Akwaaba

Hearing booth at KorleBu assembled by Kim Leishman shortly after Rex Scott began program

John is working hard this week at the teaching hospital interviewing students and planning out the semester schedule with Dr. Sampong. I spent yesterday home waiting for the drinkable water system to be installed and today waiting for the air conditioning technician to come and fix our apt. air conditioner. Whoo hoo! They just got here. Ghanaians do not make appointments. They just say “I'll be there tomorrow morning”, and then they might show up before 5. If not, they just come the next day!

Dr Geoffrey Amedofu testing cute little girl

Ghana is a country that has a rich ethnic diversity, abundant historical legacies with a strong cultural heritage and traditions. The popular word for welcome is “Akwaaba” with the accent on the first A. It is expressed sincerely to all visitors throughout the country. We have probably heard it 500 times since arriving a week ago. The unique friendly smiles and warmth of the people has won Ghana the reputation of the world's most hospitable country. We have found their kindness and graciousness to be unsurpassed. When my two plumbers were here yesterday working in the kitchen installing the water system, I noticed the door was closed. There is no cooling in the kitchen which was facing the sun that morning and the temperature quickly rose in there. An hour later, they emerged, having closed the door so as not to disturb me with the sound of the drill or banging. My kitchen was spotless and they constantly apologized for any disruption they might have been to my schedule. I gave them each a chilled bottle of water and sent them on their way with my thanks. The day before was the same when we arrived at the clinic. We had not been in John's office for even a half hour when 2 different people arrived with bottles of water and soda to fill his refrigerator.

The climate of Ghana, like the rest of West Africa is controlled by two continental air masses; the southwest monsoon that brings the rains, and the north-easterlies, that blow from the Sahara Desert, known locally as the “harmattan”. This causes hot days and right now the air is filled with the desert dust. The rainy season will begin in March. Right now, John is struggling with so much particulate matter in the air. I love changes in the weather, but here every day is pretty much like the one before...hot and humid.

English is Ghana's official language, but it's very difficult to understand. There are over 60 different ethnic groups, each with a distinct language and tradition. Often the tribal language mixes with the English. Talking over the phone is especially hard. About 70% of the people are Christian and the rest Muslim or those that believe in old tribal cultures. Usually the Christian and Muslim populations get along, but when they disagree it is very vocal!

We live along what used to be known as the Gold Coast and mining is still done here. One of the main exports now is cocoa. We even passed a Cadbury factory which I intend to investigate further!

Ghana has a parliamentary democratic government. The first in Africa to gain it's independence. The inauguration of the new President Mahama was on Monday. It was peaceful and the only change to the city was the increase in traffic! The opposition party is still not happy.

The flag is:

Red – for the blood spilled in the struggle for independence.

Yellow – for Ghana's gold and mineral wealth

Green – for the lush vegetation

A Star in the center – signifies the hope of all Black Africans

It is black – for independence and self governance

The money used is called a cedi...1=50 cents

  Most all kinds of food can be found in the stores, but it is very expensive. I really don't know how the general population keep their families fed! It is a cash economy with no one accepting credit cards or checks. There is a little store not far from us and we discovered gold across the street from it. A french bakery!! It is run by a little Lebanese lady. The pastries are flown in from France frozen and baked at the bakery. They also bake great pizzas there. I guess it is because we live near many of the embassies. We may survive here after all!! We miss ice cream the most. It is $5 for a box with 4 small servings. Oh well, it's better for our diet!!

The Fab Five

This is a photo of the Fab Five who have, with others listed below, put together and carried out this 10 year Audiology training program in Ghana, West Africa.  LDS Charities has been the money behind the program with contributions in funding and services from the KorleBu teaching hospital in Accra.  Most of these people have volunteered countless hours and money out of their own pockets to see this program come to fruition.

I promised to relate how we got involved.  Below is an excerpt from John's letter to the family when I first got a glimpse of where we might be spending this winter!

Post script to last blog...The plumber is coming today to fix the leak in my new kitchen.  Sure is wet in Ghana for not being the rainy season!!

(Kurt Randall, John Ribera, Ike Ferguson (fearless leader), Mike, and Kim Leishman)  others not included are:  Don & Yalanda Atchison, Terry Foust, Jeff Larsen, Doug Laws, Kate Nielson, Tina Osvorne, Rob Rane, Martin Robinette, William Strong and Steve Viehweg.

September 23, 2012

Today we attended a broadcast of the dedication of the Brigham City Temple. It was being shown in our stake center. What a great opportunity to participate in such an historic event. Afterward we were stopped by our Stake President, Clark Israelsen,  who invited us into this office. He pulled out some paperwork from his file cabinet and officially called us on our mission.

This has been quite a journey up to this point and I am not sure what will happen on our mission, but I am reassured it is all in God’s hands.   I believe the call actually occurred in the celestial room of the Accra, Ghana temple. I really had not given any serious thought as to when we might go on a mission as a couple. That just wasn’t in our short term plans.  While conversing with the temple matron, Sister Breilatt, the topic came up of a senior couple who was leaving in June. Sister Breilatt was concerned about how the assignments would be fulfilled as this couple spoke French and were used in the temple whenever patrons from other countries whose official language was French came to participate in temple ordinances. Sister Breilatt then asked the question, “Do you know of anyone who speaks French?” I said that I did. She then asked, “Does your wife speak French?” I answered in the affirmative. I then had a feeling sweep over me from head to toe. I have had that feeling several times in the past. I recognize it as one of the ways the Holy Spirit communicates to me.

I did not understand why I was getting those feelings. They occurred several times while I was in the temple.  I went home and did some serious praying over the next couple of days. It then became evident to me that I needed to come back to Ghana with Ann and serve a mission. Again, it was not clear how we could do this as I still was employed at Utah State University and as of yet had made no plans in the foreseeable future for retirement. As time went on the idea came that I should apply for a sabbatical, as I had not been able to go several years earlier because of a faculty shortage.  When I returned stateside from the trip to Ghana, I began feeling out the possibility of applying for sabbatical leave, but instead of starting at the bottom I started at the top, the Provost’s Office, and floated the idea down the chain of command (administrative channels) to see what problems I might encounter. This ended up being a very effective way of ensuring approval.  When I spoke with the chair of my department, she felt that because of my age and status, the only chance I would have of getting this approved was to put in for phased retirement. I decided that I would do whatever it took to get the approval, because I knew we had to go on the mission, and that this was one way (and maybe the only way) for us to do it. It so happens the approval went through without a hitch.

This will be a unique mission call. It is for a period of 2 years, in case I or we need to return after the sabbatical. So we will serve for over 7 months, then return so I can teach at USU in the fall of 2013.  During the sabbatical portion of the mission, Ann and I will work in continuing to improve the curriculum for the master’s program in audiology. We will also be involved in conducting research in telehealth so that the small army of audiologists in Ghana can test patients at a distance using Internet technology.  When we are not with students, we will likely be serving in the temple or at the distribution center, or Church offices or wherever the mission or temple presidents want us to serve. We will also host visiting faculty from the states as we will be living in a 3-bedroom apartment.  Finally, I anticipate that we will also host several of our graduate students who will come over for a week or so do to some humanitarian hearing healthcare.
So there is a feeling of great anticipation. I am hopeful that we can make a contribution; that we can make a difference for good, not only for the first audiologists in Ghana, but also for Ghanaians whom we will meet.

Raindrops keep falling on my head (Deja vu)

     One thing Ann cannot abide is water dripping at night…she can’t sleep.  Years ago in a small “cheap” hotel in Paris water began dripping from the roof in the middle of the night.  Unfortunately it was sewage from the upper floor and our bed was underneath.  Friday night we heard dripping water again.  “Oh no!” was our first thought.  Sure enough, a steady dribble was coming from the roof right onto the foot of our bed.  This time, however, it was water from the air conditioning system.  Improvement?  We think so!  But we spent the night trying to sleep with our feet pulled up to avoid the wet bottom.  The room was way too small to move the bed and that floor has been slated for renovation this coming month.  They may have to start early there!

     Saturday morning we moved with the help of the Kleins into Alema Court, our permanent residence for our stay in Africa.  This apartment has been newly renovated with new paint, appliances, extermination of pests and sooooo clean!  We were delighted with it.  It is on the second floor so we will even get some exercise, despite our best efforts to avoid it. 

     There are 8 missionary couples in this apt. complex and we were invited for dinner on Saturday evening to the Warner’s home.  Terry and Susan are from Utah and he used to teach at BYU.  She used to serve on the Primary General Board.  The Africa she used to visit then is much different from the one where we live now.  We had quite a discussion on letting church leaders meet with the “common” member and not just those that are well to do. 

     Sunday we attended the Medina ward which has a lovely chapel, but just open windows and fans.  That makes for warm meetings!  We were so impressed that despite their circumstances, these sweet members show up on Sunday to church dressed in their finest clothes.  It ranges from a white and lavender tuxedo on the person conducting, to pants and t-shirts…all clean and pressed.  John mentioned that when they sing it is just one part, but loud and enthusiastic and sounds much like the timbre of the voices in the movie, “The Mission” that we like.  We noticed that when the young men serve the sacrament they stand with their left hand behind them at attention like the military parade rest.

     We had the opportunity to participate in two blessings today one for Laura Nyaabire who will go into surgery tomorrow to have a growth removed from her face.  She was a street child befriended by a Senior Missionary couple, reunited with her family, started school, and now has an appointment with a prominent maxilo-facial surgeon to try to make her look more normal so she can have a future.  The second was Milly, a young lady from Pocatello, Idaho who was here visiting her husband.  He is from Nigeria and they have been married for 18 mos.  She is trying to get a visa for him to the US.  She fell and hurt her knee and was in a lot of pain.

     Tonight we had dinner with Elder and Sister Taylor.  They are both lawyers and are here working in the legal department.  This next week they are hosting a big international conference for lawyers around the world on International Law and Religious Freedom.  We also met a young man, Paul Semeh, who started an organization to help street children to get them off the streets and back in school and then employed.  He is definitely fighting an uphill battle.  There are amazing things going on here in Africa and we are delighted to be a part of it.  Tomorrow we get to work!

An Unexpected Journey

At the beginning of January, 2012, the idea of going to Africa was not even on the radar, let alone on the bucket list.  So the fact that we are now in Accra, Ghana is the first miracle.  Later I will post an exerpt from one of John's letters last May that tells how this trip came about.

So for now we have embarked, like the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, on an unexpected journey.

John and I left Orlando Wed. Jan. 2.  We got to the airport around noon since we had so much luggage to check in.  Four gigantic bags to check and two 80 pound trunks full of medical equipment and supplies.  Then our 3 carry on bags.  It was quite a pile!!

At the Delta check in, the young man had a rather incredulous look as he spied the baggage being unloaded from the hotel SUV.   Following a quick explanation of why we had it, he then proceeded to carefully weigh each bag and we shuffled things back and forth till each piece of luggage was within the 50 lb. limit.  Then, the lady who was in charge said because we were going on a Humanitarian mission, she would only charge for the 2 extra trunks, ($200 each) and not the fact that they were overweight also, thus saving us $400.  How very kind, and what we considered a second miracle.

We boarded the flight for New York and after a quick layover settled in for the 9 hour flight to Accra.  Three movies, 2 meals and no sleep later, we landed safely on what was now Thursday.  Since our medical trunks had gone to Atlanta (somehow) during our first flight to Orlando, we were happy to see all of our luggage had made it to Africa.  We were met at the airport by Kofi Sampong the liaison between the University of Accra and the KorleBu Teaching Hospital and LDS Charities.  The protocol officer from the university was also there with a letter and skipping the very long lines we were waved through Customs without a second look.  Third miracle.

Elder and Sister Kline (senior missionaries) were also there at the airport with their truck to pick us up.  They took us to their apt. in Alema Court where we will be staying and fed us lunch.  Our apt. was being fumigated (thank goodness!) so we are staying in the apartments located at the temple compound until Sat.

Above photo is Alema Court, and then John getting off the plane in Accra.  It was really warm!

 Everyone here has been extremely helpful and kind.  In the movie, "The Hobbit" which we saw in Orlando, Gandalf the Wizard states that small acts of kindness and love can hold back the darkness.  The world could learn from the graciousness of the Ghanaian people.  Names are hard to pronounce and remember, but it will get easier.  The Klines took us to a large shopping center, a fruit stand, a money exchange and then we got some much needed rest.  

Today (Friday) John met with Dean Ayeh-Kumi, head of the School of Allied Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences at the University of Ghana.  Many people donated funds to our mission effort so we decided to pool the contributions and today presented the Dean with almost $1000.00 to be used for student scholarships for Audiology students.  It is so hard and expensive for these young students to go to school, and we hope this money will help a little.  Thank-you so much to those who made this possible.  

We will move to our new apt. tomorrow and start to work on Monday.  An unexpected journey, yet so far... so good.

On the road again....

We have made it as far as Orlando with a minimum of trauma.  Our son, Jonathan, successfully navigated I-15 in a snowstorm in a white-knuckled 2 1/2 drive to the Salt Lake airport.  Our two trunks full of medical equipment and supplies left us somewhere along the way (hard to do on a direct flight) and ended up in Atlanta!?  But they have finally caught up...somewhat bruised and buffeted, but nevertheless intact.

We have spent 2 delightful,  warmer days with our two daughters, Kristina & Angelina,  and their families experiencing Disney World, & Universal Studios firsthand.  It has been delightful getting re-acquainted with our 7 grandchildren in the eastern half of the US.    We found out we have a couple of Roller Coaster addicts in the family.  That did NOT come from their Grandmother who gets sick on a swing.  We are forever grateful to our son, Jonathan, and his sweet wife, Diana, for making this get together possible. We are also very grateful to our friends and family for their love and support. Without you, we would not be able to have this opportunity.

Here we go! This is our blog of our adventures in Ghana. Follow us and enjoy our mishaps.