Cultural thoughts of America and Ghana (Part 2)

This is the second part of my thoughts on Ghanaian and American culture. As previously mentioned I'm writing this for the second and third goals of the Peace Corps – to share American culture with the people of Ghana and the Ghanaian culture with the people of America.

These thoughts are my own and do not represent the opinion of the Peace Corps or the United States government. They are only my simple and incomplete understanding. However, I hope they bring at least some small insight between the two countries.

The idea for this post started about three months ago with a conversation while waiting for a tro. I was sitting with four other men, all from Ghana and all roughly my age.  I started a conversation and when one man heard that I was a Peace Corps volunteer he wanted to talk about Ghana. He said that he thought that women in Ghana worked hard, but that the men do not. He said the men were lazy. I started to argue but the other men all agreed with the statement that men in Ghana are generally lazy. (I don't like the term so let's just say that men don't always work as hard as they could.)

Anyway, the conversation got me thinking and I started questioning the people I knew and strangers about this idea.  (It is very easy to have a conversation in Ghana.)  After talking with a number of men most said that 50% to 80% would fit the categorization.  One person thought it was only about 30% and several thought it was more than 90%.  I don't know enough to judge anyone.

Caveat

This post is of generalities. As mentioned previously I think most Americans, at least in part, look to things to make them happy – food, cloths, house, car, stuff in general. I don't mean that every American does this or that any American looks only to stuff for happiness. It is just that 50 years of watching television advertisements about how this toothpaste, that spray, some car, etc. will make you happy and give you more friends and a better life tends to have the impact advertisers want. I think that this huge influence has impacted our culture and society. But that is just my opinion.

Similarly, the ideas in this post as just my observations and opinions.

The work cycle provides some explanation

Men are responsible for farming (providing the food) and building the home and associated buildings (providing shelter). In my region the current dry season is the off season for farming but the primary building season. (Although some land preparation for crops also occurs during this time.) I will have a post on the traditional building process soon. Basically, many people use mud bricks for the structures. Therefore, this method cannot be used during the rainy season. The building process is purely manual labor.

Most men in the Upper West are farmers. And of course farming has cycles of work. Getting the ground ready, planting, weeding, protecting the crops, and harvesting requires long days at key times. In my region this is almost exclusively done by hand with a few tools. Hard work indeed.

Farmers have days and weeks of a lull in the work schedule. However, it is not necessarily possible for men to find other activities during this down time that would not carry over and conflict with farming and building. This may be one of the reasons that men do not appear to work hard all the time.

Role of women

Cooking and taking care of the family are the responsibilities of the women. The women fetch fire wood, water, and perform a host of other choirs besides cooking and cleaning. The women have about the same amount of work day in and day – a woman's work is never done. The women commonly also pay for a large part of the child rearing and education expense. Some men are very happy to have their wives take on the responsibilities for at least half of such expenses.

Two women carrying firewood along a long road.  No telling how far that have or will walk.

(As a side note: This propensity for women to invest in the family is a major reason that many successful development projects are based on women and women groups.)

Cultural perspective

The African culture is built on cooperation and mutual support. If a family member or a stranger comes to your door looking for food and shelter without any advanced notice then culturally you welcome them graciously and give them the best food, the best bedroom, and the best bed for as long as needed. Those eating in public commonly say “you are invited” to show they are willing to share their food.

There is an idea that those with the greatest need for a resource should have the resource. Historically, if my neighbor's crops are destroyed by an elephant this year then I will share my harvest with him and his family because next year monkeys may destroy mine and I will need his support. If I let him starve this year I might starve next year.

This mutual support, integration and connections provide a huge safety net and great source of pride and happiness. I think the people in Ghana are generally happy. Most people in my area certainly seem happy and I live in one of the poorest least hospitable parts of Ghana.

However, this also allows some people to abuse the system and to rely on the kindness of others rather than their own hard work.

The oldest son has significant responsibilities for the family after the death of the father. He must make sure the family and clan survives. Historically, he would also have authority to direct the work and action of his siblings and their families. Today the oldest brother typically helps cover many things from school fees to living expenses for not only his children but his nieces and nephews.

My headmaster is the oldest brother in his family and he says that it is currently hard to cover all the school fees for his extended family members. However, he says that if he does not then the niece or nephew may not get a good job and will therefore continue to demand his support in the future. My friend Roger is also the oldest brother.

Where is the other Guinea fowl?

Since about last August my neighbor Roger has been trying to build up a flock of Guinea fowl for his family. Three of the five eggs he had survived to maturity. One hen had a wing broken when someone tried to steal it around Christmas time. He was able to return it to health. He had two hens and a cock. The hens were just beginning to lay eggs so things were looking good for his future flock.

Recently, while Roger and I were sitting and talking, I noticed two fowls and asked about the third. He said that his brother's mother-in-law died and therefore his brother needed to give a Guinea fowl to the family as a sign of respect. Roger's brother does not have any Guinea fowl. (Roger tried to get him to raise some, but the brother was not interested.) I asked why the brother did not just go to the market to buy one. Roger just shrugged his shoulders and said “oh well”.

Although his brother has adult children of his own he can and commonly does asks Roger for help. This is not the first time I've heard of this brother. Roger has tried to let him use some land to farm, but the brother is not interested in the hard work of farming. Although, he does ask for produce for his family from Roger's farming activities come harvest time.

As so right at the time when Roger's work with his small flock would pay off he felt obligated by culture to give half of his laying hens to his younger brother.  He does not seem to hold a grudge about this.  It is just the way it is.  Of course we have the same thing in America even without the strong cultural norm.  I suppose it is the same all over.

(By the way, Roger is over 60 - mandatory retirement age in Ghana. His pension is not enough to support his family and other obligations so he farms. If he had the resources he might buy some welding equipment to start a small business as he was a welder at the local technical school.)

Roger accepts his responsibilities to other family members, but others wonder why should they bother working hard to get ahead when someone else will just come a take it. People in the larger cities, with more expenses and living far away from the family home in the village, might also be a little lax on their traditional responsibilities.

Saving does not pay

The African culture also impacts savings and the building up of capital. In Africa as a whole and Ghana in particular if someone has a greater need right now for something that I have (such as money) then it is my cultural responsibility to share the resource. If people know or think that I have money then they will ask for some for a need or just a desire.

This makes the idea of a “rainy day fund” difficult to explain. It is not only “unnecessary” because one can always get help from others, but it becomes a target for others asking for help.

This creates an incentive to spend money quickly. For example, if I want to build a new house with concrete blocks I will start making blocks with the money I have. As I have more money I will build more blocks. This becomes my savings account so to speak for my house which I might eventually be able to build in some years in the future. I need these block for my new house and I don't have money to share.  However, I also may be neglecting other expenses such as school fees and such.

The blocks may lay around for years and some may get broken or otherwise spoiled. (In some cases it appears that blocks and half finished building have been around for many years.)  So the this "savings account" has it limits.

Still, the resources locked up in the blocks will eventually be used for building. So while this might not be the best way, it does make since from a cultural perspective and having to share the extra that you have..

It also makes some sense from an economic perspective. Ghana has had an average inflation rate of about 17% since 1998 and was over 60% in 2001. Therefore savings tends to loose value over time unless the interest rate paid is very high. The bag of cement I bought last year to make some bricks may cost 20% more this year. Incomes don't tend to keep up with this rate of inflation. So household buying power declines over time.

Finally, particularly in my region there are simply not many available jobs. The daily minimum wage is 7 cedis (about $2) paid by some road and other construction work in the area. Such work is temporary and hard. Some men are tailors, shop owners, mechanics, etc. However, such work requires training and some capital to get started. Anyone starting a business has to compete with those more established businesses.

So, the value of working hard and earning extra money is offset by cultural expectations and economic realities. These may be some of the reasons that some men don't work as hard as they could.

Next week I hope to give a few thoughts on how these realities impact the families, the region, and the nation. (Not that I am any sort of development expert.)

Health

My ears are better, but not entirely perfect. I go back for a check up in a two or three weeks. I will likely go back to Accra during the first week of school as this is a time for administrative work by the teachers and cleaning by the students.


All the best and love always,


John