Food, glorious food! Or Once More into the Bleach...er...Breach!

We are talking today about food in Ghana.  But, most importantly are those in Ghana who do not have it.  We pass this little group below each day on the street coming home from work.  They are street orphans (very small) taken care of by several women.  They are here in the same place everyday with no shelter.  We are not sure how or what they eat.  I've started carrying a bag of apples or crackers with me and drop them off.  It is truly heartbreaking.

There are traditional dishes from each ethnic group, tribe and clan.  The main dishes are organized around a starchy staple such as rice, fufu, banku, kenkey, etc. each in a sauce or soup saturated with fish, meat or mushrooms.
In the south, where we live, the staples include cassava and plantain.  Yam, maize and beans are used as staple foods also.

Fufu is boiled cassava and plantain or yam and plantain pounded with a large mortar and pestle, (made of wood), into a round, pulped, gooey ball.
Banku is cooked fermented corn and cassava dough. (below)  It has the consistency of cheese.  Not our favorite!

Kenkey is fermented corn dough wrapped in corn or plantain leaves and cooked into a consistent solid ball.
Most of the meetings in Ghana, like the faculty meeting at the above right, serve food.  Sometimes breakfast, sometimes lunch, and sometimes just a "snack".  We even had food after the graduation we attended!  Ghanaian food is often very spicy.  Because it is a starch based experience, the spices keep it from tasting bland.  Above is "light" soup with goat. There is nothing light about it.  It is very spicy and most often eaten with fufu.

  Below are beans and rice (often served with chicken or goat).  The other night we went to a restaurant with some friends from the US.  They had a lovely buffet of African food and drummers and dancers.  One of our party, the white guy below in the striped shirt jumped right in and helped with the show.  He has a PhD in music and had a great time.

Most Ghanaian dishes are served with a stew or soup with a wide variety of flavors, spices and textures.  Common soups are groundnut soup (peanut), light (tomato and very spicy) soup, Tomato stew or gravy is a stew which is often very thick and served with rice.  The soups often have meat, mainly goat, sometimes chicken.  Fish is quite popular, either smoked or fried, but we do not buy locally because of where they catch it.  Fried plantains are also popular.

 The fruit and vegetables are fabulous!  Pineapple (sold above), papayas and mangos are to die for, they are so sweet.  They often hack the shells off the coconuts with a machete (one handed) and stick a straw in them so you can drink the milk.  

Here we found a twin banana.  All fruit, eggs and vegetables must go through a clorox wash for at least 5 min. before being eaten to kill the parasites.

Because meat is so expensive we often eat eggs for protein.  The chicken we do buy is often quite tough, and sometimes we buy minced meat (hamburger) if we are in a store we trust.
To the right is a typical dinner for us at home. (omelet)
Below is a breakfast we had at a meeting.  The Ghanaians make great oatmeal cereal and these little meat pies that are really good.  The juice is wonderful and usually sold in boxes off the shelf, as is the milk.  (It is preserved through a heating process)

Often you will see outside cafes where food is served on the street.  Dishwashing included.
We only drink bottled water from the stores.  If you buy it off the street, the risk is that the bottle was refilled by the vendors.  Many of the Ghanaians buy their water in plastic packets, bite off the corner and then squeeze the water into their mouth (like the little one below).

Food is very expensive here.   $15 for a box of Raisin Bran, $4 for a small can of peaches, $9 for a chunk of cheddar cheese the size of a stack of playing cards, and $6 for a med. bag of M & M's. So...obviously we are not eating those things!





This was a meeting we were in with the Vice Chancellor who is the President of the University of Ghana.  Eating again.

Here the senior missionaries are watching a live broadcast of our own Area President, Elder Dickson, speaking in General Conference in Salt Lake City.  We were watching the Sat. afternoon session at 2:00 pm  from 8-10 pm our time, but were thrilled to get it.  The very next Sunday  Elder Dickson was back in our chapel here in Accra speaking and encouraging 40 humble saints in the Jamestown Branch.   In 2012 the Africa West Area accounted for 33% of the entire growth of the Church in wards and branches, and 14% of the growth in new Stakes.  Amazing!


We watched conference in the upstairs conference room at the Area Office building where this week we gave the senior missionaries and temple staff free hearing tests...50 of them!  Long day for Elder Ribera.

View of the Volta

Over the Easter weekend we had the opportunity to travel with some of the Senior Missionary couples up to the Volta Lake and Akosombo Hydroelectric Dam.  Volta Lake is the largest man-made lake in the world, built in the 1960's and is the main fresh water source for Ghana.  The total length of the lake and river is 930 miles!  The lake submerged nearly 740 villages and displaced about 80,000 people.  Most of the people were re-located, but there were many problems in the new settlements.  The lake covers 3.6% of Ghana's total land area.  The main purpose for the Dam was to provide electricity for the aluminum industry.    It was wonderful to be out in the country.  The land is so much greener to the north outside of the city of Accra.  There were large groves of mango trees (above).  We never realized that the fruit grows hanging down like ornaments on the trees.  They are so delicious.  These are still green, but we bought some to bring home with us.  On the roadside we ran into a couple families of baboons.  They wait alongside the highway hoping for travelers with extra bananas.

We took a tour with a guide across the top of the dam.  It was interesting to hear how the lake and dam were constructed.  Many families were displaced because of the area the lake covers, some of whom were fisherman who still fish along the banks and in the lake.  On the whole, the lake and the dam have not been good for the area and people who live in the area.  Disease has increased, farming has decreased, and socioeconomics have suffered.  The electricity generated serves Togo, Benin, part of the Cote d'Ivoire and all of Ghana.  John will come back later with Dr. Sampong to make some sound measurements down in the structure itself where the men work with the turbines.  We asked our guide about the daily power outages in Accra.  He said it was "complicated".

After the tour we stopped at a hotel for lunch.  Even with the holiday, we thought it was a little long to wait for a sandwich.  (90 min).  It is a good thing we had delightful company.  The Warners are our Public Relations couple missionaries.  (in blue)  The Coopers (in white) are Temple Missionaries.

The Petersons are newly arrived for their second mission in Accra.  This time they are working with the many single adults we have here.  The Kleins are below with Dago in his great African shirt.  They are in charge of welfare and it is amazing what they accomplish; teaching gardening (farming), co-ordinating distribution of wheelchairs, schooling, vision screening, immunizations, digging wells and of course...audiology.  (US!)

The Fitzgeralds (above) are the Executive Secretary couple to President Dickson.  Huge job!  The Haws, on the right, work in the Church auditing department here.  

   On the way home we stopped at the Cedi glass bead annex.  They crush glass bottles into a fine powder, then heat it and mix with colored sand, pour into molds and fire again.  Before cooling they make the holes in the center so they can string them to make beautiful glass beads.  We had fun picking some out with our new friend.

 We love how the Bouganvillia grows over the walls everywhere.  Apparently they tie rocks on string and then to the bush to make it drape.  These were on the hill below our hotel where we stopped for lunch.

Lastly...John has just returned from a week in California attending the American Academy of Audiology conference.  Ramatu was able to attend because she already had a visa, but the other students were again denied a US visa in a last ditch attempt to let them go.  It was sad, but John was able to accomplish much at the conference in facilitating future relationships between US companies and the students (soon to be Audiologists) in Ghana.

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!!