PROJECT: Good news from Ahanta West

Recently we got good news from Embracing Hidden Talents Network :)

" We thank all our past volunteers for the amazing work and contribution you made to children at Ahanta West (Busua, Butre,& Yakaw). The children you helped to teach had 100% BECE results to Senior High Schools. Not only that, but have some of the highest results in their District. Well-done you all for a good work.”

PROJECT: Reading Club (video)

LIVING: Aunt Elizabeth

If there is one thing Elizabeth is not its average. That's clear right from the first time you meet her. Usually you find her infront of her pharmacy - one of her life-projects. You find her sitting on a blue plastic chair, maybe she is talking to her neighbors as they pass by: dynamic and cheerful. Maybe she just started dining on some fufu or perhaps she is searching for the right medicine for a sick child, a family member from Busua who came to her shop with one or two cedis (Ghanian money). If she's not in the pharmacy then she might be on her terrace, setting an elegant breakfast for a few foreign backpackers or in the kitchen preparing crepes; avocado filled, with fried bannanas on the side. Or maybe she is at a meeting in Agona. On Sunday afternoons she preaches her living faith at the Church she helped build, nestled among the other houses at the foot of a hill. Wherever you meet her you recieve an warm, open, authentic welcome; lukewarmness and half-heartedness are permenantly absent. You can't remain an acquaintance for long, before you know it a trusting friendship is built.

Yes, aunt Elizabeth is definitely not average. For me, she represents the prototype of the instinctual, archaic, and timeless women as described by Clarissa Pinkola Estes in the cult classic Women Who Run With Wolves. Elizabeth has within her the primal strengths of women - strong, curious, tough, brave with a playful spirit. During our time in Busua she became a sort of Ghanian grandmother to us.

As one of the rare ambassadors and boosters of education in Busua she played a crucial role in convincing Ebenezer to build a library in Busua and helped him to get his program started. Before the library was built volunteers stayed with her. The beginning wasn't simple, and her help and encouragement within the community really helped. Even now, after the project has become well accepted in Busua, Elizabeth still welcomes new groups of volunteers and gives them help and advice.

The story of how she recieved her education begins when she was a little girl. It was, and is, especially difficult to motivate children who live around the coast to go to school. Although the situation is better now, when she was a little girl absolutely no one wanted to go to school. The teachers came to the Chief for help. After nothing else seemed to work the Chief enlisted the help of several of the men in the village. They go from house to house and, in one way or another, take the children to school; Aunt Elizabeth was also forced to go to school in this manner. Today, she says with a smile, she's very thankful to the Chief.

Her story is rich. She has accumulated many memories since those early days in Busua, some of them also fill the pages of her photo albums. Black and white photographs of a pretty, young ghanan women, pictures of friends and family, of her as a nurse, of her with the first volunteers, later as a pharmacist, and last of all as a Charismatic minister.

It seems that all we could write about her wouldn't be enough, so I borrow the words of Novica Novakovic:

"...I have a very big heart, almost as big as the miner who descends amidst the coal, with a wide smile and white teeth, even though he never knows if his bright face will drink the sun after the shift-change; like a house servant, who washes, irons and cleans the floor and windows with an innoccent song; like a fisher on Dalmatian island, who slowly and deliberately inspects and repairs his hole-filled netting and then sets to sea; like a farmer, who cautiously plows his field and fights--once with the drought, next with the flood--helpless, but determined and proud...

I have a heart almost as big, and in it enough room for all people, from the east and the west, the North and the South, and enough room for jazz and blues."

 Sonja

Če kaj teta Elizabeta ni, prav gotovo ni povprečna. To je jasno že ob prvem stiku z njo. Ponavadi jo najdeš pred lekarno - enem od njenih mnogih življenjskih projektov. Sedi na modrem plastičnem stolu, se morda pomenkuje z mimoidočimi sovaščani. Dinamično, nasmejano. Morda ravno obeduje fufu ali išče primerno zdravilo za obolelega družinskega člana busujskega otroka, ki se je, s CD-jem (ganska valuta) ali dvema, zatekel v njeno lekarno. Če ni v lekarni je morda na terasi, kjer z vso skrbnostjo lično pogrinja mizo ter popotnikom pripravlja palačinke. Avokadove, z ocvrtimi bananam. Morda je na sestanku v Agoni. Ob nedeljskih dopoldnevih pričuje svojo duhovno prebujenost skozi poslanstvo pastorke v eni od busujskih cerkva. Kjerkoli že jo srečaš, si deležen odprtega, pristnega sprejema, zaznaš da izstopa, da mlačnost in polovičarstvo pač nista v njeni domeni. Zdi se, da z njo ne moreš ostati zgolj znanec, ne da bi se zavedal z njo zgradiš zaupljiv prijateljski odnos. 

Da, teta Elizabeta nikakor ni povprečna. Zame predstavlja prototip instinktivne, arhaične, z brezčasno vednostjo obogatene ženske, ki jo je v kultni knjigi Ženske ki tečejo z volkovi pronicljivo ilustrirala Clarissa Pinkola Estes. Elizabeta je ena od žlahtnih »pražensk« - močna, radovedna, vzdržljiva, povezovalna, pogumna, igrivega duha. V času najinega bivanja v Busui, je postala najina nekakšna nadomestna ganska babica.

Kot ena redkih busujskih ambasadork izobraževanja je igrala pomembno vlogo v začetnem obdobju knjižničnega projekta. Začetki niso bili preprosti, zato je Ebenezerju njeno aktiviranje znotraj lokalne skupnosti zelo pomagalo. Tudi zdaj, ko v skupnosti okoli projekta ni več dileme, Elizabeta odprtih rok sprejema nove skupine prostovoljcev in jim ob morebitnih težavah priskoči na pomoč.

Pripoved o svojem izobraževanju je pričnela z anegdoto o takratnem Chiefu. Ker je v obmorskih vasicah, tudi Busui, otroke izjemno težko motivirati k obiskovanju šole, se je Chief tega izziva lotil na nekoliko nenavaden način – po hišah je poslal nekaj starejših fantov, ki so otroke (tudi Elizabeto) »zlepa ali zgrda«  odvedli v šolo.  Danes se Chiefovim strogim prijemom s hvaležnostjo nasmeje. 

Njena zgodba je bogata, kot se za osebo njenega kalibra tudi spodobi. Od časa Chiefovih represalij do danes se je nabralo premnogo spominov, nekateri od njih polnijo tudi strani albuma. Črnobela fotografija mlade ganske lepotice, fotografije prijateljev, Elizabete kot medicinske sestre, gostiteljice prostovoljcev, lekarničarke, ter naposled, Elizabete karizmatične pastorke. 

Zdi se, da karkoli bi zapisala o njej, ne bi bilo dovolj. Naj mi zato pomaga Novica Novakovic s svojo mislijo: 

"..Imam zelo veliko srce, skoraj tako veliko kot rudar, ki se spušča v premogovnik, s širokim nasmehom in belimi zobmi, čeprav nikoli ne ve, ali bo njegov sajast obraz po koncu izmene uzrl sonce; kot hišna pomočnica, ki celo življenje pere, lika in pomiva tla in okna, ob tem pa veselo in nedolžno prepeva; kot ribič na dalmatinskem otoku, ki vsak dan počasi z zanosom pregleduje in krpa svoje luknjaste mreže in se nato odpravi na morje; kot kmet, ki skrbno orje svojo njivo in se bori enkrat s sušo, drugič s poplavo, nemočen a vztrajen in pokončen; ; kakor babica, ki me je vsakič, ko sem napovedal svoj obisk, ure in ure nestrpno čakala na balkonu, da bi me zagledala, kako prihajam izza vogala, da bi me objela in se pogovarjala z mano.

Skoraj tako veliko srce imam in v njem je dovolj prostora za vse ljudi, z vzhoda in zahoda, s severa in juga, in v njem je dovolj prostora za jazz in blues."

PROJECT: Goodbye from Butre

                              

                            Skozi življenje mnogih ljudi greš..

                             

                                Kaj puščaš za sabo? 

                           Je brazda v rodovitni njivi?

                             ali le izginula sled roke, 

                      ki je skušala zadržati nemirno reko?

                            Je plamen, izpuhteli v dim?

      Bela črta, ki za nekaj trenutkov ukradenih večnosti preseka nebo?

                         Kaj daš, ko vstopaš v njihova življenja?

                                          Kaj vzameš?

                                               

                                                                 (M.Kačič)                               

PROJECT: "Nothing Changes if Nothing Changes", First Part

Do you remember the film Pay It Forward? A little boy reminded us of one of the central messages of Christianity -- give unto others, give without thinking of or expecting return. He wanted to change the world without undertaking a big project. With a wave of good works. But as Gandhi warned we shouldn't imagine some special or spectacular achievement, or that our actions would have big, direct results. However, this doesn't lessen the importance of our actions, or the need for them.  First we start with ourselves, then within our neighborhood...then maybe with a volunteer organization :) 

Although it may sometimes seem like we--the idealists who give our time for free--are a dying breed the facts testify otherwise: we are a family 140-million strong, who represent 16% of the world's population! Taken together, there are as many volunteers in the world as there are in the 10th largest country.

Four years have passed since I first excitedly walked to the headquarters of Hospice, which had organized an informative meeting for (potential) future volunteers. Today, as a veteran volunteer :), I can honestly say, that freely given time precipitates a personal awakening. It awakens the Person within (with an emphasis on the capital P!). The person who empathizes. Again and again it reminds us that we are given to each other, are responsible for one another, and that we don't have the right to live in ivory towers burdened only with concern for ourselves. 

Manca Košir, one of my co-volunteers at Hospice, would say that freely given time is a shortcut on the path to yourself and others. Given all these high sentiments, I always try to remember the aforementioned warning: it is not good to imagine that something special or dramatic will result from your work. The typical volunteer's day is nothing special. There isn't much drama. There aren't many "large projects". Sometimes it seems like you didn't do anything especially beneficial. But the time counts, the sacrifice counts. 

Humility is also an important part of volunteer work (humility in the best sense of the word) - being ready to clean the steps at Hospice for example. Because the project didn't have steady finances and the organization couldn't afford enough employees the volunteers were not only companions to the dying, but also cleaners, cooks, nurse's assistants, handymen....:).

As a young, curious idealist hungry for life, the time came when I wanted to go further. Africa! International volunteer work!  Pedro Opeka!  Wow! With a group of 11 volunteers we gave ourselves over to a many faceted experience, which in turn awoke so many things in us!  We achieved a new level of awareness of basic needs (which are met in our society as a matter of course): the need for food, for water, for warm clothing, for a roof over our heads. Even though we were dirty (sometimes we didn't shower for up to a week), sometimes hungry, we were simply happy and not at all bitter. We deepened our social awareness and our awareness of the social injustices which are happening in the non-privileged parts of the world. 

I knew it wouldn't be the last time, as I left the red African earth and looked took a last look at those "Pure" people (in Madagascar, for the first time, I deeply understood what Tomo Križnar meant with the title of his book about the Sudanese tribe the Nube: "Nube-The Pure People"). Now, after a year and a half, I'm here again.  In "Africa for Beginners", as they like to call Ghana. 

The mission is in some ways even more fun, after all I'm sharing it with Tomaž:)! In our small room we are diligently putting together programs, and thinking about teaching techniques. In the humble classrooms of Ghana we see our young Ghanaian students and their enthusiasm for the small books we bring them. Slowly we are getting to know the Ghanaians, a dignified and proud people. In Europe a somewhat crooked idea of Africa and African life is dominant: the idea that this dark continent cries for salvation from us.  As volunteers we meet with a totally different life. Their simplicity and indescribable joy are like a mirror for a consumer-culture westerner. 

Humanitas, the Slovenian organization which helped place us in Ghana, writes that the world is becoming more and more like a global village, and they add that understanding global challenges and interdependence--and the reaction to these things--is always becoming more and more important for effective volunteer work. They maintain (and I confirm :), that international volunteer work is an important cultural priority and tool for personal and organizational growth, which contributes to the spreading of ideas. Firstly, they write, that global volunteer work has a strong effect on the individual and the society, it encourages trust, solidarity, understanding, and reciprocity between citizens on the global level and is an important tool for the acquiring, understanding, and exchange of experience between people. At the same time it can also materially contribute to mutual development programs undertaken among partner nations which aim at the exchange of knowledge and experience; it can catalyze the changes which lead to more balanced development on a global level. 

We are all citizens of the world. Interdependent and mutually responsible. We can affect the world and the people which surround us in a very simple way: we must know how to be tolerant, how to act with solidarity, how to be patient, how to love, and how to be satisfied. But it is also right for us to show people the value and importance of giving your help freely -- volunteering. There is truth to the idea that when you give, when you share with others, you receive much more then you gave.  

(In the next part I will describe the concrete steps TomaĹľ and I took when we were searching for and preparing for international volunteer work).      

Se še spomnite filma Daj naprej (Pay It Froward)? Mali deček je opomnil na bistveno sporočilo krščanstva – daj (v)naprej, daruj brez misli in pričakovanja na povračilo. Želel je spreminjati svet, brez velikopoteznih projektov. Z valom dobrih dejanj. Skupaj z Gandhijem nas sicer opozarja, da si ob tem ni potrebno nič posebnega domišljati;  naša dejanja ne bodo imela fatalnih neposrednih rezultatov.  Kar pa ne zmanjša njihovega pomena in nujnosti. 

Začnimo najprej pri sebi, potem na svoji ulici, potem... denimo, v kateri od prostovoljskih organizacij :).  Čeprav se včasih zdi, da smo idealisti, ki podarjamo nekaj svojega časa zastonj, vrsta, ki ji grozi izumrtje, dejstva izpričujejo nasprotno: smo kar 140 milijonska družina, ki predstavlja kar 16% svetovnega prebivalstva! Združeni prostovoljci bi tako predstavljali kar 10. najštevilčnejšo državo na svetu! :) 

Štiri leta je od tega, kar sem prvič vznemirjeno korakala proti sedežu društva Hospic, ki je organiziralo informativno srečnje za (potencialne) bodoče prostovoljce. Danes, kot prostovoljska veteranka:), lahko prepričano povem, da je zastonjsko podarjen čas predvsem Dramilo. Prebuja v nas Človeka (poudarek na veliki začetnici!).  Ki so-čuti. Znova in znova nas opozarja, da smo obdani s soljudmi, za katere smo soodgovorni, da nimamo pravice bivati v slonokoščenem stolpu, obremenjeni zgolj sami s sabo. Soprostovoljka Manca Košir, bi dejala, da je ta podarjen čas bližnjica na poti k sebi in drugim.

Ob vsem tem leporečju se pridružujem tudi zgoraj omenjenemu opozorilu, da si ob teh dejanjih ni potrebno kaj posebnega domišljati. Povprečni dan prostovoljca ni nič kaj posebnega. Ni vseprisotne drame. Velikih projektov. Včasih se zdi, da pravzaprav nisi naredil nič kaj pretirano koristnega. A gre za čas, odpoved. Važen del prostovoljstva je tudi ponižnost (v najžlahtnejšem pomenu besede) -  pripravljenost čiščenja stopnic v hiši Hospic, na primer. Ker projekt ni imel zagotovljenega financiranja in si društvo ni moglo privoščiti osebja, smo bili prostovoljci ne samo spremljevalci umirajočih, temveč  tudi čistilci, kuharji, negovalci, hišniki...:). In, joj, kako me je včasih dvourno zavzeto čiščenje "naše srčne hiške" napolnilo! Kako poskočno sem zapuščala sijočo oranžno hiško pod Golovcem! Pravzaprav, če bolje pomislim, je bilo praviloma tako! Cimra je bila vednoznova začudena, ko sem domov prihajala še bolj nasmejana in polna energije.

Kot mlade, radovedne, življenja željne idealiste, je tudi zame prišel čas, ko sem se zazrla (še) dlje. Najprej s prstom po zemljevidu, potem zares. Afrika!  Mednarodno prostovoljstvo! Pedro Opeka! Noro! S skupino enajsih so-prostovoljcev smo se podali na to mnogobarvno izkušnjo, ki je v nas toliko prebudila! Ozavestili smo osnovne človekove potrebe (za katere je v naši družbi samo po sebi umevno, da so zadovoljene): potreba po hrani, vodi, po toplem oblačilu, strehi nad glavo. Čeprav smo bili umazani (umivali se nismo tudi po en teden), včasih lačni, smo bili preprosto veseli, nezagrenjeni. Poglobili smo socialni čut in čut za krivico, ki se dogaja depriviligiranemu delu sveta. 

Ko sem zapuščala rdeča afriška tla in se še zadnjič ozirala po teh vedrih, "čistih" ljudeh (na Madagaskarju sem prvič najgloblje razumela, kaj je Tomo Križnar mislil z naslovom knjige o sudanskem plemenu Nube, "Nube - čisti ljudje"), sem vedela da ni bilo zadnjič.

Zdaj, po letu in pol, sem ponovno tu. V "Afriki za začetnike", kot se rado opiše Gano. Poslanstvo je tokrat na nek način še bolj žlahtno, saj ga delim s Tomažem:)! V najini majhni sobici vestno sestavljava programe, premlevava tehnike učenja. V skromnih učilnicah ganjena opazujeva male ganske prijatelje, kako se navdušujejo nad knjižicami, ki jih prinašava.  Počasi spoznavava Gance, nadvse dostojanstvene, ponosne ljudi. V Evropi prevladujejo izkrivljene predstave o Afriki in tukajšnjem življenju; namreč prepričanje, da črna celina kriči po potrebi, da jo odrešimo. Kot prostovoljka se tu srečujem s povsem drugačnim življenjem. Njihova preprostost in nepopisna vedrina, sta kot ogledalo potrošniško usmerjenemu zahodnjaku. 

V društvu Humanitas  (organizacija, preko katere sva pristala v Gani:) pišejo, da postaja svet vedno bolj podoben globalni vasi, in dodajajo, da je zato zavedanje globalnih izzivov in soodvisnosti ter še zlasti reakcije na njih v smislu globalnih interesov na področju prostovoljskih prizadevanj na različnih koncih sveta vse bolj pomembno in iskano. Trdijo (in jaz jim pritrjujem:), da je mednarodno prostovoljstvo  pomembna družbena vrednota in orodje za osebnostni in organizacijski razvoj posameznikov in organizacij, ki prispevajo k širjenju idej in pomena globalnega učenja in razvojnega sodelovanja. Naprej pišejo, da ima globalno prostovoljstvo močan vpliv na posameznike in družbe, saj krepi zaupanje, solidarnost, razumevanje in recipročnost med državljani na globalni ravni ter je pomembno orodje za pridobivanje, posredovanje in izmenjavo globalno učnih izkušenj med ljudmi. Hkrati pa lahko bistveno prispeva k programom razvojnega sodelovanja med sodelujočimi državami, na način prenosa znanj, izkušenj ter katalizatorja sprememb, ki vodijo v bolj uravnotežen razvoj na globalni ravni. 

Vsi smo državljani sveta. Soodvisni in soodgovorni. Na svet in ljudi, ki nas obdajajo, lahko vplivamo že na zelo preprost način: tako da znamo biti strpni, solidarni, potrpežljivi, ljubeznivi, pa tudi zadovoljni. Prav pa je, da opozarjamo tudi na vrednost in pomembnost zastonjske pomoči - prostovoljstva. V resnici vedno, ko daruješ, deliš z drugimi, prejemaš mnogo več kot si dal. 

(V nasledji objavi bom bolj natančno spregovorila o tem, kako sva se s Tomažem lotila iskanja primernega mednarodnega prostovoljskega programa, podala pa bom tudi nekaj koristnih praktičnih nasvetov glede priprav na tako izkušnjo. )

Sonja

LIVING: Fishing, Bringing in the Catch

Many people in Busua are involved in fishing in one way or another. They fish from boats and also from nets extended from the shore. It can take a long time to gather the nets in at the end of the day, so everybody on the beach pitches in, afterwards they divide the catch of fresh fish. Soon these fish will be cleaned, smoked and on-sale: traveling about town on the heads of the citizenry.

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Veliko prebivalcev Busue se ukvarja z ribolovom. Ribijo na dva načina -  s čolni ter z dolgimi mrežami, ki jih napeljejo v morje vdolž obale. Proti večeru pride "trenutek resnice", ko mreže potegnejo iz vode in preštejejo svoj ulov. A to se ne zgodi mimogrede! To je pravi obred, ko se vključijo vsi prisotni na plaži, ko ni pomembno ali si ribič, niti ali si Ganec. Strumno postavljeni v vrsto prisotni vlečejo vrv, dokler ni mreža v celoti na kopnem. Zatem se zainteresirani (ali zgolj radovedni) postavijo okrog in začne se trgovanje. A to je šele trgovanje "prve stopnje"; hitro se bodo namreč te ribe, očiščene ter prekajene, znašle na glavah busujskih trgovk. 

Sonja

LIVING: Meeting the Chief

It was Sunday. The singing of the methodist faithful signaled that the service was nearing its close. Tomaz and I sat on our beds in anticipation. After the previous day's attempts today would be the day. The meeting with the Chief. He was the tribal and political leader of all of Ahtana West, and also an advisor to the president. We got our gifts together, two bottles of wine (one for the assemblyman and one for the chief) we had purchased in Accra. We waited for Emmanuel. He was exactly on time, and dressed up. After seeing him, I began to wonder if my flip-flops, dusty and yellow from the mud, were good enough. But it was time to go. We walked silently in the Ghanian heat, I clutched my bag with the bottles of wine, we turned toward the Methodist church. A well dressed, smiling man approached us, the pepsi can he was holding in his hand stood out. So this is the mysterious chief, was my first thought, by Tomaz's look I could tell he was thinking the same thing.

But it wasn't, the man, who was named Kofi, shook our hands and told us that he wasn't the Chief but the assemblyman (and the Mayor), and said that he would accompany us to the Chief. And so we went. We walked and walked as the Major greeted his constituents at every step.

We came to a house that looked similar to the others. Contrary to our expectations it did not stand out. The only modern conveniences that we could see were two TV's on the veranda and a few plastic chairs, which Emmanuel and the Major arranged into a straight line. One for Tomaž, one for me, and two for them. We sat. We sat in silence for a few minutes until a boy came up and said something to Emmanuel and Kofi which we couldn't understand, but we were able to understand his gestures: we were waiting for the Chief in the wrong place. And so our little proccession moved a little further into the courtyard. Some women sat on a long bamboo bench. A group of young men sat on another bench. And on a third bench sat an elderly man with his eyes closed. Emmanuel and the Mayor arranged the chairs in the same way as they had before, seating Tomaž and I in the middle. We sat in silence. After a few moments the Mayor rose and turned to the elderly man, who sat on the bamboo bench, and the Mayor began to address him with great reverence and seriousness. At first Tomaž and I didn't realize it was the Chief. We were expecting a very serious politician, but the Chief reminded us of the smiling Dali Lama. He was dressed in a blue short sleeved shirt and a colorful traditional skirt. He pleasently smiled at us and observed us.

The ancient tradition of chiefhood is present in many places in Western Africa. The Akana word for chief is »nana«. The expression »chief« was coined by Europeans during colonialism and, even though the translation isn't really the best, it has stuck. The position of Chief is both traditional and constitutional in Ghana. Because they are close to the people they are often a big help to politicians. The Chiefs of certain areas are even more politically active, serving in the house of Chiefs in Accra, and even acting as the Presidential advisors.

The man on the bamboo bench was Otumfuor Baidoo Bonso XV, the Chief of the entire region of Ahanta West. When the mayor finished his introduction he rose, stepped toward the chief, and with his left hand on his back, slowly and respectfully bowed. He signalled to us that we should do the same. We bowed, somewhat awkwardly :) After this ritual the Chief engaged us in a pleasent and friendly conversation. He was in a very good mood. He talked excitedly about soccer (Ghana had just won a big match), encouraged us to visit Cape Three Points (a beautiful penninsula between Dixcove and Princess Town), he gave us alot advice, wished us a long and happy marriage, and said that he would pour a libation in blessing of our marriage from the gift we brought him, he encouraged us to stay even longer, saying that he would be happy if we lived here for 80 years. We sat and talked for a few minutes, we gave the Mayor the wine which he then gave to the Chief. With this our visit ended. The Mayor gave the signal to leave. We rose and all went our own ways full of good impressions.



Bila je nedelja. Nekajurno petje metodističnih vernikov je naznanjalo bližajoči se konec nedeljske pobožnosti. S Tomažem sva v posebnem pričakovanju sedela na svojih posteljah. Po neuspelem poskusu prejšnjega dne, je končno prišel dan D. Srečanje s Chiefom. Nekakšnim plemenskim in političnim vodjem celotnega Ahtana West, ter celo predsednikovim sodelavcem, kot nama je bilo rečeno. Izza postelje sva vzela steklenici vina (eno za župana eno za Chiefa), ki sva ju za to priložnost kupila že v Accri. Pobrisala sva prah z njiju in čakala Emanuela. Bil je točen, pražnje oblečen. Ob njegovi brezhibni podobi sem sama malo dvomljivo pogledala svoje japonke, prašne, skorajda rumene od blata. A bil je čas za odhod. Skorajda brez besed smo hodili po ganski vročini, k sebi sem stiskala torbo z vinom, ko smo zavili proti metodistični cerkvi. Približeval se nam je urejen, nasmejan možakar, v oči je bila pločevinka Pepsija v njegovih rokah. No, to je torej ta skrivnostna oseba, je bila moja prva misel, isto je govoril tudi Tomažev pogled. A ni bil, možakar z imenom Kofi nama je stisnil roko in pridal da on ni Chief, da je župan, da pa gre z nami do njega. In smo šli. Kaj leži za vso to famo, sem premlevala sama pri sebi. Hodili smo in hodili, župan se je na vsakem koraku obregnil ob katerega od svojih vaščanov.

Prišli smo do hiše, ki ni bila nič kaj posebnega. Proti pričakovanjem sploh ni izstopala. Edini "moderni" dodatek sta bili dve televiziji na verandi, par plastičnih stolov, ki sta jih Emanuel ter župan zavzeto postavljala v ravno linijo. Enega za Tomaža, enega zame, ter dva za njiju. Usedli smo se. Tako v tišini smo sedeli nekaj minut, ko je prišel fant, katerega besed sicer nisva razumela, sva pa razumela gesto spremljevalcev, da Chiefa ne čakamo na pravem mestu. Tako se je celotna procesija premaknila nekaj metrov globlje v dvorišče. Tam so na veliki klopi iz bambusa sedele ženske, na drugi nekaj fantov, na tretji je miže sedel starejši možakar. Emanuel ter župan sta ponovila skrbno urejanje plastičnih stolov v ravno vrsto, naju s Tomažem sta posadila na sredo. Molče smo obsedeli. Čez nekaj trenutkov je župan vstal, se obrnil proti starčku, sedečem na bambusovi klopi, ter začel, sila resno, s svojim nagovorom. S Tomažem nama prvih nekaj trenutkov ni bilo nič jasno. Ves čas prisoten starček, takozvani Chief, ni v ničemer ustrezal najinim prvotnim predstavam. Pričakovala sva namreč resnega politika, busujski Chief pa me je še najbolj spominjal na smejočega Dalajlamo! :) Oblečen je bil v modro majco s kratkimi rokavi ter dolgo, barvno tradicionalno krilo. Smeje si naju je ogledoval. 

Starodavna tradicija chiefov je razširjena v številnih delih zahodne Afrike. Akanska beseda zanj je "nana". Izraz Chief so vpeljali Evropejci v času kolonializma in čeprav prevod ni najbolj posrečen, se je prijel. Položaj Chiefa je tudi formalno priznan. Ker je bližje ljudem, je pogosto v veliko pomoč politikom. Chiefi posameznih območij pa so tudi direktno politično aktivni - so člani National House of Chiefs v Accri in celo predsednikovi svetovalci. 

Možakar na bambusovi klopi je bil Otumfuor Baidoo Bonso XV., chief celotne regije Ahanta West. Ko je župan zaključil z njegovo predstavitvijo je vstal, stopil proti njemu, se počasi, z levo roko prislonjeno na hrbet, spoštljivo poklonil. Pomignil nama je, naj posnemava njegovo dejanje. Nerodno sva se priklonila:). Temu svečanemu obredu je sledil zanimiv pogovor. Chief je bil zelo dobro razpoložen. Z navdušenjem je govoril o nogometu, nama predlagal obisk Cape Three Pointsa (po njegovih besedah čudovit polotok med Dixcove in Princess Town), dal številne napotke, nama zaželel dolgo zakonsko srečo, ter dodal, da naj živiva v Busui vsaj 80 let! :) Nekaj minut smo še obsedeli,  županu sva izročila steklenico vina,  ki jo je prav pesniško opel preden jo je Chiefu izročil. S tem se je obisk zaključil. Župan nama je pomignil da gremo. Vstali smo torej, ter polni vtisov odšli vsak svojo pot. 

Sonja

LIVING: Electricity

We leave the ceiling fan in the on position all the time, that way the ceiling fan is a visual indicator of the availability of electricity. Often it is still.

Ghana is in it's dry season and the water table has fallen. The electricity in our region is supplied by hydroelectric power. Hydroelectric power and a dry season are a bad combination. If we're lucky we have rolling blackouts which last for a couple of hours. When we aren't lucky the power is off all day.

Our laptop batteries last for more then two hours, so rolling blackouts aren't such a problem for laptops: they can sometimes outlast them. The bigger problem is the refrigerator. But thats just part of what Ghanaians are used to and we're getting used to it too, adapting our lives to many small inconveniences in exchange for the incredible experience we're having.

All signs indicate that Ghana is well on it's path to becoming a developed country. It is politically stable and it's economy is growing. Emmanuel says that another hydroelectric plant is under construction in the Eastern Region. Soon they probably won't have these problems anymore. In the meantime, Sonja and I have lots of time to talk and read. :)



S Sonjo puščava stropni ventilator ves čas prižgan, saj nama njegovo vrtenje (oz nevrtenje) sporoča ali imava dostop do elektrike. Ventilator pogosto miruje. 

Gana je v sušni dobi, zato je podtalnica nizka. Za oskrbo z elektriko na našem območju pa skrbi hidroelektrarna, kar ni najboljša kombinacija. Kadar imamo srečo izpadi elektrike trajajo nekaj ur. Ko je nimamo, smo lahko brez elektrike tudi ves dan. 

Bateriji najinih prenosnih računalnikov zdržita nekaj več kot dve uri, zato izpadi elektrike v tem oziru ne predstavljajo prevelike težave. Kar pa ne velja za hladilnik! :) Ganci so na te razmere, za razliko od naju, seveda navajeni. Tudi midva se počasi privajava na drobne nevšečnosti vsakdanjega življenja, ki pa jih celotna neverjetna izkušnja tako zelo odtehta! 

Vsi indikatorji kažejo na to, da postaja Gana razvita država. Politično je stabilna, ekonomski kazalci rastejo. Emanuel pravi, da je druga hidroelektrarna  (v vzhodni regiji) v nastajanju. Kar pomeni, da bo verjetno oskrba z električno energijo že kmalu boljša. Za zdaj pa imava s Sonjo veliko časa za pogovor in branje. :)