THIS is Africa

I feel at home.

My host family is amazing! My father's name is Peter, he is precious, always listening to the radio with his shirt off and feeding the goats. My brother is James, he is 22 and has become a very good friend!! My mom's name is Rose Mary (crazy right), but every one calls her Mary or Mama. She is the matriarch of the neighborhood. They have a shop in front of the compound, where she sells everything; ice cream and booze being the top sellers! For many kids in Kpando, her shop is the first stop on the way home from school, where they pick up the delicious ice cream she makes sometimes for free and sometimes for 5 peshwas (equivalent to 3.5 cents). I love Mary, she is so sweet and has taught me how to do many things the way Ghanaians do. I think the feeling is mutual because whenever I run into some of Mary's friends on the street they all say, "Mary loves you too too much!" She has already told me that even though it is a long way away, she is sad that I have to leave.

I love my living situation! My accommodations are extremely nice by Ghanaian standards. The nicest and biggest room is given to their guests. I have a queen size bed, a fan, a table, two chairs AND a freezer! The toilet is an outhouse consisting of a concrete slab with a hole in it...that took some getting used to, but its all good now. This might be hard to picture...to get to the shower I walk down a path usually accompanied by goats and chickens. We have a spout where I fill up my bucket, that is when the water is running. The families who don't have a spout have to fetch their own water, they get it from the police station, which is miles from many homes. It takes several trips to get enough water for the family to bathe, cook and clean for one day. It has made me appreciate water sooo much and not take it for granted. Now don't get me wrong, if I had a choice between my shower at home or my bucket shower here I would pick my shower at home. But I don't have that option, so...when in Rome, do as the Romans do! I don't hate the bucket shower by any means, I actually like it, especially at night. There is no ceiling on the shower so I get to bathe under the moon and the stars...it is really neat and spiritual. It was a full moon the other night and I didn't even need a flashlight to bathe.

There are several kids who live in the compound. The ones who are around the most are Prince, 12, Freddy (Edem's youngest brother), 13, Paulo, 3 and Rachel and Ester,11. Rachel and Ester are always together! They help Mary and their older cousin, Patience, with everything. The other night I watched Ester, Rachel and Patience cook Banku, a local dish made of Cassava and corn crushed and mixed together until its mushy, its my FAVORITE thing I've eaten here. Little Ester had her feet on the iron stems of the pot which was about 6 inches away from the hot, burning charcoal. She muscled the huge wooden stick in the pot and would touch the pot with her bare hands moving it around several times to get the right angle so she could continue stirring the thick substance. I asked Patience if the pot was hot (I was thinking surely its not too hot because she doesn't make a peep when she grabs hold of it). But I was wrong. Patience answered, "Ooo yes, es very hot, but Ester here is a strong strong girl. Here in Africa we teach the girls to cook at a very young age." When the Banku became thicker and too hard for Ester to muscle around, Patience didn't say a word, she just gave Ester a tender look, Ester popped up and Patience took the reigns. Patience mumbled something in Ewe to Rachel and then asked me, "Do you want to go with Rachel to my auntie's house." I said of course, so off I went through the village, hand in hand with Rachel and Prince. It was during this moment I felt...THIS is Africa. The sun had set and it was dark, my eyes had to adjust so I didn't trip on the rocks jutting out of the dirt path. Families were crowded around an orange flame as they cooked their dinner. Silhouettes of babies were laughing and running around trees as their mothers were chasing them. I was not a tourist, I was part of this family, part of this community. I was so thankful in this moment as I felt the heart beat of my tiny neighborhood.

We finally got to Auntie's house and she and her son were sharing a bowl of Fufu (another local dish) eating under the dim light coming from the kitchen. The little boy, Francis, was taken aback when he saw me! "Yovo?" he blurted as he nearly fell off his stool. I just laughed and said yes. They immediately pulled up a chair for me to sit and offered me some food...here they say, "You are invited." if they are offering you some of their food. We picked up some things for Mary to make her famous ice cream and headed back home.

UNiTED is going well. I am working on the framework right now, which consists of getting everything down on paper and defining what UNiTED is, its goals, who it will serve, etc. I am also preparing for some interns who will be coming in late March. They are getting their masters in International Public Health from a university in the Netherlands and have come to help identify the health problems that are most taxing in Kpando. I am reading a really good book right now! Its called "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder. I found it at the children's home, just lying in a corner and something told me that I should read it. Its about Paul Farmer, a brilliant doctor from America who does work in Haiti. He witnesses a huge amount of poverty and the book details his feelings about it and how he helps. It really is the perfect book for me to be reading right now, not only because he is trying to improve the quality of life of those living in poverty, but also because
there are a lot of cultural similarities between Haiti and Ghana. The people of Haiti originated from West Africa, primarily Ghana, as a result of the slave trade 200 years ago. So they kept many of their traditions and beliefs. The way he identifies the problems in Haiti has a lot more to it than just taking everything he observes for face value! He understands the culture, the religion, the language and then starts to make some conclusions! I LOVE this book and feel that God placed it in my hands right now to keep on inspiring me to do his will, sort of like hinting to me that there is a right way to go about the research in this town for this project...from the bottom up.

Thank you to everyone for your support and prayers!

Peace and love from Africa
Rosie