With my time in Ghana dwindling, NYU Accra went on its final overnight trip of the semester. This weekends trip was to Tamale, located in the Northern Region of Ghana. We Departed at 4:30am on Thursday for the long 12 hour journey through the hills. I slept nearly the entire way... I was so impressed with myself.
On Friday we had a packed day. After a quick breakfast we departed for Tamale Town and explored the central Mosque of Tamale. The Northern Region of Ghana is predominantly muslim, which was interesting to see, as the south is almost entirely Christian. We entered the mosque in our long pants and long sleeves in the 100 degree heat, and we watched each other melt as we were toured around. After a fainting incident we decided it was time to go and shed our layers.
Following the mosque, we traveled to the central market of Tamale. I found the market to be like every other market in Ghana, however this market sold shae butter. Northern Ghana has tons of shae nut trees. Local women smash the shae nuts and make unbelievable shae butter. I purchased lots of it. The woman in the market filled a large tub for me, which she sold to me for GH 2.00 or $1.25.
After lunch at the Tamale Institute of Cross Cultural Studies (where we were staying), we headed out to visit Dr. Abdulai's Clinic. Dr. Abdulai is, hands down, one of the most amazing and selfless human beings I have ever met. He was one of ten children and the sole survivor of all of them. His parents were lepers who died of starvation when he was very young. His siblings deaths quickly followed the parents, but somehow Dr. Abdulai was able to survive on a diet of trash until he was taken in by a priest.
Dr. Abdulai, thanks to the charity and kindness of others, was able to grow up and attend school, later attending university where he studied to be a doctor so he too could help other people someday. Once an established surgeon, Dr. Abdulai found himself unsatisfied. At this time, those that could not afford life saving surgery were left to die. Dr. Abdulai decided he could not go on working like that for any longer, so he quit and started his own small clinic where patients would be treated absolutely free of charge. It is a miracle that the clinic has grown as it has and that Dr. Abdulai has continually been able to provide medical care free of charge to as many people as he does. The clinic just celebrated its 20th anniversary. He thanks god for this.
The doctor was all smiles as he talked to us. He is an adorable man who is constantly laughing and making light of situations, as you often need to do working in such an environment. He explained to us that his clinic is not simply about meeting peoples medical needs. He said that the clinic was about love, about loving those that needed to be loved and loving them on their terms. A lot of the patients at the clinic are mentally ill, and while none of them are medicated they all seem to be quite happy where they are. This is probably due to the fact that they are there by choice. Everyone is welcome at the clinic for as long as they want to stay. The women next to Dr. Abdulai, in the photo below, has been living at the clinic for 15 years. Dr. Abdulai explained that this women is mentally ill and used to wander around naked putting sand in mailboxes. He shared a laugh with the women (who does not speak english) as they reminisced about how she used to do this. As you can see, she now wears clothes and is generally pretty normal.
"When people feel loved on their terms, then they will want to stay with the person who loves them, always." - The Amazing Dr. Abdulai
Dr. Abdulai introduced us to his patients and told us their amazing stories. The man in the checkered shirt explained that he is carrying a GIANT box of condoms because he is bringing them into town to give out, in hopes to prevent the spread of HIV, as he himself has AIDs.
The experience at the clinic was extremely uplifting. Despite the fact that I was surrounded by very sick men and women, I was also surrounded by an overwhelming amount of love. And that is what seems to make all the difference.
After making donations to the clinic, we split up, climbed in the back of several pick up trucks and departed. Myself and ten others arrived at a diviners in a small little village near by. Diviners are a part of the traditional religion in Northern Ghana, so we all wanted to give the experience a go. I met with the Diviner just as the sun started setting. He scribbled in sand and spoke in a foreign language. He had me whisper my name into a bowl which he then placed over several objects. When he lifted the bowl, to my astonishment, all the objects had moved. He then told my translator my fortune. I must say, he could not have been any more wrong, but the whole bowl thing was pretty neat.
As I waited for my classmates to have their fortunes told, I played with the local children that had gathered outside the diviners door. They got a kick out of our cameras and insisted that they test out each one. They grasped the concept pretty fast, but not before taking a series of ridiculous pictures with my camera.
On Saturday we drove to Paga where we visited the Pikoro slave camp and cemetery, but not before hitting up the border! Paga is right on the border of Ghana and Burkina Faso. We were able to charm the Ghanian border control into letting us cross over into Burkina Faso for the sake of taking some pictures! Totally awesome.
Here I am in Burkina Faso!
There was not much left to the slave camp in Paga. Conservation is a huge problem on the continent. But what was left was hard to take in. The rocks above indicate a mass grave. The area was spotted with these piles of rocks, as many died at the camp on a regular basis. It was easy to understand why as we stood in the hot sun.
After a quick lunch we headed for Bolgatanta where we visited a village of widows that make their living weaving baskets. In this area of Ghana widowed women are forced to marry their deceased husbands brother. If they refuse they are beaten and thrown out of their community with their children. The community that we visited was composed of women who had refused to marry, or have sex with their dead husbands brother. The strength these women have is remarkable. And of course the children of the community were adorable. The little girl below did not speak any english but insisted that she hold my basket for me as she followed me around.
After purchasing lots of goods, as well as donating lots of goods to the village, it was time for some traditional tribal dancing. The women of the community danced for us and then choose those that they wished to have dance for them. Below you can see two of my classmates breaking it down Ghana style.
Of course one of the women chose me to dance. She must have known that I am extremely talented in the arena of tribal dance. I made an absolute fool out of myself and LOVED every second of it.
At least the village kids got a good laugh out of it.
This is Africa.
It was a great two days in Tamale!
I can not say that the drive home was as enjoyable.
15 hours on a bus and one blown out tire later, I am home in Accra.
...but we have no water... psh, what is another day without showering?
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