Agents of Change

Our day began with an early appointment to meet the Kpando District Chief Executive, Pius Adanuti Kwami, who had kindly agreed to be interviewed for the documentary. Although our 8.30 start time became somewhat delayed, we got more than just an interview. The DEC invited other members of his staff into the spacious office and convened a panel discussion which was chaired by Kwame. I really enjoyed hearing everyone’s views on youth involvement, with the Chief Exec repeatedly describing young people as “agents of change”. Even better was the fact I knew there was a will behind the words, a commitment to action. What a breath of fresh air from the negativity I experience a lot at home.

As for the projects, they were all amazing again. Edem and his brother took us round in the same small, battered white car, which felt a little closer to falling apart every time we hit a pothole in the road. The driver seemed to have an almost mystical connection with the vehicle; I don’t think anyone else would have been able to control it in the same way. This kind of limit to resources is the sad story of youth activities across the road.

Project number one was another education initiative being organised by local volunteers. Their teaching and hard work gives opportunities to so many children, many of whom spoke about ambitions to be doctors or teachers. Free breakfast is also provided and this is a great incentive to attend. Lunch is available at only 2,000 cedis; one reason this is so cheap is that the ingredients are grown in fields adjacent to the school premises, with some of the crop sold off to subsidise its operations. Scholarships donated by supporters in the USA have been made available to the poorest families and highest achieving children as well. I think this project is a little more advanced than the similar initiative we saw in Kramokom; hopefully they will both keep growing and improving.

The next two sites we visited were agricultural initiatives. First we learnt about a pineapple and mango farm which is run almost exclusively by female volunteers. They are getting very good business and when I tasted some pineapple I understood why. Simply delicious. We ten visited another plantation nearby, where okro is grown. Profits from both of these ventures are used to reward the local volunteers and develop their communities.

Our host Edem, the man behind much of this great work, explained to us how he has established a youth coalition in Kpando. The operation is similar to what Kwame does at a national level with the Global Youth Action Network and I believe these efforts are essential. It is vitally important to share knowledge and information in order to succeed with these programmes. Edem would not have been able to five us such a good tour of activities if it had not been for his efforts to create the coalition. Long may it continue!

So that’s the end of another productive day. The small car was very happy to get home – its engine emitted a shrill whistling sound of jubilation. We had a bit of rain earlier which disrupted the filming, but thankfully it was nothing major. They delay just meant a slightly later return to Accra (arriving around 10.30pm) after an exhilarating nighttime ride through the Ghanaian countryside. For some reason I always think everything is more exciting when it’s dark outside.

Kpando

After enjoying relative relaxation in Accra since last Saturday, it was time to hit the road again. We travelled to Kpando in the Volta region to find out about youth projects being run in the city and its surrounding area.

The bus journey took up most of our day, so it was relieving to finally step outside into a pleasant evening breeze. Kwame’s colleague Edem picked us up in a small white car from the centre of town and took us to his place for dinner.

It was nice not being the only person who can’t understand a language for once: in this area of Ghana there is a different local tongue, so Kwame joined me in cluelessness at what people were saying. Actually I quite like this element of being in foreign countries. Sometimes it’s great not to hear every random conversation going on, like finding out details of what this man is making for dinner tonight or how that woman’s day at work got messed up by the next scoundrel in the office.

Anyway, the rest of our evening was spent first relaxing in our accommodation at a small lodge, then visiting a local bar to meet up with a crew of American volunteers working at the local hospital. They love what they do to help people in need – I could easily detect that from how gruesome medical stories were shared with relentless enthusiasm – and it’s clear they are making a real difference at the same time. Many were saying how important it is for med students to see the ways their profession works in other parts of the world and I think that applies to many trades and occupations – just like youth activism.

One of the guys had a grim tale to tell. The previous week he’d been infected with malaria. Thankfully he was feeling better now and had the right medication to stay well, but it’s sadly ironic for someone visiting a country to help improve the health of its people to be struck by such a malady. It’s also a timely reminder that you have to be careful. Obsessively careful. I’ve been on medication since before leaving and will continue taking daily pills for a few weeks after getting back. At night it’s also very important to use spray repellents and sleep under a protective mosquito net treated with anti-insect chemicals.

Tomorrow has a very busy schedule. We’re going to film projects at three different locations before heading back to Accra in the evening. I can’t wait to learn more about the youth activities in this area; tonight was hopefully just the beginning of another awesome experience.

Worthy Winners?

Our first appointment this morning was with a guy named Steven, a colleague of Kwame, who is a member of the planning group for Ghana’s new Youth Parliament. Kwame and I had been discussing possibilities for a Ghanaian delegation to visit this year’s annual meeting of the UK Youth Parliament, known as the Sitting, which is taking place in July – and this was the man who could help make it happen. The previous day Steven had met a government minister and asked about funding for the programme; the answer was positive. That is very good news. Now we can start making preparations for the trip, but things will have to move quickly because there is limited time.

Next on our agenda was a meeting of civil society leaders in Ghana, which Kwame had been invited to attend. Representatives from many NGOs gathered to organise campaigning ideas for the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); one item up for discussion was the creation of a new Youth Platform in the structure of the group. There are already platforms for MDG issues, e.g. Health and Education, but the young people present made a very strong case to have a separate category even though youth is a cross-cutting issue. Lively debate took place and the rest of the committee eventually accepted the proposal, after my friend Emmanuel had made a great speech to convince them. And I got the whole thing on camera as well – could make interesting content for the documentary.

So I guess you could that was the second victory for Ghana’s young people in the space of two days. The next big question was: could the national football team match these historic achievements and overcome Brazil in the World Cup second round? The chair of the civil society meeting hurried it along, trying to get everything covered in time for kickoff. He did a good job and we were out with a couple of hours to spare.

Palpable tension gripped the afternoon air. Accra an atmosphere of great expectancy and nervousness. The streets suddenly became littered with every kind of football merchandise imaginable: items ranged from shirts to lanyards to hats and wristbands. Nearly everyone had purchased something like this – I saw few people not displaying some kind of national icon in support of the Black Stars. Flags were everywhere. Many drivers had decked out their vehicles and others chose to make improvised bandanas or capes.

The match began in a brisk manner. Ghana’s coach had obviously outlined the need to get at Brazil early on and not let the defending champions reach their stride. Then, suddenly, we were hit by a mini disaster: another power cut at Kwame’s place, in the middle of a promising Ghanaian attack. We rushed outside to see if anyone else was watching nearby, but no luck. If we’d been in central Accra it would have been easy, but this was the outskirts. Then, abruptly, we heard a great uproar from a bit further away – had Ghana taken the lead? Kwame ran off to try and find out, shouting questions to the sky and hoping for a positive response. Another minute passed and electricity returned to the house. The TV set flickered once, twice and the match was back on screen. The score: 1-0 to Brazil. Disappointment.

The Black Stars went on to dominate the rest of the first half and much of the second. The team was playing out of this world to keep Brazil at bay and make opportunities for an equaliser. But as the strikers missed chance after chance I felt a distinct sense of impending doom to the possibilities of a Ghana comeback.

This proved to be painfully correct. A combination of outrageous good luck and clinical finishing gave Brazil a final score of 3-0; this result was massively unreflective of the way the game was played. Ghana had superior possession (a stat people could not stop mentioning afterwards) and created more openings to score than the opposition. The key difference between the two sides was that Brazil took their chances and the Black Stars did not.

Many Ghanaians (and indeed others) argue that another main factor in the loss was the referee. It’s true the officiating at this World Cup has been of a horrendous standard, with referees showing blatant bias towards the big teams. Questions marks were also raised about FIFA’s decision to put a Slovakian in charge of this particular clash, after Ghana had previously defeated the Czech Republic. This country and Slovakia used to be the same nation – Czechoslovakia – and the languages, people and cultures are virtually identical. It is also known that, after the match, the ref was seen pleading with Brazilian players for a souvenir shirt. Is that the world football governing body’s idea of being impartial?

All of that said and done, the people of Ghana are still immensely proud of their team’s performance. Africa and African football will gain a lot from the Black Stars’ brave displays. In Accra a few hardcore fanatics were even still celebrating, although somewhat mutedly. I just hope that, for once, people will remember the match itself – not just the result. So many other heroic efforts have been lost in the archives because they ultimately came to nothing and it would be sad to see that happen again in this instance.

The Final Countdown

Ghana has been hit by an epidemic of World Cup fever. Tension for tomorrow's second round showdown with defending champions Brazil has reached unbearable (and probably unhealthy) levels. The media has been talking World Cup, World Cup and more World Cup.

I can find no better example to illustrate this trend than my journey into town on a tro-tro this morning. It was a packed bus and everyone was talking to each other, even if they were complete strangers, about one subject: the match. I couldn't understand most of the conversations, but I recognised the names of Ghanaian and Brazilian players being mentioned time after time. People were excitedly discussing all the possible team arrangements, selections of players, the strengths and weaknesses of both sides and, of course, possible outcomes of the tie. The first passenger to alight was a woman in a smart grey suit; it looked like she was getting off early because she'd heard enough.

The national mentality is very optimistic for the Black Stars, with high levels of positive vibes from victories over the USA and Czech Republic - two teams considerably higher in the rankings than Ghana.

All of Africa's hopes now rest with the World Cup newcomers. I dread to think what kind of pressure this exerts on the players. But then again, maybe there is no pressure. I don't think anyone expected Ghana to get this far; they wrere major underdogs in the group stage and that's still the same. It probably ended up helping them. The world might be hoping they manage to beat Brazil, but does anyone really expect it to happen?

I'm not saying the team has no chance, because actually I believe quite the opposite. This could be a golden opportunity to upset a Brazil side yet to hit top gear in the tournament. Some of the displays in group games were less than convincing and, unless they improve, there could be a massive shock on the cards.

To me, the key to this match for Ghana lies in the opening exchanges. If the Black Stars can frustrate Brazil in the first half and maybe nick a sneaky goal, the second 45 minutes will be a very interesting story. It is absolutely crucial not to concede an early goal, because once a team like Brazil gets rolling it is near impossible to stop.

The bus journey described earlier was taking Kwame and I to central Accra, where he had to visit the World Bank headquarters to finalise some paperwork. I'd never actually been to the city centre before, so it was fascinating to see as the tro-tro zoomed onwards. It's a lot more built-up than the outskirts and you see many more indicators of westernisation and big business. Branches of major banks are frequent and tall, European-style office blocks are starting to spring up. Such a huge contrast from the small dwellings, bungalows and local communities around the area of Kwame's place and in other suburbs.

World Bank HQ was one of thse modern structures, situated on a quietish road just off a main highway. Kwame had to drop by and sign the contract which secures his organisation, the Global Youth Action Network, a historic grant of $40,000 to implement a groundbreaking new project. Quite significantly, this will involve establishing a full-scale country office for Ghana - meaning Kwame and his team of hard-working volunteers will finally have the resources needed to make an even greater impact. Hopefully, this successful funding application can act as a platform for more of the same thing in future, giving GYAN the chance to firmly establish itself as a leading agent for change here in Ghana.

After this brief engagement we went back out into the punishing midday heat and paid a visit to the University of Ghana. The secretariat of the country's new Association of Youth Workers is housed there and Kwame needed to pay them a visit. We met one of the interim directors, who told us about his organisation's vision and the big ideas it has for youth workers in Ghana. One of the most important targets is trying to secure a better professional reputation fo people employed in the youth sector - something which will be keenly pursued when the organisation is properly up and running. This is an issue not unusual to me from experience of youth work in the UK; the occupation is regarded by many as having secondary importance to the trade of teaching, when really I believe they deserve equal status and are maybe not even fully comparable.

Nothingness

I guess the main highlight (if you want to call it that) of today was the England vs Ecuador World Cup round two encounter. It was another frustrating occasion for England supporters, as the team strugged to break down a battling opposition side and only managed to scrape through 1-0 thanks to a David Beckham free kick.

Of course it is good we won and also nice to see the captain on target, but there were more negatives than positives in my opinion. First was the formation. Sven decided to start with a defensive 4-1-4-1 arrangement, with Wayne Rooney the lone striker and Michael Carrick in the holding midfield role. Another surprise was the selection of FC Bayern midfielder Owen Hargreaves out of position at right-back ahead of established defender Jamie Carragher. Why?

That may only have been a minor mistaike, but it was the formation which really ruined things. I just can't see the logic. Why play Rooney up front on his own when he has recently been injured and may not yet have regained full fitness? It's like Sven was deliberately trying to annoy Alex Ferguson by putting his prize asset at greater risk of reocurring injury.

Also remember the fact that Rooney and most of the team are not used to playing in that style. You could see that from the ineffective long-ball tactics they kept trying to use. 4-4-2 is the most popular system in England and the players were still in that mindset, which begs the question of why Sven decided to put them out of the comfort zone by deploying an usual formation.

Eriksson's endless tactical meddling is doing our team no good whatsoever. I can understand why he might want to change things around after poor performance in the group matches but he maede very bad decisions in the Ecuador game, which appeared to defy common sense at times.

England's quarter-final opponents will be Portugal - a rematch of the clash at the same stage of 2002's European Championships when Portugal went through in a penalty shootout. It's a good chance for revenge, but England will have to improve dramatically. I hope Sven sees sense and returns to 4-4-2, with Peter Crouch partnering Rooney in attack.
Portugal will be weakened by the absence of key midfielder Deco, the Brazilian-born Barcelona playmaker, and the less well-known but also important Costinha. They were both sent off in the last 16 tie with the Netherlands, a bad-tempered and horrendously-officiated encounter which saw four red cards and something like 17 yellows - a new World Cup record. Refereeing at this year's finals has been truly abysmal.

Ghanaian Summer

When it's very hot you just feel like doing nothing. Even moving around makes you sweat. The heat drains your energy and, no matter how much sleep you've had or what you are trying to do, it always happens. And that was the case again today.

I guess it was nice to have a break from the madness of last week. All the travelling can really take it out of you as well. I have been in this country for a week now and my perspectives on life have massively broadened.

I always had a sense of how unappreciative people in developed countries carelessly take what they have for granted, whether it's running water, electricity or any other convenience. That's exactly what people think: these things are only conveniences, always there and in no danger of failing. My view has always been that they are not conveniences, but luxuries. Luxuries which people do not realise how lucky they are to have. Coming to Ghana has done a lot to reinforce that opinion.

'I guess you've never experienced an African blackout,' said Kwame's brother (also called Kwame). He was right. Thankfully power returned within a few minutes, but this example really illustrated the point for me.

Travelling in Style

After all the fun and festivities of yesterday, it was sad to leave behind Sunyani and Berekum; but that will be a day I'll never forget. People seemed a little calmer today, probably still quite tired from all the ruckus.

Kumasi was the same again, its vibrant atmosphere well-etched in my memory. We went to the main station and got tickets for a large bus back to Accra: another five hours confined in a small space. It wasn't that bad though; we had air-conditioning and enough space to be relatively comfortable. Next week we'll be travelling up to the Northern region, which could take as long as 12 hours...

The journey from Kumasi to Accra was a stark contrast to a short trip I just had with Kwame coming back from an internet cafe in central Accra. We use a 'tro-tro', which is one of the most popular forms of public transport in Ghana. Most of them are minibuses with varying numbers of seats - meaning different measurements of space in each. On one occasion I had to sit sideways to fit in! Each tro-tro will have a driver and a kind of 'attendant', who shouts the destination of the service out into the streets and instructs the driver to stop when somebody wants to board. This can happen anywhere, unlike at home where buses have strict routes with defined stopping points. The attendant also collects money from passengers and makes sure everyone has paid.

Before going into the internet cafe, a goldmine of a business called 'busyinternet', Kwame and I had a meeting with David Post, an American who works for the Global Youth Partnership for Africa (GYPA). This organisation creates and manages affordable volunteering opportunities for university students in the USA and David is currently on a research trip of Ghana and Sierra Leone, looking for projects to partner with. That's how he got Kwame's contact info and arranged our meeting this evening - and there could be no better man for him to find.

As Ghana National Co-ordinator of the Global Youth Action Network (GYAN), it is Kwame's task to link together all youth organisations and projects in the country. GYAN is an international umbrella organisation and has members all over the world, which are co-ordinated on national and regional levels by voluntary staff in most cases. Kwame is doing a great job and that's why I wanted to have him involved in the documentary. He has all the connections to local projects we need and has organised a great programme of visits.

So there are lots of exciting possibilities there for a productive partnership between GYPA and GYAN. It would be amazing if more volunteers could be recruited that way and I really hope our discussions will be followed up with solid action.

I think it's time for a chilled-out weekend after all the madness of the last week. Tomorrow I definitely won't be getting up at 5am, no matter what the chickens have to say about it, but next week is going to be another busy one so it's important to relax and recharge.

Everything is perfectly on schedule and budget so far and I'm hoping this will continue. We've had a few minor complications, but that was expected. Things never go flawlessly with projects like this, so you just have to be prepared. And, of course, time has just flown by and I can remember the past few days only as a speedy blur of activity. That always seems to be the case with things like this, so it is very important to maintain concentration and not let events rush past too quickly.

Result!!

It's 7pm in Berekum, a large city in the Brong-Ahafo region of Ghana. I am sitting outside a bar on one of the busy main streets, enjoying the evening breeze and cooling off from the jubilant celebrations of earlier. A pounding beat rings out in the background and the city is still buzzing with activity as darkness approaches.

Why were there such crazy celebrations earlier on? The answer: Ghana defeated the USA 2-1 to ensure progression to World Cup round two, as one of the last 16 teams. It's their first time in the competition and they are also the only African nation to get through (although Tunisia still has an outside chance). This is a massive achievement for the country and that was reflected in the waves of sheer emotion, passion and raw joy which engulfed the town - and surely the rest of Ghana and much of Africa - straight after the match had finished.


People rushed out into the streets cheering, shouting, jumping around and generally rejoicing. Cars, buses and trucks let off long blasts of the horn. Revellers grabbed whatever they could find to use as makeshift instruments - any pots and pans were hurriedly commandeered. As for me, the only white person in the middle of this mad atmosphere, I found it amazing to witness just how happy people were. Many of them automatically presumed I was American (which isn't strictly false, but I didn't mention it) or presumed I had been supporting the other side. When I told them I had been rooting for Ghana, they were incredibly grateful and accepted me as part of the tremendous jamboree.


It is likely this small west African state is going to now meet the footballing giants of Brazil. That will be an awesome occasion, even if the team loses. Surely the whole world will be cheering for the underdogs and, if Ghana can pull it off, celebrations will go off the scale!

My prediction is that, even if Ghana make no further progress, getting this far will still greatly benefit the country. As well as what I mentioned before about how these two high-profile wins will stimulate greater national pride and confidence, as well as helping tackle the innate sense of white supremacy, I think tourism and the economy could receive a timely boost. The whole world was watching the Black Stars beat the Americans and Czechs - and now there will be increased global awareness of Ghana, which in turn will surely create larger visitor numbers. People will want to find out what this country is all about, discover how the natives live and explore the roots of the superstar football players. Another reason why I couldn't be happier about the outcome of today's game comes from knowing how joyful people are here and comparing that to the relatively carefree attitude of most Americans towards 'soccer'. It's neither here nor there to them how the World Cup is going - baseball, basketball and American football are far more popular over there.

* * * * *

Now I'm back at the same place where we spent last night, in the regional capital Sunyani. The partying in Berekum carried on and we became delayed, so will head back to Accra tomorrow instead.

About an hour ago I witnessed a massive storm, unlike anything I've ever seen at home. All the signs were there when we first saw lightning illuminate the night sky from the taxi taking us here. It was a while longer before the rain started though, coming down in sheets of water and accompanied by ominous thunder. This is the rainy season in Ghana after all.


Most of today was spent visiting another youth project, a couple of hours outisde Sunyani. We hired a car and two drivers to take us there but the journey was fraught with complication. First of all we encountered road flooding in the latter stages of our route, so had to turn around and go a long way back in order to find an alternative. The vehicle weaved its way down dusty, partially overgrown paths and through small villages - and at one of these we were struck by a second setback. The engine broke down. I think it was because of lacking some sort of oil, but all I can say is it was very lucky this happened in a village - not in the middle of nowhere on one of those country roads. The drivers were able to find what they needed to restart the engine within a couple of hours, most of which I spent playing football with children from the settlement.


So we finally arrived at the unpronouncable destination and our first task was going through traditional formalities with the village Chief. He was a very old man who sat in a low chair with small cats wandering about it. His grey thinning hair and thick glasses disguised what was obviously still a very sharp mind. The Chief and other elders of the community were very pleasant, welcoming and interested to hear about our work with the documentary.

Once this had been done, we went out to the plantation with our guides, Richard and Kujo, and some others from the local area. They showed us part of the 70-acre site they manage and attend to, growing trees which can be harvested every 15 years. Since the project started in 1996, it will be another five years before this can happen - but it's a worthwhile investment of time because the money raised will go back into the community.


The project is co-ordinated by a partnership of local young people and VOLU, an international voluntary organisation which has done other work in the region. Its representative, Richard Kyereh, is a great guy; he helped us out a lot, including with this free accomodation. Well-dressed and in his early or mid-twenties, he owns a bar spot in Sunyani and volunteers when he has the time.

Filming went very well again, so that's the end of this journey's second stage. We're planning to visit two or three more projects in different regions next week, before using my last few days to try and get some meetings with key stakeholders like the British Council. Some of the travelling has been tiresome at the time, but after seeing these first two amazing youth initiatives I can say it has been entirely worthwhile.

A new significance to sport

Tonight I am writing by the light of a small television, located in one of three bedrooms at an apartment in Sunyani, capital of the Brong-Ahafo region.

I am here because this morning Kwame and I left Dunkwa-On-Offin to visit the next project in our agenda, a plantation being run by an organisation called VOLU in partnership with local communities. Unfortunately, we have not not managed to do any filming today because of being in transit most of the time. Earlier on there was some confusion with buses and we went to the wrong station in Kumasi by accident.

It's hardly surprising something like that happened there. Kumasi is a crazy city. By that I mean it has a unique and chaotic environment, which comes from being one of the largest cities in Ghana. People were everywhere. In many ways it was like Accra to the power of 10. Dunkwa had a market day yesterday and, as a result, was far busier than usual - but Kumasi on any normal day is still crazier.

The streets were packed with people buying, selling, talking, arguing, negotiating, joking - the only thing not going on was people idling. As for the roads, they were equally loud and frantic; minor accidents looked to be taking place every five minutes as, in the heat of the day, everyone was in a rush to get somewhere. Drivers shouted at each other out of their windows and competed in personal competitions for spots in line. Passengers crammed in to buses and taxis with their possessions, squeezing together and jabbering to add to the frenzy. I could go on describing the scene for quite a while, it was every exciting.

Earlier I watched the World cup 'dead rubber' match featuring Serbia & Montenegro and Cote d'Ivoire. Even though both teams were already eliminated and nothing was at stake apart from pride, it was a great game. Serbia went into a 2-0 lead before having a player sent off and conceding a penalty shortly before half-time. Cote d'Ivoire came out for the second 45 minutes only a goal down and, after a succession of missed chances, managed to complete the comeback and win 3-2 - even though they were down to 10 men as well by the end of the encounter.

Now the expectation will be on Ghana to repeat these heroics against the USA tomorrow afternoon. The Black Stars' remarkable 2-0 win over the Czech Republic last week raised a nation's hopes (or even those of an entire continent) to breaking point. I heard politicians speaking on TV and radion about the monumental impact that result had on the country. It brought renewed levels of pride, hope and belief to Ghana, all of which will surely be further increased if the team can reach round two and beyond. Ghanaians now have a restored sense they are able to achieve things and a reduced cultural attitude of white supremacy. When talking about the latter issue, people did not mean to be racist in any way; they were merely observing that, although it's been nearly 50 years since Ghana gained independence from the British Empire, an inbuilt inferiority complex in the national psyche still remains. And as long as sporting success is a way to break down barriers like this, I will be cheering as loud as any Ghanaian for the Black Stars tomorrow (even though my father is American! Won't be telling anyone about that either...)

Another World... or is it?

Right now I am lying on a foam mattress in a small room which is part of the building that houses Young Peace Brigades HQ. The only sound is the constant buzzing of nighttime insect life, accompanied by faint murmering of voices from nearby rooms and the vague electric hum of the blue neon light in here.

It's been a very busy day. Kwame and I got up at 5am to a chorus of animal noises and caught the first bus to Kramokrom with Rashid, Robert and Moses - a teacher at the school there. After the journey of about an hour, we had a quick look around two of the three small villages in the area - Kramokrom and Camp - and were introduced to locals including the former and current Chiefs. Young Peace Brigades have been organising lots of great work to educate these rural communities; our our job was documenting it.

The project leaders and volunteers have set up a school for local children, some of whom walk hours every morning in order to attend. Many families in the area live outside the villages in forest settlements. Speaking of which, the scenery was absolutely beautiful. Vast canopies of green stretched as far as the eye could see - I couldn't imagine how someone would go about navigating at all if they were somewhere in the middle.


The villages have no electricity or running water. It really is like another world out there. But the amazing thing is that people still seem to live happy, satisfied, contented lives, even if their community is relatively poor or isolated. Children love being at school - maybe because for many of them it's an easier day's work than what they would do at home - and it was awesome to see how appreciative they were of the gift of education.


All the people I met were extremely friendly, polite and welcoming. Seeing me walking around with a video camera was a big distraction to many of the students, but the filming went very well and no one seemed to mind. When I showed some of the younger ones my digital camera, they crowded around in amazement at the frozen images of themselves.


I also met two volunteers from America who have been living and working in Kramokrom for about three months now. They teach lessons at school, help with village duties and manage the medical supply room which is also part of this project. Some of the children suffer from various conditions, such as boils, and it is the job of these volunteers to administer treatment.

It's nearly unbelievable to think about the difference this project has made to the local communities. Education has been brought to many children, who before would have grown up without that basic human right. As well as that and the medical aspect, a couple of initiatives to empower and help women are taking place.

This is the PERFECT example of how youth-led development can play a massive role in achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals. I just wish more people, governments and other stakeholders would take notice and support similar schemes. If fantastic work like what I witnessed today can be done without real funding and with pure reliance on voluntary efforts, think about what could be achieved if proper resources were available.

And that is exactly the reason I came to Ghana to make this documentary. Awareness needs to be raised of all this outstanding work being done by young people. It's a vital step to eventually getting more support for youth-led development.

Today was a glimpse for me into the realities of Africa. Cities are doing fairly well, but, as Rashid mentioned, so many people outside are living in similar or worse conditions to what I saw in Kramokrom. They need help. For every community being assisted by organisations like Young Peace Brigades, there are countless others still in need.

On a lighter note, it was tonight confirmed that England qualified for the World Cup second round, as they drew with Sweden 2-2. I watched the match with Kwame and Rashid in the restaurant of a small hotel back in Dunkwa, on a TV with very bad signal problems. This was incredibly frustrating, but worse was the way England twice squandered a single-goal lead with sloppy defending. Ecuador in the next match should be a good chance for progression to the quarter-finals, but our performances will have to significantly improve if the national dream is not to end there.

The Journey Begins

This was always going to be a busy day. After discussing plans in detail last night, we awoke early to pack for a trip to the central region of Ghana. Chickens outside did their best to intterupt my sleep, but I did not want to get up until a bit later.

Our first appointment was with a journalist friend of Kwame, who writes for the Daily Guide - a major Ghanaian newspaper. They have worked together before to promote youth projects and we discussed how to organise this for the documentary. It went really well and the hopeful outcome is that we will be featured in the paper when the main filming is finished and we can provide reports.

We had eaten breakfast during the discussion, so when it was over we got a taxi to the bus station and bought tickets for the next service to Dunkwa-On-Offin. It was supposed to leave at midday, but various complications with loading cargo meant we did not move until around 1pm. It was going to be a five-hour ride so I decided to try and catch some sleep. The driver, however, had other ideas and we ewre treated to loud commentary from the radio of a World Cup match in a language I didn't understand!

As the bus swept along bumpy roads, the pink-curtained windows displayed spectacular views of such landscape I've only ever seen on TV before: palm trees, jungles and exotic plant life, with occasional villages in between. From time to time we passed through larger settlements, with street vendors parading every kind of product at the roadside. Even after a day I am still amazed how people carry things on their heads; at one point I saw a lady walking along with a huge tree branch and you frequently see little kids bearing disproportionately sized objects. It's a very clever technique if you think about it, because both hands are left free to carry other things.

One of the strangest aspects of our journey for me was the way groups of children gazed up at where I was sitting as the bus passed, their stares focussed on me. Emmanuel had mentioned this would be how rural communities reacted to the sight of a white person, but it was still weird when it actually happened. When not staring though, people waved happily and it was nice to feel welcome in the surroundings.

After a good six hours we finally arrived. Our task would be to film the activities of a local youth organisation, learning about the work being done in communities to further education, health and things like that. Unfortunately it was too late to start filming today, but we met up with Rashid Zuberu - a delegate from the World Youth Congress I knew from August last year - and some others on his team to discuss plans for tomorrow. These included another guy who was in Stirling: a Scottish volunteer named Robert, who has been in Africa since January working on this project and travelling around. We went to a local bar to watch the match between Spain and Tunisia (3-1 in the end after a swift second-half Spanish comeback); the place was very similar to British-style pubs you'll find all over the world. Comforting or scary?

When the match had ended we talked about the WYC, arrangements for the filming and lots more cool stuff. I'm really looking forward to seeing it all in action tomorrow, especially since I've already heard about some of the great work being done by Rashid's organisation, Young Peace Brigades. Its office is one room in a large house at the top of a hill overlooking Dunkwa. You walk up a narrow path from the main street, past small homes with goats, cats and chickens roaming freely outside. At the top there are unrivalled views over the town below; at night it is all but silent and you can see white and orange lights from different buildings. The only sounds nearby are made by insect life, with the occasional voice, engine rumble, or chorus of music rising up from the peaceful city. I could have remained a captivated watcher for much of the night, but knew we had to wake early again the next day.

Cedi Millionaire

This morning I woke up around 8, in time for meeting Emmanuel before he went back to university at Cape Coast. Another friend, Kwame, and one of his cousins, also came to the hotel and we all went out in a taxi to a foreign currency exchange at one of Accra's major hotels. It was very busy there - the hotel was hosting a large delegation of Chinese officials, who were on diplomatic business for meetings with the Ghanaian government.

When we'd finished swapping money, I was very surprised to learn I had become an instant millionaire. That's nothing much to celebrate though, since I only changed about 100 UK pounds. Ghana's currency, the Cedi, exchanges from Sterling at around 17,000 to one - we were handed a fat wad of cash over the counter with an envelope to keep it in, since a wallet would have been too small. I'll need to get used to the numbers.

Seeing Accra by day was always going to be interesting. The city has a very intense atmosphere. Whenever our taxi stopped at traffic lights, any number of people selling things would surround us, offering all kinds of products from soap to snails! I'm completely amazed at the way people carry things on their heads, whether it's something small like a kitchen pot, or larger items like a suitcase or bowl of exotic fruit. They walk along perfectly balanced, speaking to others and shouting advertisment of their wares to passers-by. I think children are taught this skill from an early age and it's a very useful one, but I'm not sure if I'll be trying to copy them...


We left Emmanuel back near his place and headed for Kwame's home in the outskirts of Accra, where he kindly said I could stay. That's going to be a good budget-saver. I think it will also be nice to live with people, rather than alone and isolated in a hotel; I'll be able to get a much better feel of the country and its ways of life. As for the place, it has four rooms - a bathroom, storeroom, bedroom and one large living room with comfy chairs and couches and a big TV. I predict it is going to be very well-used over the next few weeks with the World Cup going on - we watched matches for most of the day, since it was too hot to do anything outside.

Another reason for staying indoors was the need to rest. Kwame showed me his itinerary for the documentary filming and it was packed. He's been contacting youth projects for some weeks now, informing them about the concept and selecting which would be the best to visit. We're going to spend more time on the road than in Accra and that will be very exciting. Then in my last few days we will hopefully meet a few key stakeholders, like the British Council and High Commission, and conduct interviews to find out what they think about youth-led development.

In the evening we went to an internet cafe and then took a walk around the surrounding neighborhood near Kwame's place. It was a great evening - the temperature had cooled down from earlier. People sat in small groups outside their houses, chatting contendedly. All the shops and street sellers were still open for business. The skies were beautifully illuminated with stars: more that I've ever seen in London. Back there you can hardly make out anything because of light pollution in all shades of purple and pink.

Today I also learnt about the Ghanaian culture of extended family. All through the day, Kwame's relatives dropped by randomly to see how things were going and they were all very friendly to me. I think they're used to finding strangers here - he has hosted lots of other international volunteers in the past. Communities are very closely knit here; everyone looks out for each other and they like to make unplanned visits to friends or family. Not what I am used to at home, since my extended family are spread out around the country and other parts of the world! Mine may be an unusual case, but even generally in the UK I don't think this kind of closeness is particularly common - we would do well to learn from our brothers and sisters here in Ghana.

Akwaaba

Today was a historic day for Ghana. The national football team, making its World Cup debut, won 2-0 against the Czech Republic - number two in the global rankings. As the plane landed, I could hear people frantically switching on their mobile phones, calling friends to find out the result. When the news came through to an aircraft full of Ghanaians, the reaction was sheer joy tinged with minor disbelief at the stature of the upset. Ghana would be alive tonight with celebrations.

My journey took place in two stages. The first, from London Gatwick to Tripoli (capital of Libya) passed pretty uneventfully - I slept for most of the flight. As predicted, last night was indeed a sleepless one; that always seems to be the case with me, I can't relax from excitement (as well as trying not to forget things I need to pack). At any rate, it was good to catch up a couple of hours.

As the plane descended towards Tripoli, I stared down out of the small window at barren desert landscape. Occasional single-storey buildings became more frequently seen as we approached the airport. Patterns of crops in fields below looked like a perfectly manufactured patchwork quilt, such was the precision with which they'd been designed. A barrage of heat was waiting to greet me stepping off the plane and I knew I'd have to get used to it.


Then it was time for a two-hour wait before the connecting flight to Accra. Afriqiyah Airways operate many routes to African capitals via Tripoli - today they were going to Lagos and Abidjan among others. The first thing which struck me was the Arabic lettering everywhere: strange, beautiful and undecipherable at the same time. Of course I'd seen it before, but in a true, real context there is always a different impact. My senses longed to escape the confines of the waiting room and go outside to explore. That wasn't going to happen today, however - and before it does, I would do well to learn a few more Arabic words other than 'Salaam' (equivalent of hello) and 'Shokram' (thank you).

It was then that I started talking with Jude, a Nigerian student at the University of Ghana. He'd been on the same flight from London as me, after spending a few weeks on holiday there, and was now reluctantly returning to Accra to resume geology studies. We discussed a lot of different topics, from culture to religion to football, and before long it was time to board the plane.

Fortunately enough, we were sitting next to each other on the flight - in row 20 near a large posse of Ghanaians babbling excitedly in a native language. One man was jokingly demanding to be served two meals from the stewardess, who then threatened to give him no food at all! The man then made some other witty comments in his language and for some reason I laughed as well. I guess you can innately pick up the inflections of a comic personality, even if you don't understand any words.

On my other side sat another very interesting person, an international businessman also from London. He was born in Jamaica but moved to the UK aged five and has also lived in Zambia. His mission in Ghana was a weekend of meetings about a new holiday resort he's opening, which will be constructed as a self-sustainable town. We exchanged stories and talked about lots of different things, with occasional interventions from Jude. Time really does pass a lot quicker when you're having good conversation.

It grew dark outside and we were treated to a spectacular view of Accra's white and orange lights, shimmering like a swarm of fireflies in the evening heat. I was there. After weeks of planning and preparation, it suddenly hit me that what had started out as a random, dreamy idea somewhere inside my head was now becoming reality. Fresh waves of excitement took hold and I almost ran out of the plane after landing, impatient to form my first impressions of the country.

"This has never happened to me before," my friend Emmanuel said as we sat in the back of a taxi, watching its driver grapple with mechanics in the engine of the vehicle. Yes, the car had broken down, barely five minutes after leaving the airport! Emmanuel was quite annoyed, but I found the whole situation hilarious. Another taxi soon arrived and we continued the journey, briefly watching our previous driver start pushing his car down the road as we sped past. "We don't have services to pick you up from the roadsite here," explained Emmanuel, "so you have to get out and push to the nearest garage." (He also told me told me not to write about the incident in my blog... ha!)

Our destination was the Paloma Hotel, a popular tourist spot in central Accra which Emmanuel had decided would be appropriate for my first night. Tomorrow I will move to cheaper accomodation, which probably won't offer the same air conditioning or TV facilities of the room I'm in now. But it's a quarter of the price and, as always with youth activities or projects, things are on a budget. When the cab arrived here, it was a bit of a shock to see children surrounding the car, wanting to 'help' us out in hope of getting money.

Once things were sorted out at the hotel, we went on a walk of the local area and stopped at an internet cafe. "In Accra you can live the same as you live in London, if you have the money," Emmanuel told me. "It's one of the most Westernised African capitals." As we strolled down one of the main streets, I could see what he was talking about. However, even in the dark I could perceive many dissimilarities - as would be expected - and that will be fascinating to explore in daylight over the coming weeks.

New Horizons

It's past midnight here in London and I can't sleep. The mesmerising electro-tango music of Gotan Project is buzzing on quietly in the background above the gentle hum of an electric fan (it's been really hot recently). For the past few weeks my sleeping patterns have been very bad - going to sleep at about 2am on most nights. This has got to the extent that my body doesn't want to rest before this time any more, even if I try to. Why? I think it's excitement...

Tomorrow (/today if you want to be technical) is going to be a big day. It will be the beginning of what I hope is going to become a wonderful, enlightening and unforgettable experience.

The flight leaves at 12.10pm UK time, meaning I'll have to be at the airport around 9am, and arrives in Accra, Ghana at 9.30pm if all goes according plan. There's a two-hour break in Tripoli, the capital of Libya for changing flights.

I believe it's been my destiny to visit Africa at some point this year, before starting university in early October. Nearly a year to the day since my last school exam (June 30th, 2005) and it's finally happening. When I attended the World Youth Congress, Helsinki Conference and UN General Assembly, I gained a new perspective by meeting so many people from Africa, that beautiful but mysterious continent. OK, we see and hear a lot about various African countries in the media, particularly involving the issue of poverty - but to meet people actually living there was truly eye-opening. They can tell you a lot more about real life than any of these so-called "celebrities" on TV, I guarantee you that.

Of course people know Africa is there - they cannot fail to notice - but if you went up to random bystanders in the street and asked if they could name, say, 10 African countries, I'd bet a lot of money they wouldn't be able to. The continent is surrounded by cloud of infinite mystery and I knew I had to find some opportunity to venture beyond that, to explore for myself and discover.

That will not be the only purpose of my trip, however. I am going to be filming for a documentary project about young people working towards sustainable development, with the first stage of production having taken place in New York at the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development in May. I want to compare the work being done on international level at the UN with what is going on at local level in developing countries and Ghana seemed like a perfect choice, since I've heard a lot about awesome youth projects going on there.

I've been lucky enough to travel extensively in Europe already, as well as visiting America and Canada. The only African countries I've visited so far are Tunisia and Morocco for holidays, but I think Ghana is going to be very different. Holidays in resorts are one thing, but going out there to learn about how people live is another experience. Better. Much more interesting.

I think it's going to be another sleepless night.

Neglect

So much for my idea of blogging every day at the CSD...

After getting behind on day three I pretty much predicted this was going to continue for the rest of my stay in New York. Working at the UN by day, attending jazz gigs by night was my standard routine - most of the time I dislike any idea of such a regimented lifestyle, but you can't go wrong in this instance. I couldn't have had better excuses for the lack of blogging!

Reflecting on my time at the CSD, the event becomes even more awesome. The Youth Caucus achieved great things and I wish I had found the time to describe all its activities in detail on a daily basis. I have at least kept a rough list of what happened, and maybe I'll eventually get around to converting this into retrospective blog entries. I'd also love to document some of the gigs I attended, which were simply incredible.

Of course, I don't know who is reading this... but even if it's nobody, I like keeping a written record of my life for myself as much as for anyone else. It seems that blogging for me comes in phases... anyone glancing through the entries right now can see that from the huge time gaps that seem to have elapsed in between some of the "recent" posts. I think it's time for me to try and get into another phase of updating more frequently again. To me, there's a certain art to blogging - and I haven't quite mastered it yet. Finding the right balance of what to include or leave out is a key element. Another issue is this whole thing of retrospective entries. Can it really be described as "a personal chronological log" if you're going back in time to write about things which have already happened (and posting them in the past)? Doesn't that take away all the fun of instant publishing? We'll have to see. Maybe I'll make one huge effort to catch up on everything, then accept having to leave in the hands of fate how much time I have and realise there will always be gaps in the story.

On one hand, you could say life is far too complicated to reduce down to anything possible for someone to write at all briefly. Sometimes I definitely feel this way. However, I think blogging (or keeping any kind of diary) helps a lot of people simplify things just by giving them a chance to get everything out of their minds and onto the page. Like thinking out loud with a pen/keyboard. So much stuff flies around in my head, I find myself making endless lists at the moment and constantly scribbling notes of things to remember I need to do... and then what often happens is that I forget about the list, which hardly helps matters!

Anyway, now I'm back in London and planning furiously for a trip to Ghana later this month, where I will conduct the second stage of filming for the documentary I started shooting in NYC. Things went pretty well there with regards to the production, although there are a few things I missed out on which may well become a frustration when the lengthy process of editing begins. Only time will tell, but I'm optimistic about how the project is going generally - especially since there have been some major setbacks to overcome in the funding department.