Academic Pomposity

 We were honored this last Saturday to be invited, as visiting faculty, to participate in the "congregation" (graduation) of the most recent 1064 medical students of the University of Ghana.  They included doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, and others.  Next November. the first 6 of our Audiology students will walk across the stage.  Above is John, in all his glory, with Dr. Kitcher (an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor) who has been the driving force behind our Audiology program from the beginning.  He is an amazing, visionary man, and will retire at the end of this academic year.  He is also the one who coined the phrase that they were participating in "academic pomposity".  John thinks he looks like one of the Three Musketeers in this photo.  The program was 4 hours long, warm, but so interesting.  The Ambassador to Ghana from Israel was the speaker.  We really enjoyed the dancing and drumming which was part of the ceremony.

                 (Jemima, Grace, Josephine, Rejoice and Florence (Floxy) all dressed up for a Friday)

For this blog, we thought we would introduce some of the people that make our lives worth living at the office! When we first arrived in Ghana, these people said, "You are welcome!".  Here, it is a greeting, and they have made us feel very welcome ever since.  

Below is Dr. Kofi Sampong who is the liaison from the University of Ghana.  His field of study is Nuclear Physics, but he has been a great support for our program here at the teaching hospital.  Also below is our office at KorleBu with the "Prof" hard at work.  The AC has been out this week, but hopefully will be working again soon! ( Now working!)

Jemima is our clinic manager.  She supervises our students in clinic and is quite knowledgable.  Here she is going over the results of an ABR with John.  One of our students, Daniel, is also in the photo.

 Dr. Geoffrey Amedofu visits Accra twice/month from Kumasi (3 hour drive) to help with the clinic load.  He is one of the first Audiologists in Ghana, but was trained in the US.

Rejoice is another who works here in the clinic.  On Fridays everyone wears their African dresses.

Florence (Floxey)   is the clinic secretary.  She is pictured here with her two little girls.  She is an incredible help for us and makes amazing decorated cakes.

Grace (In above group photo) works with our hearing aid patients.  The mandatory retirement age in Ghana is 60, but people can be re-hired on a year to year contract if they are needed.  Grace is one of these employees and we are grateful for her.

Last Sunday we were invited by Josephine (who works in Reception) to her Methodist Church.  We took 3 of our students who have been busy measuring noise in churches here for members who are complaining that the music and services are too loud.  It was Palm Sunday and we were delighted to find ourselves participating in the music and children's parade.  Their church is making some renovations so it is a good time to be concerned about the noise factor.  Our "cookie monster", Ronald, jumped right into the choir with his equipment to do a sound measurement.  (Below in beige shirt)

One of the hymns the choir sang was "It is Well With My Soul" which is popular here in Ghana.  The Mormon Tabernacle Choir has a lovely version.  The next day we spotted this message on a car.  It seemed fitting for Easter Week.

John leaves for CA on Tues.  We have one more chance with our students to get visas on Tues.  We pray they can go with him on the flight Tues. evening.

What Ghana can teach Africa about Democracy

John found a great article on CNN with the above title by George Ayittey, a native of Ghana.  We have just finished an election here in Ghana...a peaceful change of power, I might add.
"The Africans take elections very seriously, unlike their Western counterparts, rising up early to queue patiently in line for hours under the hot sun and cast their ballots.  Unlike it's neighbor to the west, Ivory Coast, Ghana has successfully held elections and transferred power on five occasions since 1992 without imploding."

Ayittey thinks that there are 4 factors contributing to the democratic success in Ghana.

First...the existence of a free media; in particular, print and broadcast media.  Ghana is one of only 10 out of 54 African nations to have a free press.  In Ghana, radio is the tool where Ghanaians get their information.  During elections, the FM radio and their reporters apparently ensure a level of transparency not seen anywhere else.  We listen to the radio coming and going to work each morning, and our driver is a faithful FM listener.  Second to "talk shows" concerning many subjects, Sam listens to preachers, and then American "oldies", (our personal favorite).  It seems most people in Ghana use the TV only for soccer games and "soap operas".
Below is a news stand where the papers are posted for the day and you can purchase them, or just stand and read what is happening.  Everyone has access to the "daileys"

(This young hawker is walking along selling newspapers in the road while talking on his cell phone.  Pretty good while avoiding traffic, too.)

Second...Ghana has vibrant and vigilant civil society groups and NGOs (Non Governmental Organizations).  Improvements in communication technology such as cell phones and text messaging has made this possible.  We see very poor people on the streets each day scraping out a living, but they have a cell phone.  Word of anything travels very fast here.

Third...The political leaders and parties have matured over the years.  Losing candidates graciously concede defeat and retire to run again next time.  Even following the untimely death in July of President Atta-Mills, the transition to a new president was very smooth.

This is the Flagstaff House, built by an Indian contractor for the previous ruling party of Ghana to mark the 50th anniversary of Ghana's independence.  When the first President of Ghana, Nkrumah was in office, it was his official residence...then later Army headquarters.  The re-construction of this building cost up to $50 million dollars and was criticized by the opposition party (NDC) during the 2008 elections.  They felt the money could have been better used in rural areas of Ghana for food and education.  When the NDC was sworn into office in 2009, they refused to use the building and it became the temporary offices for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  Recently, however, the new President, John Mahama, has again moved into the Flagstaff House, to bring about unity between the parties.

Fourth...Ayittey says is "sheer luck".  Ghana has a Kofi Annan, ex UN Secretary-General and co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.  Although he is from Kumasi, Kofi Annan has an NGO here in Accra and plays an important role in ensuring peaceful elections in Ghana.  He is also Chancellor (President) of the University of Ghana.

(We just passed another Independence Day celebration.  56 Years.  Congratulations, Ghana!)

One not so happy note:
We have been dealing this last week with our US Embassy here in Accra.  We have been trying to secure visas for 4 of our graduate students to visit the US to attend the American Academy of Audiology (AAA) annual conference in April in Anaheim, CA.  It is a chance to meet with thousands of fellow audiologists and the students will probably never have that opportunity again.  We cannot say that we have been overwhelmed with the co-operation of our Embassy personnel. It costs our students $160 and a long application form to just be able to make an appointment.  After securing invitations, letters from the Foreign Ministry, the University of Ghana, and Oticon (who is providing the funding), our students stood in line for hours this last Tuesday to have interviews.  They were all denied a visa.  Why you ask?  They cannot prove they will return to Ghana.  Really?  No appeal process.   We went again today to talk to one of the Consulars and his response was to apply again.  Another $160 each?  Really?  Of course they will return to Ghana!  They are 2 months away from graduation!  You think after 3 years of study they will not return to take their finals, turn in their research projects and pick up their diploma?  Really?  We are quite discouraged.  John said the most disappointing thing was the pathetic condition of the US flag in front of the Embassy...very tattered and dirty.  I told him the condition of the US flag was an indication of the embassy's customer service.

Update:  Not known for giving up...John contacted 2 lawyers who are here on a mission and work at the Area Offices.  This couple, the Taylors, were kind enough to advise us to write a letter to the office of Senator Lee (of Utah).  They then forwarded the letter on and we received an immediate response after explaining our situation.  Senator Lee was kind enough to send an individual letter for each student to attach to their new application to add weight to their argument.  Then, Elder and Sister Taylor graciously made a contribution which, with a little added from us, paid the reapplication fees for the 4 students.  Yesterday, the students met with a member of the Ghanaian Parliament at the Flagstaff House who promised them that he would send the letter from the Foreign Minister through diplomatic channels before they go for their interviews next week.  So they have re-applied and now we wait.
Photo taken by Elder Joe Reed.  I borrowed it, because she was so cute!  She is wearing her stuffed animal on her back just like the big mamas do with their babies.

 As a postscript to a previous blog post, we thought you would enjoy this sign.  Undertaker, coffins and ambulance services in a one-stop shopping experience.
 Right, Janet...it does not inspire much confidence, especially as the ambulance is only transportation with no medical personal of any kind on board.  But they have flashing lights and a siren!!

We're Not Dead Yet!!

This is our receptionist, Faustina, at the entrance to the Africa West Area Offices.  She was in her beautiful African dress that day, so I had to take her photo.

This is the view we  have while floating on our backs in our pool.  Not a bad view!  It is just a little disconcerting to look up and see an African Vulture circling above.  "We're not dead yet!!"

Ok...let us introduce our class that are in their first year of an Audiology Masters degree.  They will soon join the other six in 2 years to be the first 10 Audiologists trained in Ghana.  They only have to serve 23 million people.  So, get to work you guys!!

Deborah Tetteh was born in Accra and lives here while she attends the University.  She is single with no children and is in her first year.  Her undergraduate studies were in psychology and she had an interest in auditory processing which lead her to audiology.  Her interest is pediatric audiology.  

Her outside interests include swimming, reading and creative arts.  Her favorite foods are Banku and Tilapia and her sport is soccer.  She is interested in doing her research project on the role of the audiologist in assessing auditory processing disorders in children.



Had to take a photo of Debbie's hair.  It took about 4 hours to do this.  It is just amazing!

Williams Ofori-Atta was born Num, Brong Ahafo but now lies in Accra with his wife and one child.  He is very interested in pediatric audiology and plans on working in a clinic or in private practice when he is done.  He has a nursing diploma and an undergraduate degree in psychology.
He enjoys spending time with his family and in church activities.  His favorite food is fufu and light soup and sport is Table Tennis.
His research will be centered on diabetes and hearing Loss.  He works with us in testing the sound in some of the very loud Pentecostal churches in Accra.

Ronald Mkansah Adjekum was born in Akim Oda and now lives in Accra.  He is an amazing sax player (his band in pictured above) and he is single with no children.  His music got him interested in acoustics and looks forward to clinic work and teaching after graduation.  His undergraduate work is in psychology.  He spends his extra time playing music, attending church activities and his favorite food is fufu and goat meat soup.  Soccer is his favorite sport.  His research will probably involve telehealth.  He also works with us measuring sound in churches.

                                                                          Ronald (aka Cookie Monster)            

Anthony Azaglo was born in Somanya Eir and still lives there.  So he has an hour or more commute each way to school.  He is married with 2 children and travels to Accra for school.  His main interest is pediatric audiology and with an undergraduate degree in special education looks forward to possibly working with special ed. children.  

His spare time is spent with family and friends.  Fufu and goat light soup are his favorite foods with soccer as his favorite sport.  

He plans on his research to be "Using mnemonics to teach the hearing impaired reading."

We spent another early Sunday morning at another Pentecostal Church making sound measurements with a couple of John's students (Ronald, Gray and Williams). The Pastor, elders and many attendees are complaining of the loudness of the meetings.  So, Ronald arranged a visit to check during services.  Just as we thought, the level was up to 103 decibels at one point.  More than enough to damage hearing for a short time, let alone the 2 1/2 hours it takes for the services.  They have a very large church and can seat 2000 people; 3000 for conferences.  Our students will make recommendations.

After our Pentecostal meeting, we took out our ear plugs and went to our Sacrament meeting at the temple grounds.  We ran into 3 students from Utah State University who were in Accra for the weekend.  They are business students doing an internship  at Abomosu (where we are taking our students in May).  It was wonderful to meet Dustin Evans, Ashley Peterson and Rachel Drollinger.  They also work with the SEED program at USU that we have sponsored in the past at the Logan Arthouse.  We admire them for living out in the "bush" this semester and working hard to help make the lives of the cocoa farmers a little easier through "micro loans".

We get a kick out of this sign we pass in the morning.  Travel tours, farms, and Dental surgery...all in the same building.  We especially like the spider web of electrical wires out in front.  This is typical here.

Follow-up on our comments about funerals.  We attended sacrament meeting a couple weeks ago and it was a combined meeting to honor someone who had passed away.  All the relatives were in black and white and the Stake President was in attendance.  Elder Taylor (our legal counsel here) was over for dinner last night and told us that when the casket is lowered into the grave, the relatives destroy the top of it so that no one will come later and dump the body out and steal it.  Nice....

We also noticed that the ambulances are parked right next to the shops where the coffins are made.  Not too comforting, we would think.  Again...we're not dead yet!!

If You Do It...They Will Let You!

John and I have found, since being in Africa, that the above statement is true!  Our list of things to accomplish here has only lengthened in the 2 1/2 months since our arrival.  Everytime someone thinks something else should be done in this program, they look at John and he says, "OK".  Shish!

Anyhow, before we get too much farther into the semester we thought we would introduce everyone to some of our students.  These are our second year students who are finishing up their classes in July and will then go out to do their third year in an externship in various areas of Ghana before their graduation.  These six will be the first Audiologists to graduate with Masters Degrees that have been trained in Ghana...actually in all of West Africa!  We are very proud of them and their accomplishments despite great challenges and sacrifices individually and on the part of their families.

Ramatu Alhassan was born in Cape Coast in the central region of Ghana, but now lives in the capital, Accra.  She is married with 3 boys and 1 little girl she is taking care of while a relative is in the states.  She is a second year student and has been working with hearing impaired children since 2002 as an assessment officer who determines whether a child is referred to a hospital or a school for the deaf after screening.  Her interest is Pediatric Audiology and she would eventually like to work in a clinic.  Her undergraduate degree was in Special Education.

She spends her non-academic time in business activities (her husband is in the Ghanaian government) and loves gardening and cooking.  Her favorite foods are Tuo-zaafi with Green soup and she loves all sports.  

Her Research Project is "Hearing Impairment Among Primary School Children in Accra".  Ramatu looks forward to sharing ideas, knowledge experiences and skills with other Audiologists.

Sesi Collins Akotey was born in Tema (Greater Accra Region) and now lives in Winneba in the Central Region.  (about an hour away)  He is single with no children and works in Winneba at a clinic when he is not in Accra in school.  His main interests are Pediatrics and Industrial Audiology and looks forward to continuing in a clinic as an Audiologist and teaching.  His undergraduate degree is in Special Education.  He loves to spend time with friends and watch movies and he loves golf and soccer.  Red red, a local dish is his favorite food.
His research is "Establishing clinical normative data for Neurodiagnostic ABR for the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital"

Joyce Anomah was born in Accra and now lives in Ho in the Volta Region.  She is single with no children and is a second year student.  She chose Audiology to "help in early identification and to provide intervention in children with hearing impairment."  She is most interested in Pediatric Audiology and wants to do clinic work or work with the military.  

Her background is an undergraduate degree in Physics and she teaches at a school in the Volta region (about 2-3 hours away) when not in school in Accra.  Her outside interests include church activities and cooking.  Her favorite dish is Banku and Okro stew.  Her favorite sport is soccer.

The title of her graduate Research Project is "Universal Newborn Hearing Screening in Korle Bu Teaching Hospital"  She looks forward to Audiology being recognized as a valid profession in Ghana.

Daniel Tumpi was born in Accra and still lives here.  He is married with 4 children.  He is our oldest student and is in his second year.  His career so far has been with the Hearing Impaired and he works in the ear mold lab.  Aural Rehabilitation is his main interest.  He plans to continue working in the clinic following graduation.  His undergraduate degree is in Special Education.

Soccer is his favorite sport and he enjoys watching it on TV in his spare time.  His favorite food is rice and stew.  His research project concerns "Early Childhood Screening for Nursery and Kindergarten Children in Schools in the Accra area".

Graham Ameyaw (Gray) was born in the Ashanti region of Ghana and now lives in Kumasi (about 2 hours north of Accra) where he teaches at a Senior High School when not in class in Accra.  He is single and has no children.  He is a second year student.  He chose Audiology "because it is a helping profession, and will prove to have enormous opportunities in the future in Ghana".  He is most interested in Telehealth, Pediatric audiology and Vestibular Rehabilitation and Hearing Conservation.  (Dr. Ribera says Graham is a whiz at Instrumentation and is our go-to technical guy!)

Graham is looking forward to pursuing a PhD and returning to Ghana to teach and lecture future Audiology students.  His undergraduate studies were in the Biological Sciences with a major in Psychology.  

He loves to visit family and friends in his spare time and his favorite sport is soccer.  His favorite food is Banku with Okro stew.

Research Study will be "Newborn Hearing Screening using Tele-health Technology:  a Pilot Study in Ghana"

Elsie Akosua Nyarko was born in Kumasi but has recently married and lives now in Accra.  No children.  She is in her second year of the program and became interested in Audiology because she is very religious and was interested in the welfare of others.  She is especially interested in Pediatrics and is looking forward to clinic work and then private practice.  Her undergraduate degree was in Biological Science.

Elsie's hobbies include reading, cooking and teaching about God.  Her favorite foods are fufu and Peanut soup.  Her sport is cycling.  The tittle of her Research  Project is "Prevalence of Hearing Impairment in Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital".

All of these students are truly amazing people getting an education against all odds, and usually the first in their family to do so.


This last Thursday we traveled north to the "mountains" (more like hills) to visit one of the 13 schools for the deaf in Ghana.  This school in Mompong has 385 children with 13 also blind.  When our students come from USU in May we will travel up to provide some services here at this school.  On our way home, Dr. Sampong and the Vice Dean, Dr. Asare decided we should visit the Aburi Gardens.  It is very dry there now with no rain recently, but we found this great tree that was over 200 years old.  The guy in front of it is not quite that old!

                                                           
(Here is John teaching a class for our students in one of our makeshift classrooms)
              So...see you all ...............

The Ghanaian Zipper is Broken!

 When driving in the US there is a common practice known as "the zipper".  That is when several cars all trying to enter the same lane take turns!  First the left, then the right, then the left, etc.  Here in Ghana, the zipper is broken.  As pictured below, everyone tries to get into the same lane at the same time.  If you glance at the other driver, you are lost...that gives him permission to go ahead of you.  Here, you simply stick the nose of your car forward until all other cars let you go rather than see their car get a new scratch or scrape.  Combine that with the motorcycles zipping through the middle and the hawkers walking between cars to sell things and you have the perfect storm.

Trucks carrying large loads also make driving tricky as you cannot see around them and they often lose part of the load on the road.Then, of course you have the cars and tro tros that have broken down sitting in the middle of the road right where they have quit.  No AAA, no tow trucks.  You fix them right where they stop.  Here's one fellow underneath his van trying to figure out what is wrong!  A "gas buddy" will do you no good here in Ghana to try to figure out where is the cheapest gas.  The gas prices are fixed by the government and every station is the same.  That is quite handy for the consumer.  However, the powers that be just raised the price to 2.068 cidis, which equates to about $4/gallon for gas...no exceptions.

The roads in the city are pretty good, but occasionally you are dealt a surprise.  John saw this at the last minute at a stoplight.  It's about 6 feet deep and 3 feet wide and SHOULD have a grate on top.  This shot is out my window.  We would have lost our whole tire in that one!

This is our little vehicle.  We drive it mainly on weekends since we have a van and driver during the week back and forth from the hospital.  It is a diesel and so far works quite well.  Except for the time when the alarm would not shut off and we had to drive to the temple pressing the button every 3 sec.!!

We have to be careful driving because the Ghanaian police set up random checkpoints everywhere.  You never turn right on a red light.  You never stick your nose in the intersection on a yellow, you must have the proper reflectors and paperwork and stickers on your car at all times!  Oh...did I mention that those rules are only for the abrunis?  Those with white skin.  The others pretty much do as they please.  Never fear...a substantial bribe will get you out of any situation.  Oh, and stop signs are merely a suggestion.

The above sign is in front of the Justice building which is pretty funny since it is the police who are the worst as far as demanding bribes to get you out of trouble!

This is our School of Allied Sciences van and our faithful sidekick driver, Sam, who has saved our lives already more times than we can count!

The yellow van at the right is called a tro two.  They are old vans that should have been in the junkyard years ago.  They fit in seats for 20-25 people and run particular routes in the city very inexpensively.  They often have stuff piled on the roof and the doors tied shut in the back to hold the peoples bags inside.  They have a driver and an assistant who hangs out the window and signals to people waiting for rides to let folks know where the van is going.  They are the craziest of drivers, except for the taxis.  They remind us of the jeepneys in the Philippines, boys.

Oh, tro tro, we're not in Kansas anymore!!