Travel... the Ghanaian way ....

Four of the young people supported at the AvTech Academy are from Kete Krachi, a strategic location in the Volta Basin, and one that is not easy to get to. Krachi, as it is referred to, is about 14+ hours drive from Kpong, or less than 2 hours in any of our aircraft - or about 13 hours on the ferry (yes it is a bit faster now!). Fortunately, the Volta Lake Transport Company help to support these girls and have provided transport solutions on the lake ferry.

The Yapei Queen Ferry took them Northwards a little over a week ago, to speak in the schools and check the condition of the runway in Krachi, as part of their placement duties. Getting Krachi airfield open is key to future MoM outreach activities in the isolated communities around the lake itself. Yesterday they reported for the ferry, only to wait till the early hours of this morning for it to dock, due to unexpected delays. They boarded and slept.

When they woke up, expecting to be nearly back to Akosombo, they found that they were still in Krachi! Such delays are not unusual, and in bright spirits the ferry has now started its 200km southwards journey - and will dock around midnight tonight. In order to avoid travelling in the night, the girls will then remain in the security of their cabin till dawn, whereupon we will collect them for the 30 minute drive back to Kpong. The good news is that the four girls are all in great spirits and enjoying the journey, planing to give their report on Krachi and to completing the balance of their placement time at Kpong in the coming days...

These challenges are indicative of the day to day challenges the Volta Lake dwellers deal with. A great deal of investment is planned for the coming years to improve the infrastructural capital of the lake areas, and we are busy preparing solutions towards the much needed health education necessary for the people around the lake to be able to participate in the potential socio-economic opportunities that they will be presented with. Training these girls from the heartlands of the Volta Basin is a part of a long term strategy that will certainly change many lives, one flight at a time, sustainably.

Health report

Submitted by Michaela Sholes

I wish I could love statistics…I really do. I see the practicality in them and I understand how useful they are for telling us things about the work that we did…but quite frankly, math and I just aren’t friends. I’m a people person, I like talking to people, I like brain-storming with them to find viable solutions to whatever their frustration/challenge is…and I understand the numbers well enough to get the gist of what they’re telling me…but yeah, you get the idea.

So…all that griping just to say…the last few weeks have been spent reaching back to my Stats classes at UAB to try to remember how to run the data that we collected while on the Yapei Queen so that we can make heads and tails of all that talking I..I mean they…did. Anyway, after much ado and more than a few cups of coffee…the results are in!

For the sake of simplicity, I’ve only included in this blog the highlights of some of the comparisons we did. However, if you’re interested in the full report, just email me and I will be glad to share!

General Demographics:

• Both men and women were likely to speak at least 2 languages (90%). The primary languages spoken were Ewe and Konkomba. None of the female Ghanaians spoke English.
• Women were slightly less likely (75%) to be illiterate than men (83%). 
• Women are more likely to travel on a regular basis: 64% travel 3-5 times/month. In contrast, 71% of men only travel once a month or less. (Bear in mind, this is specific to travel on the ferry)
• The fares reported by passengers were much more irregular for women, than for men, regardless of destination or ticket type.

Health Section:

• 100% of the women reported visited some type of health facility in the past 6 months. 83% reported visiting a clinic or hospital. In contrast, 50% of the men failed to have a consult at any type of health facility in the same time period. Only 50% of those who reported a consult did so at a clinic or hospital, meaning that the remaining 50% consulted a traditional healer or herbalist. 
• Although 61% of passengers were aware of Bilharzia by description (blood in urine/stool), less than 10% of all interviewed knew it by any local or medical term.
• None of the participants knew how to correctly treat Bilharzia, despite one third of participants reportedly knowing someone with the disease and one participant who reported having it at the time of the interview.
• 42% of the women reported utilizing the lake as a source for drinking, cooking or bathing.

Despite my dislike of fiddling with numbers, the results we got were actually rather eye-opening and I have a great respect for the power of a good database. Our population sample was just a small portion of all the people who live and travel on the lake, but the information is still highly useful in giving us a direction as we plan ahead. One of the things we are exploring, based on these results, is finding a way to provide health education posters and flyers for the various vessels traveling all across Lake Volta. We’d love to hear from our readers if you have any additional suggestions or thoughts! Stay tuned!

The Yapei Queen

Submitted by Michaela Sholes

 

Who loves taking a cruise? MoMMers, that’s who! Especially when it’s the kind of eye-opening and moving experience as Ben and I had this last week aboard the VLTC’s ferry, the Yapei Queen! Readers saw pictures last week of the ferry as we prepared for our trip, but in true Ghana fashion, there is always more to the adventure! Some highlights from our trip include: our cozy cabin and friendly fellow passengers who were kind enough to share their insights and experiences with us during our interviews, the small communities whose commerce often depends on the ferry and access it provides to outside resources, the beaches in said communities which were often covered in the shells of potentially bilharzia-carrying snails, and last but not least, breathtaking Harmattan sunsets.

We so appreciate the VLTC for providing us with a cabin for the duration of our trip! The staff aboard the ferry was very kind and we are indebted to them and others for helping us navigate our way around the facilities aboard! See our cabin and some friendly faces who have become very dear to us during this experience!

One of the most interesting aspects of our trip was the opportunity to sit down with passengers at various points during the trip and learn a bit more about who they are and their perspectives regarding health issues, access, challenges and all sorts of things. I will be sharing the results from our baseline interviews in the next blog or two, but just to give you an idea of some of the things we learned… Of the 21 individuals kind enough to speak with us, only 2 (less than 10%) were aware that there was a disease called Bilharzia and what its symptoms are. Another 40% knew that there was a disease from the water that could cause blood in the stool/urine, but NO ONE was exactly sure how to treat it nor avoid it. Bear in mind, that those who travel are typically more informed than your average individual living in an isolated community.

As a result of this trip, I find that I am even more driven to find ways to get this information to these communities who need it most. As you can see, the lake is such an integral part to these communities through providing transportation, water (for drinking, cooking, and bathing), food and many other necessities. We have an immense job ahead of us. It won’t be easy, but it must be done…and with your help, it can be done…

They are counting on us, and we together will change their lives, through Encouragement Training for Community Health Empowerment…

The sunsets were amazing. Feel frre to use this as your computers background. Let it remind you that we are in Ghana, making adifference in the lives of countless villagers every day.

We’re so happy Ben and Michaela are here we sent them on a Valentine Cruse

OK not really.......


Ben and Michaela set sail last night (Monday) for the North.  Hand carrying five Scholarship letters for the Kete Krachi girls for their entry to the AvTech Academy and the first steps on their way to becoming future MoM pilot/engineers... We made the ferry with seconds to spare, Michaela waving from the deck as they were casting off and sailing out from Akosombo Port.  On this trip they will be assessing the potential for health education to the 'captive' audience of the ferry on its four to six knot journey that will run day and night until they get back on Friday...  Internet access will be limited, but we hope that they will post something from their trip - if not wait for an amazing account upon their return!

Settling in

Ben is settling in, whether it is jumping in and out of the car to get the gates to the airfield, or buying electrical items for the B3/4 building (plastering now under-way), the wealth of new experiences, sensations and smells has failed to dent his smile. Ben only had 2 weeks here last year before taking the plunge and deciding to quit his day job and volunteer for two years to help in some of the most challenging conditions on the planet.... Well done Ben (you can read more about Ben here http://bensghanablog.blogspot.com/ )

Michaela’s Blog: February 9, 2012

Submitted by Michaela Hayes

I would be tempted to say that it’s hard to believe we’re finally here…if it weren’t for the thick Harmattan dust, bucket baths, and spiders the size of trucks which remind Ben and I on a daily basis that we are most certainly NOT in Oz anymore. And yet, it is SO good to be here! It’s what we’ve been preparing for over the last year or so and what I’ve been hoping for ever since I left Ghana in 2002. We are so excited at the opportunity to have an active field-based role here at MoM and can’t thank the team here enough for their thoughtful preparations and tireless efforts to have things as in place as they can be. By the way, to give you an idea of just how heavy Harmattan is, note the difference in the photo we took of Krobo mountain last year and a similar shot just yesterday.

This week has been a bit like trying to drink from a fire hose! If you are familiar with the expression, good for you…if not, it just means that we hit the ground not so much running as we were sprinting. In addition to battling jetlag on my part, settling in, getting a feel for airfield and MoM-based operations, we have already had so many opportunities to network within the communities and continue building the stage for all that is to come in 2012.

Some highlights from the week:

We visited the port on Monday and had the chance to explore the Yapei Queen, upon which we will be traveling next week. This ferry transports people and goods in a North/South manner along the majority of Lake Volta. It takes almost a full 5 days to travel all the way up to Yeji and back to Akosombo. During that time, we will be talking with passengers and collecting demographic and health-based information to help guide some of our programs for 2012.

On Thursday, Ben and I had the pleasure of being

introduced to one of the sweetest supporters of MoM when we met Manye Esther of the Queen Mothers Association. For those of you who, like me, weren’t sure exactly what a Queen Mother is…she is a person who would have been chief if she had been born a male. She commands a great deal of respect and influence in her community and after meeting her, I understand why. She is certainly a character and I look forward to building a relationship with her as we explore how to best support the local communities. She has become an invaluable ally in our efforts to gain support for our health education programs and is teaching me things already (i.e. the reason why, when asking about marital status of a participant, I need multiple definitions for “married.” Apparently, there is simply a live-in where the man can’t afford the dowry, a situation where partial dowry has been paid, and finally, where the full dowry has been paid and traditional rites have been performed)

This coming week, Ben and I will spend most of our time interviewing passengers on the Yapei Queen and we look forward to sharing our findings upon our return. Stay posted, there’s lots on the horizon for MoM!

Making plans...

Ben and Michaela started planning both at the airfield and aboard the Yapei Queen - the vessel they will be taking to the North on Monday!  All are very excited at the outcomes of these things!