John's Next Step

Christmas It is Christmas and I’m in Accra due to some medical issues.  I wanted to be at site for the holidays, but the medical problem seemed more severe so I came down early.  However, after an initial consult it was seen that I have a chipped rather than broken tooth so it can wait and as nothing can be done during the holidays.  I can stay in Accra or travel to site and back (which would be very difficult and I would spend more days traveling that at site if it was even possible to travel on the holidays.) Of course I would prefer to be a site or back at home in the states for Christmas.  Being a traveler during this season is not most people’s preference.  But, there is a precedent for experiencing Christmas that way.  At least I have a bed to sleep in rather than having to sleep in a barn worried about a pregnant wife about to give birth. Part of why I joined the Peace Corps was to learn to simplify my life.  Can I be happy without a full time job, nice car, big house, ea

I got all the grades completed and helped with the final paperwork.  Now I have free time, but I find myself on the road to Accra soon to have my tooth looked at.  I did not want to go down during the holidays, but there is nothing to be done about that now. On Saturday we had a ceremony that installed the village chief and the queen mother.  The two people are not related and typically not related.  The local chief has a lot of power as they were set up by the British to help with administration.  The queen mother is responsible for women issues and in some places helps to decide or even is responsible for choosing the next chief.  Both appointments are for life. In the local language the chief is called Naa and the queen mother is called Pognaa (Pog being woman).  The program, below, said that Mass would start of 9:30.  In African time it started at 10:30.  The paramount Chief, the head chief in the area came during the sermon much to the frustration of the priest.

Since coming to Ghana I’ve not seen an elephant, lion, zebra, or antelope.  I’ve have seen one monkey (possibly a pet living in a family compound) in the south and an alligator or crocodile in a large pond in Nandom (I’m not sure how to tell the difference).  Some people have been to the Mole national park, which is in the northern region, and have seen elephants although others have gone and not seen them.  There is also a hippo reserve close to Wa, but I’ve not been to that either.  I am surrounded by animals, the farm variety.  As mentioned before my neighbor has chickens, including roosters, so I wake up early – “when the cock crows” can be hours before dawn.  The other common fowl is guinea fowl.  There are a few ducks around and some people in town have turkeys.  Grazing animals include sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys.  We also have pigs.  During this dry season most of the animals are free roaming.  The animals also tend to freely breed so most end up being a mixed breed.

Selfie and the TSO I spent the week in Tamale – at the Peace Corps sub-office.  I arrived on Monday and will leave early next week after I get my flu shot.  So, I’ll be away from my village for a week give or take.  That is longer than I would like, but the break is also nice. Six people on the Food Security Task Force came together to discuss the efforts by Peace Corps to improve food security and to examine how we can improve resources for volunteer to work in this area and plan for upcoming training.  So while this may seem like trying to solve world hunger – it is exactly like working to solve world hunger. The topic is obviously complicated with a lot of different efforts such as: improving the soil, selecting improved seed varieties, improving farming and animal husbandry practices, reducing post-harvest loss, improving nutritional practices for children, and a host of other ideas. Obviously, a volunteer spending 2 years at site is not going to solve the world’s proble