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.
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.
posted by Frederick at 03:00
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