You have missed out quite a bit of yours truly’s extra ordinary simpleness. A rare thing, as you are already aware. I am writing from Kenya, where I am on my end of service R&R, having left Ghana on the evening of the 15th December. Below is a select few that float in my still booze, spirits and wines clouded mind; courtesy of the Christmas inebrations.
Rave Placement Review – 8th December
Now now, there are a few things that happened in the course of my voluntary placement, but this takes the book; it floored me.
VSO’s programming emphasizes on partnerships. In design the placements are evaluated along their course and at their conclusion by inviting representatives of the host organization, beneficiaries and a programme staff. The essence of the exercise is to measure achievements, learning, lessons effects their attributors that result out of the volunteer placement as well as to identify gaps that inform the next volunteer placement. It is a candid joint reflection that I must admit feels like an annual appraisal.
Mine was the only such opportunity I had during my thirteen month stay. I was apprehensive because my subject agri-business simplified through facilitation to encourage self reflection and analysis was not the type where results can be yielded over night, or so I thought!
It was therefore so humbling to hear a colleague in the extension department recount how a farmer in his zone had taken ‘courage’ from my lessons and had stepped up from ‘brokering’ produce in the market, and was now actually selling produce to markets 400Km away! The farmer had even identified a niche market (courtesy of my business planning lessons!) for yellow corn that he could not satiate presently! Another colleague who happened to translate for me a farmer class witnessed how one of the women market traders had expanded her product offering range to tap into a wider market. She in turn (the colleague) had got her own sister, a pharmacist to include bottled water and refreshments in her stock! A farmer from one of the communities found it a profound lesson that market research should precede production of any crop. The partner was grateful for my introduction of Internet usage to the staff as well as my emphasis on organizational development initiatives. Simple learning’s, but profound effects!
The biggest lesson I learned was to always ask for feedback, and to share it generously when it was due. The simplicity of life maintained through most of Ghana, is a challenge to posterity, at least for me.
Now, that was a happy ending, if ever there was one! I will definitely be back to Langbensi, one day one time, soon!
Christmas Family get together 25th-26th December
I like the Christmas festive season. I have always done so. This Christmas was special o me because I missed being with family during the last one. The northern Region of Ghana is predominantly Muslim and so Christmas is low key, not to mention that the Christmas break is usually very short, and I was spending the day alone, having worked the previous day, and thus being unable to travel to be with friends in Bolgatanga or Tamale
This time round it was so fulfilling to see my family unwrapping gifts that I brought all the way for them. There were brothers, sisters in law, nephews and nieces, cousins and uncles as well as aunts whom I hadn’t seen in years.
The freshly slaughtered goat meat, Tusker, Whisky and Vodka were in the flow. There were familiar foods; chapati, beef stew, kachumbari, boiled goat head and tripe’s, ungali and sour milk from moms gourd… lots of eats, as my dad calls it, and ‘kinywaji’- drinks were in flow. It was so nice to while away an afternoon over a bottle of Tusker and spare goat ribs, and chat away into the middle of the night with JK, Saul and Gabriel… No Christmas will ever be complete without grilled meat- nyama choma in Swahili, and frothy mugs of malted beer, and stories to boot!
The ‘landlord’- aka Dad was holding court as usual. Now now, my dad is an enigma. You should have seen him in his fugu and reclining chair, seated at the verandah, overly boiled goat meat and Konyagi whisky on lime on a low table, face and bald head glistering from good health, milk white teeth showing as he shared a funny experience from 1953… holding court to yours truly, JK, Gabriel, Saul, mum and a host of nieces and nephews. It was nice to laugh with him, and recount stories from gone times…
Learning how to be a Kenyan again
Ha! Reverse culture shock! I never see it coming, but there! the feeling of ‘this is wrong!’ There is a better way, then I have to remind myself to relax! Easy does it! I am glad that I won’t have to join the working class of Kenya for another three months. I intend to ease in into the system slowly.
There will be more details on this later, and in case you were wondering how the subject of the last post ended, we met to shop for shoes instead, and so the god of marriages won. My laptop is running on a low battery…
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