My Work

"It is said that if you educate a man you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman you educate the nation. From the Sara club our parents now know this to be true and now they send our sisters to school as well as our brothers."

These words are the result of a short group exercise we gave to the members of this club. Their challenge was to explain how the club had changed their parents' perspectives on the importance of girls' education. After 5 minutes huddled in small groups all around the school grounds, each group returned to the class and presented their findings in well-structured English sentences. I am impressed with their efforts, and motivated by the change they see taking place in the world around them.

Working with a group of Sara Club members

But let me take a step backward and explain how I got to this place.

Many people have been asking "so what are you doing in Ghana anyway?". I've been putting off answering that question because I was still sorting out the details of my work. But now I think things are relatively well planned out, so I will share my plans with you.

My first few weeks of work were spent soaking up information and getting a feel for the role of the Girls' Education program here at the Ghana Education Service (GES) District office. I am working closely with the District Girls' Education Officer (DGEO) - who just happens to be the same Natalia who is my host mother - and KK, a long-term WUSC volunteer who hails from the south of Ghana and is here on an 18-month placement.

One of the major initiatives in girls' education in the northern regions is the creation of Sara clubs. The initiative is a joint venture by UNICEF and many national governments throughout Africa in an effort to keep girls enrolled in secondary education. The clubs are based out of the Junior Secondary Schools (JSS), headed by a teacher and consisting of both male and female student members. The concept of the clubs is based on a fictional girl named Sara. Sara leads an exemplary life - she shows respect for her friends, parents and community, she is helpful, she studies hard in school, she abstains from sex and is a role model to her peers. In short, she's perfect. Through reading comic books and watching movies about Sara's exploits, the members of the Sara club learn moral lessons about the behaviour they should exhibit as young adults. They have discussions on personal hygiene, HIV/AIDS and other STIs, teenage pregnancy and relationships between boys and girls. They sing songs, act out plays and try to educate their communities about the "new" role of girls in society, not just as wives and mothers, but as educated professionals. The underlying sentiment is "anything a boy can do, a girl can also do", a phrase which I have heard repeated several times.

Students at a Sara Club meeting

In this district, Jirapa/Lambussie, there are 36 active Sara clubs. Many were just recently revived since KK started working here. Some clubs are more active than others - indeed, it seems to depend a lot on the motivation level of the club leaders. There are some champion teachers who are really doing a lot for their schools, and some deadbeats who just got roped into it and often don't even show up for meetings.

One of the major projects I'm taking on while I'm here is a Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) "tour" of these 36 Sara clubs. In these 3 weeks, we are traveling to all of the clubs and spending about 1 hour with each group. First we spend some time with the teachers, finding out the logistics of the meetings - when do they happen, how frequently, who plans them, etc. We also ask the teachers if they have seen any change in the behaviour of the students who are members of the Sara club. Often they note improved academic performance and behaviour in the classroom, as well as a more respectful relationship between the boys and the girls.

Next, we meet with the members of the Sara club in one of the school classrooms. This can range from only about 20 students up to 80 or 90. They stand and greet us and we introduce ourselves and the purpose of our meeting. Then come the questions: "What do you enjoy about the Sara club? How are you benefiting from being a member of the club?", then "What are the challenges that you face?" and "How can you improve your club?". At first the responses are slow to come - some students aren't comfortable answering in English, and some just need time to think. But once the first few ideas are spoken, more and more hands are raised to add to the discussion. (It helps that we offer a prize for participation - a postcard, coin or "Make Poverty History" bracelet from Canada!) For the final activity, we divide up into the groups that I mentioned at the start of this post to answer the question "how has the Sara club changed the way people think about girls' education?". Each group considers a different set of stakeholders - parents, teachers, classmates, brothers and sisters, chiefs and elders. It is a heavy question, but an important one, and these students are in the best position to answer it.

"Before we were not respectful. Now that we are Sara club members we are respectful of our parents and elders in the community. They see this and they know it is important to send us to school."

"Our teachers used to be in love with some students at school, but from the Sara club we know how to say 'no'. Now the teachers know that we are strong and we are here for our education."

"Often the children who are not in school will copy the behaviour of those of us who go to school. Now that we are in Sara club, we live the life of Sara - we are respectful and obedient, we do our chores and study hard. We don't chase boys/girls and we don't have sex. Our friends see this and they have stopped their bad behaviour too."

It all sounds too good to be true. Often these students are describing the best-case scenario, the ultimate goal of the Sara clubs. They know this goal, and so they tell us what they think we want to hear. On one hand, maybe some of these Sara clubs really have had a dramatic effect on girls' education in a community. On the other hand, maybe some have had absolutely no effect. But how do we know?

This is a common problem with M&E: how do you gather qualitative information in a way that is both reliable and efficient? The real effect of the Sara clubs probably lies somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. An in-depth study of the community, interviews with several different stakeholder groups and sustained observation would give us a better idea. But who has time to talk to every person in a village? So we must compromise. We use a variety of techniques - one-on-one interviews, small group work, group discussions and brainstorming - but spend a limited amount of time in each location. This approximates an approach known to development professionals as Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) - more on this technique later.

Another group is presenting as I look around the classroom at the assembled students. They look proud when they speak of their new respect for themselves. There are small giggles and hand-covered smiles every time they hear the word "sex". One after the other, they tell heart-warming stories of parents sending girls to school, elders approving of their behaviour and brothers and sisters copying their reformed role models.

While I would like to believe the Sara club is greatly improving the availability of education for girls in this community, I must sift through the layers separating us - language, religion, power, race - to find the truth. And armed with the truth, I will find a way to support these students in their quest for a better life.

A Day in My Life

I have started to settle into a routine here in Jirapa. To give you an idea of what my life is like, here is a taste of a regular day for me.

6:00am - wake up, go to the washroom, do my Pilates exercises. I bought a small prayer mat at a local store and I have enough space on my bedroom floor that I can do Pilates inside. I find this is a great way to start the morning - calming and energizing to prepare me for the day ahead.

6:45am - sweep the yard. Ghanaians take great pride in all matters of appearance, including the upkeep of their houses. There is a huge nim tree in our front yard that is constantly dropping fruit and leaves, but i sweep the dirt clean.

The yard that I sweep

7:00am - bathe. The water usually runs for about an hour every morning, but the time is unpredictable and sometimes it doesn't come on at all. If it is running, I will take my shampoo, towel and cloth into the washroom for a shower. If the water is not running, I will also take a small bucket of water and bathe with this. Bathing has become one of my favourite parts of the day because it is the only time I am cool!

7:10am - dress, take my malaria pill and multivitamin, and eat breakfast. Breakfast usually consists of white bread and tea. Sometimes I will add a mango (which I've only recently discovered I LOVE here), an orange or some groundnut paste (peanut butter) for an extra treat.

7:40am - pack my things for work - laptop, water bottle, notebook, pens and books. If I am going out in the field I will also bring my raincoat (just in case), some biscuits and a motorcycle helmet.

7:50am - go to work. I get on the moto with Natalia (my host mother and the District Girl-Child Education Officer) and we head off down the dirt path to the main road, then along the road to work. It is not very far, about a 25-minute walk, but it is only 5 minutes on the moto (and much less sweaty).

8:00am - work. This can consist of many things. If I am working at the office it can include designing Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) forms and activities, processing information that has been received, learning about and planning Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) activities, writing emails and reading about development. If I am traveling out of the office, it is usually to visit one of the Sara clubs in the district (more about these girls clubs later). We will meet with the girls and talk with them, both giving and receiving information.

Hard at work

12:00pm - lunchtime. Sometimes I will go back home with Natalia and we will prepare something for lunch, such as jolaf rice or banku with light soup. Other times I will take lunch somewhere in town, finding a place to sit and read my book while I take some kenkey or rice with chicken. It is also a good time to do small errands, such as going to the small local market, buying water or going to the post office.

2:00pm - return to work. After a long lunch and rest, I will return to the office to finish up work for the day. This part of the day is usually a lot more laid-back and you may even find people sleeping at their desks. If I don't have too much work to do, I will use this time to write blog posts or work on my learning plan.

4:00 or 5:00pm - finish work and go home. Depending on whether there is a lot to do, we will leave work earlier or later. After getting home, I will rest for a while (it's still usually very hot at this time). I like to read a book or write in my journal. If Charles and Emmanuel are home, I will play cards with them or talk with them for a while.

7:00pm - cook dinner. We will start cooking as it gets cooler outside - but it's still hot in the kitchen! We will cook TZ, fufu, banku, or rice along with light soup with goat, groundnut soup with fish, or okru soup. There are also several soups with various greens in them but I have yet to figure out all the names. And when I say "we" cook, it usually means that Natalia is in charge and I help with cutting up vegetables and pounding pepe (hot peppers) or tomatoes. I'm starting to learn how to cook though, so hopefully by the time I return I will be able to prepare some Ghanaian dishes!

Stirring the banku (fermented maize that is ground into flour then cooked with water)

8:00pm - eat dinner. Most families eat dinner around 6pm, but for some reason my family eats late. Also, it doesn't seem important that the family eats together - whoever is around gets a bowl when it's ready, and everyone else will help themselves later. The only important thing is to serve my host father with his own dishes on a tray along with a cup of water. Usually we will eat outside, where it is nice and cool (though this means I have to load up on bugspray first). Generally I like the food, though I'm not crazy about the snotty consistency of okru!

8:30pm - bathe again. Ghanaians usually bathe twice a day. It is easy to get sweaty and dirty, so this is a pretty good idea. The water is never running at this time of night, so it is always a bucket shower. I usually just wash my body and don't get my hair wet before bed.

8:40pm - brush my teeth, put my sleeping clothes on and head to bed. I will make sure I write in my journal before going to sleep, and sometimes if I'm not too tired I will read my book. Then I will turn off my light (if the power is on - otherwise I use a flashlight), tuck my mosquito net under my mattress all the way around and go to sleep!

The weekends are a bit different. Sometimes I allow myself the luxury of sleeping in until 7am, at which point Natalia will start banging on my door to see if I'm up yet. This is understandable - the morning is the coolest part of the day and the only time you can really do work. Saturday mornings consist of doing laundry. We will all take turns to wash our clothes in a big basin, rinse them and hang them to dry on the clothesline. Doing laundry by hand has become one of my favourite things - I find it so calming, sitting and scrubbing the week's dirt out of my clothes. The rest of Saturday I will find various things to do, including hanging out with friends, going for walks or other adventures. On Sunday my whole family goes to church. I went with them on my first week (to see what it was like), but I don't go anymore. Instead I stay behind and enjoy the peace and quiet. In the afternoon I will walk to the bustling weekly market, when people from all over the surrounding area come to Jirapa to sell their goods. There are things I can buy there that I can't find during the rest of the week, including pineapple and other such luxuries. I've never tasted pineapple so good as the ones in Ghana! On the way home I will relax, chat with people on the street and maybe stop for a cup of pito. Sundays are very relaxed, a perfect way to prepare for the week ahead.

The Rains Have Come

For those of you who were worried about the rain... it's here!

Before - a dry riverbed

Now - rain running through the street outside my office

Proverbs

To get a better understanding of local culture in Jirapa, I was challenged to learn some of the proverbs. So for a week I asked everyone I met to tell me one of their favourite proverbs. (This behaviour apparently led the menfolk of the town to believe i was romantically interested in them and I got more than 5 marriage proposals, but I guess that's what you get.)

Below are the results of my investigation. Can you guess at the meaning of these proverbs? The answers are below - some are easy, but some are way off the chart. Have fun!

1. A crab cannot give birth to a bird.

2. An eagle can fly thousands of miles but it never forgets to return to its nest.

3. If all lizards lie prostrate, how can a man tell which one suffers from pain in its belly?

4. Patience can move mountains.

5. If a donkey had horns it would kill people.

6. The ant may be small but it can eat the leaves of a mango tree until it is bare.

7. If a dog sees a fowl with a bone in its mouth, it needn't be in haste. The fowl has no teeth to eat the bone, so the dog will get it when it drops. (ok I had to paraphrase this one)

8. A bird has to trot before it can fly.

9. A man cannot stop drinking water because his son drowned in the river.

10. To bury a mad dog let the tail enter the hole first.

11. The Gbunu face of a billy goat cannot prevent the owner from selling it.

12. All for God (not a proverb but definitely a sentiment shared by the majority of the town)

Answers:

1. An easy one to start! This one is fairly obvious: it's comparable to the English expression "like father, like son." When I was told this one I commented "man, that's kinda depressing" but I think the comment was lost...

2. Another easy one. Remember where you came from and always appreciate it (usually in the form of respecting and loving your parents).

3. This one is tricky, and definitely one of the weirder expressions I heard. The meaning is "don't make judgements or assumptions without evidence", a good motto for everyone!

4. Same as in English.

5. Haha, this one took a while to explain. I got it from an old man who'd had too much pito (he was pretty drunk) and asked me to marry him at least 4 times in 15 minutes. Anyway, it was a funny expression so I persisted to find the meaning. The explanation went like this:
Old Man: "so you know donkey, right?"
Me: "right"
OM: "and you know donkeys are evil, right?"
Me: "ok..."
OM: "and the donkey wants to have horns like a cow, right?"
Me: "sure..."
OM: "but since the donkey is evil, if it had horns it would kill people"
Me: "so cows want to kill people?"
OM: "no no, cows are not evil. Donkeys are evil!"
Me: "oh ok. So... what does that mean?"
OM: "if you want something but you have evil intentions, no one will give that thing to you."
Me: "wow, I would never have got that..."
Haha, so that's the story. Did you guess that one?

6. Small people can do big things

7. Be patient with opportunities that you know will come around to you eventually. Don't hassle people unnecessarily when you know you will benefit in the end. Let them enjoy themselves and wait for your turn.

8. Pretty straight-forward. This was actually used to describe a program we are implementing here at work, when we were looking for results too soon after the program was started.

9. Don't let difficulties deter you from the life you want to live. Be practical.

10. Yeah a kid told me this one and I think he just thought it was funny... I don't actually know if there's a lesson here or not.

11. "Gbunu" apparently means something like "to make ones face ugly". So the meaning is even if you try to make yourself seem undesirable, you may still have to do things you don't want to do.

12. Bonus track - do you dig it?

And that's all folks! I hope this has helped you to learn something of Dagaare culture! Post any comments or questions freely and keep in touch!

Photos of my Family

I'm on some fast internet right now, so here are some photos of my host family. Enjoy!!

Charles

Edgar

Emmanuel

Natalia

Mailing Address

Just in case you want to send me something (hint, hint), here's my address:

Erin Antcliffe
Ghana Education Service
P.O. Box 14
Jirapa, UWR
Ghana, WA

The Rains

The rains have not yet come. People are worried, and the farming seasons grows shorter and more uncertain every day. The riverbeds are dry and dust blows in the fields. The yam mounds that were made months ago sit barren in the hot sun. Every day people pray for rain.

Unlike Canada, Ghana has only two seasons - dry season and rainy season.
The rainy season usually begins in Jirapa in early May, sometimes even in April, and lasts through to about October. The temperatures during this season hover around 30-35 degrees C. The rains are sporadic, but when they fall they fall hard. This is the farming season, when people will grow yams, cassava, maize and other large crops. They will begin preparing the fields in April, ploughing and readying their fields for planting. When the rains come the fields are ready for planting, weeding and, many months later, harvesting.

The dry season lasts from about November to March. During this season temperatures can soar over 40 degress C. There are few rainfalls - this year there were only two in the span of four months. The fields lie dry and hot and there is no farming. Some people engage in dry-season gardening to supplement their diets (and, if they're good, their incomes). These crops include tomatoes, onions and a variety of leafy greens. But in general, life is hot hot hot and dry dry dry!

It is now the first week of June, and the rains have still not come. They are a month late and still people are waiting. There have been three rainfalls during the month of May, two since I arrived, but they haven't been close enough together to sufficiently say the rainy season has started. Once the rains come more often than every three days, then people will know that the rain is here to stay.

People are scared that there will be a repeat of last year's weather. The rains were late then too, coming at the end of May. But when they came they were accompanied by terrifying storms, high winds and torrents of rain. There were floods throughout the northern regions and many farmers' fields were just washed away. The crop yields from last year's rainy season were incredibly low. People desperately need a good year from their farms, which makes this year's late rains all the more worrisome.

Unfortunately, some of the ambitious farmers who planted early have lost all of their seeds. The very rural families who still draw water from rivers or streams are having an incredibly difficult time finding sources of water. Here in Jirapa the water comes from boreholes, which are still functioning, so we are lucky. Driving through the countryside on a motorbike, I see dry fields in all directions with no sign of life.

And there is nothing to do but wait and pray.

My New Home

Now that I've settled into my house in Jirapa, let me tell you a bit about where I live.

This is my house. There are 4 big rooms, a courtyard and a washroom (split into shower and toilet). The kitchen and the living room are at the front, and my bedroom and the parents bedroom is at the back.

The kitchen has a long stone counter along one side and water barrels on the other side. We use a small charcoal fire to cook everything, and it certainly heats up in that little room!

The living room is where we come to sit and spend time together. There is a TV and a DVD player in this room, and there is usually music blaring at all times of the day (given that the power is on). It ranges from Ghanaian high-life to American rap to Celine Dion - quite the eclectic mix! The living room also contains the freezer, which is really used as a fridge. It is turned on and off (either by hand or when the power goes out) to keep the food inside cool, but not frozen.

The courtyard contains more big water barrels. This is where we do the washing on the weekends. It's also where several things are stored, including motorbikes, extra pots, benches and several other things.

The washroom has a shared ceiling and a shared light. The toilet is on one side - yes, it is a real toilet, but it doesn't flush. It may have been hooked up to the water at some point, but more likely is that it was installed with no intention of hooking it up. Instead, we take a bucket and fill the back of the tank, then flush it by lifting up the stopper. The shower is on the other side with a stone floor. It is actually a beautiful shower - when the water is running. Otherwise I will take a bucket of water, crouch down and scoop water onto myself to bathe.

My bedroom is at the back and I think it is the hottest room in the house. But other than that, it is spacious and beautiful - I actually feel kind of guilty to be taking so much space to myself! I don't need all of the space, so it actually looks quite bare. On one side is my bed, covered in a mosquito net (thanks Kristy!) that I tuck into my mattress on all sides before going to sleep. My clothes are all hanging on wooden pegs on one side of the room (but the pegs are in danger of falling out of the wall so I might have to change that!). I have a small bookshelf and a table that hold my books, medicine and other small things. I also have a small mat on the floor that I use to do Pilates in the mornings. All in all it's a great room!

Now, I should introduce my family. There are six members of the Lantuo family: Natalia (mother), Edgar (father), Eric (age 26), Xavier (age 20), Charles (age 15) and Emmanuel (age 8). Oh and I shouldn't forget our dog, Hope! Eric is a teacher and lives far away now, and Xavier goes to school in a neighbouring town, so only Charles and Emmanuel live at home.

Natalia is the most dominant member of the household. She is the District Girls Education Officer and I work with her at the office. She is a very strong woman and holds many opinions. She is not afraid of confrontation and can put anyone (man or woman) in their place. That said, she is an excellent role model for young girls to stand up for themselves and their beliefs. Natalia does most of the work around the house, including cooking and cleaning.

Edgar is the District Inspector and he works at the District Assembly (local government) in Jirapa. He is in charge of making sure everyone in the area pays taxes and is generally financially responsible. He is quite a big man in town and people are always dropping by the house to say respectful hello's and to talk seriously with him. That said, he is a very quiet and respectful man. During our conversations he is always thoughtful and kind. I like to talk to him, but I find it difficult to know what kind of relationship we should have with me being a young white female staying in his house, and he a powerful elder black male.

Charles is in Form 2 at St. Anthony's Junior Secondary School (JSS) here in Jirapa. He is the Library Prefect and quite popular in school. He is a very respectful boy and is well-liked by both his peers and adults in the neighbourhood. He and I have become good friends and he helps me learn Dagaare (the local language). We also play a lot of cards, and have taught each other some new games.

Emmanuel is in Form 3 at St. Anthony's Primary School (PS). He doesn't like school as much as Charles and often pretends to be sick to try to get out of going. However, Natalia is strict and Emmanuel usually has to go to school anyway. When he's not pouting about school, he's quite a lively young boy. He spends lots of time playing with the other children in the neighbourhood. He admires his older brothers and they're quite good to him. I'm impressed at the level of his English, though of course it's not as good as the rest of the family, but he gets by.

(I will post photos of my family soon - the internet is toooo slow right now!!)

The Lantuo's are devout Catholics, attending mass every Sunday. Both Natalia and Edgar are officials in the Church. They are quite well-known around town, but still money can be tight. However, this doesn't stop Natalia from taking time to enjoy pito, the local brew (it reminds me of cider and is very good). Overall the Lantuo's are a great family to live with, but still I'm left with so many questions. Is this family in poverty? How should I know? They don't ACT like they're in poverty - but what does an impoverished person act like anyway? On one hand, they have a TV, a DVD player and enough to eat. On the other hand, they have to draw water from buckets and cook their food over a fire. So what are the criteria for living in poverty, and how can I, an outsider, make an accurate assessment of a family?

Lately I've been thinking a lot about development. More specifically, I've been asking the question "What does developed Ghana look like?" Because I'm pretty sure it doesn't look like the US. But if Ghanaians aren't striving to live a life of excess like Americans (or Canadians for that matter), but don't want to live in poverty either, where DO they want to live? What do those developed lives look like? How can Ghana develop in a way that provides for every person, yet is sustainable into the next century (or several centuries)?

In addition, how will we know once we get there? The NGO industry in Ghana is booming, with everything from huge international NGOs to locally-grown organisations. Everyone is capitalizing on the money that is flowing into Ghana for aid and development, and believe me: there are millions of dollars here. Furthermore, millions of peoples' livelihoods rely on the business of development. This makes it difficult to step back and say "are we there yet?" So who will be the one to say when Ghana is developed and all these NGOs can pack up and go home? And then who will employ all of the people currently employed by NGOs?

There are lots of questions, but development work is all about questions. As long as we continue to be critical of ourselves and others, we will remain on track to development... whatever that means.