Sunday, December 4th, 2005
First and foremost … Happy Holidays!!
Training is officially over. I’ve left Techiman (sniff, sniff) and I’m in route to Binaba. I’m looking forward to starting what I came here for! I was officially sworn in as a PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer) on Friday, December 2. The ceremony was great (see pictures on my website, mjcassidy.com). I actually performed an original song (reggae style) with my language group. We were a hit despite the fact that only two people in the crowd could understand us (it was partially in Kusaal).
By now you might have seen pictures of my house (if not, check them out on the website) but here are more details. I will live alone (unless you count the lizards) in a traditional mud brick enclosed compound with a zinc roof and summer hut (this is my favorite part!!). There are 3 rooms: one is the kitchen which is stocked with a propane tank and small tabletop stove; one is my bedroom which has a very comfortable double bed, two bookshelves, and a desk; and the other room is for guests (complete with a double bed mattress!!). I have a pit latrine and I take bucket baths. I also have two small storage rooms. The summer hut is perfect for visiting with visitors and napping (I’m desperately need a hammock!). I don’t have electricity or running water. I get water from a bore hole that is about 200 yards from the house. Because I haven’t mastered the art of carrying a 15 gallon bucket of water on my head, I will have a neighbor girl help fetch water for me as well as some other things around the house. In return, I will pay her school fees, help her study, and just be a support person for her. She speaks great English and Kusaal, so I’m also hoping she can help me with the language and Ghanaian culture/customs.
My house is about a 5-10 minute bike ride from the town of Binaba, which is a remote rural town with a population of about 10,000. The people of Binaba are mostly farmers and generally very poor. The city has electricity (even though my house does not). There is a health clinic, however the closest hospital is in Zebilla about 45 minutes (20 km) away. There are several churches and a mosque. There is currently no mobile coverage. Binaba’s market is every three days. A market is basically the day everyone comes together to buy/sell goods (food, household products, etc…). The world literally revolves around market days! People can rarely tell you what day or week is it, but they always know how many days until the next market day. I should also caveat that market days are huge parties with lots of drinking and dancing until midnight. This year, Christmas actually falls on Binaba market day, so they say that’s going to be an especially huge party!! I can’t wait!
The weather in the north is much different from the south. It’s much hotter and very dry. I like to compare the weather in the north to Phoenix, AZ. Come March, April, & May … it will be 115-120 degrees every day. This is the time when food is scarce and hunger is a big problem among the poorer people who can not afford to pay more for the food that is available. Then we will have a rainy season June-Sept. Then we have Harmaton season starting in Nov and ending in Feb … this is when it’s hot during the day, cool in the evenings and mornings, and extremely dusty!!
My primary assignment will be working for Binaba Women’s Farmers Association (BWFA), which was formed in 1995 by a grant from the African Development Foundation. It’s a group of 75 women from the five surrounding communities including Binaba. Right now, BWFA’s activities include rice and onion cultivation and milling services. I am the third volunteer to be assigned to BWFA – the previous volunteers did really great things, so hopefully I will continue that progress. The association specifically requested a female volunteer this time, so they are especially excited to have me. I will mainly work with Vic who manages BWFA. She specifically wants me to teach/consult on management techniques and better record keeping (i.e. accounting/finance). With the women, I will do things like moral/team building, HIV/AIDS education, personal budgeting/saving, and gender development. BWFA office is about a 10-15 minute beautiful bike ride from my house.
Peace Corps encourages all volunteers to have a (or several) secondary assignment(s). These are determined once I get to site and see what I’m interested in doing. I will definitely do something related to HIV/AIDS education and GYD (gender and youth development). I might also work at the clinic weighing babies and assisting new mothers. My first 3 months at site will be spent assessing the community, figuring out what the needs are, settling in my house, learning the language, and just getting to know everyone in the community.
So I think this covers most of the FAQs for now. I’m going to be out of touch (via email at least) for a while unfortunately. I’ll go ahead and wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! In Kusaal, we say "Ne ti buranyia!".
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