jon

This is Jon and his father Charles. Jon is two years old and is thought to have cerebral palsy, although he has never been officially diagnosed. He has no control of motor functions and spends everyday lying on a mat inside his house. His mother left when she realized his condition. There is a social stigma against people with such disabilities in Ghana. Rebecca, the social worker, explained to me that many people used to believe/still believe that people have disabilities either because of something bad the family has done (so the person with a disability is bringing a curse upon their family) or because of some evil spirit. For this reason, Jon has spent most of his life indoors because a lot of people fear him. Fortunately, the people who live around Jon have started to become used to him, which has allowed the father to bring him outside more often now.

I first met Jon about a week ago. I sat next to him and tried to hold his hand. His whole body continually twists around, including his head, but he kept trying to look at Rebecca and me. He often looks directly into your eyes and it is clear that there is some sort of recognition there. I think he is pretty high functioning for a child who has not had much stimulation. Jon is also extremely malnourished, currently weighing about 14 pounds. His arms and legs are stick skinny. You have to be really careful when you hold him, because his head is too heavy for him to hold up (partly due to the malnourishment and partly due to the CP). He is malnourished because his dad can’t hold a job because taking care of Jon is a full-time job.

Unfortunately, there are not any government services to help provide for Jon's needs. He is in need of several things, including a proper diagnosis from a medical facility, a treatment plan that most likely will include medication, fees for an orphanage to help improve his condition, and immediate food to feed both Jon and his father. Rebecca has found an orphanage that helps children with special needs that will be able to take Jon in for a few years if funding for this can be procured. She believes this is necessary because it is the only way his father will be able to find a job that will hopefully enable him to take care of his son. The goal for Jon is to be able to live independently, so hopefully the orphanage will help get Jon to that place so that his dad can continue working after Jon returns home. Charles, Jon’s father, was at first very reluctant to part with him for a little while, but knows he has to in order to help him. Everyone is hoping that Jon will only have to be in the orphanage for less than five years.

Jon’s smile is contagious. Whenever I go and visit him I can’t stop smiling either. Watching him and his dad together is the most amazing thing…it is so evident how much Charles loves his son. Everytime Jon looks at his dad, a huge smile spreads across his face. If anyone would like to help Jon and his dad out, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I can assure you that any support would go directly to Jon and can even be specified to wherever you would want to contribute, whether it would be for food, orphanage fees, doctors fees, or medication.

Charles & Jon in front of their house

Comfort, Ata, Afia & Adua

Top row (L to R): Comfort and baby Bright, Afia and 4-year-old Comfort

Bottom row(L to R): Adua and baby, Ata and baby Vanessa

They told me that I was the answer to their prayers. I almost started crying when they said that to me. I’m not any better than them. They work harder than me, carrying babies on their backs and heavy loads on their heads for hours a day. They sleep on a hard concrete floor in a small shack with all of their babies. They do not have running water, and often eat one meal a day. Their babies have one pair of clothes each. They drink out of dirty containers and go to the bathroom out in the open. Their belongings are few and their lives have been hard and most likely will continue to be hard. All four of these girls are 20 years old. They are my age, and yet I can see in their eyes that they are much older. I have never gone hungry so that my child may be fed. I have never slept on a hard concrete floor or known what it is like to live in a shack that crumbles each rainy season. I have spent my years growing up going to school, and not just primary school but secondary school and college. Only one out of the four of them can read (although not very much); the others are illiterate. I have a world of opportunities at my feet and they do not. It is not fair. They want to go home to their rural villages for a number of reasons, one of which being that the government is about to bulldoze their slum in order to build a high-rise hotel.

I was first introduced to these girls through Rebecca, one of the social workers who works at Street Girls Aid. Two of the girls, Comfort and Ata, lived at the refuge house for several months until they had to leave because there needed to be room for other pregnant girls at the house. The other girl, Afia, is 20 years old and has a four-year old daughter. She has been on the streets for years now, and has gone home once, only to return to the streets in Accra because she could not make a living in her village. The Bible study I’m in on campus, which consists mostly of international students from Canada & America, has decided to send these girls home and try to help them have a sustainable life at their home villages. Ata is going to have a hairdressing and manicure/pedicure business, Afia a hairdressing business, and Comfort a manicure/pedicure business. To do this, we are providing them the money for the structures of the shacks where there businesses will be, as well as tables and chairs for inside and the necessary supplies (nail polish, hair extensions, etc) to enable them to run their businesses. We are praying that each of them will be successful and that they will be able to support themselves and their children through their businesses.

My heart breaks because their story is not the exception, but the norm. Most of the 60,000 street children in Accra come from poor rural villages where they have no access to education or any means of generating income with the perception that they will have a better life in the city. One-sixth of the world’s population - 1 billion people - live in slums just like Comfort, Ata, Afia and Adua. One-half of the world - 3 billion people - lives in poverty. Statistics like this often don’t faze us anymore because we hear them all too often and they don’t affect most of our everyday lives. Or maybe they do pull on our heartstrings, but we don’t know what to do about it because the problems are just so overwhelming. When I come into contact with such dire poverty, when I walk into the slums where these girls live, my heart is heavy. Often I wonder where God is in any of this. Many verses in the Bible promise that God is on the side of the poor and the oppressed, that He hears their cries and is working for justice for them. A lot of times I doubt that any of that is true. The suffering in the world just seems too great, almost unbearable. But then I think back to the fact that they told me I was the answer to their prayers. Things like that fill me with hope because then I see that God is working through people. The fact that you or I could be the answer to someone’s prayers is humbling and amazing. I think all it takes is our hearts being open to God and the needs around us.

Ata and Afia are going back north to their villages this coming Thursday. Comfort is waiting to sell the last bit of her candy before she leaves, so she will probably be leaving in about two weeks. We are praying that they will be able to support themselves and their children when they go back to their villages. Please join us in praying for these beautiful girls and their children.

destination: cote d'ivoire

Purpose: Eat French baguettes, renew our Ghana visas (they were only valid for 60 days so we had to leave and re-enter the country), have an adventure!

Language: French and other local African languages

Currency: CFAs (1000 CFAs = 3 cedis = $2 USD)

Day 1
Left the university: 5 am
Arrived in Abidjan: 9 pm

Nina, Arsalan and I started out bright and early in hopes of catching the bus that went straight from Accra to Abidjan because we figured that would be the easier way. When we arrived at the STC bus station at 6:30 am, however, we found out that the bus had already left two hours before. So, we found a tro-tro that would take us to Elubo (the town in Ghana closest to the border). We arrived in Elubo at 2 pm and walked off the tro-tro, only to be swarmed by taxi drivers who wanted us to take their taxi to the border and men who wanted to exchange our money into CFAs. Thankfully we had made a friend on the tro-tro who was from Cote d’Ivoire, and so we stuck close to her, her friend, and their huge pile of luggage to get to the border. We had absolutely no problems at the border, although it did take awhile. After several more tro-tros and numerous stops at police checkpoints, we arrived in Abidjan around 9pm. The cousin of a girl who lives in our hostel, Jean-Claude, met us and helped us find food and a hotel for the night.
Most important thing learned: Smiling at police officers and responding positively to winks will help you not have to pay any bribes

Day 2
The majority of our day was spent in Le Plateau, the commercial district of Abidjan. We stopped for a look at the one of the largest Catholic cathedrals in Cote d’Ivoire which has beautiful African-themed stained glass all throughout it, and the Museum of Civilization, which, unfortunately, turned out to be a museum about Jewish history with posters from National Geographic hung on the walls (??) In addition, we walked around several shopping areas that looked very European, ate many pastries and baguettes off the streets, saw a mosque, and took a water taxi. We also randomly met Jean-Claude’s brother, who works with the military, on the street, and then were invited to hang out with the Ivoirian military at their compound. So random…but still fun! We also had ice cream…and not the Ghanaian version of ice cream, but ice cream that tasted like American ice cream!! It was so great. We also got to try some Ivoirian food, including ‘acheke.’ So good!!
Most important thing learned: Finding a giant menorah and a large elephant skeleton next to each other in a museum is not considered strange in Africa

Day 3
Our guidebook told us that one of the most interesting sites in Abidjan was an outdoor laundromat, apparently the largest in the world, where men could be seen furiously washing clothing in a river on old tires and rocks. After some confusion, we made it to the place, only to find out that all of the people washing clothes are from a nearby slum and wash their clothes there because that is the only place for them to do their wash. We had to pay the ‘security guards’ there money in order to take pictures, and later found out that the people washing clothes never actually see any of that money. Sigh. We then traveled a few hours with Jean-Claude to his village outside of Abidjan, called Bonn. The village is named after Germans who came there and built wells for the community so they could have a water source. The kids in the village were enthralled by us foreigners, and often followed us around. We took a tour of the village, walked through a savannah and were fed an incredible dinner. At night, drummers came and everyone got together and danced. Little children taught me how to dance…it wasn’t very successful, but I had a great time!
Most important thing learned: I will never be able to dance

Day 4
Early in the morning we walked around the village to say our goodbyes. Little children started following us around, and before I knew it, there were children all around me, touching my hair, rubbing my arms, and holding onto all of my fingers. It was adorable. We traveled back to Abidjan, and then went to Grand Bassam to go to some of the markets there. Marcel, Jean-Claude’s brother, went with us and was extremely helpful when we were bargaining. The best part was our taxi ride back to Abidjan… we were on a two-lane highway, and there was a ton of traffic on our side of the road. Our taxi driver got annoyed, and so started driving in the other lane. When cars started coming at us, we went for a little off-roading adventure on the opposite side of the road we were supposed to be on. Then, our taxi breaks down. Arsalan and Marcel get out to push the car, but it won’t start because we are stuck on rocks and dirt. So, we had to wait until cars weren’t coming to push the car on the road, where, after a little while more of pushing, the car started again. We finally got back into our proper lane…Would you think that the taxi driver would stay in that lane? Of course not…so we went off-roading again, this time at least on our side of the road. What were Nina and I doing this whole time? Laughing hysterically, of course. When we got back to Abidjan, we went out for French dessert and then went to a club. When they played some popular American songs, Arsalan, Nina, and I got up and did stereotypical American moves…the Ivoirians were all laughing and videotaping us on their phones.
Most important thing learned: I LOVE taxi rides and dancing very embarrassingly in public

Day 5
Left Abidjan: 9:45 am
Arrived at the university: 10 pm

We woke up and found the most incredible food on the streets…on our last day! A French baguette with hard boiled eggs, avocado, beans and other vegetables…a vegetarian’s dream! I think it was the best thing I’ve eaten since I’ve been here. The ride back to Accra was similar to the ride there, although we did encounter far less police checkpoints on the road which was nice.

All in all, we had a great time and no problems considering we were in a politically unstable country with no real government and a dissolution of the peace process just a few weeks earlier.

street girls aid

Accra, the capital of Ghana, has a population of around 3 million people. A recent study estimated that there are 60,000 street children in Accra. Since I’ve been here, I have had the privilege of working with an NGO called ‘Street Girls Aid.’ This is a non-profit organization which houses girls who are pregnant or have children. There are 10 social workers employed with Street Girls Aid, and each of these social workers is assigned to a particular part of the city. Each night they go out to their field area to meet street girls, educate them on health issues, tell them about services offered by Street Girls Aid, and try to earn the trust of the street girls. I have gone out with several of the social workers to their field areas in the city. At night it can be easier to meet girls as they are often done their work for the day and congregate in areas to eat and sleep. The social workers often try to educate the girls about basic health concerns, proper maternal care, and the dangers of the streets. They often talk to the girls about returning to their villages, especially if the girls have children who they are unable to care for properly while living on the streets.

In addition to the social workers who go to the field, Street Girls Aid has a refuge house which gives pregnant girls and girls with young babies a safe place to stay. Every Wednesday I go to visit with the girls. Most days I help teach English or math. The majority of the girls cannot read or write; I have taught several girls how to write their names. One of the girls is from Cote d’Ivoire, and so obviously speaks fluent French. She does not know how to read or write in any of her three languages (French, English, Twi) and so I have the privilege of teaching her how to read and write in French. She is so smart and is catching on so fast. She really, really wants to learn.

Most of these girls come from rural areas in Ghana. Life in villages is hard, as there is often not enough food or any way to get an education. Most girls believe that coming to Accra will bring them economic opportunity. Unfortunately, most of them end up living on the streets. Many of these girls turn to prostitution in order to survive. Others opt for selling various items, such as water or food items, or working as porters carrying bags for those who come off buses. I have been told that neither of these jobs bring in as much money as prostitution. Many of the girls are sexually abused, some are raped. Many have more than one child. They do not have adequate sanitation, access to clean water, enough food to eat, or money to pay for hospital fees or medicine if they are sick.

For more information, check out http://www.said-ghana.com/