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).