Ghana- February 10 Departure
25 November, 2009 - 11:55
Hi, This is Sachin from India. I have accpeted placement in Ghana and my departure is going to be in February 2009. Well I am awaiting response from my employers. It is going to be Bongo district near Bolgatanga. I shall be working there as Livelihoods Advisor.
Is there anybody who is going to Ghana in February?
- Sachin
Hi Sachin, this is Maureen from Ireland and I am also going to Ghana on 14th Feb. I've just got my date and everything is finalised so i hope to see you at in country training.
I'm going to Wa which is also in the north but more western than Bongo. I'm going to work in education and would love to hear from you!
I hope you are still checking in here as I see you've been waitng for a long time for a reply!!!
Maureen
Hi Maureen, great to see your reply. Certainly we shall be able to meet there at some point of the time during that period. I might have to arrive in Ghana little late due to delay in some procedures in my current job. I have requested for delay in departure by one month, so it might happen that I shall come to Ghana in March 2010. Really excited for this new experience of living in an another culture and be in this international community of volunteers.
Sachin
Hi Sachin
looking forward to meeting you at some stage-be great if you make it on time so that you can meet everyone but it sounds like it's out of yur control. my e mail address is mzungu73@hotmail.com so do keep in touch please so that we'll all know where you are, how you're getting on and hopefully you can meet all the northern volunteers at some stage.
Regards
Maureen
hi fellow "soon to be" Ghana volunteers! Mar here - my partner Mark and I are based in Tamale, in the northern part of Ghana. Best of luck with your final preparations, etc.... and if you enjoy coffee, cheese, pizza and the like.... get your fill in your home countries, 'cause you're gonna miss it here! ; )
Ghana is a great place, and the north is very interesting! If you have any specific queries that I might be able to help with, please do not hesitate to contact me direct on: mar_knox@yahoo.com
Mark and I are both working in the Secure Livelihoods area!
kind regards, Mar.
Dear Mar, Thank you for your response. I shall be in Bongo, Upper East. Definitely will like to meet you people some time. Do they have any common volunteers' meets or get-together over there in Ghana. Tamale seems to be the nearest big city from Bongo. How is internet connectivity in Bolga? Can you get information whether internet access is possible from Bongo.
- Sachin
Hi Mar and Sachin
Just back from another last night out with a group of friends-saving my last couple of weeks for my family!!Got my tickets today so all very real.
Mar thanks for all that info-very helpful and answered lots of my questions. Being in Wa I'll be in your region and look forward to meeting you-i've been in touch with some of the Wa people-past and present and you all sound like a really friendly bunch!
.Here's a very specific question-what washing powders are available-strange question but i specifically have to use ariel colour tabsfor my pillow cases as I am a sensitive wee soul and am allergic to just about every other one I've tried. do i need to bring a suitcase full??Not long now!
Maureen
Hi Maureen,
My name is Cam and I am currently in Wa. As for washing powders in Wa its basically just Omo. We have a limited products up here. There are a lot more products available in places like Tamale and Accra so you may get lucky. We sometimes make trips to get supplies, although Tamale is 6-8 hours and Accra 12-18 hours so we don’t make the trip that often. If I am in Accra and I see Arial I will let you know, but you may want to bring a good supply just in case. Feel free to email me at ch@camcorp.net , this works better than volzone as the internet connection is not the best.Hope this helps,Cam
Hi Cam,
I will also be meeting you very soon. Will fly out on the 14th and head to Wa after the in country training. Would you know if there are any hair dyeing products like henna or do you recommend I take some? I know it sounds vain but I wouldnt want to go grey!
See u v soon!
Joanne
Hey aren't you all great on here-feeling part of the community already! Joanne-interested to hear the reply to your question as have same grey problem!!! Last time I took a supply with me. If it's any help I'll be back in Uk a couple of times so can always top up your supplies if not available. i'm sure we'll meet at Heathrow before in country training then Wa.
see you on 14th
Maureen
Joanne, Maureen -
this is a very inexpert answer (concerning hair dye) but I think there seem to be plenty of hair care products around (noticed some in a shop yesterday), and there are certainly many hairdressers, even in small towns, so certainly plenty in Wa. I am in Accra today and could have a look just for information, but also will be up-country next week - if it's stocked where we live in Walewale it will be stocked in Wa. Any specific producs you are looking for!?
Mike
Maureen (and in fact Joanne too) I have now asked the experts (wife Charlotte and our house-mate Janet).Their view is: can't buy this stuff up-country, it is sold in Accra (e.g. probably at Koala Shopping Centre near VSO Ghana office in Accra) but is very expensive - so may be worth using some of your precious luggage allowance to bring out your favourite stuff. Caucasian hair? Not sure... they'll certainly braid it for you if you want!
Mike
From: Maureen Scott
Sent: 23 January 2010 13:39
To: mike.cashman@actalpha.com
Subject: hair products Wow Mike you're very helpful! Don't go to great lengths to find out but if you see hair products look if there is mousse, conditioner and check if the hairdressers do caucasian hair?
Ta-save on luggage weight if can get them there without having to travel hours.
Ta Maureen
ps
I asked about Caucasian hair too, and my experts responded with a unanimous "no!" - ie. plenty of hairdressers, hair stylists etc, but no experience with Caucasian hair. I guess that's not surprising - for example we are in a town of some 10,000 inhabitants (my guess), around 10 of whom are white...
Wa, where you are going, is a bigger town but is also in many ways more remote than Walewale where we are (Walewale is at least on the main highway to Burkina Faso, even though a long way from Accra), so I think you may have similar findings.
You might find more Caucasian-hair-experience in Accra where there are more ex-patriates, not sure.
hi Maureen! enjoy those last good-byes!!!
Re: your washing powder query: I am not familiar with Ariel color tabs, and I would expect that they aren't available here (and certainly not in Wa!).... i have not seen any "tabs" at all, they are all loose powders - Omo is the one that leaps to mind. And in general, I think these detergents are rather harsh. i haven't seen any "sensitive" ones available. But I WOULD say that one of the best products here is a locally made shea butter laundry soap which is *almost* all natural - it has a bit of caustic soda added, but I think that is it in terms of nasties.... so that might be a good one to try. the other thing that is very common (and used mostly by the locals) is the ubiquitous "sunlight" bar of laundry soap! so not sure how that would go for you, but it is certainly easily available. hope that helps....
BTW - Wa is in the Upper West Region..... Tamale is in the Northern Region...so different regions, but we will certainly get a chance to catch up at some stage!
cheers - Mar.
Hallo Mar! and hi Maureen and Sachin
I am based in Walewale which is between Tamale and Bolga. Bongo is a few miles north of Bolga, and one existing volunteer Jillian works in Bongo but lives in Bolga. There are several volunteers in Wa and plenty in Bolga so plenty of opportunity for informal get-togethers as well as the official ones.
Wa to Tamale or Bolga is about 8 hours by Metro Mass Transit bus - I've made the round trip twice because my volunteeer role involves me in supporting volunteers with Organisational Development - which may mean that I see you on In-Country Training when you get here
I have our own revised packing list if anyone wants - just let me know and I'll email it or post it here -
Look forward to meeting you
Mike
Hi Maureen – a quick cut and paste, and here you are!
Good luck and feel free to ask more – contact details below
Mike
Extract from an email to a volunteer heading for Ghana - questions about what to take.
Some of this is Africa-specific, or specific to warm countries anyway, but posted here in case it's of interest. ..................
3) Is there anything you wish you had taken and didn't?
(3) A long list – we have a very definite measure for this because I was coming back to the UK briefly for fmaily reasons after 2 months out in Ghana and came back to UK with a shopping list!Let me pick out a few highlights – either things we glad we brought, or added in the second trip out.
FOOD Things to spread on bread – e.g. marmite, jam, peanut butter, vacuum-packed hard cheese, or whatever is your favourite that will travel.Treats – sweets, cereal bars.(Either decide to give up cereal, or bring some out to start with – you can buy it in Accra but very expensive)
SOUPS and SAUCES
– packet mixes of the ‘just add water’ variety.Tin-openers and bottle-openers
OLD COMFORTABLE SHOES
A few weeks walking on Ghanaian roads paths and tracks seems to deteriorate shoes – I have brought well-worn UK shoes that are still comfortable and have assumed they will all be wrecked during time in Ghana.
THE GO-EVERYWHERE KIT
We try to make sure that we always have: torch, mosquito repellent, wipes/toilet-paper, hand-sanitiser, on the basis that we may be out of the house longer than we expect.
TRAVEL
I find an inflatable cushion and a small towel handy for long journeys on public transport (e.g. your first bus-ride up North). Travel-wash liquid & clothes pegs have been handy (helped to travel light on short trips away).
CHEMIST
Favourite toiletries and medications of course. We also brought out a DIY-tooth-filling kit from Boots.
AUDIO/ COMPUTING
Something to play music in the house.
People who can get BBC World Service on short-wave radio enjoy this.
Portable hard drive to back up your computer files, and Kensington lock if you’re ever going to take your laptop out of the house (some don’t)I’m experimenting with a “laptop cooler”. I also used a spare mosquito net in order to use the laptop “under the net” in the evenings to keep the insects away.4-gang surge-protector extension-lead - many electrical sockets are quite dodgy, and I always plug my equipment just into my own extension lead, and then plug that into the wall - so that if anything gets broken trying to get it out of a tight wall socket, it's a replaceable extension-lead rather than (say) my laptop charger.
TOOLS
I was glad I brought basic bike tools, e.g. bike pump, and one or two others – hammer, hacksaw, adjustable spanner – but having said that there are plenty of people who will fix a bike problem for one or two cedis (less than a pound ). I have knocked plenty of nails (can be bought locally) into doorframes and shelves to hang things on, but late on brought out some cup-hooks which I’ve not seen in Ghana.
PHONE HANDSET (unlocked
)For family calls we have been glad to have had a speaker capability on the phone
CASH & BANK CARDS
Not as easy to change cash as you might imagine, but it can be done. Most towns that have ATMs seem to have at least one ATM that works with foreign bank cards (if you have any money in a UK account, that is!). Getting Ghana bank account set up takes a while, though VSO provided us with first 3 months salary in cash.
STATIONERY
If you want pens, pads etc to do your job, it can probably all be bought locally, but you may want to bring out what you need if that makes a difference to you.
ENTERTAINMENT - BOOKS AND FILMS (DVDS)
Another reason for the laptop is to watch a film in the evening if you bring DVDs. We have been surprised that we haven’t found time for reading though. There is a small collection of various books to borrow in the VSO office in Bolga. You may want to bring pack of cards , book or crosswords or Su Dokus, or whatever you fancy.
4) Is there anything you took and didn't need? Very concious of my luggage allowance!
(4) A common outcome, but I think we brought too many clothes. We quickly found what works well for us, wore that all the time and didn’t touch the other things so much. In my case this was cargo pants and a short-sleeved cotton casual-but-smartish shirt – in Charlotte’s it was an elasticated sundress, with a wrap for her shoulders when required, or ¾ length trousers and T-shirt. I did try the tip of “bring out a pair of trousers that fits you and have another pair made up locally”, but I’ve lost weight out in Ghana so that original made-up pair now don’t fit! We’ve found you do occasionally need to be business-smart (e.g. suit in my case) but not very often.
We brought out “solar showers” from the Outdoor shop – hang up a bag of water in the sun and after a few hours you can have a warm (or even hot) shower underneath. Finding we were in a house with showers we gave away the solar showers we had brought out, and they were popular gifts. (Though in fact I think we’d get warmer showers if we used them.). Everyone’s water situation (when it’s on, how strong the flow is etc) seems to be different, but a common factor is that the water is just a single temperature – basically cold, but can be warming up by the end of the day.
5) Can you give any other advice?
One tip - Make sure you have the VSO Ghana emergency numbers with you just in case! Hope that all helps Mike
email: mike.cashman@actalpha.com
From: Maureen Scott [mailto:mzungu73@hotmail.com]
Sent: 20 January 2010 12:54
To: mike.cashman@actalpha.com
Subject: yes please Hi Mike
Good to hear from you-as you know I've enjoyed your blog.
Getting very close to departure now so gathering things together.
It would be great if you cud send me your revised packing list-you know how useful it will be!!
Maureen
Great information. Thanks. Are there volunteers from India presently in that area whom could be contacted? List will differ a bit from Indian view. But still it is very useful.
How about the fluctuation in voltage of the electricity supply. Are any type of stabilisers needed for the laptop?
- Sachin
forgot to comment about Indian volunteers.... I'm not sure (don't think so), but I can say that I employ an ayurvedic lifestyle, so I would definitely suggest bringing your own supply of spices, if you are into cooking! spices ARE available here (and certainly in Accra), but up north they are pretty basic. I would suggest (if you use them regularly now) that you bring:
- tumeric
- black mustard seeds (very difficult to find here) - stock up!
- aesofidita (impossible to find here)
- ground corriander
- fenugreek seeks (impossible to find)
- sweet basil
you can find cumin seeds, ground cumin, curry powder, oregano quite easily. at least, this has been my experience in Tamale....
cheers - Mar.
Hello Mar, Greetings. When we Indians are adotping western lifestyles at very fast pace, you are practising Ayurvedic lifestyle while in ghana. It is something very much laudable.
Yes first three ingredients which you have mentioned are must for mainland Indian cooking and I had already planned to bring a stock of it at least to last for three months till the time I get used to the country and locally available materials.
There are lot of local food ingredients which are also found in India with the only difference in the way we cook and eat them. So food should not be a big problem, I guess, at least for an Indian, if one is innovative enough to make use of local ingredients. What has been your experience?
- Sachin
Sachin, you were asking about power surge protectors, and the like. We brought one from Australia, which we use all the time at home for our laptop and stereo. At work, we found a locally made one which is also fine. Fortunately, it has like a "universal" plug adaptor in it, so using different plug types isn't even a problem! so they are certainly available here (well, in Tamale at least!) and are a good thing. So bring one by all means, but I think you'll find them around the place as well..... hope that helps! cheers - Mar.
Sachin - Jillian works in Bongo and can answer questions about Bongo, see below. Also surge protectors that can take 3 standard 3-pin plugs (or 5 small ones) cost 8 Ghana cedis where we are (walewale) and probably can be bought for this in Bongoi
From: Jillian A. Hess [mailto:jillianhess@hotmail.com] Sent: 20 January 2010 16:33
To: Mike Cashman Subject:
RE: discussion from volzone re volunteers coming to Ghana
Mike, Feel free to pass along my email address to the Indian volunteer coming to Bongo. I rarely have an Internet connection, so I will not go onto volzone, but if he sends me a list of questions, I can answer them remotely and then get Jason to send an email on my behalf. At a minimum you can tell him that Mumuni Damma, the man I think he'll be reporting to, is a really nice guy who's looking forward to having VSO volunteers at the District Assembly.
Cheers, Jillian
Hi Sachin. Apologies for the delay in replying! Yes, in general, food is not a problem here. As a vegetarian, I have found it to be more of a challenge than I would otherwise, but I was expecting that! The biggest difficulty is eating out; Africans do love their meat! It is difficult to find things that don’t have a meat base (in general), so I have found that a bit limiting. But at home, in terms of buying my items at the market then cooking themselves, I have actually found the selection better than I had been expecting (in terms of availability of fruit and veg). so it has been fine! We are eating better than we had thought! : )Not sure if you are vegetarian or not, but we did become anaemic here; and are now taking iron tabs, which is fine. (we are also taking a multi vitamin) But finding enough protein has been a bit of an issue. Making tofu is quite time consuming! ; ) Also, there are beans available readily in the market, but things like chick peas, mung beans, lentils, etc… are much harder to come by, and cost (by Ghanaian standards) quite a lot more than I was expecting. But it is easy to find things like black eyed beans/ peas and kidney beans. So I might suggest bringing whatever dried legumes you are used to; and see where you can find replacements here – it would be good to start with a supply, tho!Hope that helps – Mar.
Dear Mar,
Thanks for the reply. It seems, from all those discussions on this forum, I am enjoying these moments of luxury being at home and having good internet access. Coming to the topic just for your information, protein requirement in Indian vegetarian diet is always fulfilled by combining grains and pulses. Both of these materials contain proteins but incomplete ones so in combination they become complete. Starchy materials in African diet mainly originate from tubers and roots which have very little proteins less than 5%, so they require meat to combine with it.
I should have been a pure vegetarian due to my family and religious traditions but I have decided to give non vegetarian food at least a try though it can not become part of my daily diet for sure, due to my personal choice.
Something which I know about Ayurveda: It does not have any recommendations of having only vegetarian diet. In fact it has descriptions of medicinal properties of various types of meat. It does recommends however against eating it in big quantities in your daily diet.
Beans which you have mentioned of not being available in the markets. Sure, I am used to eat those beans.- Funnily one Indian returned volunteer Rajamohan who was in Tamale told me via email that there is one Indian store in Tamale and stocks all these Indian ingredients.These other beans which you are mentioning I hope they can be eaten by combining with rice. But yes being imported all these items they must be very costly. Recently even more, as all across world prices of pulses have hiked. ( We Indians are the most affected by these :(.
- Sachin
Hi Joanne
Sorry-somehow managed to miss your message until now! All going well-finished work today so that's big step in the right direction. Celebrated by buying my crash helmet. Not long to go now and just hoping haven't forgotten anything vital.
How're you getting on?
Maureen