Marraba

Jason in Malawi...

2006-10-11T04:34:00.000-04:00

Thanks once again to everyone who has posted and read my blog and supported me in one way or another in my work with engineers without borders. I am currently in Malawi and have recently started a new blog on my work and life in Malawi. Please check it out at:http://www.jasoninmalawi.blogspot.com/Thanks again for all the support,Jason

2005-09-18T22:44:00.000-04:00

August 31, 2005Well my time in Ghana has come to an end (at least temporarily). I have learned a lot and hopefully helped out a bit. I will definitely never forget all the people I have met and the realities of their lives. I hope that I have been able to express some of the striking things that I have learned and that you have enjoyed following me along this journey.The question that inevitably

blood, guts and a bbq...a day in the life of a butcher...

2005-08-21T14:10:00.000-04:00

Recently I have befriended a street vendor in Tamale that prepares and barbeques guinea fowl, sausages and kabobs. There are plenty of “red” meat and kabob vendors but the guinea fowl option is really limited. To my knowledge he is the only one in Tamale. I discovered him through a colleague at work who was out to buy lunch one day and thought that I might enjoy some barbequed guinea fowl. He

THE Market

2005-08-18T05:00:00.001-04:00

THE MarketTwo weekends ago I wan in Kumasi which must be the economic and industrial centre for Ghana. First of all there are whole areas of the actual city, which is around 1 million people, dedicated to the manufacturer and processing of one specific commodity. For example there is one section that is totally devoted to auto parts and cars. There are rows and streets upon streets of nothing

Crocodiles, Hippos and Goats

2005-07-29T09:59:00.000-04:00

Well, I have been able to get around a bit more in the last few weekends and with more of a sense of urgency. It is really starting to set in that I will soon be making my final preparations for coming back home and I am already starting to go into some pre-Ghana withdraw. Less than four weeks and I will be back on a plane to Canada.Two weekends ago I got the chance to go to Paga, which is the

Roads...

2005-07-14T16:24:00.000-04:00

Roadways are very interesting here in the northern region. I have continued to spend more and more time in the district interviewing communities and most recently looking into specific issues like high fluoride bore holes and faulty installations. The roadways have proved more and more interesting the further out they are from the regional

Habituated…

2005-07-10T15:49:00.000-04:00

It’s amazing how quickly we become accustomed to things. At first the wonder of the long summer days with sunlight till well after eight is a marvel but it quickly becomes the norm and we soon forget about the cold winter bite and shortened days. How at first my head would nearly double over trying to fathom how someone can balance a TV set on their head while riding a bicycle I now barely even

Malaria...

2005-06-27T20:47:00.000-04:00

I have returned from another week long field visit only to spend my first 24 hours back in Tamale in the “john”. I figured that I just had eaten some questionable food and it would pass in a few hours (no pun intended). During the week I had a headache for a few days bad enough for me to actually take some Advil which is actually saying something because I will usually try and wait it out.

what i've been up to...

2005-06-19T11:46:00.000-04:00

Well I imagine many of you are wondering what I have been doing here aside from taking pictures of elephants, avoiding bicycles, and talking with people in their underwear. First off, I want to thank everyone sincerely for all your hard work and generosity in fundraising. I especially want to thank our sponsors for being so generous in their

Oliphants!

2005-06-15T22:41:00.000-04:00

Well I have been in Ghana for a month and I have decided to see a bit of the country while outside of my work here. This past weekend I went to Mole National Park which is about 3 hours west of Tamale. In order to get to the park at a decent hour we wanted to leave at first thing in the morning. After purchasing a bus ticket the day before,

Kabonbu...

2005-06-09T20:40:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the long delay in posts and I apologize for the quality of this one in advance I have been pretty busy with work but wanted to get something up just to let everyone know what I have been up to and that I am still alive.Well the last week and a half I spent back in the Saboba-Chereponi district. This time however no termite cloud trying to invade my accommodations. The first day I

“Saboba…”

2005-05-27T19:21:00.000-04:00

“Saboba…”Well at first I thought it was rain. I have moved to the Saboba/Cherponi District temporarily to visit some of the stakeholders here and compare with what is happening in the West Mamprusi District. Saboba is in the eastern part of the country and very near the Togo border. Compared to Wale Wale it is quite small. The town is really just one intersection however I am finding that I

“Bicycles and …”

2005-05-22T19:56:00.000-04:00

Well I nearly got flattened by a bicycle today. When I say flatten I mean flattened, crushed or squashed. It wouldn’t have been because of the speed, most bicycles only have one gear and anyways it is too hot to exert too much energy on speed. Nor would the weight of the driver have been the issue he couldn’t have weighed more than 140 pounds. What would have done the job was the 16 foot

“Wale Wale…”

2005-05-20T23:07:00.000-04:00

The last five days I spent in Wale Wale the capital of the West Mamprusi district. I visited the local NGOs working on the project, the Districts Water and Sanitation Team (DWST), the District Assembly, the area mechanic and with several villages in the area. It really helped to gain a total picture of how the project has progressed up to this point and highlighted some area for project

“Room and Board…”

2005-05-15T19:03:00.000-04:00

Well I have been here a week and some of you may be wondering where I am living and what I am eating.Well let me introduce you to my friend Renee. Before I begin, let me first say that it is very difficult to find a place to live in Tamale. Actually it wouldn’t be that difficult if you had lots of money (and were not concerned about integration and a bunch of other issues). When I say lots of

“Tamale after 4 days….”

2005-05-15T09:36:00.000-04:00

Dasiba,I have been in Tamale for four days so far and overall it had been great. I have a few up and down moments but trying to take it all in stride. The first two nights I stayed in the “Al Hassan” hotel. It was an interesting place right in the centre of town. I immediately igured out why there are not any taller buildings. It’s because it is just too HOT. I am on the second floor and it

“There’s hot and then there’s just ridiculous….”

2005-05-09T23:17:00.000-04:00

In order to get the 8 am bus to Tamale we got up early to head to the bus station. I got my first opportunity to haggle with a cab driver for the fare to the station. As I had no idea what it should cost I basically just offered about half of what the driver asked for and worked from there. We got a rate of 25,000 cedis (about $3.50 CDN) for all four of us which was ok I think. At the bus

“Under the cover of darkness…”

2005-05-08T23:08:00.000-04:00

We flew into Accra under the cover of darkness. As the plane descended on the city I looked through the porthole that was the plane window and thought to myself that the city didn’t look that different from any other Canadian city. It had lots of flickering lights in the distance although a bit dim perhaps. One immediately apparent difference was the lack of tall buildings that chop up the

“Turn on the fire-hydrant and start drinking…”

2005-05-07T13:02:00.000-04:00

Well pre-departure training is pretty much over and I leave toronto in about 5 hours. Wow I can't belive that this is really happening. The whole pre-departure training was an eye opener. I was definitely glad to see that many of the other volunteers were facing the same issues and questions that I had. We started the days at 9am with some lectures and team building workshops then moved on to

The hardest part ... thus far...

2005-04-30T15:08:00.000-04:00

Well,I faced one of the hardest parts thus far. Saying goodbye to Erin at the airport. Much more difficult than I had initially anticipated. I will miss her very much and look forward to our reunion. She is truly a wonderful person and I am blessed to have her as my wife. Her strength has really amazed me. It is amazing when someone loves you this much. Her strength really helps me in this.It

questions...so many questions...

2005-04-28T13:31:00.000-04:00

As it is only two days before I leave to start this adventure. I find myself faced with many questions both from friends/family and from within."Why are you doing this?""What do you hope to accomplish?""Who are you doind this for?""Is Erin OK with all of this?""What impact do I seek to acheive and how do I measure this?""Why am I leaving my Wife for 4 months to go halfway around the world?""What

Well Here Goes...

2005-04-27T11:57:00.000-04:00

Well this is my first post of many (hopefully). I'm pretty new at this and not too sure where it will lead me but I want this blog to be my written memory of my summer overseas. Although it would be impossible for me to email everyone individual while in Ghana I hope that in this way you can be included with me on this trip. I'll try and upload some pictures along the way so you can see Ghana