Counting Africa's Beans

Shakin it down with the pygmies

I've heard it said about the Ba'aka that they tend to enjoy anything that intoxicates them.  That's possibly true - we were constantly followed around with requests for "monsieur, un cigarette, un cigarette", and they have many interesting brews and concoctions of their own.  They also love a good party.  A few days ago, the night before the net hunting excursion, one such party took place.  It seems to be a tradition that the celebrations are held the night before a hunt to ensure success and, having stood a round of drinks for the village, that night we were the guests of honour.

Things kicked off early.  That afternoon, local election hustings had been held in Bayanga, the town a short distance from our village.  We couldn't really understand what the candidates were saying, but it was clear that beer had been a key part of the proceedings.  On the way back from Bayanga, we were overtaken by a group of Ba'aka women who had clearly been 'enjoying' the political debate and, having heard that there was a party tonight, were now, like most of the surrounding villages, coming along to join the fun.  "Danser, danser!" we were encouraged as we walked along the path, and we were given several demonstrations of how to swing your hips, pygmy style.
By around 7pm, shortly after dark, the music had started.  Everyone was gathered around the fire in the centre of the village, and the drums started first, setting up a steady rhythm against which the singing, chanting, clapping and general merriment lasted until dawn.  Central to all this was the dancing -  in a slow steady line around the fire, and the white guys, several feet taller than their hosts, joined the line.

Tonight, our village was the place to be.

Not goodbye, only au revoir........

So a couple of days ago, I bid farewell for now to the Kumasi Street Children project.  I have spent a few fantastic weeks with them.  Over the last four weeks, I have helped them with their budgets and analysis, as well as spending some time seeing the projects and witnessing many of the comings and goings from the drop in centre where the children come to rest during the day.

At lunchtime, we had a small farewell gathering in the office.  Everyone was there, and as Sister Jospehine opened with a short prayer giving thanks for my time with them all and praying for my safe onward travels, I actually felt a bit choked...to put it simply, the warmth, the welcome and simply the total goodness of the people here is something that can really be a bit overwhelming.  And to be honest, that isn't something I've always associated in my mind with accounting - it definitely wasn't in my BPP textbooks.
As a parting gift, they gave me a traditional African shirt which immediately and permanently became my favourite item of clothing.  As you will see from the pictures, I am now officially the coolest obruni in town - please take note.

And so, I caught the bus down to Accra, ready for my next trip to Cameroon.  On my last evening with YPWC, Ma Boampong baked me a farewell cake, and left me with another one to eat on the bus the following day.  And, as an extra special treat, I was given a bowl of lettuce leaves and Heinz Beanz with already substantial final breakfast.  Naturally, I ate everything.

I'm going to miss Kumasi.  It's a town with great energy and life - the markets, the street traders.  The drivers in the tro tro station who know where I need to go and wave me over to the right car as soon as I approach. Above all, this is somewhere where I have made many good friends.  I'll be coming back to Kumasi sometime in April, and then will be going home....that will be difficult.  But for now, I'll be seeing them all again soon.

Two placements

Now I am well into my time in Ghana, so I thought I should tell you a bit about where I have been working and what I am trying to do. 

I have two projects currently on the go. The first, Young People we Care, works to promote the interest of young people and to enable their participation in a range of global issues, as well as educational projects on issues like human rights, HIV…no small undertaking.  We currently have a number of 'big' projects in the pipeline, and I'm trying to get the budget process going for these - at the same time to clean up some reporting issues that are lingering from a few months back.  I have drafted a set of policies that (I think) cover all the day to day areas of finance that need to be maintained, so I am keen to see that this will be picked up and implemented before I go.
YPWC is lucky to have a hugely dedicated and enthusiastic team - representatives from all over Ghana, as well as an increasing network of contacts across Africa and around the world.  The volunteers and staff directly working for YPWC joined us all in Kumasi last weekend for the staff retreat, a great opportunity for me to finally put some names to faces and emails - also good to meet Emmanuel again.  Last time I saw him was in Accra - shortly before 'that' bus journey.

The Kumasi Street Children project is run by Sister Josephine from Nigeria. Each morning starts with a meeting where all the staff discuss what happened the previous day and what, if anything, needs to be done as a result.  It struck me straight away how calm and patient the atmosphere was in this meeting - so often, I've seen staff meetings where people are mostly tense and impatient, keen to get the discussion out of the way so that they can get back to 'real work'.  But here, everyone took the time to listen, understand and share what they were working on.  One of the things you have to realise about this kind of placement is that learning works both ways.  While westerners can teach people here about financial controls, Excel reporting and many other skills associated with 'development' and 'progress', a less often reported side of volunteering is how much the developing world has to teach us.  Taking the time to talk to people, greet them, sit and spend time together is very much part of the way of life here - skills and values that have all too often been lost back home, in busy schedules when the next deadline is looming, every second must be used productively, documented and accounted for.

Today I visited the creche, where very young children are to be looked after in a safe environment while their parents are working or in education.  I would like to report an uplifting, inspirational experience, but found quite the opposite.  The creche is in the middle of Racecourse, a slum area of Kumasi.  Most of the buildings here (including the creche) are now marked with a red X, the date 18/02/11, and in most cases, the word 'remove'.  The Racecourse settlement, as well as being illegal, is a clear social problem which the authorities are attempting to tackle head on.  As I visited, the staff were carrying out anything salvageable - the toys, chairs, the water tank and even much of the building wood was being carefully stacked and carted away before the bulldozers arrive in the morning.  The creche had been built by the Street Children Project, and they now have to find a new site - and start again.  The area is being 'developed' - into what I'm not sure, but I saw many people sitting in their marked homes, obviously making no attempt to pack and leave - what is not clear is exactly where these thousands of people will go.

Somewhere behind all of this fits the role of the accountant.  I think I said in one of my earlier blogs about how the aim of the game is to build capacity, to enable and facilitate, rather than simply to do the accounting work myself.  This is often challenging - language barriers, cultural differences (time limits and deadlines don't quite carry the same weight here that they do at home) as well as the working hours (not usually 9-5, more often 'as and when') mean that a great deal of adjustment is required by me.  And although there's a huge amount of capability in both organisations, I need to keep remembering that, while it may be obvious to me why a budget statement and reconciliation is a good idea that might not always be immediately obvious to everyone here.