Saturday, September 5, 2009

My last few weeks in Ghana

As most of you know I’ve been back home in Canada now for a few weeks and settling into my apartment in Windsor. Since I haven’t posted for almost a month now I’ll fill you in from where I left off, my last 2 weeks in Ghana.

As you can imagine my last 2weeks were pretty hectic as I attempted to wrap everything up like writing reports, saying all my goodbye’s to friends, coworkers, farmer groups, and people I stayed with in Paga and the village in Kandiga. On top of that I had the new volunteer come and stay with me during my final week. Nadia from Toronto was my replacement and is currently working in Paga. I had the chance to introduce her to everyone and show her around hoping to make her stay comfortable and getting off on the right foot. As all this was happening I continued to work and meet with farmer groups. Basically I had a difficult time ‘finishing up’ and leaving, in other words I didn’t want to leave.

On my last official day of work with Mofa in Paga, my coworkers (some of them good friends after 4 months) gave me a smock, which is a cultural garment worn mostly in the north:


Some of the District Mofa Staff and I in the courtyard outside of the office in Paga



Me and Maggie (one of the great AEAs I worked with)


Me and Dominic (the District Director of Agricultue aka my boss)


Me and Azuntaba aka John (smock buddies)

Most of us went to the local bar for a drink after giving me the smock at the meeting. I have to admit that I pretty much knew it was coming because I bought a smock from the same tailor and he dropped a hint. But I was still happy and appreciative of their thoughtfulness, and all across the 3 Northern Regions almost all the volunteers were given smocks by coworkers, friends, or host families. I ended up wearing the smock all day Friday after receiving it and the response I got in town felt incredible! Numerous people that I knew, mostly acquaintances but also friends, commented on me wearing the smock. Everyone loved that I was wearing it! There were laughs and clapping and lots of compliments, one person even mentioned that “now you are a native of Paga!” while another person mentioned how they were happy that I have accepted their culture by wearing a smock. On the whole most people I encountered that day were happy to see a white guy wearing their cultural dress, I tried not to let it all go to my head, but I must admit that I was pretty happy with all the compliments, smiles, and (friendly) laughter.

But that wasn’t the only going away gift I received. On one of my last days in Paga some of the executive members of a farmer group we work with stopped by my place with a rooster and about 3 dozen eggs.

An unexpected gift




You see, this happened when I first arrived with another group and boy did I feel uneasy about accepting it! I know how much these cost (which I can easily afford) and I wished they would keep it or give to someone who actually needs it. It’s interesting how my outlook changed by the time I left. Sure I still wished that they would give it to someone in need, but I felt that I understood a bit better than before. Even in Canada we give going-away gifts if a visitor has come from afar to work with us, even if they hold a prominent position (in my case one I didn’t earn nor deserved). It’s similar to this situation but the wealth difference still makes it uneasy. On the other hand, rejecting their gifts would have been worse, and if they found out that I gave them away that might not have gone over so well. What if you gave some visitors a going away gift and found out they immediately gave it to someone else?

Basically I accepted the gifts without as much uneasiness and much more gratitude and appreciation. I understood it was a gift of thanks for a visitor that spent time with them trying work together for their benefit (and not just coming to help the poor ‘other’ but discussing issues, listening to their concerns and ideas while sharing our own so the farmers can find solutions to their challenges as myself and the AEA support and encourage them). Let’s face it, development work consists of intervening in people’s lives, it’s just the way it is, but how this is done is what makes or breaks it. And if a Ghanaian NGO came to work with them and was leaving I’m pretty sure they would give them a chicken and eggs too. Anyways, they said thanks by giving a chicken and eggs, and I said thank you and appreciated their kindness/thoughtfulness and also gave them a printed photo of their group that I had the previous week.

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