Some thoughts...

Water is life!

Jim and I are about an hour outside of New York.  We've now been gone 13 & 12 days respectively.  I think JIm's time at the PCUSA Ghana Network meeting in Ho was worthwhile based on his recap and stories he told me yesterday.

Water is a problem!

I woke up on the plane a little earlier than everyone else on starting to get back into "real life mode".  It's a difficult process because you start to think about people like Rev Solomon the Presby Chairperson for Tamale (I had dinner at his house on Wednesday night in Tamale).  Rev Solomon is in real life mode every day.  Tamale is 40% Christian and 60% Muslim - It's not Christians vs Muslims in the north of Ghana.  People like Rev Solomon and Dan Kobilla are working hand in hand with their Muslim brothers and sisters to take on the bigger challenges of life - water, health, education, commerce, and so on.

It would be easy to make a judegement about Rev Solomon - what he wears, his quite demeanor, etc. - until you pull all the pieces together around Rev Solomon and understand he has his Phd and he converted from Muslim to Christanity and he is on one of the tughest Presbys in all of Ghana.

Tamale is uncomfortable.  Driving the highway to Bogla is uncomfortable.  Walking into a village and being surrounded by 30 kids is uncomfortable.  Knowing that the 30 kids will not have access to rain water for 6 months is uncomfortable.  Wondering if we will get back to Tamale before dark is uncomfortable.

Rev Solomon is about 6'4" with the body mass % we all wished we had.  He speaks with a soft raspy tone - when he speaks.  He listens.

Rev Solomon probably didn't ask to go to the north and be the Presby Chair in Tamale.  There are probably better Presbys in Ghana - easier (relative) - less problems (relative) - more help (relative) - closer step to his next position in the PCG.

Rev Solomon was put in Tamale for a reason - he needs to be there.  It's probably a challenge for Rev Solomon emotionally and physically.  It's probably uncomfortable for Rev Solomon.

But - the other night when Rev Solomon did speak in the context of a discussion with the South African missionaries that were in Tamale to evangelize Christianity in the remote villages - there was a pause in the dialogue and Rev Solomon in his quiet raspy voice his eyes staring to the ceiling said...."God calls us sometimes to be uncomfortable".

For 4 days now this phrase has been in my thoughts.

Water solution.

The water problem in Ghana is not going to be solved in my lifetime.  There are just too many issues - access, distribution, trust, quality, scale of the problems, and so on.  This is a generational problem.  The people of Ghana that don't have "ready" access to clean and trustworthy water just "figure it out" and that could mean doing without or compromising or drinking out of desperation.  The people that have only access to ground water or untested bore water make the decision between thirst or diarhea; thirst or Guinea Worm; thirst or life.

It's uncomfortable to be at a school and see outside the class room a plastic trash can full of water and a cup on top of the lid and realize that that is the cup and water for the 60 kids in the class room AND really uncomfortble when the asst principal says their goal is to someday have the ability for every child to have their own cup!

It's basic.  It's about 60 cups.  It's about where to put those cups.  It's about where to get reuseable cups.  It's about how to keep those cups clean.

The bucket of water - that's problem #2.

Serve vs Solve

Is the water problem in Ghana greater than the homeless problem in America - I know of no scale to even begin to answer that question- is one harder than the other - I know of no rule to contemplate relative difficulty.  Is one more unconfotable than the other - that's a personal feeling.

I think the answer is along the line - they are both circumstances and issues that we are called or even compelled to serve.  I can't see either being solved in the remaining years of my lifetime.  I don't see either being solved in my boys lifetime.  However I do see hope, faith, and service as the tools and means to comfort an uncomfortable situation like water problems in Ghana and homeless in America.

Crisis

I think of Francis the chief medical person in the clinic in Kwahu Praso and his soft calm voice that welcomed us and then excused himself when the taxi showed with the severally ill man in the back seat.

Francis lives at the clinic and serves 600 people a week from the surroundng 108 villages.

The light at the maternity door stays on all night.

Triage is what Francis does - he (the clinic) doesn't have many medical solutions - the clinic is about determining severity of the problem - delivering a baby (low severity) - life threatening or extensive treatment the patient is off to Abitify (by taxi).

A day or two after visiting Kwahu Praso Clinic I asked Rev Daniel Opong-Wereko how long Francis would be at the clinic, i.e. would he be rotated out to another clinic at some point - Daniel's answer "..he will be there until he is taken by God."

The perspective of crisis.

Voice

We all have memories, people, things, etc. that we wish we could take with us throughout our whole life.  A grandparent not living anymore to see a grandchild graduate from high school - a friendship that has gone the way of the wind - and so on.

I have those thoughts too.  And here is another one for me...I wish that I had Rev Solomon by myside everyday so that as I travel through the rest of my life I'd hear his raspy voice from his tall perch speak to the situation just like he did when I met him and he said...

"Water is Life!"

And just like he did with the missionaries from South Africa...

"God calls us sometimes to be uncomfortable"

And in the same discussion Wednesday night...

"We have been blessed that Guinea Worm has not been found since 2008"

I'm listening....

Gillbet House

GillBT House is where we have been staying while in Accra.  It is located in the airport district of Accra.

It's been a good location for us geographically and the room set up works good, i.e. there is a bungalow with 3 rooms where Jim and Forrest & Cheri stayed (the 3rd room was occupied by some teachers from Holland).  I stayed in room #7 which was next to the little conference center.

If wanted we got 3 meals a day and WiFi at GillBT House 

Room #7

Dining hall, conference center, & room #7

Bungalow looking from room #7

Bunglaow looking from front gate

Front gate

Lawn & garden

Oh & lizards

Friday - Research Day

Daniel Opong-Wereko picked me up at the airport and we traveled around Accra to the plant that makes the 5 gallon water bottles for the LWW sites.

We visited this plant last year and were hopeful that the owner of the company would be able to find a smaller bottle with a handle.  Not so far.

This year I brought him a picture of a 2.5 gallon bottle with a handle that I saw in a Lowes store in Memphis.  Showed it to the owner and we may be a bit more encouraged that he will reach out to his Chinese supplier to see if there is a blow mold for this smaller bottle.  We'll see.

We then headed to PCG HQ in the old part of Accra for a few hours.  Daniel is the acting Moderator this weekend as the Moderator and Clerk of the PCG are both traveling and therefore Daniel needed to be around the office most of the afternoon.

We did walk a few blocks from PCG HQ to a shop that sells generators, pumps, etc. and Reverse Osmosis Systems (ROS).  ROS are used in situations where the water from a bore hole has too much salt.  The ROS removes enough salt from the bore hole water to where the water can then be fed into a LWW system.  Michael, the LWW tech here in Ghana, had told us that ROS were being sold in Accra and we wanted to see one.  So we did.

Got back to GillBT house early evening - had dinner and then watched a movie on my iPad!

Jim should be on the way back from Ho tomorrow (Saturday).

"Water is life"

it doesn't take long to realize that the country of Ghana - the people - are highly religious (I think I wrote about this in last year's blog valentinecleanwater.blogspot.com).  Whether it be Christanity or Muslim - the people believe and live their lives with their faith in front everyday.

One of the things that I've heard from time-to-time last year's visit and this one is "water is life".  I think I had some appreciation for it from last year and up until I traveled to the north.  Water in the south difficult - bore holes, unpredictable Ghana Water, some rain water haresting and so on - but for the most part in the south there is water - unclean and clean.

In the north the phrase "water is life" carries more weight.  Bore holes are not as possible due to either the massive rock formations under the top soil or just no subground water.  Ghana Water is there - but not there.  The mesa of the north reminds me of a green West Texas - flat grass land spotted with trees.  Ground water is around - think of watering holes you might see in western movie.  Women and children leave the village every day to fetch water from the pond or stream.

So if you think things in the world are not real or you think getting that addition to your house done in 3 months vs 4 months - think about this - the people in the north are talking about that the territory has been guinea worm free since 2008 (look up guinea worm).  The PCG was one of several organizations that worked to find the source (ground water) and put the solutions and processes in place to erradicate the outbreak by 2008 - implication is it took several years.  Scary.

Just about every person I met in the north - Christian or Muslim - would say "water is life..." (with a slow thoughtful tone as if they were remembering/feeling a deep emotion) "...it's in everything we do and we are" after I greeted them as a LWW person. I get it.

We had lunch with a close friend of Dan's in Bolga on Thursday.  The gentlemen's name was Abbas.  Abbas is Muslim - Dan introduced me and Abbas sighed - "water is life".

I thought about titling this post "Guinea Worm" - Have you looked it up yet?

Chief Dan

Dan Kolbilla is the Director of Social Services for the PCG in the north.  Dan's main focus is agriculture and water.  Dan's group works with villages and small farmers to teach them to farm a crop so that they may have food to eat and possibly a little food to sell to help pay for their kids school and other essentials of life.  Dan's group also works with school & churches around rain water harvesting.  So LWW is a natural fit in Dan's scope.

Dan has been with the PCG for 26 years.  He joined the PCG after graduating from university in the south.  The PCG was expanding in the north, Dan's from the north - the village of Tongo outside of Bulga - and Dan had an interest in moving back from the north.

Dan's wife Tina is from outside of Accra.  They have several children - their own and adopted - Albert, Amelia, Michael, etc.  Nice house in Tamale where they had me over for dinner Thursday night.

Dan's father passed away back in the spring.  Dan's father was a cattle trader and was the Chief of Tongo.  Now Dan is the Chief of Tongo.  The funeral for Dan's dad was weeks in the planning and was attended by Chiefs from all over Ghana.  As Dan said "it was a good thing I got so many gifts of goats from friends and family - because I had to give every Chief that attended the funeral a gift for coming - so every Chief got a goat!" and we thought bread machines made a good re-gift!

Dan has to travel to Tongo every Friday to "take decisions" pertaining to his village and the territory around the village - btw it's a pretty big territory - we crossed the White River (no not that White River) about 90 minutes south of Bulga and I noticed Dan pull out his Chief head dress from the back seat (small white cloth with a triangular emblem on the front) and put it on his head.  He told me that he has to wear it in the territory or he gets in trouble.  Sure enough - people along the road saw Dan and head dress and would waive and shout.

Today (Friday) Dan has to take a review in Tongo from a group of German (or Dutch) researchers that did a study of the environmental impact of gold mining in Dan's territory - OK you can connect the dots here.

Before anyone body gets any big ideas - the Chief position in Tongo carries no weight with Tina at home!

Chief Dan and family at home in Tamale

Leaving Tamale

Early a.m. flight back to Accra

Sorry - I am not bringing any guinea fowl meat home!

The North

I think it was good I came to the north.  As my previous post indicated, Dan has proposed one new LWW site in Tamale.

The PCG is doing good outreach work in the north in conjunction with the government of Ghana.

We did not have time to visit the Doctor's Hospital and Nursing School in the town of..(need my map) that is 2.5 hours east of Bogla right at the corner of Ghana and Togo, but based on the information shared with me - if LWW does put expand beyond 1 site in the north, this regional hospital would have to be on the list to consider.  Dan is going to submit a LWW survey for the regional hospital.

The PCG has numerous clinics around Bogla in addtion to the eye medical center.

In Tamale, the Dutch have built a really nice looking hospital that serves Tamale and the surrounding area.  There is also a government hospital and several clinics.  In Tamale, the PCG has 4 churches and numerous schools.

Outside of Bogla is a pretty good size reservoir built by the Ghana Water Company.  This reservoir and subsequent treatment plant serve as much of Bogla as it can - the contraint being where the Ghana Water Company pipe is and is not.  Even though the water is treated with chlorine, the people of Bogla don't trust the water - so those that can buy water for drinking.

Reservoir

Dam

Water treatment plant - unloading bags of chlorine

The Road to Bogla

I thought a few more comments on the road to Bogla were necessary.

The road to Bogla is an important part of the road network running north and south between Accra and Pago, the Ghana border city with Burkina Faso in the north.  Since Burkina Faso and Mali are both land locked, the road to Bogla is one of two important trade routes to these countries - the other runs a parallel course through Togo.  This trade route has been in operation for thousands of years.

The road to Bogla carries A LOT of heavy trucks carry everything from steel, to food, to cars, and many other things that you can't see under the the tarps.  Just about every little town has a police check point where many times the trucks get stopped so the police can "check" thei drivers paperwork and whatever else might be going on.  Dan says lots of smuggling takes place on this trade route.

The road is also one big continuous market place.  Who needs Kroger and Lowes.  As you drive the road, you can buy everything you need for the house - food, home improvement, clothes, etc.  Many times without even getting out of your car.  If one of the towns is having market day - well then it is like traveling through the fruits and vegetable isle of the grocery without leaving the car.

On either side of the road is the mesa - flat grassy land with trees sprinkled throughout.  Off in the distance one can see a village or two with the huts positioned near/under a clustered group of trees.  Dan calls the mesa the "bush".

The road does not come without danger.  The amount of trucks and cars and motorbikes and bicycles makes driving a challenge.  Passing on the left is the norm.  Our whole day was planned around getting off the road before dark as Dan says - men will come out of the bush at night and block the road with rocks and trees and extort drivers with an expensive "toll".  I only witnessed one car accident and that was the one Dan and I were in.  We got side swipped about an hour outside of Bogla on our way back to Tamale.

The road to Bogla is also lined with agriculture.  Low land rice, corn (lots of corn), Mango, peanuts, onion, and soybean.  The towns and villages have control of the land and a farmer/family can lease a "plot" of land from the town/village to grow a crop.  Most plots are 1/4 to an acre in size and all the cultivation is done mostly by hand, i.e planting, weeding, and so forth.  No irrigation.  There are tractors that are outfitted with small plows, but I also saw the time tested ox driven plowing taking place as well.

We stopped by a farm coop warehouse on the way back.  This is a govenment built facility that was then handed over to the PCG to run.  It provides storage and processing machinery for the farmers to use to store the harvested grains to sell over time.  The processing machinery was idle (no electricity that day), so we got to see one group of ladies "sifting" out the dust, husks, and grass from the corn by hand before storing the grain in bags.

Bags of corn

Bags of rice

Sifting process

Sifting process

She is pulling the corn into piles to get out the bigger grass and husks 

They pour the corn from bowl to bowl and get the help of the wind

Hanging out with mom for the day

Dan and I got back to Tamale before dark.

Bogla "bull (rhymes with lull)-gla"

Dan and I struck out on a day trip to Bogla.  Bogla is about 2-2.5 hours north of Tamale close to the border with Burkina (OK - be honest how many people new there was a country called Burkina Faso - we all have to get out of our comfort zone a bit more).  The PCG has a presbytery office in the north of Ghana located in Bogla.

The drive up to Bogla was every bit of 2.5 hours.  It's a great road, few pot holes, but the reason some of our neighborhoods in Memphis cannot get speed humps to slow the traffic down...is because all those speed humps are between Tamale and Bolgla in every part of the highway where more than 10 people gather/live.  These are SERIOUS speed humps like if you don't slow down - you will need to buy a new car!  We got to Bogla, picked up the Chairman of the North Presby and headed off to the outskirts of town.

Let me take a minute and talk about towns.  The towns I have been in in Ghana, the main roads have asphalt (although some of these roads may have more potholes than asphalt) - the sceondary roads are dirt roads in various condition.  In Bogla, the secondary dirt roads are in GREAT condition - probably better than some of the secondary roads in Memphis.  I bring this up because traveling in Ghana you have to have a differrent mindset - be open to what's going on, no necessarily what you are seeing.  Heading out to the outskirts of Bogla we were on secondary roads passing through tight clusters of houses and businesses and then through areas with fewer strutures more land/fields and huge rocks.

We arrived at the Presbyterian Eye Clinic.  This clinic is the destination for medical treatment for the eye for the north of Ghana (see the pictures - you will see why).  The clinic sees 200 patients a day (christians, muslims, etc.).  The clinic does everything from eye exams to surgerys, i.e. cataracts, etc.  It is very clean, organized (see the picture of the Records Room), and they are very forward thinking.  Right now, the patients that need to stay over night from a surgery, spend the night in the waiting room.  The eye clinic is constructing a new Ward to house these overnight patients.  The clinic also has a nurses training center.

The chief doctor was away to the east about 2.5 hours at the Presbyterian Hospital, so we got the tour from Mary the chief nurse.

The clinic is a candidate for a LWW system at some point.  Dan Kolbilla needs to feed it into the process.  The clinic has access to water they feel is suffcient for washing hands and a few other things, but not sufficient for drinking and providing patient care.

Front of clininc

Waiting room

Consul room

Records room

Records

Speaks for itself

Mary giving us the tour

Nurses training center

New ward under construction

Mobile eye vehicle

I took the "can you see the trash is full" test here too - failed!

The Need

Dan is responsible for social services in the Tamale area for the PCG.  Water is a big part of what Dan does.  Specifically helping the local people capture rain water and store it in tanks, i.e. a poly tank or tanks that Dan's group help build.

This afternoon we went to KamPon D/A Briamary school about 10 miles outside of Tamale.  Dan's team just recently built a second storage tank at the school.  The tanks serve the kids in the school and the small community around the school.

The tanks are made of concrete block with mortar between the block and with sand and rebar in the block middle to form a wall.  The tanks are plastered inside and out and a concrete roof decked on top.  Dan's group likes the concrete tanks because they are less expensive than the poly tanks, can hold more water, and keep the water cool in the hot sun.

Tough part - these tanks can only hold enough water for 4-5 months!  

The larger tank (30,000 liters) costs about $4,000 to build including roof gutters and piping.

This was a tough visit for me - pics:

This group of kids came running from the village in the background to the school when we got out of Dan's truck.

Pipe from roof to cistern

Bathrooms for students and staff

New bathrooms that have been built by the PCG

Big brother taking care of little brother

Look in the background and you will see the thatched roofs of the mud wall houses of the village