An Orphanage, a market, coffins and the American's!

Day 9 - Tuesday 22nd Jan. 2008

I was woken up to my door been knocked on, with one of the adminstrator's and some men coming to collect (and in the process) dismantle a pair of bunk beds that were in my room. All for the 'Mission' team - the American's, you would think there was going to be a royal arrival or something, they have tidied up more are cleared stuff from the corridors in their honour.

Teshie Orphanage

I had organised prior with the hospital a visit to the orphanage quite near to the Hospital. However, when enquiring about a taxi from outside the hospital I got confued with the money (Ghana has cedi pronounced 'seedy') the notes and peswas (the coins), however, the monetary system changed over last year and the guy was still quoting me on the old money and I thought he was ripping me off, so I decided to walk some of the way there. So started walking and quickly made friends and a lady called Alice looked after me and got me to the right place - bless her.

What a waste of time though!! The visit had been pre-arranged, however, the 'Madame' wasn't expecting me and there was only one little boy there because all the rest were in school! Silly me! Anyways, I may visit at the weekend or when they come back from school one evening.

A Market

As I was really clever and didn't have my guide book and maps with me (a little lost on the direction front) I ended up in a taxi not heading towards the Hospital but the city centre, Accra.

I was sharing a taxi with a few other people and I was dropped off by the main market with them. Well, as you can see from the picture on the left, one can only describe it as manic and of the busiest places I have ever been in.

Can you also see the lady at the bottom left of the picture carrying stuff, I think its tables on her head?! Thats how all the African ladies carry stuff - its amazing, I have some great pictures of women carrying, for example, a plate of fish, to a sewing machine all on their heads, but not at the same time!!

Wandered round I decided the place I knew was 'Osu' (where I had had the Burger and chips) a suburb of the city, so a nice man called Charles took me to the 'tro-tro's'. They are like mini-buses with as many people packed in as possible and it cost the equivalent of about 12 pence! Once there I picked up a bit of food and did a bit of souvenir shopping. I then got another 'tro-tro' to the 'First Junction', which is a junction off the main - Beach Road, which is close to the hospital. they have no road signs so you have to do a lot by memory, or rely on the very good nature of the Ghanaian's. They are all so friendly and helpful.

Coffins

Just by the 'First Junction' they have a shop where they craft coffins/caskets, (or trunks as they call them). They are amazing and I think quite famous the world over. As you can see they are made to what sort of trade the person who passed was in. I saw: boats, fishes, cockerel's, car's and a family picking up a coffin in the shape of a biro pen!

They should do something like that in England, it would certainly lighten up a funeral when the coffin was brought into a Church and it was shaped into an animal, such as a tiger! I'm still trying to decide what I'd like my ideal one to be??

Probably an ELEPHANT!!

The American's

When I got back I had some lunch and headed into the Hospital.

I gave some of the balloons and colouring pencils I brought out with me to some of the children on the children's ward and saw some patients.

Went back to the house and met the American's! There are 20 of them in total in all shapes and sizes! There is a family of 6 (who have 4 girls ranging from 18-8), their grandparents, a few nurses, a Doctor who studied with Dr.Seth the creator of Manna Mission, and some men.

I felt like I was in the Big Brother house and still haven't got to grips with all their names.

With them all in the house, the queue for the shower last night was a joke, it took me over an hour to get one. Also, the electricty is being overloaded and the lights and fridges are all going on the blink! Patience and a torch are definitely neccessities over here.

It looks like I will be helping them with their 'missions'. They have about 9 huge suitcases full of medicines and we will be going out to the poorer areas and running free clinics. They were all counting up and measuring quanties of the drugs into however many days worth of clinics. I've been told it will be a real eye opener..........