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.
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.
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.
posted by Frederick at 03:00
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