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.
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.
posted by Frederick at 03:30
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