Culture Trek

Posts Tagged ‘Africa’

What I looked forward to most upon my return was writing about my volunteer experience in Ghana, yet it’s been repeatedly forced to the bottom of my to-do list. For now, I offer you this excuse – I mean exercise – in frustration.

I reached home on August 2nd, eager to compile all I had learned and desperate to empower my new Ghanaian friends. To do that would require money. To raise money required awareness. I got right to it and made this video of my time spent with the children at Have’s RC Primary School.

I put this, my first film, together in about three days and downloaded software to convert the file format.

All was going well until…

Read the rest of this entry »

July 9th

Straight to Work

I wasn’t expected to do anything other than rest my first day. Instead, I joined a boy named Julius on the well-worn wooden porch bench. Julius was busy with a thin stick applying strong smelling rubber cement from a coffee can to a printed and die cut piece of cardboard. He said he was making bags for tea.

I asked, “Can you teach me how to make these boxes?”

Looking up from his work with a smile and a nod, he appreciated the gentle hint, and agreed to show me. Applying the glue to the cardboard, he taught me to wait until it dried to the right consistency before folding in the edges and forming the box. We then pressed doubly on the glued portion to ensure a good seal. Before stacking the the finished product, I rubbed away the external dried glue to keep one box from sticking to the next. It didn’t take long before we had our rhythm down while working in tandem.

Read the rest of this entry »

July 9th

The Welcoming Committee

A young boy about 13 years old ran top speed toward us with sweat pouring down his brow. He introduced himself as Jimmy. I shook his hand and said hello which was followed by his customary “You are welcome!” I introduced my travel mates to him and slowly worked through my own name since Paul, EDYM’s director, mistakenly told people I was called Kimberly. I said with my most gracious smile, “I’m Kim. Just K-I-M.”

“Kem? Ah, Kem! Kem! I see!” He enthusiastically shook my hand again. “You are welcome!”

I would not let Jimmy carry even one of my bags so we all climbed back in the car, Jimmy on Emily’s lap in the front seat. Driving a few hundred feet up the road, Christian parked and unloaded my things. We were met by Emmanuel who I later learned is Jimmy’s uncle and Paul’s brother. A slightly older boy, also named Christian, soon came too. As they all tried to navigate the rocky, uphill footpath, each with my 69.5 lbs (x2) of donations on duffel wheels, I said my goodbyes to the others and caught up.

Read the rest of this entry »

July 9th

Leaving Accra

After breakfast, Gunadiish and Christian lugged our bags into a vehicle, helped us to buy phone cards and exchange money. The nearest bank told me that only the main office in central Accra will cash travelers checks. Unfortunately, that was just too far away. I headed instead for the nearest ATM.

Having tested my new Visa check card by making a purchase in the US, this was an interesting time to learn that my card has a different pin number than my husband’s with whom I share the account. Mine I do not know. Nothing could be done about it today, nor will there be an opportunity this week. With the vehicle loaded up as tightly as the night before (minus Gunadiish who wished us luck and said the seatbelts in this vehicle were working) we set off on a three hour journey toward the Volta Region… to a village with no banks or ATM’s. With a small bit of money on me, I’m not in too much trouble but I’ll need to sort this out by next weekend.

Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve found my way back online after two weeks with little withdrawal… or so I thought. Signing on actually gave me butterflies.

I have been writing a great deal and will begin posting soon. For now, I can tell you that I have been working hard AND playing hard. I sleep little, eat a lot, and today I met Have’s village chief for the first time. He invited me for a celebration on Thursday in honor of my presence and in gratitude for all the items you have sent with me. Tomorrow I will be making donations to the school but I have been working on the Environmental Development Youth Movement farm otherwise. Amazing work they do there!

You wouldn’t believe how much I have been learning. I love it here and will certainly feel a geat deal of sadness when I go. More news soon.

I hope you all are well.
Love,
Kim

It has been an overwhelming two months with final papers, graduation, the never ending basement reconstruction and family responsibilities galore. Through it all, I have been scrambling in preparation for my trip to Ghana, a rush that began on May 23rd with the following introduction from Florinda at Village Volunteers:

Please help me welcome Kim Clune to Village Volunteers International Organization.

We should all be honored that Kim has chosen to volunteer with Village Volunteers and be a part of your village family. We know the camaraderie and friendships that develop between community leaders, villagers and volunteers will enrich all of our lives and keep us all connected for years to come?

Kim is a writer/photographer with a passion for genealogy. Kim has traveled the world as an international flight attendant. From a young age, Kim had the desire to join the Peace Corps but her family strongly dissuaded her. When she first read about the Village Volunteers memory box project, her heart fluttered.

Kim knows the joy and healing that can be experienced through remembering (having healed rifts and mended false perceptions in her own family through a genealogical photo preservation project). Kim would like to help empower young girls by allowing them to see their own self worth and potential, allowing each child to realize together that they hold the power to change their lives. Spending a great deal of time in her own garden with no fear of getting her hands dirty, Kim’s interest in learning environmentally sound/organic farming, water preservation and solar technologies is strong. Homeopathy is something she knows little about but has a desire to assist with.

PLEASE NOTE: Kim is a vegetarian

Next came a letter on May 24th from Paul Kpai, director of the Environmental Development Youth Movement in Have, Ghana where I’ll be staying.

Read the rest of this entry »

From Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America:

In the aftermath of the unimaginable chaos and sexual violence that gripped Kenya for months, Dr. Sarah Onyango knows exactly what to do. The only problem is, there aren’t enough supplies or resources to do it.

There aren’t enough post-trauma counselors, pregnancy tests, condoms, or emergency contraception.

Normally, I write to you about how to help Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the women, men, and young people we serve surmount challenges here in the U.S. But the reports coming out of our Africa Regional Office in Kenya are beyond comprehension. And that’s why I’m writing you today.

Right now, I need your help to ensure that critical reproductive health services continue to be available to the millions of Kenyans who need them ? and that we have the funds to continue our work around the world. Please help.

Talking to our Africa Regional Director, Dr. Onyango, I could hardly believe her composure given the challenges she’s facing. Her update spoke of progress, but against odds that I can’t even imagine. She told me that her staff members who feared for their lives have been successfully relocated; the health care provider who was shot is now recovering; the health clinics that were burned down or destroyed are nowhere near being rebuilt, but the nurses and counselors have found ways to continue to treat rape and trauma survivors; and health workers continue to distribute what contraceptives they have left however they can.

Read the rest of this entry »

Mere moments ago I received the following news:

With the continued unrest in Kenya, Village Volunteers finds it necessary to cancel the Kenya program for the remainder of 2008. If you would like to volunteer with one of our other programs in Ghana, India or Nepal or if you would like to postpone your trip, please contact our office.

I’ve known all along that this decision would have to be made for me, having refused to consider alternatives in the name of hope. Now that the choice is out of my hands, I feel oddly numb.

Just announced on The Today Show:

Today Kenya’s ruling party and opposition agreed to form a joint government in an effort to end weeks of post-election violence there that’s killing more than a thousand lives. The two sides are still discussing which roles each party would play.

A quick news search produced the following results:

Kenya govt sees end in sight at crisis talks
Reuters – 13 minutes ago
27 polls, shattering Kenya’s image as a stable business, tourism and transport hub. “It is not complete yet, but the progress is excellent. …

Breakthrough reported in Kenya crisis talks
Reuters South Africa, South Africa -35 minutes ago
NAIROBI, Feb 8 (Reuters) – Negotiators for Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga have achieved a “breakthrough” in their dispute …

Rueters.com has updated their post-election chronology but has yet to mention this development.

A new form of post-election unrest, the Kibaki Tosha Tena Virus and the Odinga Raila Pop-up, has reared its ugly head, infiltrating technology, breaching Kenya’s borders and adding more frustration to the already troublesome mix.

As for the first virus, PreciseSecurity.com says:

Seeing this “KIBAKI TOSHA KIBAKI TENA” message during Windows logon means that you have been infected with W32.Baki.A. A worm that spreads via local, network and removable drives. It is known to promote a presidential candidate in Kenya and has a full message of:

“KIBAKI FOR PRESIDENT VOTE KIBAKI FOR A BETTER FUTURE. We need a person who have thought of tomorrow and willing to salvage our country. Kibaki have done so in the past five years. KIBAKI TOSHA TENA”

Read the rest of this entry »