(From left to right)
ICS Volunteers Yussef, Myself (Joe), SWOPA Director Madame Bridget, ICS
Volunteers Shadrack, Thea, Anita, Love, Kate, Iddris, Matthew, Sofian, Justice,
Talia, ICS in-country director Rene and SWOPA founder Madame Kasise
After
a week training in Tamale, Ghana, me and 11 other volunteers made our way to
Sirigu, a township comprised of 5 communities that sits snugly on the
Burkinian/Ghanaian border. Sirigu is about half an hours drive (on a good day)
from Bolgatanga, the cultural arts epicentre of the region, and Sirigu boasts
the most unique and intricate wall-paintings (or bomborisi in the local
language) that make the buildings jump out at you in a really spectacular
fashion. Six United-Kingdom volunteers and Six Ghanaian in-country volunteers
were placed in host homes throughout the region, all in relatively close
distance to SWOPA (Sirigu Women's Organisation for Pottery and Arts), the
organisation we are here to consult and assist. Obviously being an ICS
volunteer is more than simply consulting and assisting, and our first week in
the village definitely illustrated just how true that is!
First though, some foundations to help you better
understand SWOPA and it's role in the community. The organisation was founded
by Madame Kasise, pictured above on our first day at SWOPA, a truly remarkable
woman with a vision to get the previously much maligned
Before
business could be sat down and attended to, it is customary in Ghana to greet
the members of the community you will be residing within, so we had a checklist
of important figures to meet 'n' greet. The meeting which personally stood out
the most, as well as certainly the most time-consuming, was meeting the chief
of Sirigu, a young man of around thirty with an impeccable taste in Ghanaian
fashion, a soft-spoken voice and some surprisingly progressive views for a post
which carries with it so much traditional clout. He explained to us his
position in Sirigu as peacekeeper, negotiator and general authority on all
things local. We sat and talked for close to 2 hours, as he told us about his
favourite football club (Chelsea) to his view on SWOPA within the community,
which gave us a good understanding of popular perception of the organisation in
it's own right. We also met with the local police Constable, the head of the
orphanage and the resident Doctor, all of whom were happy to receive us. The
Ghanaian's are definitely some of the most welcoming people I have ever met,
and I'm not sure how much of this is down to custom and how much is simply due
to a better mood – it's refreshing as an Englishman, where back home waving and
saying 'good work' to a bunch of builders would not so much as get you a
'hello', but a Glasgow kiss.
As
we settle into our work, so too do we settle into our environments, and in
Sirigu living is a much more stripped-down affair. Most volunteers are in
houses without conveniences that would shock most unprepared Westerners – no
toilets, showers, kettles (this one really struck me the hardest, I love my
coffee) or televisions. What people lack in possessions and facilities, though,
they make up for in accommodative spirit. After hearing stories of traditional
cuisine, I was concerned I'd struggle as a vegetarian, and while the diet may
have taken some adapting to my host mother never once complained about having
to learn to prepare food without meat, which is significantly different to how
food here is usually enjoyed. Every meal and bucket-shower is followed with
concern on your behalf, and it's a very humbling experience to have someone
legitimately be so interested with your well-being – as a stranger, no less!
You could say I'm looking through rose tinted glasses, and as someone from the
western world adapting to this kind of life (even for a miniscule 12 weeks) can
be quite challenging. You never have to suffer in silence though – any
hardships can be fleshed out with your host family, and if not, by the support
network set up by ICS, and more importantly, your fellow volunteers.
I'm truly excited to get further underway with the work
and life experience we are all partaking in. Here, we have a unique opportunity
to see how so many others in the world live, and not only that, but maybe have
an impact that would benefit these hard-working, wholesome, accommodating, and
moreover simply lovely people. I'm convinced after being here even for a
fortnight that these are some of the most industrious people I've ever met in
my entire life, even the children work on the farms all day, and it feels like
a real bum deal that back home I could complain about my job when here you can
work day in, day out, and never see a penny for it. I feel I have a duty to use
the resources that have been made available to me to try and maybe right some
of these injustices, even if it is in just a small way. At the end of the day,
this is the essence of development. We have these grand ideas of 'fixing'
countries, cultures, people even. The reality is that everyday acts of tiny
heroism slowly change the world, and maybe a few centuries down the line, the
grand-children's grand-children of these people will grow up somewhere where
they will receive some recompense for the tireless effort they put in
For now, enjoy this picture of a wonderful statue made by
one of the women working for the organisation. It's a shame, that in all
likelihood, this will sit on a shelf and gather dust – as it takes far more
talent to produce something like this than it does to write a slightly sentimental blog about the entire experience! - Joe Carter
No comments:
Post a Comment