News From Ghana

by Dennis Claivaz / Edmund Rice International

The doors of the KLM flight were opened and immediately we realized that we had landed in a new world. The blast of hot humid air told us emphatically that we were in Accra, Ghana and West Africa was to be our new home for some time. At the airport we were guided through the usual formalities and collected our bags without a hitch. Walking out of the terminal we were delighted to hear a friendly voice calling our names and Br. Donal and myself piled ourselves into a vehicle for the short trip to the Guest House. A quick glance around proved that nothing had changed here since 1975. I don’t think even a coat of paint had been added to the structure since then.

The next morning we were collected and headed into the local market to do the “usual”, change money into the local currency. Since they had just knocked four zeros off their money the legendary “bags” of cedis were now a small bundle which could be neatly tucked into one’s pocket. Everything imaginable could be found in the market and at extremely competitive prices. A few hours of meandering, bargaining and absorbing the new sounds and smells, it was time to sit under the shade of a tree and have a refreshingly ice-cold drink.

The next morning we woke up at 4:00 a.m. for a quick shower and then off to the airport for a short flight up to the northern part of the country. Another world was awaiting us. The lush green of the south now gave way to the dust and brown of the Sahel. No change with the heat. It was still in the 40’s.

We then proceeded for a 2 ½ hour ride even further into the “bush” and Donal and I prepared to give a work-shop to the professed Presentation Brothers working with the grassroots. Explaining the raison d’etre of Edmund Rice International [ERI] was our mandate and also to begin the process of setting up a data-base. We certainly had a captive audience. We repeated this exercise with the Christian Brothers and Presentation Brothers who are in Formation and were very impressed with the level of cooperation and informed questioning we received. Catholicism is alive and well in northern Ghana.

Donal has returned to Geneva and I continue the task of visiting projects, interviewing myriads of people, expanding the data-base and seeking all the necessary permissions to implement a National High School Debate on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention of the Rights of the Child. Hours turn into days and then into weeks as the familiar territory in which I find myself is seen through the eyes of someone who is trying to put flesh on the bones of Advocacy Coordinator.