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.