Joy Like a River in My Soul

Lindsey and I are still alive. We've had the most incredible week in the Volta Region in a town called Battor, but are finding it difficult to get a hold of the Internet. I don't have much time, but I thought I would take the opportunity to do a quick update since this Internet is very speedy and inexpensive.

Volta Region is in the far east of the country, with many rivers running through it, and much of it borders lake Volta. The dirt here is not red, as in other parts of Ghana, which is strange to see! Volta is the land of the Ewe people so in this region there is a whole new language, and most people do not speak Twi, so it was back to the basics for us. Volta seems less densely populated and developed than most of the other southern regions we have visited. As I said, there are many rivers here, but not always as many bridges, and sometimes to get from town to town you must take a canoe across a river (although we never had to). Much of the road from Accra to Ho, the capital of Volta is bumpy and so it takes a very long time to travel there for most people even though it is not so far. It is beautiful here (although when is it not...), with long, low plains with grass and a few trees. One person we met told us that around Battor there is much good land, but no one has the money to develop it, so there are not many jobs in the area. This is also the land of the NDC, because the former leader, Rawlins, is from here, so it is the NDC strong hold in the country (as opposed to Kumasi, which is the NPP stronghold).

The town we were in was right on the Volta River so it was very beautiful. We got to see the river and watch the fisherman fishing for Tilapia. They use this intense, metal, sling-shotish harpoon, and they put on goggles and dive in the water to spear the fish from their wooden canoes.

In this town, we have had many amazing experiences (dancing with the African choir), and met many incredible people (Reverend Amada the entrepreneur, Eli, the centre employee and her brother Michael). There is so much to update that I'll have to leave it until another time!

Our very last centre to visit is in the Western region: the town we are going to is almost on the border to Cote D'Ivoire, on the far west side of the country. If you were paying attention, you would notice that we have to travel from one side of the country to the other! We have to take two days to do the trek so we left Battor this morning and are staying the night in Takoradi, the capital of Western Region. Then tomorrow, we will travel the four hours journey to Beyere.

It's very hard to believe that we are almost done our placement here. In some ways it seems like we've just arrived in Ghana, but I also feel like we've been here a long time since we have met so many amazing people and seen so many incredible things. I have loved the trip so far, but it is quite nice to know exactly where we will be staying for the next four weeks (after Beyere we'll be in Accra until we leave). So no more moving around! It is a little draining moving every few days and never really becoming very comfortable with a place, family or even language. I am also looking forward to returning to Accra because it is during that time that we (as in Lindsey, the two EWB kids and I) will be writing our report to KITE with our final recommendations about the project. We've seen and learned a lot and (I'll be so modest to say) have a lot of good ideas and input, so I'm looking forward to writing the report, although it will be a bit of a time crunch. And believe it or not, I'm even a little bit looking forward to coming home and sharing my trip with the family and friends. Although I probably won't fit into my clothes so that's something to look forward to...

It is 9:40pm and way past our bed time, so I'll end here. More updates next week for certain.

Amy