"An Interview with Chris & Tammi"; 20 Dec 2008

Happy New Year!

A lot has been going on and as a result we have fallen behind on the blog. We have many topics in the works though. You can look for "About Food", “About Bathrooms”, “About Transportation”, “The Truth about the Ghana Education System”, “A Baboon Soiled my Panties” and others in the near future. In the mean time you will find questions and answers from a recent interview with a writer from the Ames Tribune. The resulting article "ISU couple serving Peace Corp in Ghana" by Kathy Hanson was printed in Special to The Tribune on 28 December 2008.


Exploring Ghana with Mom & Dad over Christmas break

The interview:

Q: I read Teddi Barron's story, written before you left. Now I wonder if some of the ideas you had for re-integrating this experience with your life and careers are gelling in a different way, or has the experience reinforced them?

Tammi’s Response: For the most part I think my ideas are being reinforced, but probably not in the same way(s) that I might have imagined they would be. However, I think it’s probably too soon to tell.

Chris’s Response: I would agree with Tammi I think it is too early to tell but; I was just thinking tonight as we were out for an evening walk how my concept of poverty has changed. The people here who seem to be doing “ok” in the states would be considered to be living in abject poverty. While the ones that are barely getting by are so far beyond anything I could have conceived 6 months ago. Again even with such insurmountable obstacles to simply live they still find joy in life. Another thought; We were talking about working with farmers to plant more sustainable crops & how difficult it is to convince them to think long term instead of just for tomorrow. I realized that for them to take a chance on a new idea and have it fail can literally be the difference between life & death.

Q: Do you feel connected to the news here, or does it feel abstract and far away?

Chris’s Response: A lot of it does feel quite far away. The financial thing especially because the people in Afram Plains are so far removed from any effects here and I don’t think that is a bad thing. In a way it supports the concept of return to the commons which is the system that we pretty much live in where we are. There is the baker, the butcher & the farmers raising various crops & they greatly depend on each other. Everyone is needed to make the community run. With that, we have seen the prices of a lot of the food go up at the market, though I don’t know if they are related. I think that Accra has been affected at a higher level because it is more closely connected to the western world.

Tammi’s Response: I think that it depends on the type of news item and the filters it sifts through. I am referring to both my own filters and those filters that are imposed by our distant location. For instance, I am aware of the financial crisis, but am happy to mentally keep it at arm’s length. On the other hand I felt starved for news when election time drew near.

It’s absolutely amazing how much media we have at our disposal in America! Here in Ghana we can only regularly view one (struggling to appear professional) television channel, and rarely attempt tuning in to one of the two radio stations with semi-ok reception. There are two Ghanaian national newspapers that reach our area almost daily and once they have arrived here they are already about a day old. But they do offer a few of the international headlines.

Print materials are incredibly expensive here. I’m not what one would call an avid reader but I am a big fan of book stores. Before moving here I never could have fathomed how beautiful and incredible American book stores and libraries are! There are more print materials available in Ames than there is an all of Ghana! Seriously! You can probably count the number of book stores in this country on your own fingers. And not even one of those stores offers the quality of content you can find in your typical chain store in Ames. Print materials are simply out of reach financially for most people here. The daily newspaper costs about 70 cents (a splurge for most Ghanaians) and one issue of National Geographic goes for over $20.00!

Unlike your typical Peace Corps volunteer (or Ghanaian), Chris and I have the luxury of internet access. We’re not talking about high-speed broadband here, but at least we HAVE it! It feels like a lifeline for our connection with the outside world. Via our cell phone GPRS connection we can catch most of the BBC headlines (as our reception blips in and out). We are even able listen to WOI streaming fairly regularly which is a real treat.


Q: Being conscientious in terms of supporting fair trade, personally adopting sustainable practices, etc, can seem like lofty ideas suitable for satire on blogs like "Things White People Like." How do you feel about these things now that you're among people who live at a subsistence level?

Tammi’s Response: More than ever, I feel that the principles of fair trade are attainable. During my 5 year tenure as store manager at Worldly Goods, I felt it was my duty to test the validity of fair trade. I was very fortunate to have had the opportunity to participate in two learning tours where I traveled to 4 different developing countries to meet fair trade artisans and see first-hand if the work that we were doing was worthwhile. Those experiences reaffirmed my notion but my current situation really drives the point home! Maybe it’s because I tend to look at things from a logistical point of view. Being here at the grass roots level helps me to better visualize how the process should and can work from this standpoint. I truly believe that fair trade is sustainable. But those who live life at the subsistence level are most vulnerable (and susceptible) to practices that are short-sighted. I think the biggest pie in the sky hurdle to overcome is Man’s tendency to fall into the greed trap, (which I believe is also one of the big reasons behind the current financial crisis in the U.S.).

Chris’s Response: One of the bigger problems on Afram Plains is the production of charcoal. Many of the farmers in addition to sustenance farming will cut trees down to make charcoal. They will sell a large sack (50lbs+ or -) to a middle man for 1 or 2 cedis and he will in turn sell that sack for 8+ cedis. This is exactly why fair trade is not only good but a necessary system. The people here are seeing their environment slowly destroyed as they continue to work very hard for such a pittance. Many of the rural farmers see little other choice and they need to be presented alternatives, support, training, and follow-up. Often they will get one of these but rarely all of them. Sustainability in all phases is the important thing.

Q: Are you celebrating the holidays? If so, how?

Tammi’s Response: It has felt so strange approaching the holidays this year. Catching the tune of an occasional Christmas song, or seeing a glimpse of a holiday decoration, makes me think “That’s odd”, as I wipe the sweat from my brow. “The holidays are so far away”. And then I realize the date and think “yikes”, it sure doesn’t feel like that time of year!

We attended dinner at the U.S. Ambassador’s house for Thanksgiving. That was a real treat. As far as Christmas, there is a group of ISU Ag students coming to Ghana over the break and we plan to meet up with them on Christmas Eve or day to share a meal or something. The big treat is that my mom and dad are flying in Christmas night. Maybe it will actually seem like Christmas when mom unpacks a few homemade Christmas cookies! We plan to show my parents around our home area and then travel and explore Ghana together, see the sights, and learn what we can from the tourist perspective.

We feel quite bad for many of our fellow Peace Corps volunteers. Due to the run-off elections to be held in Ghana on Dec 28, we are being put on “stand fast” for security reasons. This means that we are not allowed to leave our sites and most volunteers will have to be alone on both Christmas and New Years, which will make being away from home even more difficult.

Chris’s Response: As far as how they do it here; there are not Christmas trees and it seems like it will be celebratory but on a more somber level. Christmas has not been commercialized here yet, but I’m sure in the near future… We were in town shopping the other day and say a few of the typical trappings for sale in one of the shops. We were in Accra over Thanksgiving and saw a great deal of the Christmas schlock. As I understand it families will not exchange gifts on Christmas but rather on Boxing Day (the 26th) they may exchange one or two small gifts with the children getting the lion’s share.

We attended our school’s Christmas ceremony on Wednesday. It lasted almost 3 hours and included many bible readings which I wondered how many of them related to the Christmas story. It also included songs from various choirs and many instances of spontaneous and spirited song and dance by the student body and faculty.

Q: Are loved ones and friends staying in touch with you?

Tammi’s Response: We are able to keep in touch fairly well with many of our friends and family due to our access to email. We feel very fortunate to be Peace Corps volunteers in this place at this time. Those volunteers that came before us as well as many who are out there right now do not have the luxuries of communication that we do. Phone reception can be touch and go and can also get expensive, but the occasional text message can brighten one’s day. Who would have thought that it would take moving to a developing country for Chris and me to finally break down and get our own cell phones and wireless internet access?!

Chris’s Response: They are staying in touch and to be honest it is pretty important to me. We are in a very “alien” place to what we are use to and it is so nice to be able to “touch base” with what & who is familiar or comfortable to us. It is always good to hear from anyone. I have just recently been realizing how different Ames, Iowa, and America is going to be upon our return. Not just because of how we will look at things after our experience here but also with all the changes on all levels, many for the good & some for the not so good. The university will physically be quite different & I’m sure that it will be a very interesting readjustment to teaching there again.

Q: What's the most surprising thing you've learned about teaching in a different culture?

Tammi’s Response: Unlike Chris, this is my first time “formally” teaching. A few years ago if someone would have told me that I would be teaching Information and Communications Technology in Africa to classrooms packed with high school students, I would have brushed them off and laughed hysterically in disbelief! Now I’m not quite sure what to think!


Chris’s Response: Well the first thing I would say is that we don’t have it near as bad as we think in the states. The system here (how can I say this tactfully) could stand some reworking. There are a LOT of issues that I could rant about but I don’t want to do that on the record. As far as teaching, I hear this from all the other education volunteers and I concur; I love my students but the system drives me nuts. They are much like students in the states, one day you think they are great the next you’re ready to strangle them.

There are also the obvious things, we have to talk slower (difficult for me) and constantly making sure they are understand you. We also continue to develop our Ghanaian English; English with the accents placed differently than what we are use to. It also involves a bit of an accent. We have adopted some Ghanaian phrases such as “I am coming” which translates as “I’ll be right back” and instead of saying “fetch that for me” you would say “fetch dis ting” or one of my favorites; instead of “little” you would say “small small.” There are also several hand gestures (only one rude one and you would never want to use it) that we have acquired. Most importantly I would say is we have learned to annunciate far better than what we are use to. You can’t be lazy with your speech.

“Losing it” by Tammi; 18 Dec 2008

One thing that I used to pride myself on was a fairly decent ability to multi-task. Occasionally I might even have a temporary moment of brilliance juggling several different tasks at once like a well-oiled machine. Then I moved to Ghana.

Last week we attended an all-volunteer conference. It was a great opportunity to talk to fellow volunteers, share ideas, successes and hardships. In one conversation I had, I mentioned to a more seasoned colleague that I seem to have lost my ability to multi-task. In fact, I find it difficult to concentrate on even one thing! She came back with what I hope is a very valid point. “Are you sure you have lost it”, she asked? “Chances are good that you ARE multi-tasking, even when you do not realize it”. She went on to point out that things that were previously “routine” may require a great deal of cognitive attention now. Those issues of culture, language, environment, etc. affect our everyday decision making abilities. And even though they are slipping to the background as I make the adjustment to my volunteer life here, they are still factors.

I am hoping she is right. Especially since I have a trip to plan, have hundreds of student grades to mark, have a house to clean…


Tammi and Chris with their dates to the unofficial Peace Corps Prom
Theme “Ghana Fabulous!”

“Bug in My Shirt ?” by Tammi 13 Dec 2008

It’s something that really needs to be discussed, but I am in NO MOOD to broach the topic of the education system in Ghana. Instead I will present a different distraction for the day…


A moment of attentiveness in my temporary Form I ICT classroom

I realize that it’s now cold and wintery for most of you who are reading this. But you know that feeling you sometimes get when you are outside on a hot August day doing some gardening or are out for a brisk walk? I’m talking about that faint but obvious tickle in your shirt or on the back of your neck-one that makes you wonder “Is that really a bead of sweat dripping down my chest or could it be some multi-legged creature traveling to places where it has not been invited”? Here in Ghana I get this sensation repeatedly day in and day out. And I have found that the answer to that question is most often “yes”. Yes, it is a trail of sweat. And, yes, that is a bug--squish!


Some cool bugs that were thankfully NOT found in my shirt!

When it is not sweat &/or a bug, my own hair seems to be the culprit. Several weeks after moving here, my hair started driving me crazy. It was everywhere! It accumulated at an alarming rate in the shower drain, the sofa, the floor, etc. I felt as if my late, Great Pyrenees was teasing me from the doggy heaven beyond. He was saying, “See. It’s no fun to shed so profusely that you can create multiple small, fuzzy, creatures from what you have left behind”. But also like the coat on my beloved dog, it seemed that the amount of hair on my head did not dwindle. I have noticed some seasonal shedding back in the States but this was ridiculous. If my body was trying to cool itself down by alleviating some coverage, it was not working. You just can’t beat the African heat.


Look closely for the bug in the second phtoto. He is very, very clever.

At this point the shedding hair has slowed down significantly. I don’t know if it was a seasonal weather thing, a stress thing (volunteers endure a lot of stress, but I don’t think my stress level is coinciding with my shed rate), if my hair is growing at a much faster rate in this climate, or if the most likely candidate was my shampoo. After a trip where I splurged on some American brand shampoo made for white person hair types, the situation seems to be under control. But even with a full head of hair that sensation continues. So I’m making a little game of it. Instead of playing “Rocks, Paper, Scissors”, my game will be “Bugs, Hair or Sweat Drips”. And I’m sure I will guess it right at least 1/3 of the time!

"Other Thoughts on Perspective" by Chris 23 Nov 2008

What do we mean when we talk about perspective? I would define it as how I view things around me in relation to what I am accustomed to. Will I see and react to things in the same way when I return to my life in the states? Absolutely! How could I not? But to what extent I don’t know. Tammi & I had a conversation about just this recently and we came to a couple of conclusions.

First, as you all have ascertained from our blog entries, we do live a much “simpler” life in many ways and we are surrounded by people living even more simply then what we are use to. The phrase “hand to mouth” takes on its true meaning here. I can never deny that we live much better than most the people around us but our lives are quite different/ simpler than what we had in the states. Much of the change I see as for the better; No credit cards to deal with, no house or car payments to worry about, no car to fuel or drive, no crazy meeting schedules (we are informed of most meetings we have here about 2 hours ahead), and no need to keep up with the Joneses. Sadly, we are the Joneses. There are so fewer trappings here and the people here, as with the rest of the developing world, equate trappings with wealth which they in turn equate with happiness. I would agree with them on the first two points but I beg to differ on the happiness issue. But that is a discussion for a different time. I have had numerous conversations about this issue with my students and I hope to get through to them at least a little. Then again, who am I to deny them what I already have in abundance?


Chris teaching his students graphic Design

It is true that the whole conversation is hypocritical on a lot of levels. And that leads into what I really want to discuss: how will we choose to live upon our return to the states? I find it hard to believe that I won’t be affected by what I experienced after living two years in Africa when I am making decisions on which bottle of wine to buy, the $15 or the $25 one, both extravagant. Or do I really need that new pair of shoes even though the pair I have is fine?


A quiet day at Kumasi's central market

Will we live more simply? I would love to say yes. In many ways I am sure we will, but in other ways…it’s just too easy not to and admittedly I’m weak. We all have become overly comfortable with our positions in society and the world and it is really easy to remain that way. Presently Tammi & I live in West Africa, our access to the conveniences and comforts we have grown accustomed to have been greatly reduced. I really miss air conditioning. But we still do very well in perspective. Peace Corps gives us a monthly stipend and expects us to live at the same level as the people around us but they are realistic and know that most Americans couldn’t do that. We stick to the stipend and it is plenty enough to feed, cloth, and house us, but it allots us very little latitude for luxury. This is where Tammi & I are different from most of our fellow PCVs, and believe me there is no small amount of guilt attached. I am on sabbatical from university, and with that is the comfort in knowing that my salary is there just in case we “need” a bit of luxury (even though the money is difficult to get and the luxury is hard to come by here).

We will live more simply in many ways but... I see a couple of scenarios; the first, we return and book trips to Vegas, Disney World, and any other place that is a cliché example of American over indulgence while eating a McDonalds quarter pounder or a piece of pizza. The second scenario is we return and deny all the luxuries, ride the bus or bike and become completely altruistic giving our time and money to various causes while living a very simple life. I think what will really happen is somewhere in between. The first scenario is possible after being denied luxuries for 2 years I will feel compelled to indulge to the extreme. The question is; how much self discipline have I gained? Eventually I will work it out of my system and settle into a simpler life. The second scenario will happen, but again perhaps not to the extreme. I do expect to return and take a more active role in causes I strongly believe in. If nothing else, what I have gotten with my PC experience so far is an understanding of what is really important and what’s BS. I am coming to realize how much BS we proliferate in the states and how little of it is really necessary. I might complain about the system here but the one thing it has going for is that it is straight forward. They seem to run into problems when they try to be more western (try to complicate things) and it just doesn’t work.

One thing I hope happens upon our return is that we are far less dependent on all the trappings we have become accustomed to. Do we really need two vehicles or a bigger house? What about all those kitchen appliances? We don’t have a toaster, a blender, food processor, or coffee maker here. We don’t even have a can opener! The Leatherman becomes very necessary here. We have no appliances and we are making some of the best tomato sauces I have ever tasted (trust me it is not due to the “fresh” produce acquired here). The lack of kitchen gadgets and preprocessed foods has forced us to improvise and be creative with our cooking. We strained coffee through a bandana before we got our French press. We grind various things in an iowa; grinding bowl (see automatic coffee grinder picture in 1st blog). It serves as a perfectly adequate food processor/blender though it would be difficult to make a margarita in it. I have taken to making chunky peanut butter; I buy raw ground nuts roast them on the stove add a bit of salt & sugar and grind away. It is the best peanut butter we’ve ever had. I have come to thoroughly enjoy chopping onions & garlic which we seem to use in practically every meal. I do miss a quality chef’s knife though.


All sorts of critters

We have been told numerous times that readjusting to the US is often more difficult than adjusting to your host country. It has everything to do with perspective. Those who have traveled and spent a goodly amount of time in another culture especially one very different than ours, see that there are different ways to live. There are different customs, different ways of doing things, different ways of looking at things, and no single way is always the right one. We cooked what we felt a very “American” meal of hotdogs and mac &cheez for our home stay family. They loved the hotdogs but hated the mac & cheez. In most parts of Ghana, the idea of drawing milk from an animal’s mammary glands is strange enough, let alone letting it ferment to be turned into cheese. At the same time I can’t understand why they would let corn meal ferment in water so it is sour and stinky, but they love it. The phrase “To each their own” seems pertinent here.

It has been said many times before that if everyone in the world could walk in the shoes of their enemies for just a day… Especially at this point in our history it is so important for everyone to better understand how others live, to gain a broader perspective. We can get a feel for what it is like to live in Ghana but we can never ever TRULY understand what it is like to live AS a Ghanaian. With the profoundly spoiled status I have been given as a white American male, I simply and knowingly couldn’t hack living as most do here. I understand that and it humbles me. It also gives me profound respect for the people here. In the end, I pray it helps me to be less selfish and I hope to be more sympathetic and understanding of the people and things around me.

Finally, on a bit of a lighter note, I thought I would give you a few anecdotes on perspective. They come in 3 categories;
1) What, doesn’t that happen everywhere?
2) Geese I wished I’d taken a picture, &
3) Haven’t you had to
I do hope this will become a regular feature.

A month or so back we were walking through our local market when we passed a woman topless with her breasts & face painted white. She proceeded to throw everything she was carrying into the air and ran off screaming. We were later told she’s a priestess and she was taken by a spirit… Doesn’t that happen everywhere? Just tonight I had a pack of small children run with me for a good 200-300 yards while out on an evening run. I know it was the highlight of their day and it made my day much brighter also.


A drummer taken by the spirit
Ohum festival in Old Tafo

A couple of weeks ago they shut the school down for 2 days of intramural sports. Imagine the star player of the schools’ football (soccer) team, a 20 year old man standing on the sideline in the best macho pose he can muster, sweat glistening on the ripped muscles of his shirtless back (Terri, that one’s for you) and a powder blue diaper bag slung over his shoulder. I wished I had a camera. Another of the other players wore Christmas themed woman’s socks pulled up over the knees. I wished I had a camera. We were in Koforidua a while back where we saw a guy in quite an attractive pair of zebra striped bright pink hot pants. They looked very nice on him but I don’t think they quite achieved the look he was after. Again, I wished I had a camera. They have no clue what theses clothing items are for, to them they’re western and that simply means they’re cool. It is quite common to see children wearing tee-shirts as skirts which I think are genius. There is a big market here in second hand western cloths which they call “obruni wawo” literally translates as dead white man’s cloths. In the beginning I guess they literally thought that these cloths were from dead westerners because why would someone just get rid of perfectly usable cloths?


Public Transportation

Have you ever had to help to push-start your taxi or had your taxi stop to pick up a piece that fell off? Better yet have you had to wander down a road looking for the part that fell off? Have you ever had to have a stranger’s child sit in your lap on public transportation or simply have a stranger hand you their infant?


A few of the neighbor kids

Lastly in the “what’s up with that?” category; We have a cobra, yes a cobra in our back yard! What’s up with that?

“A Change in Perspective” by Tammi; 14 Nov 2008

Chris blending in with the locals

Sometimes I get to thinking that I should update the blog. Then I try to think of what I have to say that might be interesting to others. Sadly good ideas do not always come easily. As we are getting used to our routine here, life seems busy, tedious, and boring all at once. While my original intention was for the blog to kind of serve as my personal journal, I don’t want to bore the crap out my friends and family. But I have also recently come to realize that I really must consider perspective. We all need to take a step back now and then and self-reflect from an outside perspective the best we can. It hit me just the other day, “OMG my perspective has really changed over the past few months!” So here is a little window into our lives that may (or may not) be of interest:


Market lady (NOT possessed) with her husband

Every Thursday is market day in Donkorkrom. It’s the kind of day where one might be able to find really rare, exotic things like honey or a plastic dish drain rack (neither of which I was successful at finding this day). So anyway, Chris and I went to town to the market. We visited a few of the stalls and were crossing the main drag when we happened to notice a bare breasted woman. While it’s not uncommon to see an exposed breast here and there, Ghanaian women typically venture out fully and nicely dressed. So it was not the dangling boobs that drew our attention so much as the fact that the woman’s dark arms and torso were whitewashed with a floury looking substance. Ok, fine to each her own. It’s not like I’m making any great fashion statements either. Then just as we were passing by, the woman hurled the basket of things she was carrying down onto the street, screamed, and with arms (and breasts) flailing about, went running in the direction that she had just come. Well, that’s different Chris and I each thought to ourselves. Apparently noticing our slightly perplexed looks, the Ghanaian coworker with whom we were walking offered the simple explanation, “That woman is a priestess and she was taken by the spirit”. Duhh! Of course! That it explains it…priestess, temporarily possessed. We should have realized that. So no big deal, nothing to write home about…Or is it?!


Buying beef from the butcher shop

Monday morning I went to school to teach my ICT class and found that 2 of the 3 sockets that we have in the lab had almost entirely melted. There were little brown burn marks around the receptacles so I guess I should be glad that the lab was at least still standing. Such is the way of life (and electricity) in Ghana.

Speaking of electricity, on Sunday we were on our way home from Kumasi, about to reach the ferry crossing to Afram Plains when we noticed that there had been brush fires since we had passed this way two days ago. Brush fires are often set this time of year to clear an area for planting or to flush out animals making them easier targets for bush meat. Despite the forestry service pleas and education sessions, these fires continue to be set during the dry season and often burn beyond the control of those who set them. This time, we observed that the fire took out 5 power poles while it burned. When we finally arrived at the house after 11 ½ grueling hours of travel under the African sun, we found that we had no electricity. Hmmm…I wonder. At least we have running water. No, make that “HAD” running water. No problem, though. The assistant headmaster says that the piped water will return - sometime around March. (Thank goodness for water barrels and able-bodied students)!


Junior high and grade school students hauling water to their school

One last tidbit for now - Earlier this week a cow was slaughtered, butchered, and roasted just outside my kitchen window. I must admit that I do not recall that ever happening in our back yard in Ames. One might even think it unusual here in Donkorkrom. At least I have not seen that happen. Well, not since the goat was butchered and roasted in our yard a few weeks ago anyway.


No goats were harmed in the taking of this photo

P.S. Today the electricity is on and the water is flowing through the pipes. You would hardly know we're in the Peace Corps!

"Proud to be an American" by Chris & Tammi; 05 Nov 2008

We woke very early this morning to text messages from fellow PCVs who along with us were overwhelmed and filled with a feeling of great pride and joy! Barack Obama will be our next president. We do not say this as a sound bite. There is genuine hope. We have regained some of the confidence that we had lost with our fellow Americans. The fact that we awoke on the continent of Africa gives this historic event special significance to us. Our local colleagues, who follow the news, have questioned us about the status of blacks in America and how our racial views might play into U.S. politics. As white Americans living in Ghana, describing prejudice to our African friends is a bit unsettling. We hope that this victory speaks for itself. We now feel that we can hold our heads high and once again proclaim that we are proud to be American!

"Speaking of Politics..." by Chris; 3 Nov. 2008

One-man campaign rally

So I figured with the U.S. election just moments away (GO BARACK!!!) and Ghana’s just over a month away, I should try and give you all a primer on Ghanaian politics.

I am absolutely NOT an expert on politics let alone Ghanaian politics so what follows is merely my observations combined with a bit of light research.

Ghana’s as with all other African countries pre-colonial political history was based on clan and tribal groups. The colonizers came in and established arbitrary national boarders based on nothing more than how large an area they could claim and possibly the occasional natural boundary i.e. river or mountain ridge. Tribal boundaries were never considered which arguably doesn’t help with the alleviation of strife across the African continent. On March 6th 1957 Ghana declared its independence from England becoming the first African country to free itself from colonial rule.

Between then and now Ghana has had its fair share of coups. One of the more prominent and “popular” political figures that even to this day influences Ghanaian politics is Jerry Rawlings who came to power via a coup in 1981 and ruled until 1992 when he was then elected president by popular vote. He was reelected again in 1996 and gave up the presidency in 2001 due to term limits. There was concern that Rawlings would be reluctant to give up power after having led Ghana for so long. Yet to his credit free and fair elections were held and in 2000 John Kufour was elected as Ghana’s new president.


Campaign band in Accra

President Kufour’s term has run out and now for the first time in 8 years Ghana will elect a new president. There are (from what I understand) 7 or 8 parties vying for the presidency; the NDC, CPP, PNC, (sorry, Ghanaians love their acronyms) the DFP DPP, RPD, and the NPP. Another party, the NRP is not fielding a presidential candidate this year. I suppose you’d like to know what these all stand for. Well, so would I. The ones I am sure of are the NPP-New Patriotic Party, the NDC- National Democratic Congress, the PNC- People’s National Convention, CPP- Convention People’s Party, the DFP-Democratic Freedom Party, and the NRP- National Reform Party. The rest I would love to tell you but I am not confident I would correctly identify them correctly.

I am sure that soon you will all start to hear about the elections over here. Ghanaians will not only elect a new president but also an all new parliament and Regional heads (like our governors). The reason you will hear about these elections first of all is because Ghana stands on the brink of a very important event. They have operated with relative peace longer than any other African country and the world is hoping that it will remain that way. Secondly, due to the violent events that have taken place on the continent during recent elections, i.e. Kenya and Zimbabwe, everyone is holding their breath. Thirdly in recent months a number of violent outbreaks have occurred related directly to political campaigning.

Why the violence? It would be a huge understatement to say “it’s complicated”. First of all, and again from what I understand, all the political party’s’ platforms are relatively similar. By our standards they all resemble the democrats with strong social programs and education taking priority. Also, as with all of Ghanaian life, all the parties have very strong Christian leanings. So I have a hard time seeing how such violence could erupt based on disputes over party platforms that are so similar. The people here are very passionate about their politics and they love to discuss/argue about it endlessly and I suspect often it gets out of hand and sometimes completely out of control. What I have heard and concluded is a good deal of the violence is largely based on clan and tribal disputes that go way, way back. Many of these parties by default have tribal roots simply because their candidates were born of one tribe or another and this makes some people like or hate this or that candidate. There is also a strong concern by many that if the NDC which is the party John Rawlings created should win, it is a back door way of putting him back into power and there is no love lost for Rawlings by many Ghanaians who were persecuted during his 18 year tenure.

They are doing a lot of PSAs (public service announcements) on the importance of a peaceful election. They talk about avoiding the use of inflammatory speech aimed at opponents, American politicians should take note. I really wished we could record some of these PSA’s. But let’s just say that the production quality is… well. They are darned entertaining though. We heard that they are even taking a little film festival around to all the villages showing the movie Hotel Rwanda, which I assume is to scare people into behaving themselves.


campaign revelers at a rally in Donkorkrom

I have heard our PC Country Director, Bob Golledge, speak of his concern about violence during the elections on a number of occasions and felt he was overly concerned. Then a month or so ago two different parties planned rallies in the town of Gushegu on the same day, violence erupted and several people were killed and a great deal of property was burned and destroyed. I no longer feel he is being overly concerned.

From December 5th to the 10th Peace Corps will hold an “All Volunteer Conference”. The Ghanaian elections are to be held on December 7th. This is not a coincidence. The Peace Corps and US government want all the PCV’s in one place at election time so that if God forbid there are problems we will be more easily evacuated. In order for a party to win the election, it must take a majority of the votes (over 50%). Well since there are seven parties vying for the presidency, the chances of one party getting the majority is not good. This means a run-off and if that happens there is an even greater concern for unrest. The plan for us PCVs is that we will be put on what they call “stand fast” mode which means that we must stay in a designated location until the elections are over and a winner has been declared. The run-off would probably be held just after Christmas.

So some final thoughts on politics over here; The other day Tammi and I were talking and I had goose bumps when I came to the realization that we are living in a country that could possibly erupt into civil war over an election. The goose bumps were for a couple of reasons, first the obvious, fear. It is a very scary thought that at any moment large scale violence could break out (I do truthfully doubt it though). I also know that all the PCVs will be well taken care of and kept out of harm’s way, but I worry for the Ghanaians that can’t simply be evacuated. Secondly what might be harder to explain is that I truly realize how delicate, profound, and fleeting democracy really is. I am saddened at the apathy of my fellow Americans toward politics and government but I will save that rant for some other time. I am impressed that over 70% (it may be higher) of eligible Ghanaians will cast a vote, and often the voter will have to overcome serious adversity in order to perform their duty. I was speaking to a fellow teacher about the number of people that will vote. He gave me the 70% number but he was upset that not more would vote. He was shocked when I told him that in America we would be lucky to get 50%. I would say violence not withstanding America could take a lesson from Ghana about the preciousness and importance of participatory democracy.

More Later on campaigning in Ghana…