The motors were safely stowed away, the yellow fever cards ready, and the Clif bars packed – nothing could get in our way. Nothing, except for winter storm Hercules. Hercules swept across the Northeast late Thursday and early Friday, threatening to destroy any and all travel plans. However, not even that could stop us, as we made our way on a 32-hour trek to Ghana. On the last leg, from London to Ghana, we made our first new contact for the trip – Isaac. I sat next to him and after an initial bond was built over some shared dessert, I found out that he works for the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training. The council gives grants to Ghanaians that want to buy new technology, which promises to increase productivity and employment. Isaac explained that if we get a big enough group of women together, the council would give them a grant to purchase the “MINI cassava grater” (that would not have to be repaid). While this was great news and Isaac a great new contact, we were still all very happy to get away from planes and airports and drive to Kumasi. As we arrived at around 3:30 AM, our fearless trip leader, Ben, let us sleep in. At a late lunch, we got our first taste of Ghanaian food (Red Red is a definite group favorite up until now!) and divided team roles for the remainder of the trip. Throughout the day, we met some of the main ADE liasons in Kumasi. Joe, a KNUST alumn, helped us make an initial agenda for our upcoming trip to the rural towns of PKK and Adumkrum. Asante, an ADE employee, helped us with a lot of logistics for the coming days. He has already been able to recruit four people for the fabrication workshop! We were also able to meet his wife and very cute son Michael. Finally, Mubarak, a KNUST alumn,was telling us about the life of a college student in Kumasi. All in all, a great first day and we are pumped up and ready to go for tomorrow.
-Frida
No comments:
Post a Comment