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.
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.
posted by Frederick at 03:45
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