Post 8: Final Thoughts

To all my wonderful readers,

     It is hard to believe the eight months has just about come and gone. It has been truly an unforgettable experience. I'd thank you all for your support before, during and hopefully after this experience.

     I will be honest that as much as I am excited to come home in a month's time (I am doing a euro trip prior to returning home) I am as well incredibly nervous. A lot has changed in my life and I am anxious to see how it translates back home and what life has in store for me next. I know whatever it is it will be great but I may need a bit of time to readjust.

     I've been thinking about how I wanted to end off this blog for a while because there is a whole trip to sum up. I then thought about what I would say to myself eight months ago and I came up with an idea of making a letter that I wished I had received eight months ago advising me on life here in Ghana.

October 2015

Dear Kurtis,

       I know that it may be tough to think about the next eight months when the Blue Jays are still in the playoffs, the Liberals have won the election and you just spent an amazing weekend with friends and family celebrating Kev's birthday; however, I need you to pay attention for a few minutes because you are about to walk into something, by going to Ghana, that you honestly have no idea about, even though you'd like to believe you do. You have heard bits of information about Ghana and how it hosts some of the friendliest people in all of Africa. You were also informed that Ghana is the golden child of all of West Africa and is "Africa for beginners". A big first piece of advice- Don't put so much trust into anything you learn before coming. While based on reality, articles and videos can only tell you very little about life here.

      Looking back today, I feel it is important to tell you that you make it throughout your entire eight month adventure in Ghana! It is an accomplishment and an undertaking like you have never done before. While I do not want to spoil too much for you, let me explain a general outline of the things to come.

     What you hope to do is to make a difference and to  try and understand the realities of African livelihood. You set out to Ghana from Brussels on a Wednesday morning where you, while on the plane, have your first realization, while looking around you, that things are about to get very different.  You arrive to Accra clean cut, skin as pale as a ghost and a smile that tells people that you think that eight months is going to pass by as quick as a finger snap.

     Looking back on the trip I will admit it feels partly like that now; however, this trip was far from being a walk in the park.

     Fast forward a month later when you are about to leave Accra and move to your new home Tamale (sorry to spoil the surprise). The first month brings many twists and turns, including living life in the loudest neighbourhood you may ever live in (thank the consistent line of funerals for that), your first experiences with electricity rationing (aka dumsor) and your first month ever living somewhere where you are a visible minority. You will still be in good spirits as the project seems to be moving forward and the road ahead seem bright. Still adjusting to the living in Ghana, you will move to a place which is considered off the traveled path. This is when the real challenge begins.

     I cannot express to you enough that living in Tamale is not an immediate love but an acquired taste. Your first three months, while you are open to new opportunities, will not go the way you wish and this takes its toll on you quite a bit. The culture becomes difficult to deal with, life outside of work is the complete opposite to what you are used to and you feel every week that you finished it as a failure. Some days, you will live through the travel horror stories many have told you about before. Other days, you will question why you ever came to Ghana at all. You will deal with heartache, anger, emptiness, sadness, confusion and so many other emotions at the same time. Some emotions that you will feel are for the first time in years. It is not your or anyone else's fault that you feel these things but it is just life. It is just reality and the quicker you accept that the easier it gets.

    There will come a point in time where, with one click of a mouse, the trip will be over.  You believe that it will be for the best to leave. Don't let your trip end there. Believe me, from where I sit now, I promise you that it will be one of the biggest regrets you will ever make.

    From that point on your trip changes. You begin to meet and get to know many one of a kind individuals. Silent nights turn into unforgettable memories. The hub opens and you begin to work one-on-one with Ghanaian youth to help to a better future. You will travel to all ends of the country and, before you know it, Ghana begins to grow on you. As your trip draws closer and closer to an end, you begin to wonder how the first four months got away from you.

     As I sit here today, I thought I'd share with you one last thing before I head out. I am down to my last day in Tamale. Below are two pictures. The first of course is the person you came as when you arrived to Ghana and the second is the person you are leaving as (I forgot to mention earlier about the beard- Definitely a good decision) . You body will change massively- You will lose all your muscle and gain weight. You will be darker and look older than you'll ever have before; however, be proud of this new you because this person is leaving Ghana happy. There's always time when you get home to get back in shape. There's always time to try and look younger or fix all the things that you want to be changed. Forget these things. Through hardship and struggle, you do something incredible... You find a way to be happy and at peace. 

    In June 2015, you had just dropped you masters and was clueless where life was going to take you. I can tell you now, prior to hopping on that plane out of Sarnia, that your life is about to dramatically change forever. The man you will become is much different than the boy you are arriving as. Beginning to truly understand what it means to live a life in poverty, while you live nowhere near as tough as the average Ghanaian, impacts you to the core of your heart. The everyday struggle of completing tasks which are simpler back home teaches you to be even more humble and grateful for being a Canadian. Your dream will be fulfilled Kurtis of living in Africa. I can't promise you that it will be easy but it will 100 percent be worth the sweat, stress, anger, and tears that will come because of it.  

Keep your head up always and the best of luck you.

    

Post 7: Hub Updates and Recent Travels

Where does the time go?

I cannot seem to keep track of time anymore as I am heading into the final month of my time here in Tamale. This last month has been nothing short of fantastic! Since the last time I wrote, I've been on many adventures, collected countless memories, and have really begun to embrace Tamale as being a place I can call home. The city has really grown on me. In this blog post, I am going to share with you all a bit about what has been going on with the project  and where I've been traveling to.

Project Updates:

I am proud to announce that the first class has graduated! After a nine-week course and a lot of hard work, our students are ready and have been active on the Tamale job market. Last week we hosted a graduation ceremony for the students which included the EQWIP Hubs Deputy Director from Ottawa. It was a great event! I was as well informed last week that our first student got a great job as a sales person! Over the last several weeks, Esmond and I have been working hard to customize each of the students' CVs and interviewing skills. I had been working with this particular student for weeks prior to prepare for his interview and it makes me thrilled to see the impact of our work taking form. I look forward to hearing many more stories such as this going forward.

After the completion of the first group, we are now working our way into teaching our second cohort. It has been interesting to work with such a different group than the first but it is exciting as well.

So where have I been traveling?

Except for the Northern parts of Ghana past Tamale, I am happy to say I have seen quite a good deal of this beautiful country. My first big trip in quite a while was to my first African safari: Mole National Park. Boasting images of Africa I was used to seeing before arriving in Ghana, Mole is not as packed with wildlife as one would see in countries such as Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa; however, its main animal is the elephant! There are antelopes, warthogs, monkeys, and even baboons that call Mole home. With a group of 15 other expats, I went to a place which has a pool view of the safari I cannot even begin to describe (I hope my pictures will help paint the picture). The first is my most recent visit (last weekend) during the rain season and the second is from my first visit during the dry season in March (quite a difference).

Some of the highlights of this trip included having to stop two baboons from breaking into my room, being less than 10 meters away from two baby elephants playing in a pound, riding in the back of a truck through the safari and getting to know many individuals on this trip that became great friends upon returning.

                

Great way to end off a safari. Going beside two baby elephants playing in a pond.

A month later, during the Easter weekend, I embarked on a second road trip, along with four friends of mine, to the second largest city in Ghana Kumasi. Known as the Ashanti capital of Ghana (a tribe Ghana is well known for), Kumasi is a mixture of the modernized madness of Accra and the village-like mentality of Tamale. The gem of Kumasi is its central market, which is the largest open market in West Africa. With other 11,000 vendors and 44,000 people working in the market, I can honestly tell you entering and going through the Kejetia market was one of the craziest experience of my life! Literally, everything is sold there! It is an unorganized mayhem which boasts some of the most spectacular sights if you find your way on top of the market.

                

Not even half of this absolutely massive market from above

From Kumasi, we went down an hour southeast to a place called Lake Bosomtwi. Made from a crater impact millenniums  ago, the lake boasts the "cottage country" type living in Ghana. We stayed at a ranch just on the edge of the lake which was an absolute blast. There was great company around us, a lot of swimming in this rare clean fresh water lake, hiking trails, horseback riding and a lot of card games played. Since motorized boats are not allowed on the water, Ghanaians have a log boat they like to use in the water. For us at the ranch, the challenge was to learn to stand on top of it and balance. I am happy to say by the end of the weekend I was a pro!

              

The view of Lake Bosomtwi from my room

My most recent trip was at the end of April. A few friends and I decided to escape down to the west coast of Ghana to go to several beach locations. These are the spots of Ghana which, if people look to travel to Ghana, they will likely visit as it is on the coast and in a more developed region of the country.  This included going to the popular beach locations in Busua, Elmina, and Cape Three Points. In regards to Cape Three Points, the most southern part of Ghana, a  hidden ecolodge gem hides within its rainforest. Escape Three points, run by a Canadian, is by far one of the best atmospheres for a resort I have ever seen. With extremely friendly staff, countless activities and found within a slice of heaven, this place is by far my favourite place I have visited in Ghana.

Just a small glimpse of the beach at Escape Three Points

While Busua was a nice visit, including visiting a former Dutch fortress, Elmina, similar to Cape Coast, took the prize home for best sight visited on this adventure. The Elmina castle, which is just a binocular's view away from Cape Coast castle, hosted what was once the larger slave trade castle of the two. The two castles varied in regards to former clientele (especially women slaves) within the castles and how each one was physically constructed was very different; however, the history of the castles remain to be similar and gruesome. To have had this opportunity to learn more about this colonial mistake of the past has been an eye opener, especially when one realizes how much it changed Ghanaian society.

View of the town of Elmina from its castle

As I begin to prepare to wrap up my adventure I will be writing one last post on the day or two prior to leaving Tamale (June 17th). While it will be different than the other posts have been, I hope that you all take the chance to read it- I hope to throw together a summary of what this trip has really meant to me in my life. It is hard to believe the end is near but I am as well really excited to go because I feel I have learned all I can learn in Ghana. The final week of my trip will be down in the South on vacation with a trip to Togo being planned. From there, on June 27th, I will be flying to the UK to see Sam and spending July touring Europe. I will then make my way back home to Sarnia on Sunday, July 24th, and be reunited with my family (who, just as much as I , have been waiting for this day for a long time).

Post 6: The Hub is Opened!

On February 28th, I officially passed the halfway mark of my time here in Ghana!

I cannot really describe how I feel about accomplishing this feat. At one end, where has four months gone? On the other, I feel like a year has happened within four months. I think the main thing I can say is that perseverance and hard work pays off . Now that I got five months under my belt, I feel another three will be no problem.

The hub is up and running!

Current EQWIP HUB Team!

Finally, after months of preparing and waiting, EQWIP HUB Tamale has now started its first training course for Ghanaian youth! It's a brand new ball game here as my coworkers and I try and begin pioneering what will hopefully be the services that the hub will offer young people. Already there has a been a lot of trial and error, test runs and adjustments to what we hope to offer youth; however, this was even before we began to work with them and thus only a base for improvement.

So when did things start taking off?

As I came into work in mid-January there was literally nothing within the physical space of the hub that had changed. The walls were still the same sunlight yellow, the floors still with thick layers of dust on them and the space empty without a purpose. While it was not for a lack of trying, we, the Canadian volunteers, were blocked from getting work done without budget approvals. There was no rush as well to get/ hire Ghanaian staff  in Tamale which made progress stall. This made work life quite frustrating for a person like myself who is driven and motivated by doing work.

On a personal level, I was dealing with several issues. The main one concerned the health of a fellow Canadian. Originally I had two of Canadian volunteers with me; however, an unfortunate case of malaria had occurred to one of them. We (the volunteers, doctors, and EQWIP staff) thought in December that her original case of the illness would be her last as she received what was considered by locals as the right treatment; however, this type of malaria was one which was immune to many sorts of vaccinations and, because the right vaccine was not given to her the first time, she became her very sick again in January. Because Tamale does not have as advanced of facilities as Accra has, the two volunteers were asked to return to Accra to get her further treatment. The sick volunteer , unfortunately, had to leave Ghana for this reason while the other returned a week later for her final few weeks until her contract was up.

For this reason and others, I can easily say January was the toughest month of my trip so far. It is tough to see a friend suffer the way she did, especially not in the comfort of her home. I can only say that taking her to the hospital one evening was the first time I felt homesick/severe and immediate culture shock, not just for me but I felt it for her as well. It is an experience I will never forget and I will never take for granted the great healthcare system we have in Canada after this experience. I am happy to report now though that, upon returning home to Canada, she was able to get the care she needed and she is now malaria-free.

At this point, it became very tough to believe that things were going to change or improve.  I was as well the only staff member left in Tamale since the girls were in Accra. It made going to work each day tough and many nights even tougher. Luckily, my boss arrived in late January. With her, she brought the ability to finally start a budget to begin building the hub! With this came new personal hope for change and I began to  try and forget the prior months of no work. While we aimed ambitiously for several goals to be met, again, we were dealing with the reality of Ghanaian time.

The original hub- This is what it remained from November until February

The tides begin to turn

The hub first began to change in early February. With a goal to unofficially open the hub to youth at the end of the month (EQWIP globally wants to officially launch all at once) , a lot of pieces of the puzzle had to be put together. First was the floor/design plan.

Below this is a video tour of what our hub currently looks like (since photos can't do it justice) and what the aim of each area is. In short, we have an office, a reception area, a technology/work area and a classroom area. The walls dividing each room have the ability to fold up to make one giant room during larger events. There are still a lot of items/furniture that needs to be added to the hub space; however, as we are dealing with other vendors, we are at the point of just hoping for good luck most times. 

As the physical space began to be constructed, the process of preparing for the program needed to begin as well. First was holding a baseline survey.  The necessity of a baseline cannot be overemphasized in development work. Baseline studies, commonly done through surveys, allow program designers to know key demographics and potential assumptions that are important for implementing the course. For example, by having our survey done on computers, we were able to observe the computer literacy and knowledge levels of our participants. While it is only a sample of the overall population we plan on targeting, we found computer literacy levels to be quite low for varying reasons. We would not have known this fact (and it is important for our program as we train students at points using laptops) if the baseline had never been conducted. The baseline process took a week and over 90 individuals were interviewed. It was a great success.

                

From there began the advertising front of our program. We now needed to share with local youth that this program is recruiting and is beginning in the middle of March. With computer literacy levels varying among the youth, there were several different methods we used to recruit.  First was word of mouth. By talking with local youth and organizations, we were able to mobilize the message that EQWIP HUBs was looking to open. We began to post posters and advertisements around the city. Since our partner organization works with youth (the National Service Scheme), we tapped into their database to contact youth to apply. Finally, we held a youth open day (our unofficial opening of the hub). We invited youth from across the region to come to our hub to get first-hand information about what our hub looks to do and accomplish. The event was a great success which led to many applications being handed in.

Youth Open Day Q&A on Entrepreneurial Track

The first days of classes

                

Upon receiving applications, the interview process began to build up the first group of participants. Since this was the first class, we wanted a gender equal class with students varying from all different backgrounds. This would give us a better idea if what we are teaching benefits the students or not for future class qualifications and standards. Some may be overqualified and some may not. It is not to turn away students but instead to understand certain realities, such as if we need to change the curriculum to better suit the students or if we need to focus on having certain types of students for a particular class. Some students own small businesses already. Others have searched for over a year for their first job and have not been able to find one. Some students have a strong grasp of the English language while others do not. By knowing the backgrounds of the students in the class, we have been able to start adapting and understanding the realities of Tamale youth. The group we created for the first class is quite unique for this reason instead of being chosen at random as it will hopefully be going forward.

                

Our first day of classes began on the 21st of March. It has now been two weeks into our course and things are going well. I share facilitating responsibilities, alongside my Ghanaian colleague Esmond, and we have split the days of which we teach to allow us to make proper preparations.  I began to practice speaking slower for the classroom setting a month prior as there are many non-native English speakers in the class. My first class alone was last Thursday which ended up going quite successful . In the first weeks, there have already been a few key lessons we have learned including the following two:

1.       The need for simplistic language- While we had Ghanaians assist the American curriculum developers in making our teaching material, the first weeks showed us the differences between Ghanaian and North American English that we could not catch in planning. What we did not know as well was how these differences could affect certain course activities. We conducted an origami activity one afternoon where participants were divided into four groups to make a paper bird.  The first group listened to a staff member read instructions on how to make the bird, the second was shown how to make a bird by a staff member step by step, the third was given visual and written instructions to them  and the fourth were given the already made bird and told to figure it out with no instruction. Which way would you find easiest to learn to make the bird? In the test trial, it was those who were given paper instructions to read and see made the best birds; however, in the classroom, they did the worst. Students complained they did not understand the words in the instruction thus making it difficult to complete. It is hard to tell what information Ghanaian youth do/do not understand prior to teaching; however, now that we are learning that the vocabulary of the book is too difficult, the curriculum will need changes.

2.       How to change students from working on Ghanaian time- In our first session, we predicted that there would be many students late due to the naturalness of Ghanaian time; however, since we have a lot to cover in the course and since many participants cannot get off work earlier to compensate for Ghanaian time, it has been a challenge to figure out how we would get people here on time. If I were back in Canada, I would do a "punishment" system where students would have to do a silly/embarrassing task to compensate for their lateness; however, in Ghana, people have such strong pride for themselves that even making them do loud animal noises in public makes them embarrassed and at points feel disrespected. We do not aim to punish by kicking students out of the program; however, we as well need a way to get students to come to class and not allow them to come as they please. As a result, we have tried doing little punishment games but starting at the lowest and considerably less embarrassing level that we could. Each week we try to increase the level of the punishment a little bit as a means for students to come to class on time and it seems to be working.

First day of teaching

_____________________________________________________________

As the classes continue, I look forward to sharing more about what I have learned from the students and how the hub is progressing. Most of January/February I have not traveled outside of Tamale due to my need most times to remain. March though has been a different month. In my next post, I hope to share a bit about my recent adventure, including my first safari!

Post 5: Holiday Festivities

Hello Everyone!

I hope you all had a great holiday season and that many of you are adjusting well back into the everyday routine. I personally have been taking some time as well to enjoy the holiday season to relax and prepare myself for the upcoming year. I hope to share in this blog what I've done since the last time I've written and what I hope to write about going forward.

"So how was Christmas?"

This is a question I've been getting asked by many people. Christmas here was a unique experience which I really enjoyed. The holiday is not normally celebrated here in Tamale due to the majority Muslim population. Not once throughout December did I see any Christmas trees or decorations ornaments or Santa Clauses. Only at the few churches in town and Christian ran restaurants was there any recognition of Christmas.

This year, for Christmas, my Belgian roommates Michiel and Merel and I wanted to give our host family a Christmas they would always remember. It began with selecting what we should get them for gifts. For Arafat, we got him a full Chelsea uniform with soccer socks. For Iba, we got here jeans, lip-gloss, nail polish and a t-shirt. For Nafisa, better known as Mamma, we wanted to get her something really special. Knowing Mamma enjoys keeping in touch with her host kids after leaving Ghana, we decided to give her a smartphone with a big enough screen that she can now video chat instead of only calling.  The second step was Christmas eve. Mamma was to make a spaghetti meal she loves to make for her host kids to give them "a taste of home". In the meanwhile, my host brother Michiel thought of the amazing idea of making our own homemade movie theatre! Doing this would allow us to have friends and family over to celebrate Christmas in style. So, after getting a project, speakers, a big enough white board to project on, popcorn and drinks, we made a movie theatre in our own backyard!

Our Homemade Movie Theatre! (Was quite dark so this evening sorry for the bad quality!)

On the night of Christmas eve the magic began. Starting with a wonderful meal, we decided after to give the family their gifts. This is where I learned yet again, as I do at least once per Christmas, the true meaning of the day. Whether it was the pure shock of the family when they opened their gifts or learning this was the first Christmas they ever celebrated, it was truly something else. After cleaning up, our guests began to arrive to watch Toy Story and we had the "world premiere" of the not-yet in theatres (by one day) The Hateful Eight. The night is one I will never forget.

The Host Family (left to right, Iba, Mamma (Nafisa) and Arafat

As for Christmas day, except for dinner with the family and lunch with other volunteers, it was a quiet day; however, there was something that happened which I want to make note of... For those involved in my Christmas gift, which was a video from back home of season's greetings from many individuals I know and love, thank you so much! Not only did it do accomplish its goal in making me smile but I had no chance at holding back tears. It has not been easy living over here, especially during a time like the holiday season; however, to receive holiday greetings from all of you made it honestly the greatest Christmas gift I have ever received. Thank you, thank you, thank you! 

New Years

On the 26th I received an email from my boss indicating I had the rest of the year off for holidays. Upon receiving this news, I quickly decided that I was in much need of a vacation! With my holiday time, I decided to go back to Cape Coast for the New Years! While I did much of the same as I did last time (relaxing), I went canopy walking in the rainforests of Kakum National Park which was quite a view! While I thought it was quite pretty, I as well felt sad that the animals were too scared to come out. In the forest resides animals such as forest elephants, leopards and many types of birds.

Kakum Canopy Walk!

On New Year's Eve, the resort I was at hosted the town's largest New Year's Eve party! Throughout the day, staff worked hard to prepare what was shaping to be a legendary night, which it was! Starting with a buffet dinner, the night then consisted of an acrobatics show which got people energized to dance. When the New Year arrived, it began for me on the beach. All the resort's amps were turned towards the beach and the dance party turned into a large beach party! Fireworks went off for hours, large bonfires blazed and wowed and late night swimming in the ocean commenced. The party went all night!

While I would have stayed up all night, I had another important event happening on New Year's Day. On New Year's Eve, I was presented with the opportunity to go hiking up in the Eastern Region of Ghana (near the city Ho Hoe) and go camping on top of one of Ghana's highest mountains. Intrigued by this, I signed onto the trip and I do not regret it for a second! The mesmerizing scenery of emerald green everywhere from the variety of trees, waking up to the sun rising while looking over Ghana from the top of a mountain and experiencing Canadian fall temperatures at nights for sleeping was amazing! Some of the main highlights included climbing Ghana's highest mountain Afadjato, visiting Wli falls (the highest waterfalls in West African and the coldest water I have been in second to Gander Lake!), meeting expats from across the world, visiting a monkey sanctuary and rock climbing into caves. I will never forget the trip!

A Few Snapshots for your enjoyment!

View from my tent 

The Campsite near the Smmit of the Mountain (Summit is on other side)

The other side of the mountain! 

On top of Ghana's highest peak Mount Afadjato!

Wli Waterfalls (You can ever tell I am freezing!)

So What Comes Next?

As I touched upon earlier, December was a tough month. Common within long-term travel,  a lot of difficult situations arose in December which made writing at points very difficult for me to do; however, I have hope that with a new year comes a new me! I am hoping in my next few blogs to elaborate a bit more about these experiences as I feel they're important to share and will give a better context into my experience here thus far.  I am hoping to get back on schedule and keep you wonderful people up to date! Until next time have a great week :)

Post 4: All Things EQWIP

Up until this point, I have withheld talking about the work I've been doing here in Ghana...

I've only been saving it because so much has been happening outside of work! I will say this though- The project is still in its infancy stages and is slowly yet surely building; however, I am hoping, through this special post, to provide a bit more information about what EQWIP HUBs is, what its end goal is, what has happened since arriving and where the project is currently at.

So what is EQWIP HUBs?

EQWIP HUBs is a new startup not-for-profit venture, established through a partnership between Canada World Youth (CWY) and Youth Challenge International (YCI), that aims to work on the empowerment of youth, especially women, through the expansion of employment opportunities. It is becoming a global network of youth innovation spaces spanning 17 developing urban centers in Bolivia, Ghana, Indonesia, Peru, Senegal and Tanzania that connect and transform the economic trajectory of youth through providing spaces where youth can develop employability and/or entrepreneurial skills needed to succeed in labor markets worldwide

The hubs act as an interactive classroom space. The way that we are currently trying to design it to be is to get rid of the traditional classroom feel and make it feel more like a place where youth can feel at home and can feel productive (both to learn and to innovate). Through a set curriculum on employment and entrepreneurial skills, we hope to be able to advance the youth participants today to be the business leaders of tomorrow's Ghana, whether they are running their own businesses or leading the Ghanaian labour force.

Best thing about EQWIP HUB Tamale: So much space to work with! This will look different in a month's time.

Why did it start?

Youth unemployment has turned into a global issue over the past two decades. Developing countries, like Ghana, bear the largest burden of youth unemployment since the majority of its population is young people  (So, when it is said "youth unemployment is 15%", the number of youth unemployed is a considerably higher number of people than in Canada).
Economically and socially, the lost formal sector workforce potential, due to youth unemployment, stalls future development and growth in Ghana because youth become forced to take positions in the informal sector (ex. street vendors, mini cash-based businesses). Most informal sector positions pay significantly less and are jobs which have little growth potential. For example, on every street in the city, there is bound to be two or three "convenience stores" for people to buy the exact same products. One can argue that competition is good for business and that the best salesperson wins; however, if every street in the city has these exact same vendors with the exact same products and prices then it is no longer healthy competition but instead redundant business making everyone worse off.
Another burden of the informal sector is that it is not regulated. There is no tax revenue coming from informal/unregistered businesses and it is impossible for government agencies to know the informal sector size/growth for outside formal industries to invest into and take over. The type of work we hope the youth will be doing is formal sector so that the amount of productivity they are able to create rewards not only themselves but as well impacts future generations.This is where EQWIP HUBs hopes to help.

Our target population is university graduates. The formal sector commonly only takes those with university degrees currently and while it would be great to open our doors to all we cannot force this to change. From our conversations with Ghanaian youth, a lot of youth, like in Canada, know a lot of theory about the work they hope to do due to studying it in school; however, outside of the classroom, they have never had the opportunity to gain practical experience not only in their field but as well within a formal work setting.

We are honestly quite lucky in Canada. Whether it is because many Canadians  are able to start looking for part-time work at 16 years old to gain practical work experience (even if it is making Big Macs at McDonalds)  or because we have courses in school such as "Careers and Civics" (which I bet many of you thought was a useless course), these opportunities do not exist for many here in Ghana. Even one's parents are unlikely to teach the youth the important formal work skills because they themselves never worked in the formal sector. In Ghana, gaining practical work experience really comes from being lucky enough to get a job. If one is not taught the proper work etiquette and skills prior to being hired, not only are they less likely to advance and succeed in the workplace but they are as well  more prone to termination (for example, employees cannot work in the Ghanaian time mindset and be late).

                

We want to start helping Ghana transition away from having communities unfamiliar with the etiquette and rules of formal labor sector to becoming familiar. As the first cohort sent here, it is our job to set the groundwork for future volunteer groups to succeed. We are the ones who are adapting the curriculum, designing the hubs, advertising and launching the programs and trial running how this project will go. It is important to note that the Canadian presence in this project will be only for 5 years. Through capacity building, it is our goal for EQWIP to continue but under the guidance of local partner agencies who will be taking over the hubs. Throughout the five years, our goal will be to make sure that the partners are ready.

The EQWIP HUBs Global Goal:

Have over 100,000 youth impacted through our 17 global hubs by 2020 (about 1200 youth annually per hub).

Current Progress and EQWIP HUBs Tamale

                

The EQWIP HUBs Ghana team is unique to the rest of the hubs globally as we were one of the first groups to arrive at our locations. In Tamale, we believe our hub is currently the most progressed since other volunteer start dates worldwide ended up being later than ours and for steps in the process, we are always the first to reach it in comparison to team Accra ;).

                

The first major step in launching the hub occurred back in Accra. Over the course of two weeks, local youth, EQWIP staff, and heads of our partner organizations  came together to adapt the curriculum. Our curriculum was originally created by an American non-profit Educational Development Center (EDC). EDC made a great curriculum; however, a lot of the content within it was not applicable to Ghanaians (ex. the pictures, proverbs, and examples) and required changes. Chapter by chapter, we went through the modules and made all the necessary changes so that Ghanaian youth would get the most out the curriculum.

A shot from our field research day with Ghanaian youth

Upon finishing the adaptation stage, myself and two other volunteers were finished with our tasks in Accra and were sent up to Tamale where we were to begin working with our partner organization the National Service Secretariat (NSS). Did you know all university graduates in Ghana are legally required to do one year of public service for the country? This year of service for graduates is federally mandated as a means to use the country's brightest to develop its poorest regions. Graduates are placed to work on development related projects across the country to help develop living standards across Ghana through fields such as education, sanitation, and health. From what we've seen, many students are not entirely thrilled with having to do a year of service, especially when they have to move from the larger cities into rural areas; however, it is our hope and the partner's hope that this additional training will entice the youth doing their NSS year to be more open to opportunities within NSS and to grow as future leaders of the country.

                

In the two weeks we've been here in Tamale, a fair bit has been done. We have completed field research by interviewing the NSS youth in regards to what they would like the future hub space to look like and what expect from us in regards to the program itself. From these interviews, we have developed a design plan for the space! We are currently in the process of getting quotes for the prices of the items/supplies we will need to make the hub the best of all the EQWIP HUBs and are now preparing to start renovations!

I am hoping, in posts going forward, to always include a little space on the project's progress. We are hoping to officially open our hub by mid to late January. The next month will be building the hub and preparing it for opening day.               

So much is about to change for this little building here in Tamale!

Post 3: Welcome to Tamale!

The day was November 21st, 2015... Well... At least we thought it was.

                 

The time had come for me to move up north to my new home in Tamale. I had realized, after looking at the boarding gate screen, it had been a month since I left Canada and it was officially the longest I had ever been out of the country. It was a small moment of victory; after all, while the timeframe is considerably small, many expats say the first month is always the longest. It's the time where a person's body experiences the most shocks, the most"mini heart attacks" occur, and the largest adjustments begin to occur so one can get used to the new place he/she calls home. 

After an hour wait on the runway, the pilot came on apologizing and canceled the flight due to visibility issues in Tamale. What caused the flight to be canceled? Harmattan. Due to being in a close proximity to the Sahara desert, Tamale experiences extremely hot and dry weather from November to March which includes dust storms coming from the Sahara. This makes it difficult to nearly impossible sometimes for flights to come in and out of Tamale, since the runways don't have lights. Luckily, it was only a one night delay and I arrived in Tamale the next day. 

My first thought about Tamale:

"Wow.... thing are about to be a lot different"

Shout out to Catherine for taking these awesome shots!

As we were landing into Tamale, the window visual of the grounds below me made me instantly believe that not much in Accra prepares one for Tamale.



For many in Ghana, to live in Accra stands as a sign of status of the Ghanaian lifestyle and many people work to someday leave their hometown and work in the capital city. In Tamale, gone are the houses upon houses that littered the grounds of the Ghana I once knew. Greenery no longer filled in all the gaps of the ground absent of buildings and roads. Replacing this was miles of dried-out lands, with small circles of mud huts and trees dabbed into the remaining bare areas on the ground. Farms were scattered across different plots of land and roads were few and far between, mainly made of red dirt. Not once could I spot the city which is projected to have 300,000 to 500,000 inhabitants living within it. I could not figure out why and I began to wonder what I was about to land into.

By the time we began making our way into town,  it was during the cycle of the day. As the sun disappeared into the world below, the moon began to be the Diamond in the sky with the multitude of gems surrounding it. Due to the Harmattan, a veil of dust was making a smoke-like haze which covered the night's sky. The style of life we were witnessing as well changed. Motorbikes ruled the roads in place of cats and tro-tros and electricity was seen scarce and far between. As we drove into town, there was one main thought on my mind and it wasn't disappearing...

"This is the Africa I have always dreamed of seeing"

It's true! A dream of mine came true that night and it has been a tiring yet positive week and a half since arriving. My first task: finding a host family. While I'll likely be speaking a lot about them going forward, I'd like to give you a quick glimpse of the family I am staying with. The family comprises of a mother and four kids. Two of them are her own (a 21-year old boy named Arafat and a 12-year-old girl named Iba) and the other two are volunteers from Belgium, Merel and Michiel. While there are a few amenities I am lucky to have in my house (running water and electricity) our living style is quite simple and has made me start to question the things I need in life versus the things I want in life. More about this another time... let's keep talking about Tamale!

The courtyard of my new home in Tamale (with an awesome mango tree in the middle)

For a city of 300,000 it seems quite small

There are a few things I love about here. The first is the uniqueness of the city. For such a large and highly-regarded city (3rd largest in Ghana), I was immediately surprised by how small town it seemed! Being from Sarnia and going to school in Ottawa, I learned to love places that are big cities with a small city feel. Whether it's the hustle and bustle throughout all the alleyways of the local market or the livestock infused communities inside and outside of the downtown area, I can honestly say I have never seen a place like Tamale in my entire life.

How religion is practiced here is another thing I have immense respect for. While a majority of Ghanaians are Christian, this is the one area of the country where the majority are Muslim. What I love about here is that there is a unique cosmopolitan community of Christians and Muslims that allows for mutual respect between people of both faiths. There are citizens here who, either based on marriage or personal choice, convert or interchange between both religions. It is not uncommon to see a Christian and Muslim marry. It is the belief in a higher power that both sides realize matters the most and while some call a higher being Allah or God, the respect towards people of both faiths is the same. It is incredible seeing this, especially in the world we live in at present.

Tamale is considered to be the non-profit organization capital of Ghana. The city is evidentially poorer than Accra; however, I like it more for that reason. Everything in Accra seemed unequal. There was the very rich and the very poor and little in between. In Tamale, while it appears to be the same across the board in most areas, the city is not in stalemate but is growing, as some people argue, at one of the fastest paces in Western Africa. The potential for this city is visibly evident. We can talk about untouched economic potential being the main selling point for businesses but I instead look at the major selling point being more because of the people and their untapped potential. The international community of non-profits would likely agree with me on that. In fact, the airport is currently under renovations (sponsored by the Brazilian government)  to make Tamale the second international airport in the country so it can be easier for more people to come to Tamale and help its citizens develop this beautiful city.

Looking back on the previous week, I think the way I would sum it up is the "week of firsts".  I was realizing for first time that is the longest I had stayed or lived in another country, experienced my first cancelled flight,  lived in or even traveled to a Muslim city, tried rice balls and groundnut soup (my new favourite Ghanaian dish), saw something that really hit close to home, finished my first book of the trip (The Book Thief),  had a bat poop on my shoulder, and heck, it was the first time I ever had a cat jump into my food! Through all of this, I can finally say I feel at home and situated. I feel that while there are some cultural barriers still to adjust to, I am well on my way!

Final Note:

Some of you may be wondering "Aren't you supposed to be working on this trip?". While I've been working since week one, I have not been discussing the EQWIP HUBs project not because of there being no updates but due to the fact we are at such a primary stage of the project and so much has happened outside of work that has overshadowed work related news. Don't worry though, to make up for it, I am writing a bonus blog post next week! This will explain a bit more about EQWIP HUBs, the goal in mind for the initiative and where we are at in the project. Till then cheers to the week ahead!

Post 2: Let the Cultural Immersion Commence

A quick note before I start this post

Unfortunately, due to the lack of WiFi during most free parts of my day, I have been unable to keep up to having weekly posts thus far. Throughout my trip, this problem, along with others (such as moving places and adjusting to new routines), will pop up and will block me from keeping up to date. According to the locals here, I have to work on convincing all of you to be mindful of GMT (Ghana man time). In Ghana, if something is to start at 8 and you want people to be there for that time, you better tell attendees to arrive at 7! Culturally, people are not punctual and instead take their time to go from event to event due to running errands they consider of most important first. While I hope to try to keep to a schedule, I will make sure to make each post that much more interesting!

Let's pick up where we last left off

During the afternoon of November 5th, the time had finally come to end living the hostel life and to move into my first rental home (I say first because of my projected move to Tamale on November 21st). Owned by a German immigrant and her Ghanaian husband, this two story house hosts its residents on the first floor while hosting a small bead necklace not-for-profit business on the second (which as well has two chairs for us to enjoy an overview of the neighbourhood). The lower floor is comprised of 5 bedrooms which, depending on the variety and uniqueness of its tenants, can form into making quite a community home. Its current tenants are 3 other volunteers and I and, between the four of us, we have worked to get used to the new living environment.

View from our patio in Osu

Finding this place was a bit unexpected, especially in the neighbourhood it is within. Considered to be a low-middle to lower class neighbourhood, Osu has the charm to treat its guests in a variety of fashions.  Most nights it is impossible to go uninterrupted while sleeping. The hustle and bustle of the neighbourhood's residents consistently find new ways to surprise its visitors. While many citizens stay out late into the night, it is not uncommon to hear a choir of women singing down the partially paved roads of Osu at 4 in the morning. If you believe that would not wake you up, all the power to you; however, whether it be a 5 or 6 in the morning, no one escapes the community leader's morning prayer and song... Her use of a megaphone on particular days will unarguably make anyone's head bounce off a pillow like a 100-meter runner at the gun pop! In the early mornings and evenings, the streets are littered with Osu's families carrying out their everyday plots in unison with their fellow neighbours and friends. It is not uncommon to find dogs, chickens, cats and even goats roaming the streets without their owners. There is no need to worry,; these family pets always seem to find their way back home.
We have as well discovered how big of an event funerals are! Strange eh? Within the two weeks of living here, there has already been about 5 or 6 (more if you count other parts of the neighbourhood). If I can describe funerals here in three words it would be long, loud and festive. Long since the average funeral lasts 3 to 4 days. Festive since these days are not spent grieving (well maybe a moment or two while the casket is taken away); instead, it is a celebration of life. Lous since there is music blaring through the neighbourhood and dancing on the streets which, on the first day, literally goes on all night.  It is a quality of the Ghanaian culture I have actually come to quite respect. While it is not enjoyable to be next to the main square for funerals at certain times, the idea of celebrating the life of the deceased with all those who want to pay tribute instead of mourning the deceased brings such a unique twist to something in North America we all dread to go to. Those watching from up above can be proud looking down on the festive celebration hosted by their families in honour of the lives the deceased lived.

Hitting the road for the first time

Harbour of Cape Coast

The other volunteers and I figured, after staying two weeks in Accra, that it was time to get out of the city and see a bit more of the country. Our first trip: Cape Coast. Found 3 hours south-west of  Accra, on the Gulf of Guinea coastline, Cape Coast is a city which is as tropical as one could desire but  known for its dark history. The defining monument of the city is the Cape Coast castle. For those unfamiliar with this landmark, there was never a king once residing in this 150 palace  but instead Governors and colonizing officials within the castle and beneath it the souls of hundreds of thousands of Africans who once were forced into the property. Why the high number? This castle was known for the trade of a particular commodity: slaves.

Cape Coast Castle

Walking into the mouth of the men's dungeon was an experience I will never forget. As blindness overtook my vision and heat began to run out the dungeon, there appeared the cells where over 200 men would once be stored into at any given time. The cells were similar to small pig pens that unimaginably crammed innocent men into these spaces until they either died or were taken to the "new world". As we stood and tried to conceptualise what the reality was here centuries ago, we were told by our guide that we were literally standing on the remains of the unexcavated floor. While one floor was restored by archaeologists out of the five, the remaining four were compacted of the faeces, blood, sweat, tears and remains of those suffering Africans (as they came from many countries). Ironically, on top of these dungeons was the first Anglican Church of Ghana. How fitting that an institution which aims to bring peace to the world stood on top of so much cruelty and injustice. Yet, as those men screamed from below, those above covered silenced them.

The Door of No Return

While the rest of the tour was fascinating, there was one point that caught my attention the most: the much heard of "Door of no Return". Centuries ago, the lives of so many innocent people was stripped from them to bring labour to the new world as a means for profit. This door represented the end of the lives that thousands of men and women once knew and a life of hardship which was to begin for them. As colonizing and slave trading nations worked to rectify their mistakes in the years following the abolition of the slave trade, the Government of the United Kingdom thought of an idea in the 1990s to make "the door of return". This is found on the flip side of the door of no return and was made to commemorate those who lost their lives in this building and those who were sent to the new world. In the 90s, families were able to bring back the remains of their ancestors from the new world to Ghana through the door.

While we cannot rewrite the past, we can have monuments, like Cape Coast Castle, to painfully remember and learn from the mistakes of our past. No human should ever be considered a commodity and at all costs. No life should be considered less due to race, religion or nationality. Unfortunately slavery and atrocities like this still happen today; however, when only when the day comes that stop comparing ourselves by our differences and instead by our similarities will these senseless crimes end.