitely a hands on learner. I am currently studying International Development and Globalization- which can be a difficult program to get "hands on experience" when learning in such a developed country like Canada. With that being said, I am so grateful to have had this opportunity to travel abroad and volunteer. My favourite part about working in the developing world is seeing the books come to life. I have read about poverty and corruption and the inefficient governments, but it is all coming to life right before my eyes. It is a beautiful thing to recognize- but also a very scary thing. I absolutely love learning, and one of the reasons I chose to work with education is because I think learning is such a beautiful thing. But being able to see everything I have learnt in school come to life right before my eyes has definitely brought about some difficult questions.

I have seen, and somewhat lived, in poverty. I have seen inefficient and ineffective government systems. I have seen child labour. I have seen and heard child abuse. I have dealt with poor water facilities. I have witnessed poorly operated schools. Not only have I seen a number of development issues, but I have also felt a number of feelings. While being in Ghana, I have felt like a minority. I have felt oppressed. I have felt insecure. I have felt unsafe. I have felt vulnerable. I have felt disrespected. I have felt as a woman in a developing country feels all the time. What I have seen and felt doesn't even compare to what the average person goes through on a daily basis in the small town of Damongo, Ghana. Now, the purpose of this particular blog is not to worry you, or to tell you how amazing it is to see school come to life, but it is to tell you how my experience has opened up a huge can of worms.

I have another year (and possibly a semester) of university in order to complete my undergrad in International Development and Globalization, and my minor in Public Administration. Once I graduate, I have many choices- I could graduate and start job hunting, I could continue school and get some certificates to accompany my degree, or I could do something that I never even considered- a masters.

Lately I have been highly considering a Masters program. Last week we put on a workshop for Child Rights for Headmasters, Girls Clubs Coordinators, and several community members. After workshop I realized a sudden spark of interest in human rights and law. If I do a masters I want it to be something really important, but also something that touches on every aspect. Human Rights does that. It touches on food, shelter, health, and education- all in one! We put on the workshop and I ended up disagreeing with some things mentioned, and it really got me thinking. Are right cultural? No. Absolutely not. However, here in Damongo, they believe that certain things (like child abuse) is simply just part of their culture. But it goes against the right of a child, so how is that possible? I have definitely had a change of heart in terms of furthering my education and am seriously considering something related to Human Rights in the future!

I added my minor this year, not realizing its significance. I wanted something to accompany my undergrad and chose Public Administration out of the blue. After working with the government in Damongo, I realized how incredibly important it is. I have actually gone through my notes a couple of times to help me with my evaluation report. Public Administration focuses on the government and how systems operate. It looks at issues like accountability, conflict of interest, ethics, etc. Everything I have learnt in my course so far has played a part in my internship. One of the more prominent examples is accountability. There is little to no accountability in the Ghana Education Service in Damongo. The schools are rarely monitored and nobody gets in trouble. The teachers or headmasters may not even be at school and nobody knows. There is definitely a lack of accountability as nobody is responsible for anything. It is a broken system that needs some serious work. However, I have learnt so much about how inefficient and ineffective a government can be, especially one with as little funding as Ghana's (particularly the Northern Regions). I am so happy I chose Public Administration as my minor and think it can definitely help me in my future endeavours!

Lastly, I have considered being a teacher. I would absolutely love to teach overseas. At first I wanted to do it for myself and get experience, but now it has become to much more than that- it's about the children. Many of the teachers here don't want to be teachers, they just need to make an income. Therefore, many teachers are not motivated. Some don't go to schools, others go and don't teach... and then of course you meet the few who absolutely love it! It breaks my heart to see so many children go to school and not have the quality education that they deserve. It also makes me think about the children out of school. Many parents don't send their kids to school because they need/want them to work. To be honest, sometimes I don't blame them. I mean, why send your kid to school when they aren't receiving quality education anyways? It has definitely been something I am considering! I want to give children their right to quality education! Perhaps someday :)

It is safe to say that this internship has opened up a huge can of worms. My interests have drastically changed and I am now considering options I never even thought of! It has been an incredibly experience so far and I cannot wait to see what else sparks my interest! Maybe I'll want to work with elephants? Who knows! My next post will be about my trip to the Mole National Park!

Also, new blog on the Students Without Borders webpage! the link is at the top of my blog or click here

I also posted a blog on the University of Ottawa's website earlier this month, the link is also at the top of the page! xo

Until then,

Lots of love!

Bianca

Child Rights Workshop

Child Rights Workshop

            On Monday through to Thursday (last week), the Ghana Education Service through the Girls Education Unit put on a Child Rights Workshop. The first two days were for headmasters/headmistresses and girls clubs coordinators and the following two days were for four community members (including one PTA member). The workshop was held for 20 schools, both primary and junior high schools, within the district. The objective of the workshop was to build the capacity of individuals on child rights and how to address abuse cases within schools. Three members of the GEU (myself included) and the Chief of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) ran the workshop.

            We first discussed what human rights are and then moved on to what child rights are. We later discussed the United Nations Convention on The Rights of a Child, the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and the Children’s Act 1998. I encourage you to do further research on the various human rights organizations or conventions that exist. There are links at the bottom of this blog to help you!

Child Abuse

            Later on in the workshop we discussed three important aspects of child rights: child abuse, child labour, and child trafficking. Child abuse has been divided into four main categories: neglect, physical abuse, psychological or emotional abuse, and sexual abuse. Something that I have noticed in Damongo is that physical abuse is widely accepted. Many children, both at home and at school, are physically abused as a way of “disciplining” the child. Many teachers or headmasters walk around with a cane (or stick) and hit the children when they are acting out. There have been many contradicting views on this, especially in the workshop. One of my coworkers presented the idea that it is okay to use the cane, so long as the punishment is appropriate (ie. if the kid did something really bad, they get hit really hard- if they did something for the first time that wasn’t so bad, then just hit them lightly). I had incredibly mixed feelings about this and didn’t know how to react. Was I to correct him in front of everybody? Should I just accept that it is part of their culture? Can I really stand up here and present on something that I don’t support? I had so many questions going through my mind and I had no idea how to react. It bothered me that my boss didn’t speak out and correct my coworker as he told a room of twenty people that it was okay to use a cane- when in fact it is against everything we believe in. It was frustrating to say the least.

Defining Sexual Harassment

I later discussed this issue with the Chief (CHRAJ) in private and asked him if he thought it was okay. He said no for two reasons: 1. It is against his job to believe it is okay and 2. He personally doesn’t believe it is right. He then explained that most people do it as a way of disciplining the child because they won’t listen or learn any other way. Then he made an important point- what about the kids who weren’t abused and still turned out okay? It is so true. There are several people, myself included, who were not abused as a child and still turned out okay. We were disciplined in different ways, ways that didn’t leave scars. I asked people on Facebook to give me suggestions or ideas on how to discipline kids. I found one to be particularly interesting- one of my friends, who is also working in Ghana, suggested to reward those doing well instead of punishing the ones who are doing poorly. This way, children will have incentives to behave well. What a great idea! Why not focus on the positives instead of the negatives? I thought it was a wonderful idea and something that I will suggest to the coordinators during my visits to the girls clubs.

I want to hear your thoughts, either by commenting below or messaging/e-mailing me! Do you think child abuse can be considered part of a “culture?” Think about it, can a human right really be abused because it is part of a culture? Is that a valid excuse? Does that make it okay? What are your thoughts…?

Leading a stretching exercise!

Illiteracy

The second workshop for the community members proved to be incredibly difficult from the beginning. At the beginning of each workshop, the participants are expected to sign in and register. Many of the community members came to register and couldn’t. Why? They couldn’t write their name. Imagine that. Imagine that you didn’t even know how to write your own name! I found this to be shocking and incredibly sad. Majority of the participants couldn’t write their name and a lot of them cannot read. If there is one thing you should be able to write, it should be your name. This really made me think about how important education is and how incredibly important this workshop is considering one of the rights of a child is to have a name.

It really makes everything I am doing here feel so much more important. I am working with the Girls Clubs and promoting education. My focus is on reading and ensuring that girls can read and write. Looking at the workshop and seeing so many illiterate participants, I can really see the importance of educating a child so that they can be educated for life.  

            We definitely needed to adapt to the participant’s abilities for the workshop. Most of our presentation was on a PowerPoint so it would be easy to follow along. We also provided the participants with notepads and pens so they could take notes. However, for this particular group, they couldn’t read or write (especially in English) so we really had to work. With that being said, we needed to translate everything that we presented into the local language, Gonja, so that they could understand. Learning about the realities that exist in terms of illiteracy among older generations was something that I haven’t spent a lot of time with- it was challenging but incredibly educational. I have already learnt so much during my internship and I am only half way done! This experience has been incredible and has encouraged me to get out of my comfort zone and learn about the challenges that people in developing countries face everyday.

Imagine yourself to be illiterate. What challenges would you face on a daily basis? What does a name mean to you? How important is it for your to be able to write your name?

More blogs to come soon!

Lots of Love,

Bianca

Links:

http://www.un.org/en/rights/

http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm

http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/

http://www.chrajghana.com/

Water is Life

Water is Life.

I have been thinking about this blog a lot, because I really want the message to be clear. So here we go…

To some, water is scary and to others it can be so much fun. Ever think about all that water can be? Water can be calm, luxurious, unpredictable, soothing, refreshing, or even inconvenient. Before I go on, I want you to think about a time when water was each of the words listed above… I’ll go first.

Ocean, Cape Coast

When I think of calm and luxurious water, I picture the lake at my cottage as we are eating dinner while the sun is setting. When I think of water as unpredictable I picture big ocean waves and not knowing what they can do. I picture the ocean and all of the creatures in it that I don’t even know exist. When I think of soothing and refreshing, I picture myself showering after a soccer game on a hot summer day. When I think of water as inconvenient, I picture having to shower and dealing with my wet hair afterwards. All of these images that I once had have completely changed over the past four weeks.

When I think of water at home in Canada, I don’t consider it to be a luxury. It is just there; it always has been and always will be. In Damongo, I live on my own in a compound with about seven other Ghanaian families. We all share the same bathrooms and showers. By bathrooms and showers, I mean we have four small rooms- two are just empty with a small drain (showers) and the other two have holes in them (toilets). There is electricity almost all of the time but there is no access to water. That’s right, no access to water. We each have large plastic bins/buckets we fill with water and then fetch more when it is empty. When we want to shower we fill up a bucket and head to the empty room to splash water on ourselves and scrub the dirt off with a bar of soap. It is safe to say that my feelings towards water have drastically changed.

Access to water in Damongo, Ghana

I now see water as a luxury. It is something that I am so incredibly grateful to have. Water in Damongo is very scarce. There are a few places in town where you go fill up your water from giant water tanks that were funded by different organizations. Sometimes water is not available in Damongo, especially clean, safe drinking water. This, therefore, is what I mean by water is unpredictable, as it is not always available. However, I still think no 

matter where you are, water is refreshing! As inconvenient as it is to shower out of a bucket, there is nothing more refreshing than a “shower” after a long, hot day! And lastly, water can be inconvenient. Looking back, I was so foolish to think that having to dry my hair after a shower was inconvenient. Having to walk far to get water is not only inconvenient, but it is strenuous work. I pay a lady to fetch water for me, and I feel incredibly guilty every time. She has to walk back and forth at least 5 times in the extreme heat carrying loads of water on her head- just to fill up my bucket.  There is no doubt in my mind that I will give her something at the end of my internship in order to thank her for the water she has provided me with.

I have worked in places (like the Dominican Republic) where there was a lack of water, or where the water was incredibly dirty. I thought I understood the “big water problem,” but I don’t think I did. There is a big difference between working in an area with polluted water, and living in one. With the work that I did in those areas, a part of me always knew that at the end of the day I could escape to my room where I was staying and have a decently warm shower. Through having this incredible experience, I have been able to see just how difficult it is to live as a Ghanaian. And I am just referring to water, there are so many other challenges that they face on a daily basis- but perhaps that can wait for another day.

carrying water

I hang out with a friend every day and we drink “pure water”- which is clean drinking water. On one of the first days we hung out, he handed me pure water and said “water is life” and not a day goes by that I don’t think about that statement. Water is life. Think about it…  water keeps us alive in so many different ways. We drink water to stay hydrated, we cook with water and stay nourished, we bathe in water to stay clean and healthy… we use water in almost everything we do. Water is life.

So next time you waste water, or complain about water- I want you to think twice. It is not always a matter of “I have it so I can use it” but a matter of respect- you should always value the water you have. So I challenge you not to waste water. Think of it as a way of showing respect to those who don’t always have water.  

I am so incredibly blessed to be Canadian, where I have access to clean drinking water every single day. I have been so privileged and so grateful to have this experience. Not everybody can have the same experience to travel overseas and see these problems first hand, so I am writing this blog to share the message in hopes that you, the readers, understand that Water is Life.

Lots of Love,

Bianca

P.S.: can someone show this to my brother please... xo

Rock Paper Scissors

Rock, Paper, Scissors

I have not blogged in a while, and I apologize for that but hopefully this blog will explain why. Work over the past couple weeks have been incredibly slow- I mean, sitting on my computer and leaving early nearly everyday- slow. So I have had absolutely nothing to write about! And for that I apologize. Last week was rough, I was annoyed at how slow work was and how useless I felt. I ended up calling a couple of friends who helped me through it. One suggested I think of something to add to my work plan that could keep me busy, and I think I got it!

My Office

My job here is to assist with the Girls Clubs in approximately 20 schools, both primary and junior high. However, when I got here there were some problems already present. There is a lack of motivation in many of the teachers at the schools, which makes it really difficult to encourage the students to go to school. I went to my first Girls Club last week and we started 30 minutes late… the headmaster or principal was not even there yet. Another time I went to a spelling bee, which was awesome- don’t get me wrong- but a lot of the time the students didn’t understand the words they were spelling. So what good is it if you can spell a word but have no idea what it means? It is safe to say that there is a lack of accountability within the education system and certainly a lack of effectiveness! That is where I hope to come in.

Spelling Bee Competition

Rock, Paper, Scissors

We have all played the game before. But I am turning the game into real life. I created a project for myself in order to keep busy and in order to improve the Ghana Education Service, specifically related to the Girls Clubs. I am going to create an Evaluation Report that focuses on the realities of the Girls Clubs, the problems that are present, and possible solutions that could be made in order to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the system. At the end of my mandate I will sit down with the Director of Education and the Girls Education Officer (my boss) to discuss the report and ways to improve the system!

So where does the Rock, Paper, Scissors come in? Well the rock is what I consider to be the current state, or the reality that the Girls Clubs are in now. The report that I will draft will be the paper and the ideas that it proposes. You see the paper will be full of ideas and changes that need to be made in the future. Now in the game, paper covers rock. So when the report is done, I would like the suggested changes to happen. Therefore, I would like the ideas to become reality- the paper to cover the rock. I see scissors as an item that ceases change. There are many times when scissors cuts paper and therefore turns down new ideas. But if the paper already covers the rock, then a new solid foundation has been created and it therefore crushes the scissors- allowing for new realities to emerge.

Are you a bit confused? Here’s a quick rundown:

Rock: reality (current state)

Paper: ideas (my report)

Scissors: ceases change

Scissors cuts paper = scissors is trying to stop change, and can therefore cut paper and crush new, emerging ideas. But...

Paper covers rock = a new, solid foundation is created as the ideas become reality

Rock (covered in paper) crushes scissors = If the new foundation is solid, it will crush scissors and its attempt to stop change.

So with time, I am hoping to develop a solid foundation so that when I leave they can begin to work on positive changes within the Girls Clubs. I am hoping that through evaluating the schools, I will be able to see what is working and what needs improvements. Whether my report is taken seriously or not in the end doesn’t matter… although I would love it if it did, it is still an amazing learning experience for me and will certainly challenge me to think outside the box. I have never drafted a report like this before and to be honest I have no idea where to start. But I am up for the challenge! So wish me luck…

Perhaps I will share my report with you sometime at the end of March!

Kintampo Waterfalls, Ghana

Lots of love!

Bianca

Kintampo

Kintampo Waterfalls

After my long, decently rough week I decided I needed a break from Damongo. So my friend and I decided to take a road trip to the waterfalls! The waterfalls are located in Kintampo, which is in the Brong Ahafo Region (I live in the Northern Region). It was about a three-hour drive there. We arrived at the waterfalls and they were breathtaking. They were so beautiful! It was exactly what I needed to relax after my stressful week. We decided to go under the waterfalls… little did I know the water was absolutely freezing! It was so cold but so refreshing! So we hung out at the waterfalls for a bit and then a school showed up to join! It turns out that the louder you scream the more the water falls! The kids loved the water though! It was so fun to see kids just being kids- not carrying water on their heads or selling stuff on the side of the road- but just splashing in the water. I loved every minute of it.

After the waterfalls we took a bus to Tamale, the capital of the Northern Region. This took about three hours as well and we met up with some friends. We hung out for a while, watched the soccer game, and then headed to town! We went out to a rooftop bar in Tamale- what an experience! There were lots of people there and almost everybody was dancing. Oh the dancing let me tell you… Ghanaians can move!!! They are such good dancers! The best part about it is that they all dance alone! They are all just jamming out in their own world dancing to the music- I love it! It was so much fun to see and to watch some of them dance was fascinating!

The next day we woke up, had some breakfast, and headed back to Damongo! It was another three-hour journey on a bumpy dirt road. It was a long day but we made it! As much as I love Damongo, there are always times where you need a little vacation from vacation. The trip to the waterfalls was a wonderful break and I forgot about everything that happened the week before. This week has started off great and I am trying to stay as positive as I can!

I hope you are all doing well and know that I miss each and every one of you!

Lots of love!

Bianca

Oh... and I sat on a camel...