(Almost) Paradise in Prampram

I’ve just arrived back in the city of Accra from a 3 week adventure in the small, Eastern town of Prampram. Prampram is home to the newest Global Mama production site that just recently opened in January. I went there with Maria, one of the Global Mama employees, to temporarily fill in for the site managers who were away on holiday. It was a truly memorable experience!

I was awe-struck upon arrival when I saw where I would living for the next several weeks - an adorable, ocean front chalet! I woke each morning there to the delightful sounds of dogs playing and waves crashing on the beach.

From there, I walked 100 yards to the workshop for our morning meeting with the Global Mama workers (8 sewers and 3 batikers). With the new location came a new local dialect, and a limitless source of entertainment for the workers who found our attempts at pronouncing local phrases rather amusing. In addition to learning how to say good morning (Morning HA), thank you (Mochuuum or Opaaayno), and see you tomorrow (Hwoah), I learned a ton about what’s involved in running a textile production site. Even on a small scale, there was a lot to look after - we had to keep a close eye on the precious supply of calico fabric and zippers, monitor fabric dying consistencies, inspect seam allowances and measure the bust, bodice and waist of dresses to ensure quality, manage efficiency, and prepare orders for shipping.

Then there was the infrastructure to look after. Infrastructure is not one of Ghana’s strong points. While we were there we ran out of water, gas, AND electricity. The explanation for any shortage in Ghana is always the same and stated matter-of-factly.. ‘It is finished’. Most of the time we were able to make do - river water replaced clean water, charcoal and firewood replaced gas, and when TT (our lone male worker) was on-site, we had someone strong enough to start the back-up electricity generator.

Of course, we managed to find some time to have a little fun amongst the chaos. Some of the Global Mama employees from other sites joined us for a weekend party. The small party turned into a multi-cultural bash, as friends invited friends and before we knew it we had guests from all over the world showing up to our humble paradise. As a result, we got to enjoy Brazilian BBQ and caipirinhas, Cuban mojitos, Spanish jamón, Ghanaian banana cake, French style, Swedish talent and live music!

By far, the most rewarding part of my experience was the time I spent working with the sewers on quality control training. After rejecting dress after dress the first couple of days at work, it dawned on us that the workers were incredibly talented and could copy any pattern, but couldn’t identify the ¼” mark on a measuring tape. That began our routine of exercises and games where the sewers had to identify specific measurements on a tape measure and determine whether a particular dress met the specification or not (dress ‘In’ or ‘Out’). By the time we left, they were starting to catch on and we could overhear the sewers debating amongst themselves as they worked… In, Out, In, Out.

This weekend, I’ll be heading to Elmina to celebrate a Catholic holiday, the feast of the Assumption, with a large children’s group gathered from around the central region of Ghana. Then back to Accra to help prepare a new production database that will be used to streamline the production process at each of the Global Mama sites.

Women in Progress & Global Mamas

Finally, a bit about work here in Ghana!

I recently read an eye opening book titled “The Road to Hell” (by Michael Maren) that highlights some of the inefficiencies and outright harm that international aid can cause when applied to an environment such as Africa that is difficult to monitor and often misunderstood by most of us in the Northern world.  So admittedly before arriving I wondered what kind of impact I would be making here.  After being in Ghana for a month now, I am positively impressed and very happy to be volunteering with Women in Progress.

 

Women in Progress is a non-profit organization that operates in Ghana with the support of a small office in the US.  The organization has helped local women in Ghana develop "Global Mamas", a brand of products (named after themselves) that can be marketed worldwide.  Global Mamas hand-made products include:  batiked fabric clothing and accessories, beaded jewelry, woven trivots and pet accessories, wallets and hand bags made out of recycled plastic trash, and shea butter soap.  Without the help of Women in Progress, the women were facing a declining local market for their handicrafts and were struggling to make a living.  Women in Progress links these women to the more abundant markets outside of Ghana and trains them to be successful independent business owners.

If you keep your eyes peeled, you might even come across one of their products at a store close to home.

Cindy (seamstress) with her 2 apprentices,

daughter and nephew

Selina hard at work

Kakra's apprentice is using newspaper to make patterns

Eli and Emma's quaint batik shop

Emma at work producing beautifully patterned fabric in her shop

Volunteers helping the quality control workers in the Cape Coast office

One of the great things about Global Mamas is that they are certified by both the Fair Trade Federation and the World Fair TradeOrganization.  This means that the organization follows a set of standard practices to ensure a safe and humane work environment.  For example, child labor laws are respected, women are paid a living wage, workers have access to water and bathrooms, and work-related health issues are paid for.  The topic of sweatshops is of hot debate and many argue that sweatshops are better than the alternative of no work.  In my opinion, there is no good excuse for neglecting the dignity of a human person.  If a business cannot operate profitably and treat its workers with respect at the same time, then it does not deserve to succeed.

Global Mamas happily strolling in the small village of Ajumako

Sara, one of the weavers in Ajumako, working on her loom

Global Mama weavers

 As a volunteer, here are a few other things that I appreciate about Women in Progress:

• Almost all employees live here in Ghana, and many are native Ghanaians
• Their model is focused on training and empowering local women; not handing out freebies that can easily disrupt the local economy
• They provide opportunities for people like me to volunteer and learn about Ghana first hand!
• It's a self-sustaining organization; they operate ongoing business entirely from earned revenue.  The small amount of money that comes from donations and grants (less than 10%) is used to expand their reach to support new groups of women.

More to come soon about the specific projects I am working on!

Discussing business matters with Hannah,

one of the original Global Mamas

Hannah's business has flourished since working with Global Mamas,

she now employs 16 workers

Hannah proudly shows us one of the bags

she produces for Global Mamas

 

Africa Day & Kakum National Park

My first week at the office was "a little work and a lot of play".  We were treated to a tour of Cape Coast on our first day, and learned that May 25th was a continental holiday - Africa Day (no work)!

Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the UN, commented: “On Africa Day, we recognize the people and promise of Africa.  Africa is the world's youngest continent; 70 per cent of the population is under the age of 30. Despite advances in education and economic growth, progress remains fragile, inequalities are widespread and young Africans face major difficulties in finding decent jobs and participating in decision-making.”

Here in Cape Coast (primarily a fishing town), some of the residents have shared their concern regarding childhood education.  Government funded education is available in Ghana through primary school.  After that, many families choose to send their children to work since the long-term benefits of education are less apparent compared to immediate sources of income.  Kakra kakra (little by little), people here are working tirelessly to change the culture.

To celebrate Africa Day, I traveled to Accra with some friends to watch an expedition football (aka soccer) game - Africa XI vs. World XI.  The game was hosted by Michael Essien (popular Chelsea player from Ghana) to raise awareness about peace in Africa.  Several famous players showed up to play.  Unfortunately, World XI won, but I couldn’t tell you the final score as we were hit with an enormous rain storm during the 2^nd half of the game.  It was unbelievable - rivers of water were flowing down the stadium steps!!

Ohene Djan Sports Stadium (Accra)



1st Half - Shine



2nd Half - Rain



Post-Game Party.
"Unless Tomorrow" is a common Ghanaian reply when you inquire about an order.. maybe it will be ready tomorrow

On Friday, the other volunteers and I headed out to camp at the nearby Kakum National Park.  We spent the night and woke early to trek across a series of 7 high-hanging canopy bridges above the forest.  The morning mist created a perfect atmosphere!

On our hike we encountered a range of extraordinary trees, starting with a single Black Ebony tree that supported the entire canopy bridge structure.  You can see in the pictures that some of the trees had roots that extended well over our heads!



Black Ebony Tree



Onyina Tree

Kirsten, Morgan, Nat (our guide), Rachel

 “Ka-Kum” is named after the sound that monkeys make.  We heard a monkey while on our hike, but it was too sly and we never caught a glimpse.  We did however get to play with some monkeys down the road at a monkey sanctuary.  The owners, Dennis and Annette, proudly showed us around their grounds.  What an amazing couple!  They moved to Ghana 8 years ago from Holland where they worked in the restaurant business.  Having no prior experience with animals, they came here and were moved to help endangered animals.  They now raise and breed monkeys, duikers (part of antelope family), snakes, turtles, and more!



Sorry, no bananas





Eeeek!







GHANA - First Impressions

I’m nearing the end of my first week in Ghana and already have so much I want to share.  My experience so far has been WONDERFUL!  Ghanaians are unbelievably warm and friendly and ALWAYS excited to chat with an “Obruni” (foreign person).  Locals will sometimes call me by my Ghanaian name, “Ama”.  Your Ghanaian name is based on the day of the week you were born (I was born on a Saturday).  The workers and other volunteers here at Women in Progress / Global Mamas have also been super helpful and are a LOT of fun!



Morgan, Rachel, Kirsten, Mel

Since I wasn’t able to answer many questions about Ghana while at home, I thought I’d summarize some of the essentials that I’ve learned since arriving.

·    I’m currently living in a volunteer house in the town of Elmina (neighboring Cape Coast) with 3 other volunteers (soon to be 12 volunteers!), Mel (the volunteer coordinator), Ellen (the house keeper) and Apphia (our security guard).  Cape Coast is the regional capital of Central Ghana and is located 2-3 hours West of Accra (the main capital of Ghana).



·    Much to my relief, Ghanaians love “Ground Nuts” (peanut butter) just like me!  It’s handmade here and readily available for sale by local street vendors. Phew!

·    So far, the food has been quite good!  There is a wonderful woman named Eli down the street who cooks delightful meals for us most evenings; I enjoyed my first of many egg sandwiches this afternoon at lunch; and street vendors sell tasty fruit on every corner (pineapples, mangos  and avocado, oh my!)

·    Ghanaians do speak English, however when talking with each other, they almost always speak in Fante, the local dialect of Central and Western regions of Ghana.

·    It is cool season now in Ghana which means temperatures hover around mid-80’s during the day and lower slightly in the evening.  It is hot, but for someone like me who enjoys warm climates, it’s plenty comfortable.  It is also the beginning of rainy season here.. so far we have lucked out and it has rained mostly at night, however throughout June/July it will start to rain quite a lot.

·    Getting around is an adventure in and of itself!  We of course do a lot of walking, but when we want to travel between Cape Coast and Elmina, we take a shared taxi (about 60 cents per person).  For longer travels (between Accra and Cape Coast for example), you can hop a Fast Car or a Tro-Tro (a shared van).

·    I understand now why internet connectivity was unclear prior to my trip.. Yes, there is internet, but its availability, reliability and speed all vary depending on where you are.  The house in Elmina where I am currently living does not have internet, but the hotel resort across the street does and it’s quite fast.  With the purchase of a monthly pool pass, I am now connected!  We also have internet at the office where we work, however it is much slower (no downloads allowed), and apparently not the most reliable.  From what I hear, internet access in general is improving every day.

·    Most Ghanaians have cell phones, and if you give them your number, they will use it.

·    Water has not been a problem, however I have heard that there are shortages from time to time.  Thus, everyone here is VERY conservative with water usage.  An emergency bucket of water is kept in the tub for bathing, and we all live by the golden rule of “if its yellow let it mellow”.

·    Electricity is readily available but must be conserved, and outages do occur.  The first couple nights in my new home were “lights out” (no electricity), however I’ve been told that outages usually only last a short time.  So far for me, the unpredictability has been more of an amusement than a burden.  The other evening we were about to order dinner from a street vendor when the power went out (it is pitch black in Ghana by 7pm).  The vendor laughed and exclaimed “Bad Ghana” as she fumbled around to find a lantern so she could cook our eggs.

Ghanaians are very proud of their country and will anxiously ask how you are liking it here whenever they meet you.  My first impression... “I’m loving it!”