Day Twenty-One

Hi everyone! Okay so here's some catch up on the past few days. A lot has happened! 

On Wednesday we had a presentation led by my group member Hilary on financial education--how to open a bank account, make a budget, etc. We had a guest speaker from a local bank, who talked about why opening a bank was a good way to keep money safe, and that anyone could do it. A problem for a lot of these women is not that they don't make enough money to sustain themselves (Theo, our other coordinator, said that they sometimes make more than a government worker just from hauling things to and from the market) but that they don't budget it properly. A lot of them will use it daily on food, clothes, hair, and cell phone minutes (all plans are pay as you go, which I think is a pretty clever scam to rip off poor people). They keep it in their houses, and with fires a very common occurrence due to e-waste burning, it is subject to loss at any time. On Wednesday after our workshop we went to Agbogbloshie. It was pretty intense, and I found all of what I had been told about the place to be true. There was waste filling the street gutters right where produce was being sold. The lagoon was filled with trash and emitted a terrible smell. As we walked through the crowded streets, people looked confused to see us. Some shouted out things I couldn't understand, both seemingly friendly and not so friendly. Kids played in the streets near the waste, and I was surprised to see a few people sleeping on wooden benches. We saw an area that had been burned by a recent fire, and we saw several fires on the other side of the lagoon where e-waste was being burned. Instead of moving, the people were rebuilding their houses with brick instead of wood, to keep them better protected from the next fire. A few of the women from SISS who live in the area came with us as our guides. They explained that the government was trying to get people to leave the slum but residents didn't want to because that would mean leaving everything they owned and had established and starting over. One woman was also explaining how rape was a big problem in the slum, and how when it led to pregnancy there was often a repeat in the cycle of boys being thieves and assaulters, and girls being victims. She even mentioned that one of our other guides was a product of rape. Near the center of the slum we passed by a couple of mosques. The people who live there are mostly migrants from the North, a Muslim dominant region. As we walked through, it was sweaty and smelly, but I tried to sit with my discomfort, remembering that I got to leave, and these people didn't. Another interesting I saw as we were leaving, there was a huge sign for American Rice. Which brings me to a correction I need to make about the subsidy process I mentioned in an earlier email. As I now understand it after talking to my professor, the U.S. government pays the farmers to produce extra, which the government then sells at a low price to developing countries, lower than local farmers. The people clearly buy the lower priced product, which at first would seem good but it leads to mass unemployment and then an overall weakening of the economy. This is very similar to what is happening to our country with China: we are being sold lower priced goods that put domestic producers out of business. Another detriment of globalization. 

On Thursday DeAnna presented on professional networking, and I think we had a really good day of bonding between the women as we talked about sharing goals and helping each other achieve them. Thursday we also had a lecture about NGOs in Ghana (they are not called non-profits, by the way). There has definitely been a proliferation here of both international and local NGOs, and as the lecturer pointed out, if non-profits were the answer to development, Ghana should be one of the most developed countries in the world. But there is overwhelming need and only so much NGOs can do. The lecturer argued that the government is the one that needs to step in, providing more social services like mandatory education and health services. Often when NGOs are involved in policy making, the policies they succeed in passing are not implemented. And when they do not work on policy there is not a large enough effect. There are several laws in Ghana against human trafficking, in support of women's rights and education, but there is no one to enforce them. And that's where government is needed. To be honest, the talk was a bit discouraging, but as our professor pointed out, the fact that we are talking about it, that there are people who care and want to change things is a sign that things will improve. 

Friday was our last day at SISS, and my day to lead the workshop. It was mostly about community and sustainability, and we discussed networks the women had, what their evaluations of our week were, and how they would stick together in the future. A couple of the women mentioned how only a couple girls from previous years actually answered emails. This saddened me and I wanted to know more about why, also I realized I didn't want to make any promises before I knew more about  the other side of the story. The woman I was talking to, Elizabeth--who was been in the program all three years, said that some women email asking for money and so maybe they think that's what all the email are about, when some of them are just asking advice. I knew previous groups obviously cared about the work and the women, so I said I was sorry and would try to answer emails asking advice. I talked about it a little bit with Hilary, who is a Social Work Masters student. She said that in social work, you are supposed to prep for goodbyes from the first day (which we hadn't done, and I wish we had addressed). She was also reluctant to make any promises, and even to give out personal information. I understood where she was coming from, but I still think there should be more continuity between years of the Maymester. It felt wrong to ask the women to make a commitment when we aren't. We actually have a student organization on campus (Students in Partnership with Ghanaian Development), and I have been thinking maybe if the organization was more active--even just monthly meetings to check in with each other and the progress of the organization--we could also inform future years about the work from the year before and then more progress could be made, instead of starting all over again (which is what it felt like at times). We could also support future groups in fundraising to have a bigger impact. I have been talking with other students about this idea, and a few seem interested. I also talked with Dr. Gilbert, who was supportive and said that that was how the group was created in the first place, because students didn't want to just leave Ghana and not be involved any more. I think it just needs some direction, and I'm hoping with a few other students we can make that happen. 

On a final and not so happy note, I got really sick yesterday and ended up having to go to the hospital (which in case anyone else besides my dad was wondering, did have doors and air conditioning). I had an IV and some other medicine, and they said I just had a lot of bacteria in my system. I was released last night and am feeling a lot better today. 

 

The rest of the day is going to be work on our project presentations which are due Monday, plus a lesson in African drumming a little later in the afternoon! I'm missing home a bit, and am really excited to see you all, even though I am enjoying being here (minus the hospital visit). I think the last week after our projects are due will go by really fast though. Sorry if I'm not as diligent with keeping up with writing the last week, I want to soak up as much as I can before we leave!