Bits and pieces from Ghana

 

 

 

1&2 hanging out with Rachel and cats
3 an evening walk home along the tarmac road
4 a half built house, now growing
5 a lady caring firewood at twilight
6 bird in flight
7 huge snails
8 Kataly kitten face

Wise Words

Adventuring

Yesterday my friend Kath and I ventured out for some late summer time fun. Kathleen had very impressively been in and completed a 10k run in the morning so in the afternoon we were after something lovely and fun and due to the lovely sunshine, something involving being near (or in) water.

We headed to a place called the Roman Lakes  which we had both been to as children but not visited recently.

 

 There is very impressive viaduct over the valley which made us feel very small

We sat by the lake with our shoes off, eating ice creams, it was very much a last days of summer feeling.

 Then we got really brave!

One of my news years resolutions had been to swim outdoors, not in a pool but in wild water, a river, lake or the sea. I just about managed to swim, the current was strong and the water very cold but I did do several strokes and get my body under. It took me quite  awhile to get brave enough to get all of my body in the cold water. 

After all that excitment, we headed for the tea room and had some hot drinks! There has been a tearoom of some description at the lakes for a long time, since the area became a tourist spot before 1900! There were several descriptions of dances, boat rides and a games room. I love these old slot machines, particularly the British Beauties to obtain on the left, not exactly sure what it was though!

Brambling

I think brambling is a lovely and apt word, to me it conjures sort of a mixture of ambling along and picking fruit, which is pretty much what it refers to. A bramble is another word for a blackberry so go brambling is to go to pick blackberries.

This week I wondered around the secret bramble patches in the area and back to the meadow to see what had developed over the summer. Though the brambles in the meadow were not the best I found, I managed to pick plenty and to have a close encounter with a butterfly! pretty good way to spend a day off I feel.

 

 

 

Greenbelt

I've still more to share from Ghana and a tiny (but massive) trip I managed to fit in to Burkina Faso but today I'm writing about something I've done since being home.

Greenbelt is an arts, faith and justice festival that takes place at Cheltenham Racecourse over the august bank holiday. This was my second year of attending, both years I've volunteered with the children's team, specifically with lost and found children. This has meant that I've felt like a part of what was going on right from my first time there. 

This year was the muddiest they've had for about ten years (the festival will have it's 40th birthday next year) and though this cause some problems with some people having to abandon their tents and acts being moved to different venues, the overwhelming feeling was cheerful, possibly due to feeling we had all survived something potentially devastating.

  

 

My highlights this year included seeing acts such as Speech Debelle, Folk On, Bellowhead and Harry Baker and spending time with new friends and getting tosee friends I haven't seen for at least a year.

I'm already looking forward to next year.

Wise Words

Neesim Nutrition Centre

While in Ghana, I spent time at Neesim Nutrition Centre which is part of Project Share.
Though some of the children do arrive at the centre looking very poorly it is amazing to see what a difference can be made within a few weeks

This is Jacob, he is 3 years old. He arrived at the nutrition centre the day I arrived in Ghana. He had oedema, swelling in his feet, legs, hands and face caused by a lack of protein in his diet. This swelling had caused his skin to become weak and had started to split and peel leaving him with red, open flesh on his legs and bottom. His mother said that this had been aggravated by her carrying him on her back to the centre from her village. He spent a few days in the nutrition centre but as his legs were still bad and he was in a lot of pain he was referred to the hospital where his wounds were treated and dressed. We visited him and his mother in the hospital several times, he was still having the same feeding programme as he would've received in the nutrition centre and the oedema in his hands and legs was reducing. After a week or so in hospital he returned to the nutrition centre.
This photo was taken on my last full day in Ghana. You see some scarring on his legs and arms but in general this is a happy, cheeky young man who is starting to behave in a way you would expect of a 3 year old (tantrums included). His face is fuller and he was interested in the world around him and very taken with the camera.

 

As well as treating children's immediate need, the nutrition centre also runs an education programme for the mothers, making sure that these women know about things such as healthy eating, hygiene, sickness prevention, basic healthcare and birth control.

 Here the women are putting together balanced meals with pictures of different locally available food.