Peacenik Hurler

Warsaw Marathon Preparation - Part 1

2011-06-03T23:52:00.013+02:00

Last summer I used to plan my running routes along the metro line. Starting in Natolin, I would head straight to Metro Ursynów, then swing into Park Kozlowskiego and over to Puławska so as to get to Słuzew, Wilanowska, Wierżbno and Racławicka before making my way back. It was a bit over 12kms. I wondered what length the metro line from Kabaty to Młociny would be - when I measured it on mapmyrun it turned out to be 46.1kms, a little more than the 42.195kms of a marathon. Actually, from my starting point at Natolin the distance to and from Młociny is almost exactly the same as the marathon stretch. I use mapmyrun to work out the distance and routes I wanna go on.
I've been half thinking for a while about doing the Warsaw marathon on September 25th this year. My bro. did the marathon in Ireland a few years ago and I'm not sure whether he has ever run since, so I was a little wary of pushing myself too much too early. Training during the piping hot Polish summer with Warsaw's urban heat and exhaust fumes en route have made me hesitate. I've found some nice routes to do 7-10kms in the Ursynów area. They are semi-lit and adjacent to lots of greenery to get your head out of the urban zone.

Given that the recent sunny Polish weather has been taking it's toll (If your stuck in a fanless classroom all day you feel so drained when you come home), I realised there is only one solution - more exercise). Having a little girl dictates the time of departure and length of my runs. I find 11pm is a good time as she is usually fast asleep, there is little traffic, the temperature is quite good and I like running in semi-darkness listening to the classical radio station while mulling over my thoughts.

Since the temperatures began to rise though I've felt so exhausted after each run. I went jogging late on Wednesday night, when I thought the worst of the storm had passed, although little did I know it was only getting started. So drenched wet from sweat and heavy showers I wobbled by a massive concert at SSGW and into the shower to try and cool off. There is nothing like the feeling of a cold water beating against you after running yourself into the ground.

The Warsaw marathon has 4,000 places for participants so if you are interested then sign up asap. Entrance fee is 100 zł and all the details can be found at the above link. Fundacja Maraton Warszawski page can be found here so all the latest news and preparation runs will be posted on their wall.

Did ya hear the one about the parrot....

2011-05-09T08:38:00.010+02:00

On Sunday I joined some friends who were having a birthday picnic in Pole Mokotowskie, one of the most popular and action packed parks in Warsaw.

Bad Polish

Niedziela dołączyłem z przyjaciołmi w pole mokotowskie (jedna najpopularniejszy oraz pełny rozrywka w warszawie)z powodu impreza urodzinowy.

Good Polish

W niedzielę byłem z przyjaciółmi na polach mokotowskich (jedna z najpopularniejszych i pełny rozrywek park w warszawie) na imprezie urodzinowej.
***

As we were about to leave, I saw an old woman casually walking around with a parrot perched on her right arm.

Bad Polish
Kiedy mieliśmy wyjść, widziałem starę kobietę która szła swobodnie z papugę posiedzenia na prawym ramieniu.

Good Polish
Kiedy mieliśmy iść, zauważyłem starą kobietę która szła beztrosko z papugą na prawym ramieniu.

***
Today I was telling my students about it and one of them said he was also in the park at that time and knew about her and the parrot.

Bad Polish
Dzisiaj powiedziałem moich uczeniowie o tej sytuacje ale największość już ją wiedzieli oraz jej znana papuga.

Good Polish
Dzisiaj powiedziałem moim uczniom o tej sytuacji a jeden z nich też był wtedy w parku i ją wiedział oraz jej papugę.
***

I thought it a good occasion to explore whether there are some interesting phrases or idioms in Polish about parrots or birds.

Bad Polish
Pomyślałem że to byłoby dobry okazji żeby się dowiedzieć jakieś polski wyrazenia o papugach albo ptaki.

Good Polish
Pomyślałem że to byłaby dobra okazja żeby się nauczyć jakichś polskich wyrażeń o papugach albo ptakach.
***

But I probaby haven't translated it well yet.

Bad Polish
Ale chyba jeszcze nie udało mi się dobrze wytłumaczyć.

Good Polish
Ale chyba nie udało mi się ich dobrze przetłumaczyć.

Some sayings

* Papuga znaczy też naśladowcę - Parrot can also mean a copycat

**"Kruk krukowi oka nie wykole" - A Raven won't gorge another raven's eye

***"Zły to ptak, co własne gniazdo kala" - it's an ill bird that fouls its own nest //You shouldn't shit on your own doorstep

****"Sowa - mądra głowa" - Wise as an owl

*****"Jeśli wejdziesz między wrony, musisz krakać jak i one" - If you are among crows, you have to caw like them

******"Jedna jaskółka wiosny nie czyni" - One swallow does not make a spring

Bits of Polish blog have some other interesting ones

Mia goes to John Paul II's Theme Park

2011-05-07T11:50:00.007+02:00

Does photoshop first come to mind? Well, believe it or not, this picture is as genuine as Mia's (my 7 month old daughter, spawn of an Irish and Polish immaculate conception) boredom at being brought to the surreal Beatification theme park that occured last weekend at the Temple of the Divine Providence (Świątynia Opatrzności Bożej) in the Miasteczko Wilanów district of Warsaw. The Temple is a musuem, but it's a church, but it's a museum, but it's a church. Oooops, sorry, you see, the only way they got about 40 million zł in taxpayers money was by designating it as a museum, and not a place of worship, which of course it is.

People from Poland and abroad were invited to send their picture to make up a montage of John Paul II to be hung on the date of his beatification in Rome by Pope Benedict XVI. The end product consisted of 105,000 photos of the flock.

The Faithful queued up to board the John Paul II beatification train -uuh, whatever that is supposed to mean! These brave folks waited for ages to go on, well, it has to be said, a pretty fucking lame trip around the area of the Temple on a beatification choo-choo. It capped off the theme park feel of the whole scenario. There was candy floss, fast food, helium balloons (with F-16's being a favourite amongst boys), real nuns in multi-coloured habits (something Ireland hasn't seen for a while), and the essential religious book stands pawning off an abundance of material on the former Holy Father. Let see now: Religion, Jesus, marketplace, tables - now where have I heard that narrative before?

The loyal disciples of John Paul II were glued to coverage of his escapades being shown on an enormous screen beside the montage, so much so that this man on the right, who was dying for a piss for at least 15 minutes point blank refused to head to the jacks until a commercial break appeared.

The Catholic Church's head for 27 years appears a bit chubby in this wind-proof work of idolatry. I pondered for a while as to how this may have come about, given the fact that he was such a strapping bulk of fitness all his life. It eventually dawned on me that the belly area of the montage consisted of an extraordinarily unblanaced amount of his fat followers, hence the unseemly largeness of his mid-section. How unfortunate.

This kind gentleman got wind of my appearance and donned my local hurling and gaelic football club's blue and yellow colours to make this Irishman in Wilanów - neither in designer clothes nor with a latte cup holder strapped to his crotch - feel a little more at ease and at home in this upwardly mobile, sinking residential area of Southern Warsaw.

And so Mia uttered "Mam dość" (I've had enough) of this whole debacle, let's get the fuck out of here. So we waded through the throngs of JPII flags and other paraphenalia, back towards our humble abode in the irreligious flat that is our home. Mia did a big dump to show her discontent at our choice for May 1st. Next time, she appeared to convey through her drooling dribble, bring me on a real outing to the May 1st Worker's march and not to some ridiculous fair organised by a cult that adores a man who helped cover up child abuse in his church for 27 years. "Wow", I thought to myself, "what an articulate young baby I have."

Fantasy Government of Ireland

2011-01-20T12:37:00.001+01:00

Fantasy Government

Pick a cross/non-party gvt. involving current members of the Senate/Dail or those you think who are Irish citizens with expertise in a certain field. Positions to be filled:

1. Prime Minister - The people of Ireland

2. Minister For Finance - Joe Higgins

3. Minister for Foreign Affairs - Michael D. Higgins

3. Minister for Women's Affairs - Ivana Bacik

4. Minister for Human Rights - David Norris

5. Mininster for Children's Affairs - Mary Raftery

6. Minister for Energy - Willie Corduff

7. Minister for Culture - Michael Flately

8. Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food - Darina Allen

9. Minister for De-Gardai-afication - Every citizen assaulted by a cop

10. Minister for Arts - Raymond Deane

11. Minister for Sports - DJ Carey

12. Minister for Tourism - Peig Sayers Ghost

13. Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs - The cast of Ros na Rún

14. Minister for Defence - Ireland's Judo/Karate champion

15. Minister for Education and Science - Pearse Doherty

16. Minister for Environment - Friends of the Irish Environment Board

17. Minister for Justice - Judge Joseph Mangan

18. Minister Disabled People's Affairs - Kathy Sinnott

19. Minister for Health - Mary Harney's Stomach

20. Minister for Social and Family Affairs - David Quinn

21. Minister for Transport - The Swiss Dublin Bus Driver who juggles to his passengers when caught in traffic

Disclaimer - Some of these are just for fun and obviously would prove hazardous to the health of the nation. You are entitled to separate the Ministries or create entirely new ones that are either a good idea or complete and utter rubbish.

Odd Warsaw

2011-01-17T00:44:00.004+01:00

I might visit this business to see what they are up to.

A new anti-smoking sign at a bus station: 'Smoke-free zone'.

Some people think the President of Warsaw is a Commie even though she is as capitalist as they come.

???Who knows what this means???

I love my cellulite - You don't have to be ideal.

*Cheapest* Pharmacy in Warsaw will be based here.

(Note: *Probably* in the bottom left)

ThinkBud

Nice street name

The Problem with WOŚP

2011-01-09T20:11:00.007+01:00

Szef WOŚP Jurek Owsiak, Olaf (syn Łukasza Ostaf
iena z Pcimia) oraz gen. brygadier Wiesław Leśniakiewicz(fot. PAP/Tomasz Gzell)

Polish soldiers in Afghanistan raise money for WOŚP

WOŚP, or Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy, the massive children's charity in Poland, is probably going to raise $12 million in it's main event today. Similar to Comic Relief, it is apolitical, and in many TV pictures today one can see the Polish military (fully equipped, still part of the occupation in Afghanistan) participating in the activities. So what's the problem?

Well, this time last year the Polish ministry of Defence spent $26 million of Polish taxpayer's money to purchase 8 unmanned Israeli bomber/spy planes. The US military, in January 2010 alone, were estimated to have killed 123 innocent people in Pakistan using such murderous equipment.

So, is it possible, given that WOŚP is in it's 19th year and growing more successfully every year, that the Polish State now consciously undercuts the annual Health budget, freeing up taxpayer's money for other departments and projects - for example, to buy these killer drones? Are they factoring in the fact that WOŚP is not going to criticise them for not spending more on hospital equipment to save the lives of Poland's sickest and most vulnerable children?

The taxpayer pays twice. Innocent people continue to die in massive numbers due to imprecise bombing by coaltion forces in Afghanistan, a war with no public support amongst the Polish public.

It is mainly the right wing who detest WOŚP, especially it's founder and main driver, Jurek Owśiak, due to his promotion of an alleged hedonistic lifestyle through his infamous slogan: Róbta Co Chceta (Do what you want).

WOŚP is great in that it shows how ordinary citizens are very capable of self-organising and fundraising for causes dear to their hearts. 10s of thousands of volunteers give of their time to collect money all over the country and creatively generate much needed income for the Health Service.

However, it seems that WOŚP has become so corporately-sponsored, so reliant upon advocacy from the super rich, cynical politicians and celebrity culture, and so blatantly blind to the fact that the parents of the country's children have already paid, through their taxes, lots of money which should have been spent on health, education and other social purposes, that it risks becoming just another pointless philantrophic exercise for the elite to raise their profiles, for the State to exploit the innate good of ordinary people and to pre-emptively quell the righteous anger of workers.

Why does wood cause so much trouble?

2010-08-13T13:33:00.011+02:00

Robert Fisk asked the question 8 days ago in The Independent: Can a tree start a Middle East War? Well, it certainly started the latest Lebanese-Israeli firefight which ended in the deaths of 3 Lebanese soldiers, a Lebanese journalist and an Israeli lieutenant-colonel. Thankfully, at least for now, all out war seems to have been abated.

So why did a tree cause all the trouble? Well, the Israelis decided to use a crane to cut it down as it was blocking their CCTV cameras, crossing the UN Blue line border in the process and provoking warning fire from angry Lebanese border guards.

It's not all that different to what is happening in Poland at the moment, albeit the piece of wood causing controversy for the past 2 weeks has not yet caused any serious causalties.

In the 'red' corner you have: the Catholic Church, the government, the police and the majority of Polish society.

In the 'very blue' corner you have: a very small group of patriotic Catholic fundamentalists supported by the main opposition party.

Here's a summary of how wood has caused fierce tension in Poland over the past few weeks.

96 Polish people, including many politicians, the president and his wife died in April on their way to commemorate the Red Army's WWII massacre at Katyn where 20,000+ of the Polish elite were killed.

An outpouring of grief resulted and some senior political figures have suggested that the Russians brought down the plane in an act of terrorism against their arch critics in Poland.

Things to keep in mind:

* Scouts laid a makeshift wooden cross at the presidential palace when massive vigils were taking place after the plane crash.

* The wooden cross, that is being defended by a few loonies keeping vigil 24/7 is supposed to be moved to a famous cathedral nearby.

* The loonies and their supporters have successfuly prevented priests and cops from removing the cross.

* Poland is a secular country, not a theocracy.

* A plaque to commemorate the deceased has been unveiled at the palace.

* The cross and the loonies have now become a tourist site.

* Of all the issues in the world that are horseshite non-news, the Polish media have given 2 weeks of intense coverage about the controversy.

* A facebook game has been designed where you can poke fun at the ridiculous scenario.

The so-called 'defenders of the cross' say they will not abandon the cross until a permanent monumnent is erected in it's place. This probably means they will have to be removed by force. They have already won one battle with the cops. The ensuing fight and the issue as a whole is a defining moment in the secularisation process of Poland. As religious and patriotic nuts are forced further to the fringes, more and more Poles react with their heads down, ashamed not only of the loonies but also of the conditions that have created their attitudes, i.e. loyalty to Catholic fundamentalist values, the State's weakness in upholding basic secular boundaries, and the psychological obsession with victimhood.

I thought I could manage without mentioning this god-forsaken piece of wood on Krakowskie Przedmiescie that every fucker has been mumbling about for the past 2 weeks. But whether it is a tree on the Israeli-Lebanese border or a cross in Warsaw, it is apparent that very small things can easily become explosive issues if not down sensitively and with respect for fairness.

If you want to know more about what the hell I'm blabbering on about, you can read Scatts hilarious raging rant here

As brilliant Texan comedian Bill Hicks once said: "The last thing Jesus wants to see when he comes back is a cross. It's like going up to Jackie Kennedy and showing her your sniper rifle necklace".

Maxwell Itoya, R.I.P.

2010-08-12T14:25:00.006+02:00

Reading this article (http://www.counterpunch.org/brottman01112010.html) about Facebook recently made my wonder why I haven't managed to write a blog since April last.

At the peak of my blog production friends used to comment, "Wow, you seem to be so busy and active all the time". The truth was in fact the complete opposite. For the past few months I have been so busy that I completely forgot, apart from some brief moments, that I even had a blog. Finishing a work contract, getting married, getting ready to have a baby and trillions of other things meant serious blog neglect.

Anyhow, I have been meaning to post these photos to commemorate Maxwell Itoya, a Nigerian father of three kids and husband to a Polish woman, who was brutally murdered by a Polish cop in Warsaw on May 23rd this year. Max was trying to provide for his family by peddling small goods, one of the few trades African immigrants can earn a living from here due to the difficuties they have in receiving mainstream employment.

It beggars belief, but despite the fact that he was completely unarmed his life was brutally taken from him and his family through a split second of a Polish police officer. I have no doubt this cop had no intention of using his gun when he went as a part of a wider operation to crack down on and arrest peddlars of illegal goods.

However, he had a choice. His decision to abuse his power in a lethal fashion caused an outcry amongst the immigrant community and stirred fears amongst many that it was an indication of the Polish state's intention to either imprison, injure, kill or force them more and more out of sight.

Maxwell's murder, which has not led to any charges been pressed against the perpetrator acting on behalf of the State, was a grave reminder of how vulnerable immigrants really are in Poland.

The small shrine of candles and flowers laid at the site of his murder in the Praga district of Warsaw is in stark contrast to the overwhelming abundance of commemorative items left for the controversial former president Lech Kaczynski. Yes, Maxwell was not a politician, nor the head of any State apparatus. Yet, he was a human being who meant the world to his wife and kids and friends.

So while religious fundamentalists, politicians and the media continue to make a mountain out of a molehill and blabber shite about the controversial cross in front of the presidential palace (laid there to commemorate the victims of the Smolensk tragedy where 96 people died earlier this year), the murder of Maxwell Itoya has by and large being forgotten.

Let's just hop the next time cops raid the marketplace they will keep their trigger-happy fingers in their pockets and away from their guns.

Polish plane disaster - President and 95 others dead

2010-04-10T12:44:00.006+02:00

Images source http://indepth.news.sky.com/InDepth/gallery/

Some of the most important figures in Polish politics have died in a plane crash en route to a remembrance service for the 20,000 Polish Officers and members of the intelligentsia killed 70 years ago on Stalin's orders in Katyn. 96 people killed in total, including the president Lech Kaczyński, appear to have died.

It is incredibly ironic that this has occured on the 70th anniversary of an event that obliterated Poland's ability to defend itself during World War II.

"It clipped the tops of the trees, crashed down and broke into pieces," the governor of the Smolensk region, Sergei Antufiev, told Russia-24 television news network.

The left wing of the plane, according to reports, seems to have tipped tree tops in heavy fog as it attempted to land in Smolensk, near the border of Belarus and Russia, quite near the scene of the Katyn massacre.

The death of the cabin crew, pilots are still as yet unconfirmed and their names have not been released. The news outlets in Poland are focused on the loss to it's political hierarchy, including the head of the Polish army, the governor of the central bank and the head of the presidential administration. Kaczyński's wife and the families of other senior officials.

A huge amount of people have gathered outside the presidential palace wherea religious services are taking place. Meanwhile, the ceremony to commemorate the deceased at Katyn is also taking place, albeit without the presence of the fatal official Polish delegation.

Despite initial unconfirmed reports that there were 3 survivors, an offical confirmation has followed stating that nobody survived the plane disaster.

"Teacher, your fly is open"

2010-03-25T22:42:00.004+01:00

When your in the position of teaching numerous kids and adults day in and out, a few embarrassing moments are sure to occur. By and large, I'd say I've got off fairly lightly to date. I'm never late for work so the possibility of screwing up is thus reduced. But no matter how prepared one may be, to err is human, and I am as human and error-prone as they come.

So Monday last at 4.25pm as I was posing a question to Bartek, Daria decided to answer out of turn.

Me: "Yes Daria, what is it now?"
Daria: "Teacher, your zip is down!"
Me:"Ok, now open your student books at page 63", as I subtly zipped up.

You gotta be careful with new trousers. If you rush and don't securely place the zip in a flat position but rather leave it elevated then it takes on a life of it's own and people like Daria will crucify you for your inattention to the laws of zip placement. They'll get a good 1/2 minute giggle out of your misfortune and then turn their attention to the next funniest thing they set their eyes on. Their humour is direct, cruel and yet innocently harmless.

I have never arrived half-drunk or with a black-eye from a bar-room brawl like my predecessor; never farted or had too loud a belly grumble; rarely if ever had a noticeable misfortunate slip of the tongue.

So maybe in the greater scale of things I'm a little bit dull! If flying low is my only mishap it'll have been a good year.

Sr. Helen Ryder and St. Louis de Montfort parish, Port-au-Prince

2010-02-03T10:46:00.004+01:00

The three missionary nuns of St Louis Marie de Montfort parish in Port-au-Prince meet Trocaire's emergency director, Maurice McQuillan.

Sr Helen Ryder looks over her wall to the 'tent city' that has sprung up next door. Thousands of people in her parish have been left homeless by the earthquake.

Sr Eileen Davey walks in her parish with some children from her nutrition and education programme. 'You may go out by yourself,' she says, 'but you never come home alone.'

Photos: Conor O'Loughlin/CARITAS
Originally published here:

Haiti quake: the orginal humanitarians

2010-01-29T23:30:00.001+01:00

Originally published here: caritas internationalis

By Conor O’Loughlin, Communications Officer, Trócaire (Caritas Ireland) Port-au-Prince

In a small brick house under the shadow of the church of Louis Marie de Montfort church in Port-au-Prince live three nuns.

The house is by the airport and the constant thumping of helicopters overhead provides a disconcerting soundtrack to the searing heat.

The three nuns have lived here for a long time and devote their time to the poor people of the neighbourhood.

“People are very poor here,” says Sr Helen Ryder, a sister of the La Sainte Union order from Co. Offaly in Ireland. “There are poorer, but then in Haiti there is always someone poorer.”

Her colleague, Sr Maria Hawkes from Cork, spoke of the moment the earthquake struck: “I was in my room at about 4.45 in the evening. Just sitting by my bed reading a book. Suddenly I became aware of the wall shaking. I got up quickly. My bed was moving across the room. The cabinet above my sink popped open.”

They knew immediately that this was a major disaster.

“It was very sad to see, like a pack of cards, all the houses flattened. We went over to an open space and we didn’t return until the next morning. We lay on the ground that night. When there was tremors you could feel them in your spine.”

Sr Helen spoke of the terrible conditions Haitians live in. “Improvement isn’t a word you hear around here. The four cyclones we had last year now seem small by comparison but they were huge too. That seemed to be the worst thing that could happen until this did. There is a tremendous amount of resilience. Food and water are what’s needed at the moment, simply to survive. After that you can start talking about reconstruction and getting schools open and getting life back to normal. But it’s food and water first.”

The three nuns work on a pre-school feeding programme for the poorest children in the area. Every day before the earthquake, 100 children would come to the centre where they would be given a nourishing meal and some pre-school education. Each child is then sponsored through primary school, which many Haitian parents can’t afford.

However since the earthquake they haven’t been able to re-open the centre because they spent all of their cash reserves on helping people in the community in the immediate aftermath. And while their building remains standing, rebuilding needs to be done to make the structures safe for the children to return.

The emergency director for Trócaire (Caritas Ireland), Maurice McQuillan, visited the nuns this week, to look at the damage and consider how the aid agency might help them get the centre back on their feet.

The third of the group, Sr Eileen Davey from New York, told Mr McQuillan: “For many of the children who come to us, these past two weeks since the earthquake mean that they simply haven’t eaten. They haven’t eaten for several days at this point probably. If they don’t have the food they’ll become weaker and become more susceptible to diseases. That’s always the concern.”

Mr McQuillan agreed to provide them with a grant from Trócaire’s Haiti emergency appeal funds to fix their building and keep them running for a period.

“Long before aid agencies had even been thought of, missionaries like these three women were devoting their lives to the poorest of the poor,” Mr McQuillan said. “They are the original humanitarians. Walking through the local community it’s easy to see how popular and valued these women are. Their vital work must be encouraged to continue wherever possible. Trócaire and Caritas are proud to help them in whatever small way we can.”

Latest News on Sr. Helen Ryder and LSU in Haiti

2010-01-23T14:10:00.005+01:00

Update: Some kids from the nutritional centre lost their lives as a result of the earthquake. The surrounding area has been largely destroyed. The school, church and community house have been slightly damaged. All are sleeping outside due to dangerous aftershocks.

Sr. Helen, Fr. Nicholas and Sr. Eileen at Montfortan parish where they run workshops in shoemaking, a nutritional centre for pre-school kids as well as providing other educational and social services

The locals in the parish where Helen lives have to live in very difficult conditions without any local government support

Mass is at 6am each morning in the Montfortan church
The entrance to St. Louis de Monfort parish where Sr. Helen lives and works

View outside the community house

Photos from Partners in Progress

Dr. Rich Gosser's blog on Haiti and Helen's community

Sr. Helen Ryder, a native of Banagher, Co. Offaly has worked in Haiti for over 20 years. She works on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, surrounded by makeshift houses in 'cites' built by those too poor to afford good standard housing and surrounded by sweatshop factories where countless women work long hours churning out cheap clothes for the US market. They are based close to the airport, which is currently seeing one of the biggest humanitarian relief operations in recent history. From January to April, 2001, Helen was my host in Haiti, setting me up with various voluntary initiatives. Since then, she has remained a good friend and my key link to news on Haiti and the people I got to know.

Helen is a member of the La Sainte Union order of nuns which have run a very successful school in Banagher for over 150 years. Her work in Haiti is concentrated on being present to the every day concerns and needs of the community which she is a member of, tutoring in various subjects to aid the educational progress of those who want to develop their skills and gain employment while furthermore, she cooperates with Irish charities and business people interested in aiding a wide variety of projects that benefit the disadvantaged.

The LSU help run a kindergarten and primary school for disadvantaged kids in a Montfortan-run parish (30,000 people), opposite the warehouses of the US Food for the Poor agency. The latest information is that some of the kids from the nutritional centre lost their lives in the quake. The surrounding area has been badly hit it seems and many of the living quarters have been destroyed. The school, church and community house have been slightly damaged. What appears to be most urgent in the short term is food, water, medicine and skilled personnel who can deal with the pressing needs after such a humanitarian disaster.

What I would suggest is most important for the majority of us is to think more long-term and donate to small organisations or individuals who have been working on the ground for decades. They have the trust of their community and rather than doing everything for Haitian locals, then heading out of the country leaving them to fend for themselves with little resources, they will work hand in hand with locals so they can all rebuild their lives and communities together.

Sr. Helen and her community are one such group who need help now. They are unlike charity organisations, in that the nuns do not have any wage paid from your donation or even administrative fees. What you give in €uros will go directly to benefit those who most need it, either in gourdes (local currency) or items needed to help families reconstruct their houses, gain employment, return to education, etc.

One such individual is Marc Andre. Tall, handsome, clever and articulate, he has worked in both offices and sweatshop factories in Port-au-Prince, sugar plantations in the Dominican Republic and countless other jobs to keep himself and his family going. I kept in contact with him through the years and I just hope that he and his family are ok. Sr. Helen has been like a second mum to him over the past decade, helping him further his education, travel to seek employment, aid his sick family members. It is people like Marc Andre, who deserve so much but face so many obstacles to survive, that my home parish of Banagher have helped support over the years by raising money for Sr. Helen.

The LSU sisters in Banagher will gladly accept any donations for the people of Haiti and they will be sent directly to Sr Helen Ryder. Please send donations to Mary Kenny, LSU Sisters, Debrabant House, Cuba Avenue, Banagher, Co Offaly. Clearly mark 'FOR HAITI'. Sr. Mary can be contacted at 0579151319.

More related links:

Banagher nun (Sr. Helen Ryder) survives earthquake

Help Haitians Help Themselves (Facebook group for LSU in Haiti)

Athlone-based nun survives earhquake

Offal natives survive earthquake in Haiti

St. Rynaghs parish response to the earthquake

http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2010/01/14/story109611.asp

Ways to help Haiti - the work of Fr. Rick Frechette

2010-01-20T23:55:00.008+01:00

Have a read of this very touching letter from priest and doctor Rick Frechette in Haiti to see where your money is going if you support Our Little Brothers and Sisters

The hospital where I first met Rick in 2001 collapsed during the earthquake and many of their clinics were badly damaged.

St. Damian's hospital run by Rick and local staff was also damaged during the earthquake

A video of Rick working in Haiti

RTE documentary on Haiti (2008) and the work

Hello Friends,

After driving by night to Kennedy Airport January 12th, and flying to the Dominican Republic January 13th, Conan and I arrived to Haiti this morning in the helicopter of the President of the Dominican Republic. This ride was due to the reputation of NPH in the Dominican Republic, NPH Italy, a reputation enhanced in the DR by Andrea Bocelli not long ago.

Our first tasks were the medical evacuation of one of our American volunteers, the medical evacuation of one of our Cuban doctors and the evacuation of the body if one of our American visitors. The search still continues in the rubble for another missing American volunteer, Molly.

We also had 18 funerals today. One for John who works at our St Luke program. We miss John very much. He often stopped to at my door to tell me the milestone of his developing baby, which delighted him no end. John ran our computerized language lab. Another was for Johanne’s mother. Joanne is one of the Directors of the St Luke program. All the others were of unknown people who were sadly rotting by the wayside.

Other sadnesses…the death of Immacula, our only physician assistant, who worked at our huge outpatient side of our hospital. The death of ALL but one of Joseph Ferdinand’s brothers and sisters, the death of the husband of Jacqueline Gautier as he was visiting a school which fell and all the students (all died), the death of our ex-pequeno Wilfrid Altisme who was in his 5th year of seminary for priesthood. Other stories of deaths of people who are dear to us keep coming in.

We spent the rest of the time managing the countless people with serious and severe wounds, coming to our hospital. We are doing our best for them, under trees and in the parking lot with ever diminishing supplies. We will work throughout the night and beyond. No stores are open, no banks are open. Diesel is running out. Will be out in two days if we don’t find a solution, which will mean no power at all. The hospital is without water since there is some broken line between the well and the water tower.

Structural damages to the hospital seem superficial at first glance, but about half the outer perimeter walls have fallen. The old hospital in Petionville is in ruins, and teams of workers, led by Ferel, and been digging for Molly non-stop around the clock.

WE HAVE NO INTERNET. OUR PHONES DO NOT WORK. IF A CALL DOES GET THROUGH WE CAN’T HEAR OR BE HEARD. Robin has internet access through a satellite. I asked her to send this message for me, and to read my emails and answer them as best she can for now.

Please continue to pray for us. We pray for you too.

Fr. Rick Frechette

IRISH HAITI RESPONSE – WHO ARE WE?

2010-01-20T23:50:00.002+01:00

Here’s some more info on where your money, if donated to Our Litle Borhers and Sisters in Haiti, is going…

IRISH HAITI RESPONSE – WHO ARE WE?

We are a group of returned volunteers based in Ireland who have worked in Haiti over the past 20 years at different times and for varying periods of time – primarily with Nos Petites Freres et Soures NPFS (Our Little Brothers & Sisters – Haiti) – www.nphhaiti.org or http://saintdamienhospital.wordpress.com/ . However Irish people from other Irish NGOs / Agencies have also been working and assisting with humanitarian work in the past few years. In addition some recently established private commercial enterprises in Haiti have also contributed to development and humanitarian programmes financially and personally.

Over the years we worked and shared our time & skills as electricians, carpenters, builders, drivers, teachers, doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, psychologists, childcare workers, Computer programmers (the list is endless!) within NPFS Projects and Programmes in Haiti. And yes it’s a cliché- but we learned so much more from Haiti and her people than we ever contributed to them…

We have always shared a hope and a passion for Haiti and her people and have continued to keep in contact with our fellow workers and friends in Haiti over the years. We continue doing small but significant work funding and awareness raising for specific locally managed - primarily on-the-ground projects and services with health education and social care and special needs children.

Needless to say these past few days have shocked and hurt us all – as we hear of our old working sites of the hospital and offices collapsed and the heart rendering news of missing staff, friends and volunteers. We are so thankful for all those that are safe and well – but we need to keep the hope alive and assist as best we can in the current crisis.

For us Haiti a once beautiful Nation of tropical richness with a wealth of proud history, the first Slave Colony to gain Independence & Freedom to be followed by decades of political instability, economic corruption, and plagued by natural disasters is once again over burdened. None-the-less Her people remain proud, rich in culture and resilient to the last and they need our help.

For those of us who have worked in Haiti or are ‘connected to it’, it has always been a needy place – one of the poorest and most underdeveloped nations in the world – as UNDP, Amnesty International, UNICEF, World Health Organisation and other independently verified sources will attest to – including Trocaire, Concern, Goal.

The work has always continued in Haiti (very often out of the media spot light). So many dedicated local people and aid organisations including International and Irish Aid funded Projects have been working on sanitation, communication, health, education, childcare and environmental / shelter programmes.

The Irish have always been well represented in Haiti working away quietly and diligently – with help of funds raised in various parishes, clubs, communities and private donations in Ireland. Of course some areas have been better than others!! We have to mention Mayo (for Gena who Thank God is safe and well as is Maeve), Adele’s brilliant work in Dublin particularly in Artane, Noelle’s great work in Limerick, and of course not forgetting the Rigney’s in Banagher Co. Offaly and all the rest of us scattered around the country but who try to keep connected occasionally!!

This current earthquake tragedy is a tremendously devastating blow following on from the 2008 Hurricane recovery work that was still in progress when this earthquake struck. So it’s now more important than ever to re-connect in collective action.

We wanted to set up this webpage and blog to communicate with each other and keep the spirit of hope alive for our friends and colleagues – whom we are in contact with when possible. Gráinne sincere thanks for taking the time to set this up.

This resource is very much in the early stages – please use it to assist you in whatever way you can with the emergency relief efforts, humanitarian aid, and to offer hope faith and love to all those we know working, living and surviving in Haiti, their loved ones at home here in Ireland and last but not least to give financial help to your chosen charity / agency if possible.

As a group we do not advocate for any specific Non-Governmental Organisation / Agency or Government – we’re all in this together. We simply believe in the power of people to mobilise practical help and offer words and messages of encouragement to ALL individuals and Organisations / Agencies working in the relief efforts. Whatever your faith, religion, beliefs (or none)– please take a moment to pause, pray, meditate for those suffering in Haiti.

Many Thanks – On Behalf of the Irish Haiti Response Group (IHRG).

P.J. Boyle

Pijay33@hotmail.com / 087-6310989

Irish Haiti Response Contacts: irishresponse@gmail.com

http://irishhaitiresponse.blogspot.com/

http://groups.google.ie/group/irishresponse

The best way to help Haiti

2010-01-20T23:35:00.008+01:00

This is from Liz Lawne. She writes about working in Haiti recently with Our Little Brothers and Sisters, whose director Rick Frechette was of great help to me during my time there.
They are well worth supporting. Kieran Rigney from my hometown of Banagher has also worked with them for a long time.

My name is Elizabeth Lawne. I worked last year in Haiti on several projects with Gena Heraty (Mayo) and Meave Bracken (Offaly) with the organisation, Our Little Brothers and sisters. Gena has lived and worked in Haiti for over 20 years.

They desperately need our help. Please give what you can. If individuals want to organize an event contact Liz :0876637742 (after 3pm)

Want to donate?

Contributions are made out to: Our Little Brothers and Sisters – Ireland. Charity No CHY11953

Account details:

Bank of Ireland, Dublin Airport.

Account Name: Our Little Brothers and Sisters

Account No. 42863621

IBAN IE23 BOFI 9007 4642 8636 21

Also if you want to send money directly to Gena Heraty.

Gena Heraty Fund at AIB Westport III08008 sort code 93-71-69

100% of donations go direct to Haiti. No administration costs are incurred. Both accounts are registered charities. This organisation has been working on the ground in Haiti for over 20years. They have hospitals, clinics, food programs, water programs, schools and an orphanage with over 500children. They are very well experienced and equipped to cope with this disaster. Therefore your money goes directly to those that need it.

Fr. Rick Frechette, NPH’s Regional Director of the Caribbean, the Haiti home’s National Director and is a member of the NPH International Health Services Team, which oversees the medical needs of the children in nine countries.

Aid for Haiti - Help Haitians help themselves

2010-01-16T13:43:00.014+01:00

Sr. Helen, Fr. Nicholas and Sr. Eileen at Montfortan parish where they run workshops in shoemaking, a nutritional centre for pre-school kids as well as providing other educational and social services

The locals in the parish where Helen lives have to live in very difficult conditions without any local government support

Mass is at 6am each morning in the Montfortan church
The entrance to St. Louis de Monfort parish where Sr. Helen lives and works

View outside the community house

Photos from Partners in Progress

Dr. Rich Gosser's blog on Haiti and Helen's community

Sr. Helen Ryder, a native of Banagher, Co. Offaly has worked in Haiti for over 20 years. She works on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, surrounded by makeshift houses in 'cites' built by those too poor to afford good standard housing and surrounded by sweatshop factories where countless women work long hours churning out cheap clothes for the US market. They are based close to the airport, which is currently seeing one of the biggest humanitarian relief operations in recent history. From January to April, 2001, Helen was my host in Haiti, setting me up with various voluntary initiatives. Since then, she has remained a good friend and my key link to news on Haiti and the people I got to know.

Helen is a member of the La Sainte Union order of nuns which have run a very successful school in Banagher for over 150 years. Her work in Haiti is concentrated on being present to the every day concerns and needs of the community which she is a member of, tutoring in various subjects to aid the educational progress of those who want to develop their skills and gain unemployment while furthermore, she cooperates with Irish charities and business people interested in aiding a wide variety of projects that benefit the disadvantaged.

The LSU help run a kindergarten and primary school for disadvantaged kids in a Montfortan-run parish (30,000 people), opposite the warehouses of the US Food for the Poor agency. As yet, there is no information whether the school or community has experiences been damaged. What appears to be most urgent in the short term is food, water, medicine and skilled personnel who can deal with the pressing needs after such a humanitarian disaster.

What I would suggest is most important for the majority of us is to think more long-term and donate to small organisations or individuals who have been working on the ground for decades. They have the trust of their community and rather than doing everything for Haitian locals, then heading out of the country leaving them to fend for themselves, they will work hand in hand with locals so they can all rebuild their lives and communities.

Sr. Helen is one such individual. She is unlike charity organisations, in that she does not have any wage paid from your donation or even administrative fees. What you give in €uros will go directly to benefit those who most need it, either in gourdes (local currency) or items needed to help families reconstruct their houses, gain employment, return to education, etc.

One such individual is Marc Andre. Tall, handsome, clever and articulate, he has worked in both offices and sweatshop factories in Port-au-Prince, sugar plantations in the Dominican Republic and countless other jobs to keep himself and his family going. I kept in contact with him through the years and I just hope that he and his family are ok. Sr. Helen has been like a second mum to him over the past decade, helping him further his education, travel to seek employment, aid his sick family members. It is people like Marc Andre, who deserve so much but face so many obstacles to survive, that my home parish of Banagher have helped support over the years by raising money for Sr. Helen.

The LSU sisters in Banagher will gladly accept any donations for the people of Haiti and they will be sent directly to Sr Helen Ryder. Please send donations to Mary Kenny, LSU Sisters, Debrabant House, Cuba Avenue, Banagher, Co Offaly. Clearly mark 'FOR HAITI'. Sr. Mary can be contacted at 0579151319.

More related links:

Banagher nun (Sr. Helen Ryder) survives earthquake

Help Haitians Help Themselves (Facebook group for LSU in Haiti)

Athlone-based nun survives earhquake

Offal natives survive earthquake in Haiti

St. Rynaghs parish response to the earthquake

http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2010/01/14/story109611.asp

Haiti - more than just an earthquake disaster

2010-01-14T00:08:00.014+01:00

The Citadel Laferrire, the Palace of Sans-Souci and the buildings of Ramiers are Haitian monuments dating from the early 19th century, when Haiti became the first free Republic brought about by a black slave rebellion. They were constructed by former black slaves as symbols of liberty after they had gained their freedom.

Be warned - you are only going to see positive images of Haiti in this post. So if you are looking for the gory stuff then go elsewhere

The beautiful market in Jacmel and ubiquitious taptap

More images from Haiti

From January - April 2001 I worked in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. I was invited to go there by a former school principal, Sr. Helen Ryder, whose congregation, Soeurs de la Sainte Union have a number of missions in the country. Helen introduced me to many people long involved in medical and social support throughout the city and country. I made many friends during my stay and every year I catch up with Helen to see where they are all at. I am much in debt to those who were so kind to me during my stay and work, especially to the LSU sisters and the Brothers of Charity who have a health clinic school near Cite Soleil.

In many ways, those 3 months were to lead to a spate of personal events that I had never imagined in my wildest dreams. 2 years studying to be a priest, 2 years off women, 9 years off the beer, and experiences that set in motion an affinity towards social justice work. The latter saw me end up in jail for 6 weeks, on bail for 3 1/2 years, marginalised by many in my home community, baldness, working in homeless shelters, kicked out of the U.S., living in Poland, struggling to learn Polish and engaged to a Polish woman. All these events, and many more, started when I first set foot in Haiti.

I am like many who volunteer abroad. Intensely involved and passionate in the midst of my work, but when back home those memories tend to drift, contacts fade, commitments falter. Thankfully though, due to Sr. Helen, Haiti is never far from my mind. At the moment, in the aftermath of the recent earthquake, it is the only thing on my mind.

But before I do the obvious, and whine about all that has made Haiti suffer more than it should have from this most recent natural disaster, maybe we should consider what Haiti is for a moment. I have hundreds of photos from my time there but they ain't scanned so I've had to rob some from elsewhere.
Haitians love to parade and celebrate their much misunderstood, ancient voodoo traditions

They have an excellent tradition in quality handmade arts and crafts

Indeed, Haiti has a very rich tradition of art and music. It is tightly woven into every fabric of life there.

Nowadays, Haiti is hardly mentioned in my home country of Ireland without telecommunicaions giant Denis O'Brien's Digicel adjacent to it. In the past few days, his company have pledged €5 million in aid, €3 million more than the entire initial EU allocation of aid. Their tower is down, so it remains to be seen whether the company's money will be pre-dominantly allocated to aid communications rather than providing water, shelter and food. He has major interests in the Caribbean, is a die-hard capitalist and I still feel like vomiting when I here about his supposed philantrophic traits.

Unfortunately, much of the aid money will be once again siphoned off by aid predators, though even if 1% of it trickled down to those who needed it then it would save many lives. That's the sad reality. Naomi Klein's 'disaster capitalism' warnings seems to be rubbing off in as obvious ways with Haiti as it did with post-tsunami Aceh, Indonesia, etc. Even though Haiti has little or no tourism industry, it is already largely treated as a gigantic plantation and sweat shop by the US and others. The IMF have given $100 million in a strings-attached loan (when i should be much more and he form of grants) that will further impoverish Haitians by cutting public pay and privatising public industries.

It's depressing stuff, cause my memory of Haitians are of a fun-loving, hard-working people proud of their history as the first free 'slave' republic in 1804.

Ironically, former liberation theologian, Catholic priest Arisitide (nicknamed the Prince of BelAir for his many mansions) and his party (Fanmi Lavalas - the Avalanche party) remain very popular despite their corruption and inability to fulfil their promises to the poor. But how can you lift your people out of poverty when there are so many self-serving aid agencies and international governments out to serve their own corporate-self interest. Arisitide's demand for restitution of $21.5 billion from the French gvt. for their past theft of Haitian riches did not sit well with Paris and led to Aristide being overthrown and sent into exile in South Africa in 2004 through a coup by the Haitian elite and their supporters in the US and France.

Leaving aside he political situation for a moment, my community of Banagher in Co.Offaly have been supporting the work of my friend and former school principal Sr. Helen Ryder for over a decade. Every year I meet Helen a home and have a chat about her work and those we mutually know. I just hope they are all still alive. But given that the quake was during school/work time, it seems the casualty list may be very high. In fact, we will never now. The local and naional gvt. will inflate the figure to get more aid - but the true fatality amount will remain unknown. Haiti will soon blow over when a new disaster occurs. Such is life. The only Irish charity I think do good work in Haiti are Trocaire. Of course there are lots of local foundations that will be doing the core of the long-term work to help people build their lives back. If recent history repeats itself, they will see little of the international aid which is on its way.

Why aid is even the term being used in the context of supporting Haiti for past and current disasters speaks loads. Aristide believed the coup was connected to his relentless demands for reparations from France (their former coloniser) and the release of allocated UN money vetoed and withheld by France and the US against Aristide's victory in 2000.

Any good news? Well, not really. At least not from me. I'm in Warsaw, 11 floors up in a heated apartment having pasta, so what the fuck do I know.

But I do feel like I can guarantee one thing, that if you or I were on the ground over there, amongst all the grief people are facing, we would see enough great acts of solidarity to prevent us from ever talking about our own 'financial crisis' again. If you know of anyone who wants to make a donation to the poorest of the poor with no admin. fees, then Sr. Helen Ryder is one woman who can ensure your concern gets where you want and where it needs to be.

Homer Simpson to promote Poland's nuclear plant drive

2010-01-01T22:35:00.004+01:00

Would you want Homer as a safety inspector at a nuclear plant?

As the Polish government energy marketeers sit around and forge out a plan on how to best make use of a proposed 10 million zloty (€2.4 mn) annually on promoting nuclear power, I thought it fitting to explore the subject. News has it that they are pondering over whether a Homer Simpson like figure could be concocted for TV to persuade the public of how nuclear can be a clean and efficient form of energy to heat households, run electrical utilities, power workplaces, etc.

So it seems fitting that I too would promote this ingenious vision of the Polish government, ever-known for their brain-numbingly creative ways of wasting taxpayers money.

Related Link

Homer dealing wih nuclear waste - "hmmm, shall we dump it in the Baltic Sea or West Africa?"

While in Copenhagen powerful capitalists mainly argue over how to ensure capitalist production and consumption can be capped (but really just continued and accelerated) and traded without really affecting the status quo in the west (what's a few thousand lives in India, afterall, compared to the national self-interest) - arguments for nuclear energy are fundamentally flawed in their inability to answer for the environmental damage caused by uranium mining, nuclear waste (lets just outsource this to the global south like we do plastic waste!) and the exorbitant costs of securing nuclear plants.

Those who argue for nuclear power and have the technical know-how to make it work are a little small-brained in areas of environmental concern.

The people who we have put in power (well I didn't and will not vote for such cronies, but I do pay taxes so I'm part of the problem) ain't talking about how to make renewable energies like wind, solar more cost-effective. Profit comes first, and the only hope at this stage, it may be argued and has been already on this site, is that the climate change sceptics are right and we are just going through a rough but quite natural climatic cycle. Fat chance though!

Note:
In January 2009 the State energy company Polska Grupa Energetyczna SA (PGE) declared its intention to build 2 nuclear plants. In August the government announced their draft proposals of how to ensure Poland will be legally able to go nuclear by 2011. They hope to have legislation ready by the end of 2010 and decide on locations by 2014 with the first plant to be constructed by 2020. The first intended nuclear power plant near the northern town of Żarnowiec was cancelled due to public protests and the changing econmic and political climate.

More info. can be found at
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN_Nuclear_power_shap....html

If you want more info, photos about the background to the Zarnowiec plant that was never realised please look at the Wikipedia link.

To keep up to date with Polish activist news keep an eye on http://www.cia.bzzz.net (Good English section) and http://www.poland.indymedia.org (some English news)

So if the Polish government wish to use Homer as a model to convince the 'dumb public'of how green a solution nuclear really is, then I say bring it on. Money well spent, once it has the opposite effect!

First published on Indymedia:

Floods in Banagher, Ireland

2009-12-06T11:19:00.005+01:00

We live 11 floors up in Warsaw so there's no chance we'll ever get flooded like many unfortunate people in Ireland have recently. Record levels of rainfall have fallen and though the waters have been receding a bit over the past few days there's bound to be a little more precipitation on the way.

Here are some photos a friend sent recently of my hometown Banagher in Co. Offaly. The first photo is from Shannon Harbour, which is a couple of kilometres away from our town. It has been really badly affected as it is right on the Shannon callows. Banagher has largely escaped disaster because it's on a bluff (a high steep bank usually formed by river erosion)

Paddy Towey in Shannon Harbour - From the Irish Times

Farmville - Farming for the manicured

2009-11-20T08:26:00.007+01:00

Farmville - one's very own little virtual connection to mother earth. Maybe you're a 3 year old city dweller whose peepers have never even seen a MooMoo; you may detest carrots to the point of puking but have a fetish for frozen vegetables cause you couldn't be arsed peeling fresh spuds and parsnips; or maybe that Orwellian phase you went through in high school is stirring up inside and you are trying to get in touch with your inner swine or fowl; or you just love wearing wellies!

When I first came across Farmville on Facebook I thought to myself, wow, you're one sad bastard to be wasting time on this muck social portal. My fookacide (facebook suicide) came from the gentle encouragement of a friend and I nuked my profile. I've since been seeing a shrink to get over the damage of losing touch with people (my 'friends') who I hadn't even seen nor spoken to in 12 years (many of whom I hardly ever saw, spoke to or gave a shit about anyways). Remember, numbers matter, even if you hate the person you should still accept their invitation to prove your popularity with the masses.

So back to virtual farming. My girlfriend's brother recounted an odd conversation in the office that he overheard recently.

Agnieszka: "Jesus, I can't believe it, you stole my tomatoes."

Joanna: "That wasn't me sweetie, it was Basia."

Agnieszka: "Oh Jesus, I'm going to have to plant them again. She's such a bitch when it comes to veggies."

At first he thought Basia had dipped into Agnieszka's lunch box to borrow a slice or two of the universally loved red veg. in order to improve her own cheese and mustard 2nd breakfast. But it soon dawned on him they were engaging in Farmville-speak.

"So what the bleeding hell is Farmville?", I hear you internet stone-agers grumble.
Well, it's a real time farm simulation game on Facebook where you can buy, plant, harvest crops, animals, barns, etc.

Is it worth blogging about? It sure is. Why? Well, 64 million people on Facebook play it so I guess it's far more relevant to people than this blog which receives about 200 visitors a day, most of whom stumble here when they google Doda's breasts or dirty knickers (that's a long story - I once blogged about Doda starring for the Polish army in Afghanistan and a Polish MP wanting to ban people from hanging out their knickers to dry in public).

The creators of Farmville, Zynga, are currently facing a potential class action suit for manipulative and misleading adverts. In the meantime, manicured ladies in offices worldwide can get their hands virtually dirty by planting all manners of crops and guys who have a soft spot for BigMacs or Kentucky Fried Chicken can pet their cows and create a virtual heaven for their chickens. Children in the meantime, no longer need to visit farms in the countryside to get a feel for real nature. They just gotta turn on Daddie's Mac and Old MacDonald's farm is just a click away.

Heart tissue or bacteria? A 'miracle' in Poland!

2009-10-30T11:57:00.009+01:00

Eucharistic miracles are claimed far and wide in the Catholic church

Oh boy, here we go again. It seems our friend Serratia Marcesens has reared it's mouldy head again, this time in Sokolka, north east Poland. The religiously faithful flock would have us believe that when a priest clumsily dropped a host of holy communion onto the ground, afterward placing it in a special vessel with some water, that 24 hours later it turned into a piece of human heart tissue. Hmmm, interesting theory, you may think.

Well, it was a professor at Bialystok medical university who first claimed that the blessed wafer had made a genuine conversion. This was backed up by one of her colleagues. So even the hard-hearted non-believers started to wonder what the hell was going on. But for those of you who know church history, or bacteria, this was just another case of a common annoyance waiting to unfurl. Thankfully, a Polish biologist, Dr. Pawel Grzesiowski has come to the rescue of making this seemingly unusual event one of common sense.

“This bacteria does not require much – it needs moisture and a temperature not higher than 30 decrees Celsius,” claimed the director of the Contagious Diseases Unit at the National Medicines Institute.

Professor Lech Chyczewski, head of the blood unit at the Bialystok hospital, added that the professor (Maria Sobaniec-Lotowaska of the Bialystok Medical University) who made the human heart tissue claim “saw what she wanted to see. She is very religious....In order to rule out any doubts, it would have been necessary to carry out molecular and genetic testing.”

Well, that does it for me. The fungus is out of the bag and there ain't no looking back now. Whether the populous believe it or not is another thing.

Go into in your bathrooms or basements and have an honest look around for a pink, slimy substance. This is where Serratia Marcesens inhabits, feeding off sugary and starchy substances. It's a common problem and I bet my savings if the priest did the same thing with a whole bucket of hosts he'd have enough rot to make up a whole human heart.

The bacteria has been mistaken for a miracle numerous times before. The feast day Corpus Christi is based on a miracle declared by Pope Urban IV when ‘blood’ appeared on the Eurcharist in 1264.

Fiercely important news from Poland - according to me!

2009-10-19T22:47:00.005+02:00

Spuds are down in price by 45% - yipppeeeee! My week is made:-)) 20.5 kg for 100 zl.
Mash them, boil them with skins on or off, roast them, grill them, fry them, eat them raw, make vodka out of them.... who cares, just get them into ya before the winter hits and the prices sky rocket.

Vice president of the USA Joe Biden is coming to Warsaw Tuesday evening and is due to spread the tentacles of US military bases by signing an agreement with Polish political ass-lickers Tusk and Kaczynski that will allow 100 US troops to be based on Polish soil alongside SM3 missiles. I'll be standing somewhere on the streets making a symbolic protest with friends.

It's the 25th anniversary since the murder of Fr. Jerzy Popieluszki, chaplain to the Solidarity trade union at the height of the struggle against the communist government. He was beaten to death by secret service agents on 19 October 1984, his body dumped in a river. 'To kill a priest' documents the tragic end of the popular priest.

Have you heard the one about the students who were taught by a deceased teacher who had been recorded on a video tape? Well it has happened here and with new a poll revealing how brutal a problem cheating in Polish universities has become, it appears that 20% of polled students would buy a Masters dissertation for less than 500 zl.

If you are a drunken sailor or canoeist you better watch out. With a new Polish bill coming into force you may force a 600 Euro fine. Doing the overarm one-handed with a can of Tyskie in the other will not be permitted either, nor will supping a lager during yoga. But, believe it or not, if you are mouldy drunk and on a ski slope you will be perfectly entitled to be there. Is there any chance somebody passed on an aul bribe to get skiers omitted?

And finally, in this pointless blog post, it seems that I alone have been keeping the confectionary market aloft despite people counting their groszy nowadays. Beer and ciggie sales are down, but the annual 5-8 billion zloty (€1.3-€2 billion euro) sweet industry in Poland is buzzing. Insider rumours suggest that the recent return to Poland of foreign sweetomaniac residing in the Natolin district of Warsaw has helped boost the sector enormously.

Franciscan nuns abusing kids in Poland?

2009-10-16T13:43:00.006+02:00

from happy anniversary celebrations..........

to allegations of child abuse

It's just 2 weeks ago that the media here were announcing the forthcoming celebrations of the Catholic Congregation, the Franciscans, who are currently enjoying their 800th anniversary in Poland.

These festivities have had a dark cloud cast upon them though with Polskie Radio reporting that the cops are investigating allegations of abuse by Fransiscan Sisters at a special needs centre for kids in Studzieniczna, north eastern Poland.

Nuns were video taped committing acts of violence such as pulling hair and beating kids in their care. The footage was recorded by a tourist and handed over to the police.

50 children with physical and mental special needs reside in the centre and unsurprisingly the local pastor, Fr. Zygmunt Kopiczko has jumped to the defence of the nuns. He supposedly visits the place on a daily basis and hough he admits the kids are disciplined in an appropriate manner no acts of violence are perpetrated upon them.

Sound familiar? Ah sure, just ship them off to another centre and the storm will calm, until the guilty sadist nuns get their hands on more kids. But just in case you think I'm Catholic bashing, hold that thought. I spent 5 years in a public school tha was also a convent. I had nuns as teachers, as did my brothers and most others in the community. I never once personally experienced or witnessed any of the nuns being violent, nor did any one I know of. The La Sainte Union nuns in my hometown of Banagher have an excellent reputation and despite all the crap that has come out about the church in Ireland, no allegations of abuse have ever being uttered against the LSU nuns in my hometown who have being there for over 150 years.

2 years ago 65 nuns were evicted from a monastery after they rebelled against a Vaican decision to replace their Mother Superior. A former Franciscan friar, Roman Komaryczko, was alleged to having a negative influence on Mother Jadwiga and her nuns.

So are there just a few bad Franciscans and religious eggs in the social care basket in Poland or is the entire system seriously affected by abuse from those with religious vows?

'Gamblegate' in Poland - so greedy greedy greedy greedy!

2009-10-05T23:17:00.005+02:00

Irish singer-songwriter Damien Dempsey has a great song titled 'Celtic Tiger' which laments the latent greed amongst Ireland's nouveau-riche. It sprung to mind today after reading, seeing and hearing so much news in the last few days about corruption affairs in Poland.

Zbigniew Chlebowski, chief of the governing party's parliamentary club, resigned after accusations arose that he was involved in lobbying on behalf of the gambling industry regarding an upcoming bill that would raise taxes for the industry. Sports Minister Miroslaw Drzewiecki also 'gave himself the boot' due to similar charges. Prime Minister Tusk has gone further and dropped 3 more top ranking officials - the Interior and Deputy Prime Minister, Justice Minister, and Deputy Economy Minister.

Of course, the CBA are as corrupt as the f*^@ers it arrests (their chief is a political appointee and supporter of PiS, the main opposition party), but it's always good to see a zloty loving politician fall from grace. Prime Minster Tusk appears to be quite peeved that this bombshell has hit his party so he has also sacked the head of the Anti-Corruption Agency (CBA) whose statutory body revealed the dirty politicians in the government.

Another case in the media at the moment is of the former Civic Platform MP (the governing party), Beata Sawicka. She gave us all great entertainment 2 years ago by crying her eyes out on TV, claiming she had been seduced by an agent from the notorious Anti-Corruption Agency (the CBA) regarding a dirty land deal that would have landed her a good few groszy. Poor woman got her fingers caught in the pie and is now undergoing her trial in a Warsaw court.

So sit back and enjoy Damien Dempsey's great song about what greed has done to Ireland.

Full lyrics to Celtic Tiger
Listen to and watch it here

Greedy, greedy, greedy, greedy, greedy
So greedy, greedy, greedy, greedy, greedy

Now they saw the Celtic Tiger in my home town
Brings jewels and crowns, picks you up off the ground
But the Celtic Tiger does two things
It brings you good luck or it eats you up for its supper
It’s the tale of the two cities on the shamrock shore
Please Sir can I have some more
Cos if you are poor you’ll be eaten for sure
And that’s how I know the poor have more taste than the rich
And that’s how I know the poor have more taste than the rich

Hear the Celtic Tiger roar - I want more
Hear the Celtic Tiger roar - I want more, more, more

The fastest growing inflation rate in the world,
the cost of a run down house is absurd
This isn’t any age for a low income wage
Ask anyone who’s locked in a cage
A couple with kids can’t afford a place to live
Even if they have a good job
We’re bring robbed by the builders and the fat cat government
A league of greed and they don’t even need for a thing
It’s a sin
But it’s the nature of the beast
You’d better go and find a priest and confess
Because your greed is gonna leave you soulless

Where we gonna live, what we gonna do
We’ll have to move in with the woman in the shoe
They’re driving us onto the streets
While the fat cat in government cheats, and always
gets away with his crime
A kid steals a jacket and does time
Just look at the world around you
Tell why is there so much need
Because of greed
So greedy, greedy, greedy, greedy, greedy

Sex offenders - Chemical castration or Pardon?

2009-09-28T09:26:00.006+02:00

Sexual offenders have been big news in Poland recently. Last Friday Polish MPs passed a bill which would permit chemical castration of those who commit sexual offences against those under 15 years of age. Incestuous rape and internet grooming (what a euphemism - it's as if predators are virtually brushing the hair of their potential victims) of a minor will also ensure offenders' manhood is considerably halted in its hunt for youthful prey.

Critics claim it is a medieval way of dealing with an admittedly grave problem and is merely political point scoring by politicians. Supporters of the law claim that Poland's penal code (e.g. maximum 12 years for rape) on sex crimes is already too light and needs bolstering to act as a stronger deterrent.

The second major news item concerning sexual offences, and one which has certainly received lots of press worldwide has been the arrest in Switzerland of Roman Polanski, one of Poland's most famous film directors (Oscar winner for 'The Pianist'). He was detained under an international arrest warrant issued by the U.S. for having unlawful sex with a minor, Samantha Geimer, in Los Angeles in 1978.

He claims she consented, though he pleaded guilty to the latter charge. She claims she was drugged with pills and alcohol during a photo-shoot in Jack Nicholson's home. Now Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs "intends to appeal to President Obama to show clemency to Polanski for his services to Polish culture", according to Minister Radoslaw Sikorski.

So if Polanski had had unlawful sex with a 13 year old girl in Poland he would possibly face a maximum sentence of 12 years in jail and have to undergo chemical castration before he was released (note: he hasn't been tried cause he fled the U.S. before the trial started). Sikorski voted in favour of strengthening the Polish bill last Friday morning. As Polanski has made some great films and and is regarded a cultural icon in Poland and abroad, the Polish government want the U.S. to put away their orange jumpsuit and shackles. Samantha Geimer also wants him to be forgiven though she would prefer he returned to the States and faced the consequences of his actions.

Chemical castration is not, as one may imagine, the process of chopping off a willy by chemical means rather than with the local butcher's knife. The procedure lowers sexual libido and is reversible once treatment ceases. The idea is to try and reduce the recidivist rate of offenders. Those who serve time for sexual crimes would have to undergo the procedure 6 months prior to being released. Polish Radio reports that "Several states in the United States employ chemical castration as a means of punishing sex offenders – California state law mandates the treatment for first-time sex offenders of victims under 13 years of age."

Pedophilia is a term often misused for all sexual offences committed to minors. Hebephilia is the correct term for sexual preferences towards pubescent males and females, ephebophilia for those with preferences towards those with mid to late adolescents. Pedophilia is deemed to be a grave mental disorder, whereas if you are 16 in Spain,having consensual sex with a 13 year old is currently legal.

My question is whether Californian State law could currently apply chemical castration treatment to Polanski for an offence committed 31 years ago?

Getting married in Poland

2009-09-22T18:24:00.003+02:00

I recently got engaged (yeah, fair dues and more power to me and my successful attempts to overcome all them lack of commitment elements to my DNA) and am now planning the process of getting married to a Polish citizen in Warsaw. From what I've google-di-googled there seem to be a good few Irish who have spread their tentacles into Polish marital relations. I guess the majority live in Ireland - at least my cousin and his Polish wife do. Any others brain dead enough to get in contact with me are invited to do so. Maybe you can give me some tips to running rings around bureaucrats!

I read on Polandian's review of Polish news that Rzeczpospolita newspaper recently had an article about the 9,000 marriages that occur between Poles and foreigners annually. Uh, that article most have really peeved them nice White Power/ Pole Power folks. I see they are having a White Pride Fest soon. Lots of semi-ripped posters advertising the event around Kabaty metro station. Is there a market ofr such tripe in Kabaty? Or are they just trying to recrui Tesco shoppers? Should be fun, the white pride fest. A few hundred men with homophobic, xenophobic skinned heads and no t-shirts, dancing and mauling each other. Hmmm, interesting stuff.

Back to that marriage stuff in the Polish newspaper. It claims that 25% of the marriages are scams. Some business-minded local gals can supposedly earn up to 15,000-20,000 (€4000-€5000) złoty for a few hours at the registry office just to help an African or Pakistani (yes, they are both countries) get their foot in the door of the EU. Clever operatives. Reeks of prejudiced press to me. Ok, so presuming you are actually in love with somebody who is Polish the below may apply to you.

I went to the Irish embassy today on ul. Mysia to inquire about the 'Certificate of No Impediment' or 'Cerificat de Coutume' (as it is strangely titled on the form) which you need to have to prove you haven't been married before. I received 3 pages of forms to fill out but they are all pretty straight forward. What is your fiancee's name was the most challenging one. I've gotta return them whenever I can with my passport and long version of birth certificate. The cost - €20 or 90 zł. I'll pay the €20 as it means saving about €2 or 8 zł as the exchange rate is around €1=4.1 złoty. Bullshit that you have to pay, but anyhow. Nuthin is for nuthin when it comes to greedy Ireland.

What I found surprising on the form was that they expect me to already give the name and address of the cleric/civil administrator who will be conducting the ceremony. Of course, we've yet to sort this out cause from what I understood they won't even hear you out unless you can show them the Cert. that you haven't got a harem of wives hidden away in your forest działka (country cottage). Anyhow, when I go there I will let all who stray here know the ins and outs. I suspect there will be quite a few.

Help me learn Polish - please!

2009-09-21T10:33:00.004+02:00

Back living in Warsaw again after 10 months in West Africa. Teaching English for the past couple of years, getting married to a Pole next year, struggling to learn Polish but enjoying being in a beautiful country. I have decided that I will try to blog in both Polish and English now in order to improve my written Polish and grammar in general. I would greatly appreciate corrections in Polish because I want to learn Polish better.

Thanks and greetings.

Mieszkam w Warszawie znówu. Ostatnio spedziłem dziewięć miesiące w Ghana. Nauczyenie języka angielskiego kilka lata, ozenię sie z Polką w następym roku, sprobuję się uczyć polskiego ale bardzo się cieszę być w pieknym kraju. Zdecydowałem że się potrafię napisać blogy w język polski i angielski żeby poprawiać moj polski. Bardzo zapraszam czytelnicy korygować moich błędow ponieważ ja chciałbym znać lepiej polskiego.

Dziekuję i pozdrawiam.

Battling malaria in Burkina Faso

2009-08-03T13:37:00.000+02:00

The female anopheles mosquito

Plasmodium Falciparum - the most common and deadly malarial parasite

The French philosopher Marcel Proust wisely said, "To kindness and to knowledge we make promises only. Pain we obey". And so it is when malaria comes knocking on your body's entrance gates. You bow to its every command. From the onset of fever, breaking out in cold sweats not knowing whether you are in Iceland or the Sahara, to the nausea and wrenching of vomit from the deepest caverns within. You take out your thermometer and place in your armpit - 37....38.....39....... 39.4 degrees celsius. Well, you may not be in the Sahara, but are definitely in the Sahel region. An icy shower brings 5 minutes of relief. You pop a few paracetemol to bring the temperature down, but you've got a little more sweating to do before they'll kick into action.

The aches of your joints and muscles bring back memories of a day after a brutal session of physical exercise after being idle for years. Sometimes it feels like a professional rugby player has just used you as a prop for scrum practice. Other times like Oscar De La Hoya has used you as punchbag. Either way, this tiny protozoan has completely and utterly knocked you out.

Unable to move a limb without trojan effort, the fact that you have just lifted a spoon of yoghurt to your mouth successfully seems like no mean feat. Your throat is stale, dry and sore from your futile and silly attempts to make yourself puke.
Despite knowing that your appetite is as dead as the dodo and having not consumed a morsel of food in 24 hours that has not already being jettisoned down the toilet bowl, you just can't get your head around the fact that it feels like something needs to come out.

Is it the malaria parasite that is making you feel this crap, or is it the medication? Well, it's both and there ain't anything you can do about it but sit on your butt and wait it out.

You visit the toilet so often you consider whether you should bother ever leaving to go back to your bedroom. Sorry for elaborating here, but your ass, inevitably, begins to get very sore indeed and you begin to make all sorts of promises to Gods you don't even believe in, all in the hope that they may provide a remedy for your ailment. But alas, it's to no avail. Patience is called for in the endurance of any difficulty and the good news is that anti-malarial treatment is widely available and successful if the instructions are adhered to.

When the first feelings of normality begin to trickle back in to your wasted corporal self, sighs of relief the size of cumulonimbus clouds float aloft as you had begun to consider the possibility of having someone renovate the toilet so it can become you permament home. You had, afterall, spent most of your previous 4 days in there.

The boredom of being able to do nothing is set aside as you finally find energy to read and write again, to walk for that matter. Previously, you had been crawling quite a bit. You also see a noticeable difference in your loved one's appearance. They no longer frantically worried. You wonder whether they are going to dump you for being an incessant whine of late, but of course they don't. They're just happy to see you well again.

You have been in Ougadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso for the past 4/5 days. But because you have been so sick and weak neither city nor nation-state matters little
to you. All you have seen is your self swigging down litre after litre of water filled with rehydration salts and lying amazed at how seconds seem like hours, and hours days.

But now that you are better, you take your vengeance out on all anopheles mosquitoes that whizz by. They are many but not very fast so you register an impressive amount of kills in the first few hours. After some time though you begin to realise that you are most definitely going to be bitten again and all you can do is hope you escape lucky.

No amount of creams, nets, socks nor long trousers can deter some of these ambitious bloodsuckers that cause 1 million deaths a year, about 80% of the toll in Africa.

Niger - safe to visit?

2009-07-20T16:16:00.000+02:00

La Grande Mosque, Niamey

It doesn't inspire confidence to visit a country where you've just read that a foreign tourist has been executed. Edwin Dyer, a British citizen, was supposedly captured by Tuareg rebels in January this year near the border with Mali then sold to Algerian members of Al Qaeda in Mali. According to the BBC the group responsible said "it would kill Mr Dyer if the British government refused to release radical Muslim cleric Abu Qatada from a UK prison." So if you are British, from the U.S. or another 'coalition' country you may want to think hard before coming. While we were in Benin we weighed up the pros and cons, trying to filter through all the obvious fears one may initially have on hearing such information.

Niger has not been mentioned much in western media recently other than the kidnappings and the upcoming referendum in August which has heated passions against the current president who wants to prolong his stay in power by changing the constitution. Apart from these issues and times when the Tuareg rebels flare up against the government or when the UN releases its Human Development Index (Niger is bottom of the pile out of 177 countries), Niger appears to only be thought of as a spelling mistake ("Aren't you talking about Nigeria, what and where is Niger?") and not a country in and of itself.

After being reassured of the general safety of Niger in our guide book we visited the Niger embassy in Cotonou, Benin, and were told that it is fine to visit at the moment. With the knowledge that a wide variety of aid and voluntary groups are operational in large parts of the country we decided to visit. So after a mammoth journey with various levels of dodgy and crammed vehicles ranging from semidodgy to fairly dodgy, we crossed the border at Malanville/Gaya in the north of Benin. Our Visa (La Visa Touristique Entente) worked a treat and we breezed through the frontier without any problems.

Unfortunately, the journey from Gaya to Niamey has very bad potholes as far as Dosso (best go direct from Cotonou/Bohicon or Parakou in Benin with a coach like SNTV as it costs the same, about 18000 CFA, but is a thousand times less hardship) though the road from Dosso to Niamey is excellent.

Our first impressions of Niamey have been very positive. The people are very friendly and willing to help, though one has to endure the usual hassle around the artisan stalls. The richness and quality of their jewellery and crafts are amazing, the streets are alive and kicking with normal commercial activity but it appears a lot calmer than Accra, Lome or Cotonou. Local food and transport appears generally cheaper than the neighbouring countries.

We are staying in Auberge Dragon (formerly Chez Tatayi, which unlike our 2008 Rough Guide states is no longer to be found near Wadata market)near the Grand Hotel roundabout. Budget accom. seems very hard to find here, but we managed to haggle and reduce the fan room price from 14,000 CFA to 10,000CFA. It's possible to stay in the dorm beds for 6000 per person. It has a great location near the Petit Marche, this internet cafe I am writing from and the museum. It is very clean and the staff are helpful, so if you are coming to Niger I can highly recommend it.

Earlier we met some Japanese volunteers/professionals who are sponsored by their government to work for 2 years in rural communities. JICA have their 25th anniversary at the moment and have a series of events and an excellent exhibition running this week in the French-Niger Cultural Centre. Their work spans from teaching karate and judo, to more sustainable agricultural practices and fighting against contraction of guinea worm by best water hygiene practices.

We will be only staying in Niamey whilst in Niger as we have to move onto Gorom Gorom in Burkina Faso on Wednesday. It certainly seems unsafe and unwise to travel to the Agadez region in north east Niger as does the Niger-Mali border areas, but Niamey gets my thumbs up so far as a friendly, beautiful and safe place to visit in West Africa.

Quelle heure est-il?

2009-07-15T22:35:00.001+02:00

Indeed, what time is it? We certainly didn't have a clue about the answer to that question when we arrived to find our bus had already departed from Parakou to Cotonou. Unfortunately, we were not aware of the time change when we entered Benin. I had received no sms alert about it, there are no clocks in any place we visited, and we were too dumb to figure out that it may be a possibility. So this morning we have an extra few hours in the commercial center and transport hub of central Benin, Parakou, before heading off at 1pm.

We will go by Intercity bus to Cotonou, de facto capital, a - hour trip costing 6,000CFA or about 9 Euro. For fellow Benin travellers, it is a far better option than being squashed inside a rusty taxi-brousse and similar in price now that the bus services recently reduced their prices. Most English guides advertise Confort buses, but from the black smoke we have seen pumping out of their exhausts and info. we heard from locals, they are unreliable and less comfortable.

Yesterday I spent my 29th birthday squashed in the back seat of a Peugeot 505 station wagon. There are seats for 8 people, but somehow 12 adults and 3 kids were squeezed inside. There are no other options when you come from Togo to Benin at the Ketao crossing near Kara. The border cops gave us no hassle. They seemed more interested in returning to the comatose state we found them in rather than questioning our Visa Touristique Entente. The journey from Kara to Ketao is just 26kms (300 CFA) but you need to get a zemidjan (motorbike taxi - they want about about 1000CFA so haggle) to complete the 5 km trip to the border. You may have to wait an hour to get to the border by taxi-brousse.

Some interesting things that have occured in the past 24 hours.

- I saw a cow tied up in the boot of a Peugot 505, although it looked more comfortable than the passengers inside the car.

- An innovative bootleg petrol seller in Parakou is advertising his small commercial unit as 'Hell' rather than Shell. Same thing really, given Shell's atrocious human rights record.

Next stop Cotonou, then the coastal cities/towns of Porto Novo, Ouidah, Abomey and Grand Popo. We hope to learn more about the old Dan-Homey kingdom and Benin's ties to the the notorious Atlantic slave trade. Being the origin of many Haitian ancestors, I'm also hoping to see if I can connect any dots between the people here and Haiti, their traditional practices in Vodoo, etc.

Any tips on Niger?

Togo - Photo Essay from West Africa

2009-07-11T22:22:00.000+02:00

Munching on a corn cob in a pirogue on the lake near the former colonial capital of Aneho, where the Virgin Mary supposedly appeared 24 years ago. In 1985 locals claimed to have seen the Vigin Mary. This inspired Pope John Paul II's visit a few years later. Even though Christianity has been in this area for centuries traditional religious beliefs and belief in fetishes (nothing sexual like adoring black leather boots but rather spiritual worship to give thanks for good harvest or appease the Gods and rid a child of illness, etc.).

Nachtigal, the German explorer-colonist, signed an agreement with Chief Mlapa of the tiny Togoville community in the mid-19th century, which the Germans then used to claim colonial rights over the whole of present day Togo, until they were defeated in World War I and the British and French got their dirty hands on usurped land.

Elias, a fetish priest, poses inside his shop after explaining to us about his natural viagra fetish (a twig from a tree); safe journey telephone fetish (tiny piece of wood with a hole in it and string wrapped around which. You wish yourself a safe journey prior to departure by speaking into the hole, then stick a piece of wood in to close it, put in your pocket and when you arrive sadely take the piece of wood out again - a handy piece of equipment in this part of the world where taxi drivers drive like lunatics); and a safety for your home, mini-statue fetish that blinds the thief who breaks into your house and robs fro, your cookie jar.
Despite my disbelief, the Fetish market in Lome where Elias operates is very famous throughout Africa and animism is widely practised throughout Togo.

Bones of crocodiles, monkeys, buffaloes; horses tails and dog jaws and lots more are available at Lome's fetish market

This unusual advert could be found on the Rue du Commerce in Lome, pasted beside a family supermarket. You may have to zoom a little to believe what it says (Not for kids). It's the only time I have seen such a poster since I arrived in West Africa last October.

Photo will be posted later

The people of Bassamba in Tamberma(meaning 'skilled builders') country, north-eastern Togo, have been building their fortress-style homes like this for centuries. UNESCO recognised the area as a world heritage site in 2004 but unfortunately guilt-tripped tourists seeing naked kids have bred a negative hand-out culture that has impacted on the local people's interactions with all tourists in a rather circus-like way. A little performance is quickly put on as soon as you arrive and you are really pressure to buy not so authentic tourist gimmicks befor you leave. Sustainable tourism education efforts are being made but unless the tourists themselves stop reinforcing this behaviour then it is much to the detriment o the locazl people's cultures. Amazingly, they used to live in the giant, hollow Baobab trees before they built the more siege-proof takienta houses.

La Visa Touristique Entente - Cheap Travel in West Africa

2009-07-09T14:07:00.000+02:00

La visa touristique entente - I've erased my passport number for security reasons

An ex-Peace corps volunteer just emailed an enquiry about the 5 country visa for Ghana, Togo, Benin, Niger, Burkina Faso and Cote d'Ivoire or La Visa Touristique Entente. So for those of you who havez come across this blog seeking upo to date info about travelling in West Africa, I've decided to post what I know so far from my travels.

Your best bet is to get it at any of the Togolese embassies when you get here (maybe to Ghana first). Don't bother wasting your time with enquiries in the US or European countries because it was really easy to do in the Togolese embassy in Accra and in D.C and presumably European capitals they will charge you huge sums for individual country visas. The Togo embassy office in Accra opens at 9am. You have to fill out two identical forms with all the basic info, provide 2 photos and pay 30,000 CFA (1USD is officially about 479 CFA but it seems to fluctuate a lot between 400 and 500 according to local sources. 1 Euro is 656 CFA, it doesn't change. You will be asked to collect the visa the same day at 2pm (you may have to wait an hour or so though).

The 5 country visa is valid for 60 days from the date of issue and you have 1 entry to each of the signed up countries, supposedly. My girlfriend and I have just started our travels and are currently in Togo. We crossed from Ghana at Aflao and there were no problems. It was a painless process.

We expect Benin and Burkina to be the same but Niger will probably be a problem from what I have read on the web. We expect to pay 10,000 CFA on the border. Nevertheless, it's worth getting the La Visa Touristique Entente as you will avoid having to extend a normal border visa (seems you only get 2 days at Burkina border if you arrive without a visa though it's free of charge to extend. Benin charge extra 12,000 CFA to extend from days according to the Rough Guide to West Africa) and the obvious potentially painful bureaucracy involved.

If your arrival point is Ghana you have to get a re-entry visa (10,000 CFA for 1 month or more) for Ghana at whatever country your last stop is at (e.g. Cote d'Ivoire).

You need CFA for all countries except Ghana where 1USD is about 1.43 GHc at the moment. There are no official forex's that I have seen yet in Togo, though plenty of them in Ghana. In the latter country change cash in a Forex, travellers cheques in banks. I have heard there are problems with Amex in most countries. Visa cards are your best bet. Although Mastercard works in Barclays bank in Ghana I've read and heard from others that it doesn't work so much in other countries.

Be conscious of the fact that Niger is not in the best of shape at the moment, the president recently having taken emergency powers to put down dissent over a referendum he wants to push through to allow him serve another term, etc. Furthermore, the north of Cote d'Ivoire is officially still a danger zone according to most western gvts.

I'll try keep you posted on whether we get through sucessfully to the remaining countries. Feel free to pass this info. on wherever you think it may be of help to others. I was also a bit dismayed at the lack of info on the web but it's worked out for us so far. I forgot to mention that when we asked at the Burkina embassy in Accra as to whether they issue the visa, they said no, but that they do respect it at the border. So that bodes well.

Best of luck on your travels.

Travelling in West Africa

2009-07-02T13:03:00.001+02:00

Our friends at Immigration never fail to amaze. After all the crap I had to endure getting my visas sorted over the past few months, now it's Dorota's turn to endure their incompetence.

On Tuesday, a worker from her host organisation spent 3 hours waiting for them to check whether her visa was ready. It was due to be stamped and ready for collection on June 20th. She waited, waited and waited but all to no avail. In the end she inquired from another officer, who informed her that the person she was waiting for had gone home and the documents she was waiting for were in a locked room of which nobody present had the key. Yesterday was Republic Day, the 49th anniversary since Ghana gained full independence from the UK, so nobody in State Institutions were working. Today, we hope but do not expect the issue to be resolved.

This all means that we are loitering around Accra waiting for her passport so we can get La Visa Touristique Entente (LVTE) for Togo, Benin, Niger, Burkina Faso and Cote d'Ivoire. It costs 30,000 CFA (90 Cedi or 45 Euro) and in theory at least grants one the right to cross each border of the above mentioned countries, cutting out at least 22,000 CFA and a lot of waiting at various embassies in the process. From what I have heard though, Niger border guards do no respect it, so looks like our net saving will be 12,000 CFA each. All in alkl, it seems well worth waiting for at ther Togolese embassy in Accra which will process the application in the same day if you drop it in at 9am (collect at 2pm). For fellow travellers reading, just bring a long the 30,000 CFA, 1 photo, your passport and fill out 2 forms in the embassy. Et voila!

We inquired at the Burkina Faso embassy whether it's possible to get LVTE there but they informed us that even though they recognise this 5 country visa, they do not issue them.

So we hope to head to the Ghana-Togo border town of Aflao (4 hours from Accra, about 6.50 Cedi by trotro) on Saturday morning and stay a couple of nights in the Togolese capital Lome. Our plan is to take things as they come and focus on visiting interesting social development projects in the regions we come across.

Unfortunately, one of our friends has the connection lead for our camera so I guess I'll be unable to upload photos as we travel. Anyhow, I'll try account for them in descriptive language so you can use your imagination. That is, if we ever get out of Accra.

Edwenase's student support fund

2009-07-02T12:38:00.000+02:00

Edwenase Rehabilitation Centre has offically closed for 2 months and therefore Dorota and my work in Ghana has come to an end. We had a closing presentation on Friday with the materials purchased through the Student Support Fund we established. 4 of the shoemaking students each received a hi-speed finishing machine and accompanying stand, punching and lasting pliers, scissors and knife, folding and ball hammer, pincers and nail remover, stamp and full set of sole numbers. These items will be sufficient for them to not only carry out repairs during recess but also to produce sandals and slippers. They will just need to get the leather stitched and then they can begin selling their goods and start practising their business skills.

In addition to the shoemakers, one dressmaking graduate received an iron and Butterfly sewing machine. A tailoring student who has a disability with one hand received an electric pedal sewing machine and iron. 3 dressmaking students received frames, thread, needles and other basic materials to learn needlework, while 2 of the haridressing students received financial support to star their own business when they return home.

All in all the staff and volunteers worked together well to ensure the students were aware the materials were granted to them as a result of their hard work at school.

We hope the next volunteers will be able to continue the programme.

Bags not packed, not ready to go

2009-06-24T21:51:00.000+02:00

I hope John Denver isn't angry that I changed the lyrics of his classic song, but it pretty much sums up what stage I'm at here. 3 days of school left, well, actually there are only 2 full days remaining as we'll be having a party on Friday. It will be a nice send off for the students and ourselves, with rice, chicken, beverages and biscuits playing their role in boosting the students energy to dance to the surprise DJ visit after dinner.

In between these events we will be having the presentation of resources purchased from our Student Support Fund. 10 students are to benefit, receiving sets of tools and entrepeneurial support to aid them become more independent during vacation and beyond.

Today I received my long-awaited visa. So now I can head to Accra next Monday and get La Visa Touristique Entente (please forgive the accent omission Francophiles). I found out last week that the Togolese Embassy can process the application within a few hours for 30,000 CFA (about 45 Euro) though it remains to be seen whether 'officials' Togo, Benin, Niger, Burkina Faso and the Ivory Coast recognise it on their respective borders.

Out of the 5 volunteers at Edwenase who started in October, 2008 there are only 2 left, Dorota and myself. There are also 2 Dutch volunteers at the centre who came in the 2nd semester. Time has flown, lots has been achieved, and hopefully the next stock of volunteers will continue and emulate the work we have started.

Thanks to all of you have supported us over the past 8 months.

Ye de mo'asee.

Students who inspire

2009-06-16T15:23:00.001+02:00

Since I started working in Ghana, the greatest obstruction I have come across as a teacher of Literacy and Numeracy to trainees with 'disabilities' at Edwenase has been their inability to assimilate new material. Teaching people who have had little or no formal education, and what little formal education they have had has been in overcrowded classrooms with few learning facilities, has been the greatest impediment for my students progress. Despite the fact that many of the students have intellectual learning disabilities, the fact that the Education system and society at large has all but given up on them has been a far greater obstacle for the development in Literacy and Numeracy.

Many of them have the capacity to learn a lot, and they have, I am happy to say, learned well the material they have been exposed to. When someone has not been able to write their name or numbers properly in October and they can make a great effort by June, I'd call that something they should be very proud of.

Their enthusiasm would put many of us to shame. As someone who was got in their fair share of trouble at primary and secondary school, sometimes having to be dragged out of bed to face Irish language lesson on Tuesday morning, at Edwenase Rehabilitation Cente, motivation to learn is not an issue. In fact, I almost have to drag them away from the table so they can continue their vocational skills training.

Whether I'm going to or coming back from the toilet; heading for a bite to eat or returning from lunch; at 6am or 6pm, I have countless encounters with students whose first gesture is to show me they want to write, look at a book or use some of the other educational resources we have built up since starting last Autumn. They want to bring their copybooks and take up where we left off. If you show them for a split second that you are not up to your eyeballs in muck and dirt from farming, or ink from writing reports, or chalk from conducting lessons, they will try to nab you and await a nod of the head - the all pleasing reply from a teacher signalling, "Yes, I can check your homework now, even though I only gave it to you 3 hours ago and its 3 days early".

But there remain many obstacles to some students ability to progress, to becoming a good tailor, dressmaker, shoemaker, trader. Ghana wiped four 0's of it's currency, the cedi, 2 years ago. Almost every body still says 2000 ( old cedi) for three oranges rather than 20 (pesewas), one hundred of which make a new 1 Ghana cedi. So teaching students to convert from old to new, and add/subtract mentally and in written form in both has been a difficult task. The fact that few of them have their own money to spend or opportunities to leave the school and buy something hinders their chance to assimilate the knowledge they are attaining in class.

However, all in all, the students I have had over the past 8 months have been really inspiring. Maybe I'll pick up my Polish books again and apply myself with similar discipline. Maybe I won't always have to be medicore on the guitar. Witnessing others make great steps despite all the odds is a great way for one to kick their own education into action.

Literacy and Numeracy in Edwenase - Part I

2009-05-31T22:00:00.001+02:00

Indicators that Literacy and Numeracy education continues to need improvement throughout Ghana can be observed from many angles, apart from the hard statistics of a UN Human Development Index or World Bank report. While captions on Metro TV Evening News often have mistakes, e.g. „Government Cooporation(sic) with NGO”, adverts also frequently misspell words. The quality of journalism is generally poor, aside from the more mainstream newspapers like the Daily Graphic and Ghanaian Times, which nevertheles remain guilty of poor proofreading (sometimes my rushed writing could do with being brushed up I admit).

Almost everyday when I do a transaction on the street for food the trader has difficulty in adding up the total amount or giving back the right change (sometimes too much, more often too little). The introduction of a newly denominated cedi (minus four 0000's) has done much to confuse the masses. I recall similar confusion (and inflation by retailers) for ages when Ireland converted to the Euro. And unless you shop in a big supermarker here you'll have to both haggle for better prices and double check your change.

The traders or ordinary student can not be faulted here. This is the long-term result of systematic failures of the education system to provide them with basic numeracy and literacy education before they leave school, which the majority of people have few opportunities to continue beyond primary level due to poverty at home. Hawking goods has quicker even though meagre financial returns compared to sitting in a classroom of 50 students learning to add properly.

The Daily Graphic published a story recently stating new research that 40% of primary school teachers are unqualified. Official statistics from UNICEF claim that 65% of adults in Ghana are literate, a figure I am quite surprised by from short experience here.

Reading Cameron Duodu's New African magazine tales of his sadistic educational experiences from school teachers in Ghana helps shed light on the type of education many have been subjected to here (and from anecdotal evidence in Ireland it was not much different some years ago). So who could blame a kid or teen from trying to cheat in class or while doing their homework (a major problem here stifling students natural learning process) when the consequence of making a mistake is usually being caned or made feel as small as snake shit.

Teachers themselves, stressed to the hilt with massive numbers of students who have a wide range of abilities and difficulties, either give in and lose motivation to teach with enthusiasm and care for the educational development of their class, or else lash out and vent their frustrations on the students themselves.

Accumulated, all of these and other factors multiplied tenfold have resulted in the type of student a school like Edwenase has. Shy; afraid to make mistakes; little or no belief in their own ability to progress; no access to the basic tools for numeracy and literacy education, including motivated and patient teachers. As sure as 1+1 is equal to 2, the above factors added together ends up equal to a student and adult poor at Literacy and Numeracy. And without spelling out how, this certainly has the potential to trap you in absolute or relative poverty thus making you more dependent on others help.

Going by the sub-caption of this blog, „Tales of a volunteer teacher”, you may have expected to read more about my teaching experiences at the rehabilitation centre. So I'll try give a summary in my next few postings of how things have transpired since October last.

Literacy and Numeracy in Edwenase - Part II

2009-05-31T21:58:00.001+02:00

As the only professional teacher (which could mean good or brutal) amongst the volunteers at Edwenase I felt like I would be able to offer a lot from my previous roles in the classroom. 3 of the volunteers had just finished high school so the transition from student to teacher was a challenge to step up to. Dorota, on the other hand, had a lot of experience speaking to classes and conducting workshops for teachers in her previous job in Warsaw with the Polish Humanitarian Organisation's Education department. I had 4 ½ years experience tormenting students and catching them at their various misdeeds, many of which I had engaged in myself whilst in school. It helps when you are a teacher who has been in a lot of trouble at school, cause you tend to have developed an instinct or student misbehaviour.

After observing a local teacher conducting Literacy and Numeracy classes we put together our own timetable and set up new groups after assessing the students abilities and disabilities.

It may be a cliche at this stage, but the lessons I observed from the local teacher were a case study in bad teaching, that is from the perspective of the professional training I had received in Ireland and Poland.

Students were grouped inappropriately; teacher not knowing students names nor being aware of the extent of their learning limitations; little or no positive affirmation; students made to feel they were to stupid to grasp the subject through comments like: „How can you not know this, it's easy?”

One thing which was obvious though was the enthusiasm of the students to try and expand their knowledge in writing, speaking English, adding, subtracting and getting used to new currency terms, etc. So we allocated part of the project money we raised through selling plaintain leaf Christmas cards (made by students and volunteers) adorned with traditional adinkra or Christmas symbols to purchase a school kit for each student (copybook, sharpener, eraser, pen, pencil).

Alongside the primarily local educational resources we purchased for the school library we know had a good starting point to capture the students enthusiasm and translate it into something more systematically more educational.

Each student was placed in groups of 2-6 student as opposed to the previous system of 12-15 per group. Each student would receive at least one period of English and Maths per week, as well as remedial and informal lessons when time allowed. Now that they had their own copybooks and pen/pencil they were constantly coming to us with their work or asking for guidance. It had become a perfect learner-led situation, one which you will rarely witness amongst those who have plenty of access to copybooks, learning resources.

Thankfully, the novelty has not worn off and the students become even more enthusiastic each day. The more they learn in English grammar, in writing letters and their names better, in adding and subtracting using real money, the greater their appetite to learn even more.

The case of the missing 8 GB usb

2009-05-17T20:23:00.000+02:00

3 1/2 weeks ago I left my 8 GB usb at my local internet cafe in Kwadaso district. I had been rushing around trying to get documents printed off for the idiots at Kumasi immigration office who had seized my passport. Why would they do such a thing? Well, to put pressure on me to pay a 100 Ghana cedi bribe (55 Euros). I refused to pay so they wanted an official letter for the withdrawal of my visa extension request. So my excuse for leaving the usb behind was that I was stressed out and trying to meet a deadline. Thankfully, the staff at Kwadaso know me well as I have been frequenting there for months.

One of the staff members removed it from the staff machine, put it in her purse, and brought it home with her. That is, she was safekeeping it for me to collect whenever I came again when she was on shift. But then I came to collect it, and after the 8th time without success, I became a little unnerved whether I would ever see it or her again. 3 days ago I went to the cafe and met her. She laughed when I asked her whether she had a surprise for me. "Oh, I lost it, it's missing, she said."

"Huh? I replied"

"Yes, I gave it to a client to use and then I forgot about it. I remembered the next day when I came to work but the usb was gone."

Imagine it - she's about 25 years old, pretty, and as she tells the story she is smirking all the time, with no hint of an apology coming to her lips.

Yes, I made the first mistake. I left my property behind and so it will be pot luck or thanks to the honesty of another that I retrieve it. But the fact that she took it home, that I couldn't get it back from her for 3 1/2 weeks, and now that she is causally telling me she lent it to a complete stranger and then forgot to get it back from him has really pissed me off.
Even if I detected an inkling of regret, I think I would have caved in and put it down to my initial error. But the attitude I detect is one of 'I really don't give a fuck where your usb is nor what I did with it, there is nothing you can do about it and you're white so why not just go to your usb tree and pluck another one from it', all drive me to ask the question - "where is your manager?"

After talking to both of us the manager states that she has made a serous error in not giving it back earlier and by lending it out to one of their clients. He asks what course of action I deem fair to resolve the issue. I say that I would like an 8GB usb, whether it is the same brand or not doesn't matter. Observing her clothes and mobile phone I feel it's safe to presume she's not on the breadline. He agrees, she agrees and 3 days later I collect an 8GB usb.

So why did she not even put on an act that she was somehow sorry. Is it because she did not feel anyway responsible for it going missing? Was she hoping that I might just understand? Why do I feel somewhat guilty now for pursuing a replacement? Was I justified in seeking a replacement?

A little on Ghanaian signs and African literature

2009-05-10T19:52:00.000+02:00

Due to generous donations from family and friends we have been able to set up a support fund for Edwenase's most needy students. From the outset we did not want it to appear as a charitable donation from white to black, from west to south, from the 'abled' to the 'disabled'. Some of the students here are so hardworking but also have som many obstacles facing them that the rest of us can scale with ease or just never have to face. Whether you are good shoemaker or dressmaker can mean little if society, having labelled you as deaf, blind, a cripple, dumb, or mad will offer you little or no chances to offer your skills and services to them. What happens if your family has rejected you as a witch, a label unfairly thrown as you due to their own lack of prosperity or run of bad fortune.

2 girls at Edwenase have been cast as witches by their families, one of them was put in a spiritual helaing camp prior to her arrival here. This is where evil spirits, madness, etc. is supposedly banished from you through the power of prayer. In reality it is a prison subjecting human beings to bullshit incantations, exorcisms by self-proclaimed prophets, pastors, healers and priests.
So one can easily understand the difficulties they face in learning new skills when they have had no chance to even process and get over the harsh experiences they have been subjected to by society, schools, their families and these so-called prayer camps.

After long consulatations with management and staff, Dorota and I spent a lot of time yesterday having a look for sets of tools for some shoemaking students, comparing prices at various hardware stores. We are looking for 4 finishing machines (a grinder for smoothing shoe/sandal material) which will cost about 80 cedi or 45 Euro each. In addition to this the shoemakers will need folding hammers, punch pliers, scissors, knife, glue, lasting pliers, pincers, wooden/plastic/iron foot moulds for shaping their footwear produce. We have an additional 70 cedi or 40 Euro for each student to get their tools. So hopefully by next week we will have them stockpiled and ready for distribution.

We will of course get management and staff to inform and present the materials to the students on behalf of the Edwenase Support Fund, of which the white volunteers are a part of. It is not in volunteer's interests, we believe, to exhibit themselves as givers or donors of material goods or money to students. We have worked hard for the students to respect us as educators and don't want them to think they are getting handouts from comparatively rich people. They are being awarded these tools due to the difficulties they face but also, and most importantly, because they have proved they are willing to work hard to better themselves. And this will be the primary reason why they have received the resources.

From the period that the school has ended until it opens again, they will be able to produce their own shoes and sandals and generate their own income, be independent of aid in the future and not be looked upon as burden by family or society. After having mastered their trade at school, they will have hopefully sustained their tools to sufficient quality that they will not have to worry about getting an expensive apprenticeship or a loan to get equipment but will have a headstart in providing a much-needed service for their community and reaping the benefits of their hard work.

When a Ghanaian driver does a 'Hit and Run'

2009-04-25T18:55:00.006+02:00

Here's the situation I found myself in on the way back from Accra to Kumasi recently. It's pitch black outside. I'm in a 22 seater ramshackle van (nominally a Mercedes but in reality about 100 hundred machines have been torn asunder and gelled together to make it semi road worthy). A truck is in our way. The stretch of road is quite good, but as always when night has descended, one can never tell what may appear outof the blue. Fog has descended in patches. But our driver nevertheless decides to give it a go, overtaking the truck, and getting home 1 minute earlier than if he waited for a safer opportunity. He moves into the oncoming hard shoulder to manouevure outside the truck. Then, all of a sudden a loud BANG. All the passengers scream.

I'm near the front of the vehicle and think I saw what appeared to be a bicycle light before the light disappeared alongside the left-wing mirror. The driver passes out the truck, and to my surprise keeps driving, not seeming to give a damn that he probably just hit somebody.

I shout at him, 'Stop driving, you just hit a cyclist.' The woman in the front seat ahead of me turns her head and agrees. But he just keeps driving. Nobody says anything. So I shout again 'Pull over, you may have killed an old man for all we know'. Silence. He slows down from 80kms per hour to about 40 kms p/h and moves into the hard shoulder to allow the truck he had just passed out to overtake us. About 3 of the passengers say something within 10 seconds, at last breaking their silence. But immediately after they talk, the driver, obviously reassured by his fellow passengers, moves back onto the main road and speeds on. I turn to the young, well dressed woman beside me, and offer my phone for her to ring emergency services. She turns her head the opposite direction. So I send an sms to Dorota to ring emergency services (at this stage I am a bit reluctant to do it given the passive nature of my fellow passengers and the fact that the driver and his mate (helper) may feel threatened by such a call).

I've noticed that we just passed the village of Yawkwei, about 100kms from Kumasi. After repeated attempts to call the police or ambulance to no avail, I arrive in Kumasi. I have our vehicle registration number in addition to the place where the accident occurred and the registration number of the truck we passed out, just in case the driver of that vehicle has witnessed something also. I call over a police officer and tell him what I saw. He calls a colleague and within 2 minutes there are 2 police officers in uniform and 2 plainclothes officers questioning the driver, his mate the more senior policeman turns to me and says „Please forgive him”.

At this stage I know it's a useless effort on my behalf. These cops are probably using the opportunity to extort money from the driver not to bring the case further. I travel back home as its late. Consulting fellow Ghanaian workers the following day, I am advised to drop the situation, that my concern will come to nothing. But as someone who has probably witnessed an accident where a cyclist was hurt, that just ain't something to leave one's head over night. So I make a 2nd attempt at the cops. I go to the main police station and am directed to the control centre. At last I meet two cops who take the issue seriously and call the local police stations and hospital admissions to give them feedback if anybody reported an accident in the area. I have had no contact from the cops, so either the cyclist survived unscathed, or else they just dropped the enquiries and the driver of vehicle GS 4900 Z continues to drive dangerously on the Accra-Kumasi road.

And what about the passengers silence. Well, it appears that the 3 who broke their silence may have encouraged the driver to keep going just in case it was a trick to stop him by robbers. I had just read of thieves who shot out the tyres of a bus in the Upper East region of Ghana, subsequently robbing all on board. But this did not appear such an attempt. Unless a thieving cyclist was willing to get killed in the process, that is.

Silence. It's amazing what fear can do to the most normal human being. We're all capable of keeping our mouths shut when we see something that we deem plain wrong, myself included. Having oer 20 people willing to keep their mouths shut was something that I hadn't expected witnessing though.

Ghana Immigration's extortion racket

2009-04-25T18:51:00.001+02:00

Corruption is often declared a cancer in African States, one which bleeds the official State coffers of much needed funds and lines the pockets of a few nasty elites. That these few nasty elites behaviour then sanctions small fry officers to engage in such practices is something that affects the vast majority of people who have ever tried to get a service rendered in places like Nigeria or Ghana.

For example, I have just fallen to threats that I should buy my ticket and get out of the country as my visa will not be extended for another 2 months. This despite the fact that I have done everything by the book. My project manager received a phone call full of threats from a senior member of the immigration department in Kumasi shouting at him that I should get a flight and leave immediately. But any of us who have been in this game for a while knows what that means. Translated into plain language it could be versed as follows: You son of a bitch, who dare you go offical routes and deny me my bribe. So now I will resort to extortion and make you shit in your pants until you pay up."

Unfortunately the officer in question has met the wrong client. He didn't get a penny, I got my passport back, but I still only have until May 17th then I've gotta find a way to stay and finish my teaching, fundraising work for the students at Edwenase. That's what I came here for, and that is what I intend to do once I don't have to pay off some idiot in a dark green military uniform who bleeds Ghanaians and foreigners alike so he can feed his greed.

Life for those who have ever wanted something from an immigration office can be pretty frustrating at the best of times. In Europe and the US I've been lucky enough. The colour of my skin has prevented me from the harshest treatment. I've had my fair share of bad experiences with officials at borders or checkpoints though. Lots of hassle and violence from Israel border guards during non-violent conflict work in the West Bank, Palestine. More hassle entering and leaving the country. They wanted to know what Arabs I knew and why I was helping muslims! Deportation from the US in 2008 at Chicago airport by Homeland Security officers due to my legal (I was fully acquitted in 2006 by an Irish jury) assistance in disabling a US warplane at Shannon Airport, Ireland prior to the outbreak of the Iraq war. Witnessing heartless Irish immigration cops being bastards to foreign women and children at Dublin port. I'm sure you could add many more to this if you wanted.

Now when it comes to Ghana's immigration, well, Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe hits the nail on the head in his classic novel 'No Longer at Ease', charting the fall of one Nigerian State official to embody a new age of rampant corruption in Nigeria's State services. Ghana appears to be little different, although it would be hard to surpass Nigeria's brutal record of crookedness and bureaucratic multi-coloured tape. An envelope of cash brings an immediate response to an official and kickstarts them to work on your case. The absence of a 'dash' means you will wait, and wait, and fall into a lot of frustration as you are sent from this office to that office only to find that they won't give you what you are legally entitled to. They are a State mafia, extorting money from both professional ex-pats who come to work as either volunteers or business people to do work which, and here I quote one less corrupt junior immigration officer, „will do work for free that Ghanaians won't do even if you pay them”. That is a rough, generalised remark, that I have come to observe to be a half-truth.

To get my final 2 month extension I was expected to pay at least an 80 (50 Euro) cedi bribe, which I refused. Most other vounteers I know of are taken care of by their NGOs, whose representative must depart with a nominal sum depending on how many volunteers passports they want stamped. Due to the fact that I came here independently and am rendering professional services as an experienced teacher and social worker, they are trying to screw me similarly. Whether it is scholarships which have been gained due to academic brilliance, or deserved promotion due to hard graft, nothing will transpire in Ghana unless you pay some extra money to feed the greed of the lecturer, immigration official, administrator, etc.

Even when I lend an extra basin here at our centre from the kitchen staff, a basin which belongs to the centre, I am asked to bring them something in return. Handouts and back-scratching are the name of the game, but the true essence of mutual aid is one lap behind when it comes to some people's greed.

It's a frustrating process, one which drives most people to pay up and just get what they need and deserve. So when I go to Accra to try another avenue for my visa to be extended, I expect to asked for a 'dash' in a white envelope again. I already paid a futile 20 cedi sum to try and get a previous extension. It didn't work and I did it against my better judgement. In fact I did it as that is what my centre manager told me was the only option. We know know that they thought it was too little and even very big sums were rejected by them - so many volunteers have had to leave Ghana ansd re-enter through Togo to continue their projects.

If I am expected to give 'a little extra' yes, they can stick it up their holes. I'll leave the country and try and get back in by land rather than paying these corrupt wasters anything so they can sit on their arses and play all day with a hi-tech mobile phone purchased from the profits of their racketeering.

Is there any solution to this racket? I doubt it will change for a very long time, if it ever does.

An abandoned Angel

2009-03-30T18:52:00.001+02:00

Yesterday moning at 8am I was walking to the school centre from the nearby staff compound. It was a normal Sunday, hot and sparse of people, with church music increasing in noise as congregations flocked in to the multitude of churches under operation at Edwenase. But this was no ordinary Sunday morning. Just 2 1/2 hours earlier one of the housemasters arose to open up the gates of the Centre. After a rainy night you may find a puddle outside. Other than that you will just find broken asphalt caused by passing cars that use the school yard as a turning point, much to the disadvantage of those who are wheelchair bound and must travel on a rocky surface to and from their living quarters to the school workshops.

Sunday, March 29th, 2009, was extraordinary for a 8/9 year old girl called 'Angel'. Prior to the descent of dawn, her mother had travelled from some unknown point and decided to leave her daughter on Edwenase's doorstep. She was found by our housemaster lying on a blanket hlding a note in her hand. "Please don't think bad of me my little Angel. I'm leaving you where I think you can be best taken care of. For those who find my beautiful daughter, please take good care of her".

What drove a woman to abandon her kid on some stranger's doorstep. Well, the fact that her daughter suffers from sever cerebral palsy and is unable to walk or verbalise is a large part of the answer. Despite the fact that she was left on her own with just a piece of paper, hides the fact that she was actually well dressed and seemed to be well taken care of before she was found.

Did a desperate mother accede to the demands of a husband tired of fending for the child. Did an already abandoned wife/woman decide the child would be better of in the care of the State and that she could just not cope with the 'burden' of a disabled child any longer?

It appears to have been an act of desperation by a woman not thinking straight. She could have easily have waited for some hours, spoken to the Centre Manager, who would have arranged for the child to be sent to the Department of Social Welfare's children's home, also in Kumasi.

But now, she has obliged the school authorities to inform the police and try fill in the missing information on the child's medical and family background.

Angel will be taken care of by the State, but it is no replacement for even the occasional love of a family member. There is never a day without surprises at Edwenase, and this incident goes to prove that community based rehabilitation and much more family support for the parents and extended family of the disabled is urgently needed to avoid such abandonments in the future.

Photo-essay - Ghana from various angles

2009-03-22T18:18:00.001+01:00

The slave trade carried countless millions (estimates range from 13-16 million over 250-300 year period ending in the mid 1800's) to their deaths on perilous voyages across oceans and plantations. For those who survived initial capture, imprisonment in brutally inhumane conditions, even worse transportation without basic amenities for life, a life full of hard labour and maltreatment faced them. Recently I visited both Cape Coast and Elmina forts on Ghana's coast, former bastions of the Portugese, Dutch and British where they carried out their misdeeds. The tours were excellent and the museums very educational.

Dungeon passage at Cape Coast where the male slaves spent their days with little nourishment or water. Here, many last breaths were gasped in under the gaze of colonial soldiers.

A fetish priest pours libation in commemoration of the deceased who spent their last days at Cape Coast and for those whose suffering at the fort was coupled with more hardship once they left to be sold to help build America (North, Carribean and Brazil mainly).

'Door of No Return' at Cape Coast castle. An unsubtle reminder for those who passed through it during the slave trade era that there was no coming back once you saw this gate. To break this cursed door the bodies of two former slaves were taken back from the US and through these gates, so that it has now become a 'Door of Return'. Local fishermen can be found on the seaside part of the door, unravelling their nets and making a living for themselves. Their new nemeses are foreign trawlers that sweep up the best produce the sea provides through pair-trawling exercises using massive nets.

Many school tours like this one pour into Cap Coast fort every day to learn more about Ghana's history.

Wreaths left nearby the dungeons at Cape Coast by the descendants of 'slaves'

School children waiting to go to 'The Door of No Return', but to exercise their passage through it and back through the same 'Door of Return', helping break the terrible history that this door evokes. Cannons facing seaward warded off enemy combatants seeking to gain their foot in the door of the lucrative but wicked trade in human beings.

Elmina fort with a thriving fishing scene in the background. The guided tour at Elmina is excellent, as is the museum. The local historian gives a very insightful picture of how life was for the victims of Elmina's trade masters and soldiers. Similar to Oswiecim (or Auschwitz/Birkenau) in Poland, it is very difficult to imagine the horrors that have taken place at such sites. The preservation of Ghana's history seems to be in good hands both at Elmina and Cape Coast and thousands of school children, descendants of former slaves, foreign tourists converge to learn about how things really were (without the Hollywood dramatisation) and to be challenged to stand up for the downtrodden in today's society upon their departure.

Traditional clay fish ovens can be found all along the coast of Ghana. Here are some from Elmina.

Crocodile looking for prey around Hans Cottage Botel between Kakum and Cape Coast.

Don't worry, he's only breathing before he goes looking for his wife and kids

This Nigerian journalist we met on our travels got a bit of a shock (as we all did) when the crocodile decided to jump back into the water spilt seconds after this picture was taken.

Kwame Nkrumah was imprisoned at St. James fort under Governor Charles Arden Clarke before becoming Ghana's de facto leader upon release. He had to wait a few more years though before Ghana managed to kick the Brits out totally. This photo is taken from James fort looking towards Ussher's fort and a harbour full of fishermen's pirogues.

Kakum National Park and its famous canopy walk that gives you a great perspective of the surrounding environment

Diving into waves near Green Turtle Lodge. A well managed project has begun to conserve the green turtles from ending up on dinner plates to being a source of eco-tourism.

Ghana's coast has a litany of unspoilt beaches. Let's hope it remains that way.

The path from Busua to Butre is a beautiful 5 km walk through tropical forest and beaches as clean as a whistle.

The day before Ghana turned 52 - March 5th, 2009. I have no idea what the symbolism behind the construction is.

It certainly seems that this is the unknown soldier at Independence Square in Accra although there is no plaque or information around the monument.

Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Gardens in Accra - interesting museum, well worth a visit.

Ghana's Independence Leader, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, is buried alongside his Egyptian wife Fathia in Accra. One of their daughters is currently a Member of Parliament and the only MP of the former leader's Convention People's Party (CPP)
The Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Gardens in Accra with the burial monument in the background.

"Ghana is freedom" and Made in China

2009-03-09T15:54:00.001+01:00

Just before I stepped into the internet cafe this evening a traffic warden shouts ecstatically at the passing white man: "Ghana is Freedom". It dawned on me that when I came to Accra 2 weeks ago the same traffic lights were also out of order. It also hit my tired brain that the traffic lights have the exact same colours of the Ghanaian flag.

Let's try link up all this trivia.

First independence leader, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, chose the name Ghana for sub-Saharan Africa's first post-colonial nation -state as an inspiration for the future. Meaning 'warrior king' it was to embody a great empire from centuries ago which existed in what is now Mauritania. The colours of Ghana's flag - green for the tropical vegetation; gold for the mineral-rich mines; red for the sacrifices made to achieve independence; and black for pan-Africanism - resemble somehow the current state of the defunct traffic lights outside this cafe.

A young man, proud of his heritage, shouting a grammatically incorrect statement 'Ghana is freedom' is not a laughing matter. It doesn't matter a shit that it's not Oxford English. What does matter however, is that 2 years ago President Kufuor spent $40 million to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ghana's freedom from Britain. Yet, 2 years later to the day, traffic lights on Accra's main road don't function and a man in a barely visible vest is stopping cars from one direction to let others fly by from another.

So while millions can continue to be spent on the myth that Ghana is freedom (why does it depend on so much aid if it is) every March 6th, few resources are channeled into things that really matter, like providing this traffic warden with proper equipment for his own safety and to conduct his important task for traffic.

Ghana has been strangled for decades by the West and it's own corrupt elite. It's traffic lights, as many other prominent Ghanaians have been saying over the past few weeks, are just not functioning well. So lets take off the rose-tinted glasses and let's stop the crap talk. Ghana is not freedom!

Postscript - Due to lack of time I did not write anything above which would justify the second part of the blog title: 'Made in China'

Well, wandering around the celebrations at Independence Square on Friday last it was obvious that an abundance of the Ghanaian "hats, scarves and headbands" etc. were leftovers from two years ago when it celebrated its 50th anniversary. It appears the patriotic wear had been mass produced in factories throughout China. Surprise, surprise. Nothing like abandoning your own indigenous industries when it comes to proclaiming your independence from other nations.

While warplanes spewed out red, yellow and green smoke above the applauding masses, the irony that the city authorities still hadn't fixed Kojo Thompson's traffic lights crossed my mind. If they can't afford to be bothered to fix them, it would have been far more useful if they just used these smoke theatrics on the top of the traffic lights. Green smoke unloads, traffic moves towards Nkrumah circle; orange smoke bellows, traffic slows down; red smoke flows outward, traffic ceases. The patient line of traffic adjacent can then proceed onwards as their smokey system kicks into operation.

I await calls from entrepeneurs to patent my classy idea.

Not to appear too cynical though, of course it is great Ghana can and does celebrate they day it kicked the Brits out. But as Ghanaweb point out, when your economic purse and people are worse off now than they were at Independence, some serious questions need to be asked and answers need to come fast. Nkrumah may have inherited the title of a great visionary, but it doesn't change the fact that in 1957 his gvt. had US $1 billion in foreign reserves -then, by the time he was ousted in 1966, Ghana's foreign reserves were depleted and the country primed for disastrous governance and corruption for decades after.

A little touring of Ghana

2009-02-28T21:27:00.000+01:00

My peepers have had a welcome break from the screen recently as I've been playing tourguide for my girlfriend's parents over the past week. We managed to visit the Kwame Nkrumah (Independence leader) Memorial park and museum; Cape Coast and Elmina castles, both of which were used by Ghana's former slave traders (Dutch and Brits mainly) with their sinister 'Doors of No Return' leading out to the Gulf Of Guinea whereupon countless millions over decades crossed perilous waters and conditions to become slaves in the Americas and beyond. We also managed to get to the fishing and tourism villages of Akwidaa, Butre and Busua where the local people's hospitality was great and the refreshing swim in the sea a welcome change to city life.

When I get a chance I will upload photos to give you a sense of how seeped in history Ghana is and hoe beautiful and diverse is the natural environment here. We spent a beautiful day in Kakum national park where I learned that one biologist discovered more species of ant living on one tree than can be found in the whole of Ireland and Britain. This has been my first chance to see Ghana in a bit more depth as for the first four months Dorota and I decided to base ourselves solely in Kumasi and concentrate on our work.

So it has been interesting exploring the coastline, meeting Ga, Ahante, Fante, Ewe peoples and trying to bend our Ashanti Twi dialect to encompass other Akan languages. I was surprised to find out that a lot of people understood our quests at communicating. I also learned a lot from Kobina Sekyi's parody 'The Blinkards' which is written in Fante and English. It is successful piss-pulling comedy play on the elite of Cape Coast attempting to become more English than the English themselves, at the turn of the 20th century.

So as Bug's Bunny would, that's all folks! We haead to the Northern region tomorrow to see Tamale and Larabanga. We were pleasantly surprised to see the staff had already started making to wheelchair ramps at our school from the Christmas project money. Before we left for Accra last week we bought a good range of Ghanaian educational books for the library we hope to start building in 2 weeks. The plumbing has also been fixed in the school from the xmas cards funds. Lots done and looking forward to seeing the students again next week.

Until then, nante yie (goodbye)!

3 important rules when living in Ghana

2009-02-09T16:31:00.000+01:00

Would you go to a place called 'Mama Farty Fast Food'? I think not. Well the locals of Kwadaso don't care about the ironic branding of one of their favourite joints. Mama Farty's business is near by our local internet cafe. When I first saw the name inscribed on her small roadside food cabin, I scratched my bald patch in awe as to what meaning there could be in Twi that I was missing. Unfortunately the mystery continues. I haven't yet plucked up the courage to ask for fear that I will be asked what I think it means. Maybe it's just her name, although it doesn't sound so native, does it?

Then again, neither did the surname of the honeymooning couple whom I first gave a boat driving demonstration to in banagher when I worked as a teen on the river Shannon. The newly wedded German woman seemed to have absolutely no problem becoming Mrs Wanker. I kid you not.

The other night I went to get bread from a lovely old woman who lives in the locality. En route I passed by the trader who I sometimes buy eggs from and opposite her an orange and banana seller. The latter had her baby girl strapped to her back, as is the way of life here for most young kids whose mums work for a living. The local creche ends up being observing your mum's interactions with scores of neighbours and buyers from the area. As a kid your every need is attended to by your mum who is as close to you as physically possible. There's no Barbie, Ken or any other Disney figure to brainwash you. just real people going about their daily business all the time. But there's gotta to be a catch, huh! Well there is, given the subject matter I am addressing is somewhat related to names, you'll never guess what the kid's name is? I won't even bother wasting your breath.

Me: „Oh, and this is your beautiful daughter. Efre no sen (What is her name)?”
Trader: „Lady.”
Me: „Sorry.”
Trader: „Her name is Lady, like Lady Diana.”
Me: „Oh, well, wo ho te sen (how are you) Lady?”

End of conversation as Lady can't speak yet.

Rule No. 1- Never judge a fast food joint nor a person by their cover. Mama Farty's serves good food, Mr and Mrs Wanker were a lovely couple and Lady was the cutest baby I've seen since I came here.

Would you pray in a ramshackle chapel called 'Kingdom of Fire' above a bar with blaring music? I didn't think so. It may seem an odd place to go in order to get in touch with your Creator, but no divinity is beckoned in quietude here. Heaven is a long way away, so you oughtta scream out loud and get good amps if you want to be heard. Afterall, a lot of people are out there trying to get God's attention.

Maximise the noise till your ear drums have popped and your head is spinning with the rythmn of drumbeats, keyboards, trumpets and any other musical instrument lying around. For me, raised an Irish Catholic, the fact that people dance, wave handkerchiefs and voluntarily remain active participants in a religious service for 3+ hours is hard enough to fathom. And all of it is done, believe it or not, without the consumption of alcohol! Song, dance and a whole load of preaching is the protestant sect recipe of the day. Catholics do the same but with a lot more attention to sacramentalism. Just add candles, incense, altar servers, proclamation of faith through the creed, general confession and absolution, eucharist and you get your main differences.

A House of Rhema pastor comes down the steps while my friends and I are waiting for the Ghana Book Trust to open. He seems younger than me, but maybe that's just cause he shaves more regularly. „Hello friends, how are you all today?” Focussing his attention on me he stresses that it is God's plan that we met. He wants my phone number, to know where I live, what I am doing in Ghana, when will I visit his church. All within the first minute of our encounter. I was quite proud of the fact that I refused to give out my number, stating that I only pass on my details to people I know. I take his 'business card' to be respectful but as soon as he is gone I leave it on top of a shelf nearby. Why pretend a guy I met for 1 minute is a friend and God predestined us to meet when in actual fact he just happened to be coming down the stairs going somewhere while I was waiting to look as some books for our school library. That's it Pastor, there ain't nothing divine about it.

Fast forward two weeks – I am going towards the local porridge seller at 7.30am to get my daily fill. I meet my former neighbour (before he got kicked out for overstaying his welcome and here he had us conned that he was best friends with the director!) and local hairdresser. He makes another attempt at me to go to his church.

D: „I want you to come to my church, when are you going to come and worship with me?”
Note – He belongs to the protestant sect 'Assemblies of God' that are quite popular in this part of Ghana.
Me: „Well, we don't believe in the same thing so thanks but I'd rather not”
D: „Oh, why? Lots of white people come to my church. There is English translation on a screen for you to read if you don't understand the Twi.”
Me: „Ok, but it doesn't really matter what if white people go or not. You worship the way you want to and that's fine, but I come from a different background.”
D: „You are Christian, aren't you?”
Me: I was raised Catholic but......... (I don't need to fill in theg gaps here. Suffice to say I am a doubting Thomas).
D: „But you can still come and read the bible.”
Me: „Well, I don't believe the bible is the literal truth like your church does.”
D: You don't believe in the bible”
Me: ”I think it has interesting moral messages to teach us but I don;t believe it is literally all true. For example, take the two creation stories in Genesis.”
D: „But there is only one creaton story, God made everything in 7 days.”
Me: „Hmmm, I have my doubts. Isn't there the creation story of human's that Eve came from Adam's rib but also that man and woman were made simultaneously?”
D: „Where is that?”
Me: In Genesis, read the early chapters. If the bible is the literal truth how can you have two creation stories. One of them must be wrong. And if one is wrong, then the bible can't be the literal truth. Listen I should go got my porridge, I'll talk to you later.”

Rule No. 2 – Beware of constant church invitations. The fundamental reason is to get you to become a member of the church; the second so the inviter can look good bringing a white heathen to worship; the third, however, may just be out of common courtesy from a nice person who bids you no ill. Judge which invitation you have received carefully and don't be duped into saying yes cause you think it's bad manners to say no.

******
„My friend's tell me that Irish people are cute and short”. So says the cashier at the electrical goods store where I have just bought another voltage protector. She remembers me from a previous visit with Dorota and inquires where is the lady you were with last time. I sense a subtle marriage proposal coming! But then I'm a bit slow when it comes to flirting rituals.

Rule No. 3 – Go along with flirting from natives but if you are already tied to someone, draw the line so they can see it clearly. It can be good fun but you don’t want them stalking you over the phone, which men have a tendency to do if you give them your phone number.

Being ready to volunteer in Ghana

2009-02-02T19:16:00.001+01:00

A sponge

The amount of dust one accumulates in their lungs, nose, ears, on their skin and pretty much everywhere is very hard to estimate. But by 3pm, if you rub a finger against the bare skin of your neck layers of dirt will start to show. If you have access to a shower, use it daily. If you have to use a bucket of water, then do so daily by washing yourself thoroughly. You will feel better, look cleaner and are less likely to get skin rashes, fungi, etc.

A radio

Note: Banana is just to give you an idea of the scale and is not a necessary accessory for tuning in to the airwaves.

It's important to keep tuned into local and national FM stations so you have a clue about matters that interest the general public, your neighbours, etc. and keep in touch with the news from bordering countries. Especially in Ghana, people like to and can openly speak about politics. In other countries you may want to keep a tighter lip – use your two ears and one mouth in that proportion. A lot of the radio stations, as with newpapers, are partisan and openly so. Listen and read from both or indeed all sides of the fence so you get a feel for the type of language they use to condemn each other.

Furthermore, with short wave you can keep a track on the BBC's Network Africa and Focus on Africa as well as general international news.

Sunday is reserved for God in Ghana and I suspect the same can be said for many countries in west Africa, so you can use the 7th day to recharge the batteries.

Toilet roll

When you are on a journey in the sweltering heat, your water bottle or sachet is empty, and your stomach is feeling queasy, toilet roll can come in very handy. Keep in mind there will be no stop offs at roadside garages that have electric flushes and scented roll from Kleenex. Plaintain, banana leaves are an alternative, as is your neighbour's newspaper (use the page with advertisements on it and he/she won't mind). In addition, the dust you accumulate in your ears and nose over one day of daily business here is equal to 2 weeks in the moderate climate of Europe. Unless you work in a dusty concrete factory. So blow and clean regularly. Try to get your hands on locally produced recycled paper. In Ghana it is called Rose and a pack of 10 cost between GHC2.50-2.70 or 1.50 euro.

An adaptor, intelligent voltage protector (and maybe a stabiliser)

To prevent your head being wrecked when your 2 pin round head plug does not fit the socket, make sure you come fully equipped or purchase the above once you get here. It may save you a lot of headaches and financial cost as the voltage fluctuates terribly at times and your chargers, equipment may be damaged in the process.

A brush

Not the one for your hair - guys, you are better off without any in this heat and dust. Girls, remember long, flowing (and especially blonde, fair) hair drives men crazy here. Tie it up, cut it off or let it become scraggy! Back to topic- I'm talking about a clothes brush. A scrubber to get all the dirt on your clothes is a must purchase. Then, as Tom Cruise famously said in a brutal Irish accent in the film Far and Away - "Plunge and scrub".

As regards hair brushes, I know little to the extent of their necessity as I have been in recession for quite some time. One thing is for certain though ladies, you will lose hair here due to the dryness and water quality. So get mammy to send you over some replenishing shampoo or shop till you drop in the local market – unfortunately, you may not find what you are looking for as hair materials tend to be mostly focussed on hair straightening. The majority of women in Ghana, at least, wear wigs and extensions. Afros are out sadly. The politics of African women europeanising their hair was recently covered by the Pan-Africanist publication New African in their December 2008 edition and is well worth a read.

A bucket

For washing your clothes in, splashing your face, flushing the toilet, to fill your kettle with water so you can sterilise and clean your utensils properly, to put on your head and pretend you are New Kelly, etc. etc. It's uses are endless. Turn it upside down and you have an extra seat. If you drink too much beer or get malaria you can puke in it. I think you get the idea. It really is a must as running tap water may not be in such a convenient place for you. You may be living some distance from running water if you are a volunteer on an under-resourced project or in a rural area, so be prepared. Barter hard and you'll get a gallon capacity bucket for GHC 3 or less than 2 euro.

A mosquito net

To avoid contracting malaria or more likely nasty, itchy bites that will keep you up all night. You can get them easily here and they don't cost much. Mend holes as soon as they appear and regularly spray with anti-mosq. permethrin or just ensure you have a Permanet.

Bowl, spoon, cup

A lot of food is eaten by the right hand (the left is reserved post-food digestion purposed) but every now and again your stomach will not be feeling the best so it's wise to have the basics in stock. You probably won't have access to a fridge so you gotta eat all you prepare and don't forget to be a disciplined washer or cockroaches and ants will become your best friend. You can also impress locals with your sponn playing musical talents.

Games

So you can interact with local kids. It's the best way to break ice with their family at large and also to learn the native language. A football costs little but you would be amazed at the emount of kids playing with flat balls as regular hand pumps are not so accessible nor cheap. On sale rather are the larger pumps which cost at least 5 euro, hence the flat balls will you find everywhere. Valves are also hard to get at times so buy one when you come across and mind it. Table tennis is also popular amongst both genders, as is pool, though this is somewhat more a male in the bar scene.

Brush (local reeds tied together) & dustpan (cardboard)

To brush your floor daily. The dust that builds on window shutters, floor, everywhere you can possibly imagine is surprising. So brush and dump regularly for your own health. You can get them for very cheap in the local market or else just make one for yourself from your natural surroundings. Brush your floor regularly to ward off creatures from thinking your territory is part of the wild. And when you come across cardboard remember it can be used to make all sorts of things apart from dustpans - think boxes, bedside locker, educational posters, twister, etc.

Pee bottles

Snakes in the bush should be enough to remind you that peeing under the cover of darkness in he wilderness is not always the bravest or brightest thing to do. Relieve yourself inside, putting it safely aside for disposal the next morning. It also means you're less likely to get mosquito bites as you won't need to venture out unnecessarily while it is their dinner time. If you do, put on lots of repellent or wear long clothing. One bite from that anepholes mosquito can cause a hell of a lot of pain.

Santa comes late to Ghana's ex-President Kufuor

2009-01-26T15:09:00.000+01:00

<Ex-president Kufuor has received a fairly generous retirement package from parliament.....

...despite the fact that government projects and schools for the disabled continue to rely upon foreign food imports and handouts to keep their heads just above water

"On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a partridge in a pear tree.” I'll guess that you have an idea about the rest of this famous Christmas song so I won't bother writing the rest of it. History lovers will remember that it was illegal to be a Catholic in England (and Ireland) from 1529 until the Catholic Emancipation Act in 1829. This song was thus written as a means to teach young Catholics their faith. 'True love' stands for God, 'me' the church and 'a partridge' represents Jesus Christ, the mother partridge acting as a decoy to save her helpless chicks (i.e. us).

So what the hell has all this got to do with Ghana. Well, funnily enough, it was the first thing that came into my head when I recently heard about ex-Ghanaian president John A. Kufuor's retirement package. John must have been worried about what Santa Claus (I'm using metaphors here as I can safely guess the reader is acquainted with the tradition whereas the obese guy who needs a beard trimming is an alien to most Ghanaians) was going to leave under his fake pine tree. He was already missing out on the gold spray-painted US$37 million presidential palace constructed under his tenure. Twice his nemesis in the 2000 and 2004 elections, newly elected president John Evan Atta Mills will wine and dine the elite for the coming 4 years in this enormous waste of taxpayer's money.

The Chinery-Hesse commission was established to propose a relevant 'good luck and good night' gift-wrapped incentive for Ghanaian presidents to leave power peacefully and not dangerously meddle in political life after their tenure. This is what they decided on. If you are Ghanaian you may wish to rewrite the lyrics of the above mentioned song in commemoration of this fine bulk of presents John has received.

On the first day of Christmas the taxpayer gave to me:

 1 overseas holiday (with his wife, for a maximum of 65 days)
 2 fully furnished residences
 3 saloon cars
 4 hundred thousand dollars (US) (paid as a lump sum)
 5 cars in total (all to be maintained, insured, taxed, fuelled and chauffeur driven)

Ok, this is where the numerical symbolism of the song goes out of tune, so bear with me.

 1 million dollars (US) to establish a foundation
 A 24 hour security guard
 An annual budget for 'entertainment'
 A constant police cortege while travelling
3 personal assistants and additional security personnel while travelling
 An ex gratia bonus amounting to 18 months salary
 Free medical care

And well, that's pretty much it. Of course, it has also being offered to the only other surviving president, ex-military dictator JJ Rawlings. He's the only other survivng president, cause, you see, when he came to power in '79 and again in '82 by force he had 2 other ex-presidents executed. So in that sense, I guess you could say he saved the taxpayer quite a lot of money from the perspective of this generous retirement package. JJ, ever the populist, has denounced the lucrative deal, which has been passed by parliament, as "grandiose rubbish”. On Friday January 23rd, Daily Graphic's columnist George Sydney Abugri admitted he found himself struck for words, not only because of the extent of the package but also the debacle which ensued conflicting reports regarding parliament's alleged underhanded passing of the bill. Some MPs seemed unaware that it had been voted on and threatened legal action to seek redress.

So what's the bigger picture. Well, as the Daily Telegraph reported in Britain, it does seem a stretch generous given the fact that Ghana relies on 91 million pounds of aid annually to keep the population's head above water. In other words, such extravagant gifts for one individual and his wife were ludicrous in the context of the poverty faced by many Ghanaians. Even supporters of Kufuor's party, the NPP, were uncharacteristically critical of the ex-president's farewell rewards.

The Daily Graphic compared it to ex-president Bush's retirement package:
 $191,000 pension
 secret service protection
 paid travel expenses and 2 assistants
 private fund to establish a library
 free medical care

Laura and George get no house, car nor gratuity. If I was on the US retirement commission he would get a one-way flight to the Hague to stand before the International Criminal Court. But I'm not, so I guess you are safe George.

President Kufuor has not given any public statement regarding the controversy but he supposedly would rather just three vehicles. Yeah, that ought to be enough I would think.

So it remains to be seen whether the passing of legislation granting President Kufuor 20 wheels and 2 front door keys, amongst other benefits, survive court or parliamentary challenges. It looks likely though that it will not be reversed, and that Africa's great model for peaceful, democratic transition has been dealt with in an exemplary fashion by Chinery-Hesse. Who needs 12 drummers drumming, eleven pipers piping, ten lords a-leaping, nine ladies dancing, eight maids a-milking, seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens and two turtle doves when your friends are partridges and have keys to the treasury.

John Kufuor, Ghana, Irishman in Ghana, Ghana president, retirement package, Professor John Evan Atta Mills, NPP, NDC

How to live on 1 Cedi 60 pesewas a day (90 cents a day)

2009-01-19T14:48:00.000+01:00

Buy 20 pesewas worth of porridge before 8am as it's high in demand and the pot will be scraped clean at 8:01am leaving your belly grumbling. Slice one of the 3 bananas you got for 20 pesewas the night before (you share them with another person so in fact you only pay for and have a right to 1.5 bananas). Prepare a cup of real coffee, which costs about 2 pesewas when you add powdered milk and sugar (all 3 from west African States) that you purchased on Kejetia market.

Use your 30 pesewas piece of fresh bread or sugar bread to finish off the other half banana. You purchase all of these locally to cut out transportation costs and support local traders who in turn give you better deals once they see you are a loyal customer.

For dinner, between 3-5pm, given that you have not invested in pots or pans, charcoal or a grill , etc. you go to one of the many local roadside eating joints, which pretty much serve up home cooking. It's economically better sense for the majority of adults who are working to eat this way. For 40 pesewas you will get a good serving of rice, plaintains, yam or fufu - add some 30 pesewas of cabbage stew, cocoyam leaves with sauce, or salad and mayo - leave out your meat and fish which are an unessential additive, and hey presto you are full for the rest of the day.

You still have enough for a cold sachet of water, costing 5 pesewas, while you can buy for small, fresh oranges for 20 pesewas and spilt them with partner.

Then, to top it all off, you have 20 pesewas for bisuits, a chocolate chewy, more fruit or a cold juice.

That's how you live on a budget of 1 euro a day in Ghana if you are a volunteer! And it all tastes good, is healthy and substantial enough to keep you fighting off all them bugs.

Of course, you will need a supplementary fund for internet and whatever other enterprises you want to engage in. But living on 50 pesewas of food for a month is a good way to start saving for other areas. If you have your own tips, feel free to add.

Butre - a hidden treasure on Ghana's coast

2009-01-12T19:30:00.000+01:00

The small, mainly fishing village of Butre outside Takoradi welcomed us warmly recently over the New Year. Apart from the begging habits of the kids, testimony not to their poverty but to their regular interactions with tourists who reinforce bad habits by giving handouts, the local people were very hospitable and the area is really majestic. Hideout lodge is a simple but well-run accommodation centre nearby the village and well worth a stay.

Fort Batenstein - built by the Dutch in the late 17th century, it was handed over to the British in the late 19th century and fell into ruin soon after

The beautiful beach at Butre, with Hideout lodge in the foreground and an Ewe fishing village 400 metres beyond

Inside the fort, which needs a bit of a weeding

Fast Forward Marriage

2008-12-27T16:09:00.004+01:00

Rhoda: Are you married?”
Rhoda: Are you educated?”
Rhoda: Why do you have earrings?”
Rhoda: Are you Christian?”
Rhoda: What is your phone number?”
Rhoda: I want you to meet my friend. She is a nurse. She is very slim and tall.”

Such were the questions I had to answer from a nurse in a downtown Kumasi clinic while I was waiting for my malaria struck friend to digest his fufu (plaintain and yam) lunch. Suffice to say that chat up lines are a little different to home. The question-poser tends to go straight for the jugular vein. Ghanaians don't see the point of beating round the bush. If you're on the market, then you are a viable candidate for marriage - whether it is for themselves, their cousins or friends.

When I didn't give Rhoda my phone number, a few hours later I received a call from her nurse colleague on my colleague's phone. Rhoda had looked up the medical file of my Italian volunteer colleague, who had attended the same clinic a couple of weeks previous, in order to find out his number and thus be able to ask me again what my number was. What persistence! I must say, I was flattered, but also quite amazed. Such a course of action would receive disciplinary measures, and may be even regarded as a fireable offence at home if a complaint was made.

As a white man living in Ghana, one is unlikely to receive as many proposals of marriage as our white female counterparts. Usually, women may even receive the bended knee treatment within a 5 minute conversation. Take last Thursday night near our workplace at Edwenase in Kumasi. While on the phone, sitting beside Dorota, a guy who we had only met once before, and very briefly, tried his best to gain my attention. Dorota intervened and took him some metres away so I could have some privacy. Within 5 more minutes another 3 guys had joined them. It's either a peculiar nosiness, genuine inquisitiveness or impossibility to resist the possibility of meeting an Obroni (white person, European), a potential partner, that compels many to win our attention or friendship.

I would be interested in hearing any other Obroni, Muzungu, Blanc or white persons accounts as to how many proposals they received in their travels. I never realised I was such viable marriage material before I cam here!

Things 'White people' shouldn't do in Africa

2008-12-18T21:37:00.003+01:00

From previous experiences volunteering I have built up a bunch of informed notions about how an Obroni, Muzungu, Blanc (White person). Most of them are from overhearing local strnagers muttering discontent, local friends expressing concern or laughter, and my own innate feeling that such behaviour just does not fit.

1. Post photos like this on a blog entitled IrishinGhana - It's Gonzo journalism at it's worst and irrelevant at best. Send personal photos personally.

2. Walk around t-shirt less on a Sunday when everybody else is dressed to the nines. Indeed, walking around t-shirt less in public, whether you're male or female, is generally best avoided.

3. Appearing lazy, acting lazy, just plain being lazy. People admire hardworking folk here as they work long hours to make ends meet.

4. Taking photos with total disregard for people's privacy. Yes, it's terrible to see a beggar on the street. But when was the last time you took a photo of a beggar in your own home country?

5. Not washing your clothes regularly as soap and water without a machine just seems too much bother. Ghanaians are quite spotless and I would put my life savings on the fact that most people you meet throughout the continent are equally so. After living with a wide sample of them in Dublin for 2 years (35 or so from 15 different African countries). They may not have jacuzzis in every 3rd house, but then again, who would want to live in such a place. Dress in a dignified fashion, try not to come home drunk every night of the week or at all and generally behave in a manner befitting the area you are living in. If you want to be a party animal, go to a secluded holiday island and enjoy yourself.

TO BE CONTINUED

Ghana's Rice, Elections, Students and Traders - Photoblog

2008-11-27T21:35:00.000+01:00

Methodist Women's Fellowship from Patase last week donating Brazilian sugar, Uruguayan rice, Malaysian cooking oil, and Italian tomato sauce

Women traders who requested a photo from Dorota in the National Democratic Congress stronghold section of Kejetia market

With its school rooms available from 4pm, Edwenase Rehabilitation Centre attracts a wide variety of extra-curricular activities. On any given Sunday 6 churches have services around the school, all at the same time. Not a very peaceful place to be

Kitchen staff at Edwenase

Dorota and I had been looking for weeks for locally produced rice. Last weekend we found it at Kejetia market in Kumasi. Undercut by U.S. and Asian rice imports since large-scale privatisation policies imposed since the early 80's after Jerry Rawlings coup d'etat, the IMF and World Bank's financial 'support' towards Ghana has devastated rice farming. 2 weekends ago there was a massive protest in Accra by rice farmers from all over the country appealing for support from the gvt. to grant subsidies and support their livelihoods to regain and exceed subsistence level. It's very doubtful anything will change though. Market forces rule the roost here now, and rice farmers will unfortunately have their slogans of 'Developing or Developed Countries, Who Needs Subsidies?' heard by officials.

First Aid, Health Screening and Hygiene School Assembly we recently organised at Edwenase. Thanks to Gloria Quist and her sister Esther for their skills and time.

Literacy and Numeracy classes at Edwenase. We have just implemented a programme to include all 59 students, regardless of their disabilities. We have spent a long time trying to experiment with different groups and methods to see what works best. Still a work in progress, but the students seem happy so far.

Getting ready for Dec. 7th elections

Photo blog from Edwenase Rehabilitation Centre, Kumasi

2008-11-17T21:25:00.000+01:00

Old sign at the staff compound in Edwenase Rehabilitation Centre, next to the vocational school

Our room is in the centre of the photo, with the curtain
(traditional cloth we bought at the market) drawn. One the right is the wash room (no running water) which is opposite the toilet (no running water). The yard is usually a hive of activity with the kids of the staff doing their homework and playing from early till late, maize being pulled asunder for packing in bags and cooking purposes, dogs and their puppies battling with cocks, chickens and guinea fowl for territory.

Apart from ants and geccos in our room this part of the layout. It's about 7 by 4 metres in size, consists of a desk, bed, mosquito net, a socket and some shelves. I got this guitar from a German volunteer for 25 Euro so at least I won't get too rusty over the coming months. I hope I can start doing lessons for some of the trainees soon.

Our route to the school and centre which is next to the living quarters for staff. We are usually tempted to decapitate this cock as he has a tendency to drive us mad from about 5 in the morning.

Guinea fowl lazing around, looking for old corn cobs, getting ready to fill their bellies before annoying us in the evening as their headquarters are 5 metres from our bedroom.

Mr. Modesto, Director of the Centre, pumping up the wheels on some of the new wheelchairs presented by the Mormons in early November. 750 wheelchairs were granted to the Social Welfare Department this year, 250 for the Ashanti region where we are based. 8 of them were put aside for residents of the Centre, but the trainees are still using ones they received last year. Why? Well, some families have a tendency to sell new wheelchairs during school breaks and send their kids back to school without wheels and a chair.

Some of the recipients of new wheelchairs, including David Nkrumah, resident at Edwenase. David recently made me beautiful leather sandals at the school workshop. He has been trained at Edwenase for the past 3 years and hopes top set up his own business from next year. Grants are hard come by in Ghana despite the fact that disabled persons have the statutory right to receive start up funds.

Trainees waiting for the ceremony to commence. In the foreground is Gifty; the student looking towards the camera is Naomi. All photos of this ceremony were taking by Judith, one of the trainees with my digital camera.

Lake Bosumtwe near Kumasi - from left: Dorota (Poalnd), Mattia (Italy), Lena (Germany)

Students dancing at recent ceremony welcoming new wheelchairs for Edwenase Centre and Ashanti region

Welcome to our Edwenase Christmas Card Action - Appeal for support

2008-11-06T21:40:00.003+01:00

Edwenase Rehabilitation Centre Staff and Students

For more info about Edwenase please visit our new website: www.ercghana.blogspot.com

Even great potential and enthusiasm needs money to start off, so as Edwenase's 5 volunteers from Germany(Lena and Markus), Ireland (me, Damien), Italy (Mattia) and Poland (Dorota), we decided to make use of the art skills and amazing creativity of the students to generate funds for their different needs in the centre.

With Christmas approaching it seemed like handmade cards for friends and family at home would be worth exploring.

The teachers of the Centre came up with the idea of creating more "Ghanaian" cards bearing Adinkra symbols, typical for the Ashanti region which Kumasi is the capital of.

How the cards were made

We tried to make the cards as natural as possible by using banana leaves as the base creating the shape of the card. Inside a piece of paper is sewn in order to allow you to write a personal message for a friend or family member.

Trainees have different skills and so patterns were prepared to help them draw certain shapes. Sometimes they needed help with cutting them out, but the composition on the card or the choice of colours (i.e. red palm tree) is completely their own creation which we dared not to intervene with. Students also participated in collecting the banana leaves.

At the back of the card there is a sticker with: Made by the students of Edwenase Rehabilitation Centre for the disabled, Kumasi, Ghana - www.ercghana.blogspot.com - so the receivers of these cards will know who they were made by, why they are special, and how to receive more information about our work here.

There are therefore two types of cards :

with an Adinkra symbol cut from a Ghanaian cloth

with different shapes ( Christmas tree, angel, shooting star) cut from paper or banana leaves and coloured

How will your donations be spent?

All the money raised from the Christmas cards will be used for the benefit of students. Three main issues we hope to address with the donations are:

1. Wheelchair ramps

The centre has ramps for the the trainees who use wheelchairs, apart from the steps to their dormitories. These steps mean that to go in and out of their room they need to get off the wheelchair, bring it over to the other side and climb on it again. During the day there may be 10 to 15 such journeys. Concrete ramps would solve the issue.

2. Library
Evening time is usually boring for all, apart from the time when TV is on. There are few games or books to compete with the box and develop different skills of the students. This is what we aim to change by introducing a library, where trainees will be able to choose from language (Twi and English), art and song, literacy and numeracy books; games (e.g. table tennis, boardgames, music practice) to fill in free time, enjoy communally and practise important skills.

3. School kit

Numeracy, Literacy and English classes are to be introduced for all the trainees, but in order to practise and be able to fully benefit from them each of the students should have a school kit containing: notebook, pencil, pen, ruler, eraser, pencil sharpener.

After the end of the action we will include a detailed report including photos of how the donations were spent.

If you would like to get more information about the centre, order a card or make a donation please contact us at erc.kumasi@yahoo.com

How you can buy them

If you are interested in receiving cards then please email me at dbamoran@yahoo.com, send me an sms at 00233240020157 with your name, postal and email address, amount and type of cards you would like.

Cost

There is no set price for these cards. They were handmade by the students at Edwenase with the assistance of volunteers. A suggested donation would be €0.50-€2 per card depending on the size and whether you purchase those with traditional kente cloth in the shape of Adrinka symbols or those with coloured Christmas symbols.

For example, a mixture of 10 cards may average out at €10. If you can afford less or more that's also ok. It's important for me to stress here that these cards are special because they are handcrafted and each is unique. There is no chance you will receive a duplicate card as the shape, size and colour of each card is different.

Volunteering in Ghana and exploring Kejetia market

2008-11-03T21:48:00.001+01:00

Outside the tailoring room. Boys dormitory and toilets in the background. Immanuel taking a beak.

Edwenase Rehabilitation Centre - Staff and Students

I've been just over 2 weeks in Ghana now. Tonight I found a great internet cafe so hopefully I can update this blog a bit more. The below entries have been waiting patiently to be uploaded for a week. At last they can see the light of cyber-life. I hope they can give you some insight into daily life here from theperspective of an 'Obroni' (Twi word used to describe anybody with white skin).

Kejetia Market

The livelihoods of thousands of Ashanti region families rely upon daily business at Kejetia market in downtown Kumasi. From the fishermen who supply dozens of fresh choices to the traders, to the weavers who provide yards and yards of traditional, beautifully coloured kente cloth for people to use as curtains, dresses, trousers, shawls and shower towels, amongst many other purposes.

From a high vantage point, the sprawling mass of individual units and mobile sellers seems to be a chaotic mess. But everything has it's own 'way' here, and once one steps of their global northern horse for a moment, the particular districts specialising in certain commodities become more apparent. Entering from the tro tro (minibus) station side, one approaches the stationary area, advancing eastwards towards sweets, lanterns, cups, buckets, brooms, and general household materials. After a few hundred metres one may stumble upon a disused railway track (Ghana's railways are somewhat obsolete and unused nowadays) is home to general clothes, progressing from menswear trouser and shoe wear to women and children's casual western style clothing. It reminded me of images I have seen from a great distance of the Kibera slum district in Nairobi, Kenya – though trading actually occurs on a live railway there and traders have to be efficient in gathering their stock out of the way when trains appear.

Branching off to one of the labryinthine side streets after 200 metres of railway, with a quick sniff you will wander into the nut quarter, and soon afterwards into the massive fish section. Before coming to Ghana I rarely ate fish, but given the fact that I have no or little other source of protein apart from daily fish portions served at dinner, my past habits have gone to the wayside.

Even for carnivores I would imagine that the sight of cows' heads in the back seat of a car are enough to speed up your departure from the meat section. The more pleasant smell of peanut butter and colour of traditional cloth stalls attracted our eyes and we ended up having a useful Twi lesson from the owner. Dorota bought 2 yards of beautiful cloth for a trousers to be sewn in the tailoring workshop at Edwenase Centre. I got 2 yards of cloth to work dually as a cover in bed and a spare, quick to dry shower towel.

After about 3 hours we had pencils, pens, rulers, sketch pads, cups, traditional cloth, soap, a clothes brush and other assorted items in our bags as we headed back to the Centre for lunch.

Edwenase Rehabilitation Centre

Well, my first full week at Edwenase should have been a week to remember but it was so full of activities that I can hardly believe it is already over.

Monday saw Markus from Germany, Mattia from Italy and I cover for the rural craft teacher. We had already done 3 days of his class the previous week, though given the lack of materials, and the students' multiple special needs the class is usually somewhat idle. So after playing Uno playing cards for numeracy and colour recognition, basketball and bowling for fun and accuracy, dominoes, paper plane construction and flying competitions, we decided to keep the inclusive and participatory nature of the class going.

With 'Mikado' game sticks we made the outline of a Ghanaian flag: red (representing the blood of their ancestors), green (for the beautiful fauna throughout large parts of the country) and gold with a black star representing one of their key resources (exploited by Anglo Ashanti Gold) and pan-Africanism, respectively.

Other stuff I have been involved with is our Christmas Card Action, teaching the director basic computer skills, teaching English to Rita, the Needlework teacher and Centre supervisor, co-planning literacy classes for the 70 students (due to commence soon), sports games and activities, general maintenance, manual and cleaning work around the Centre, helped organise the Centre's first group photo, amongst many other things.

I'll write more details in my next blog.

One thing is for certain, there is always something to do at Edwenase Rehabilitation Center in Kumasi.

I'll upload some more photos of our work as soon as possible.

Hope the photos included here satisfy any hunger for images and less text. I'm grateful to Dorota and Lena for allowing me to use them from their blogs.

Dorota's blog

Lena's blog

How to Write about Africa

2008-10-15T02:07:00.000+02:00

New Post:
Irish in Ghana

Austrian Far Right Leader, Jorg Haider, Dies in Car Crash

2008-10-11T13:46:00.005+02:00

Haider is on the left, you should know the nut job on the right

Jorg Haider, the controversial Austrian far-right political leader who was leader of party while they were in the 2000-2006 coalition, died in a car crash near his home twon. The Austrian president has called his death a 'human tragedy.'

His time is government and the rise of the right in various European countries is the real human tragedy though. With their anti-immigrant platforms, politicians like Haiger breed contempt towards those with a different shade of colour in their skin.

They may have beautiful ski pistes, but it's intolerable that Austria allowed a man to get and stay in power for so long despite his citing the 'proper labour policies' of Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany in a criticism of the Austrian government's record.

In addition to this he once commented on Nazi concentration camps in a parliamentary debate as 'penal camps'.

Let's hope the Freedom Party that he once led takes a crash in the polls soon.

Ireland's Recession Hits Pubs

2008-10-05T23:32:00.009+02:00

Tuesday

Lad goes into a bar, says: "Any chance of a pint?"

Barman: "Sure, that's what I'm here for."

Customer in raggy trousers, unshaven face: "Just one problem, I've got no money."

Barman, already pulling the pint: "That's no problem, I'll give you a gallon of stout and a bag of extra-large bacon fries if you want. Or would ya rather triple-sized salted or roasted peanuts?"

Surprised customer with big smile: "Jaysus, that's fierce generous, I'll promise I'll pay you back next week at some stage."

Barman: "No worries man. So what will it be?"

Customer with grumbling belly: "Well, I didn't manage to have an 'aul breakfast this morning so any chance of all 3 of them and the drink."

Barman: "No bother. Here you go, enjoy! And I'll keep an eye on your gallon jug to make sure you're not running too low. Let me know if any of your friend's come in and I'll sort them out too."

Customer with even wider smile, grotesquely smashed bacon fries covering his tongue, licking his fingers:
"More power to ya boy, you're a rare breed. Sound-owht!"

Following Monday

Penniless customer returns to bar, says to the same barman: "Ah, how's it goin 'aul friend?"

Barman:

Not so good. Cutbacks. Hard times. Looks like our bar is goin down the shit hole. Too many debts. Too many wankers knocking on the door for money we don't have. Suppliers not confident we can pay our debts, so the scroungers won't give us any more kegs or bottles. Less kegs to tap, less pints to pull, less glasses to wash.

Customer with pale look: "That's brutal. How's a man supposed to get a drink then?"

Barman: "Well, any chance you can pay your debts from last week first?"

Customer: "Not a prayer of that I'm afraid, lost me a few weeks ago."

In walks a flush fucker in an Armani suit and a bulging wallet, Merc parked outside on a double yellow line.

Flush fucker: "All right boys, why the glum look?"

Barman: "Ah, ya know the story, hard times, cutbacks, shite weather."

Customer: "And no beer. The pub is running out of beer. No beer, no pub. No pub, no barmen. No barmen, no pub - no service, no escape, no job."

Flush fucker to Barman: "Looks like you were a bit dumb, giving out pints on the house to desperate fuckers like this lad."

Barman: "Aye, bit late to be rubbin it in though, don't you think."

Flush fucker:

Don't worry, I won't let you stew. Just keep the beer flowing, I'll ring the lads with the kegs and bottles and guarantee your payments. Just make sure you get langers like this lad at the bar to pay for his bacon fries on time. And if he doesn't, take his umbrella, watch, shoes or whatever he has. If you don't, I just might have to pay your creditors my employees wages. That would mean less school repairs, less schools, less cancer wards, less hospitals, less homeless services, less help for the aged, more harshship for those with disabilities, and less investment to aid those with mental illnesses - not to mention the fact that they will be too poor to put food on their dinner tables, finance their children's education, maintain payments on their homes, etc. So you see, it kind of makes sense not to give extra-large bacon fries and gallons of stout to those who only ask for pint, especially when they more than likely will not be able to pay back even their minor debts.

Barman: "OK."

Customer: "Smug prick! Bet he has a big house and two 3.0 litre cars. Why shouldn't I?"

Murphy's Law for volunteers

2008-10-01T12:04:00.005+02:00

Well, it all just seemed too good to be true. That return flight for £617 which I wrote about in the last blog appears to have been a myth. I was patiently waiting for Travelhouse UK's agent to get back to me yesterday and today so I could book the quoted Ghana airlines flight he had told me about on Saturday. When there was no response by 4pm today I rang him, but as I was almost out of credit and in the internet cafe ready to finalise the details, I asked him to ring me back.

That took another hour, and I was anxiously looking at my watch as I was due to go to work shortly afterwards. Problem was, I couldn't hear what he was saying on the phone. But I caught enough to hear that the flight he thought he had for me could not be booked. Even though it claimed to be available when he tried to access it the latest return date available was March 27th 2009. I already knew this from my own efforts online.

So I asked him to email me the details immediately. Still waiting................

Next, I went onto Ghana airlines website, which was down on Monday night and wouldn't allow me to access their fares. If I was to get a one way non-refundable ticket it would set me back €497. The same would apply returning from Accra to Ghana. All other flights, whether it be from British Airways or Lufthansa are far more expensive. I just don't understand why Ghana airlines, who must have the worst airline website service in the world, do not allow people to book beyond March 27th 2009 even though their flights are valid for one year.

I emailed them yesterday for info. on this. Still waiting..............

Then more bad news poured in. Seems like Dorota will be staying in a room with another volunteer so our hope that I might be able to bunk in has just gone out the window. Now I really do have to worry about accommodation, despite casual assurances from a host of people that everything would work out in time. Well, we'll have to make it work out some way cause the dice just ain't throwing up any 6's at the moment.

So the question is, should I revert back to the offer of 6 months accommodation and 2 meals a day for €770 with a host family in the hope that Dorota could stay there when she wants? Should I request a host organisation to set up a concrete placement for me prior to my departure, rather than keeping my options open to work with small, grassroots organisations that have little infrastructural support? Should I bring a tent and a sleeping bag and kip anywhere I find space?

My tired brain and need for concrete information and security says yes on the first 2 counts. The latter, before you think I'm dumb, is only a joke. Hopefully Dorota will be able to sort out something over the next two weeks. In the meantime I'm going to keep my hand in my pocket, creidt card in my wallet, and keep plugging away at getting a flight.

Given that I am going to receive my new 10 year Irish passport on October 9th and that the Ghanaian embassy is only open that same day from 10-12, I may have to wait until the following Monday to get my visa sorted. Good news is that I only need 2 photos, passport, relevant filled out form and the name and address of a host organisation in order to receive a visa to work as a volunteer. In order to get a 1 year visa one would need an invitation letter. Nevertheless, it seems that immigration on the Ghanaian side only give 60 day stamps and require one to check in at a local office to renew the stamp. There should be no additional cost of course, in theory that is.

I hope that every cloud in this saga has a silver lining. One thing is for sure, every independent volunteer has bucket loads of bureaucratic hardship.

Pedophilia and Ephebophilia - What's the difference?

2008-09-26T01:51:00.010+02:00

Polish policemen transport the handcuffed 45-year-old man in Siedlce after arresting him on charges of repeatedly raping his daughter over six years

Today's topic will address whether chemically chopping willies off is appropriate for people like Austrain pedophile Joseph Fritzl, the recently caught, unnamed ephebophile coined the Polish Fritzl, amongst the rest of society's most hated of criminals. I decided to post and expand part of my recent comment on Beatroot's blog who has addressed the issue without differentiating what is the difference between a pedophile and an ephebophile.

Not that technicalities matter much to the poor abused daughters of the Polish or Austrian Fritzl, but technically speaking the Polish father did not perpetrate an act of pedophilia as has been put across by the Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who supports chemical castration for the sexual abuser.

Joseph Fritzl and his victom, daughter Elisabeth

Due to the fact that the victim was 15 when the abuse started, the actual sexual relationship, removing the non-consensual/familial aspect from the equation, is technically called ephebophilia/Lolita syndrome/phebophilia/hebephilia, which is clinically not a paraphilia due to the fact that it involves post-pubescent attraction/preference/timing, as distinct from an adult choosing a pre-pubescent to abuse, which is technically pedophilia (usually abusers target 5-7 year olds in this case. Infantophilia is the technical term used to describe the much rarer adult paraphilia of attraction/abuse of those under 24 months).

I know, that was an awfully long sentence. And yes, it's not really light reading, is it?

However, the distinctions are important, because given that the age of consent is 15 in Poland, and the fact that the daughter/mother may not be in a mental or willing state to give testimony against her father/husband, the perpetrator may not get such a colossal sentence as one would imagine. He committed incest, statutory rape and he should be brought to justice. But he is not a pedophile, and clarification around this should be asserted by the media. Unfortunately, they just parrot what leading figures say without correcting them.

If the government is to consider introducing chemical castration for ephebophiles then there will be a lot of people quaking in their boots. Will they employ the same or different criteria to an 18 year old going out and sexually with a 14 year old? He is technically an ephebophile, but to use the terminology employed in Poland regarding the Polish Fritzl case, one could easily be put into the pedophile category if they are in a relationship without a teen. The legal outlook in Poland is usually that a 14 year old can not give 'informed consent' and and her hypothetical 18-30 year old boyfriend would be exploiting her in the relationship.

The ages of consent throughout the world can be viewed here:
http://www.avert.org/aofconsent.htm

So there is certainly nothing universal in terms of age of consent. Here in Ireland it is still 17. More conservative countries usually max. out at 18. I read recently that the Vatican State officially has it at 12! Is that true? And I'm not joking.

We now have a case of the western media and politicians misdiagnosing those who abuse or have a sexual preference for post-pubescent teens. The mistake is not semantic but can unfairly tar some people for life if not clarified publically.

We all have a responsibility to get out words right. For example, I recently made a mistake using slander instead of libel - an error that should be more akin to my students than their teacher.

So what is my position of chemical castration. Hmmm, well if the perpetrator is caught, as the two above photographed have been, then it's too little too late really. The notion of justice should be about ensuring that they do not have access to children or teens again where they can carry out such abuse. Open prisons that have mandatory counselling services may better serve society. Nobodv has mentioned the fact that clinical therapy has a high success rate in preventing sexual abusers from acting on their impulses. This was well documented by actor Kevin Bacon in the film The Woodsman. So how about we try invest more in therapeutic services to deal with the issue rather than getting the chemical blade out of the cupboard to punish these sick men?

Banking Crisis - Free Market on the Toilet Bowl?

2008-09-23T00:14:00.007+02:00

Reward - €000000000000000000.00

Which one of these have you never heard of before?

Money makes the world go round.

Your pocket is your best friend.

Money doesn't grow on trees.

If you want to collapse the Irish banking system call Liveline.

Yip, you need not have a degree in GeorgeLeeology (for those outside Ireland this means economics) to guess that the latter is a quintessential lesson for anti-capitalist protestors. Almost €50 million was withdrawn within 24 hours of Joe Duffy's RTE radio show when panic-stricken callers vented their fury and fears that they would only be guaranteed about 90% of their savings up to €20,000 in the event of the whole show crashing down. A lot of people transferred their money into the Post Office which gives a 100% return on deposits. Credit Unions also fared better due to their more benign deals on writing off debt despite the fact their credit return bands are lower (about €12,000).

Are these lads burying their money after withdrawing it from the banks?

Then in steps Master Lenihan, the Minister for Finance, to calm all of us irrational monkeys tuned into the radio, on the phone lines and in the bank queues. He vowed that with the support of the State the banking sector will now be capable of upgrading the savings guarantee to €100,000. A lot of people sighed with relief and slept easier. To people like me who can count their savings in 3 digits, the whole furore was less significant.
The Yuppies may soon be jostling for space on O'Connell bridge

My advice - as a rule of thumb rather than a short-term way out of a fix, live a more sustainable and subsistent lifestyle and there will be a lot less to worry about if and when it comes to retail banks collapsing, though it more than likely will not as it has mainly been hugely risk-taking investment banks whose shit have hit the fan of late. And don't forget, keep a few €€€'s under the mattress just in case!

Solitaire - A Nail in Shell's Coffin

2008-09-19T01:43:00.007+02:00

At long last, the steel whale Solitaire is leaving Irish waters from the port of Killybegs in Donegal. After failing to lay pipes for the estimated €500 billion Corrib gas reserves due to be processed by Royal Dutch Shell criminals and their Irish government lackeys, the largest pipe-laying vessel on the seas appears to be heading for the junkyard with any luck. But rest assured, Shell will find a way to once again darken the doorstep of Glengad beach. Unfortunately for them, a titan force of nonviolent resistance awaits their next assault.

According to Indymedia

Maura Harrington, who is on hunger strike at the Shell compound at Glengad beach, has yet to make a statement, but it is hoped that if the company claim is true, and the ship leaves, then she will end or suspend her protest.

Full Shell statement:

Shell E&P Ireland Limited can confirm that the Solitaire will leave Killybegs today for a UK Port where deep water berthing facilities are available.

The vessel will remain in port while a further assessment of factors including operational, technical and weather issues will be completed. Once this is done, a further statement about the 2008 offshore development programme will be made. This programme still requires a suitable weather window for successful completion.

Separately, a special diving support vessel is being deployed to Broadhaven Bay tomorrow to assist in the salvage of the 12 metres long, 80 tonnes section of the Solitaire's pipe laying equipment. This piece of equipment, which became detached from the vessel last Wednesday (September 10th), is currently lying on the seabed in Broadhaven Bay, Co Mayo and will be removed and disposed of for safety and environmental reasons.

Shell Criminals in Ireland

2008-09-18T01:02:00.012+02:00

Ever hear of Shell Oil? Is your central heating system run on Shell's loot? Do you run your car on Shell's spoils? If the answer is yes then please take time to consider Shell's crimes off the coast of Mayo and internationally, Corporate Crimes

And what can you do in Ireland to fight against these scum? The answer is lots. Check out Shell to Sea's website, dust off your bike, get it repaired and be less dependent on their products.

We all have responsibilities to dedicate ourselves to sustainable means of energy.

5 Rossport men who have spearheaded the campaign against Shell's crimes

To keep up to date with the daily struggle against Shell in Ireland check out Indymedia

Irish weather

2008-09-12T01:17:00.004+02:00

"You know it's summer in Ireland when the rain gets warmer." - Hal Roach

Well, Hal was bang on. The rain is getting colder. The blustery winds are soon going to cut the face off ya. Thank God I'm going to Ghana soon:))

Hammered by the Irish gig in Dublin

2008-09-11T01:24:00.002+02:00

Blogging - What is it all about?

2008-09-02T12:44:00.005+02:00

Are blogs an outlet for the bored? for those who have been screaming "Hey, I'm over here!" for the most part of their lives? for social recluses? Well, it would be hard to generalise, given there are millions of people who are now web loggers. I guess the question is only important when asked about one's self.

Why do I blog? It's certainly not a Descartian motivation: 'I blog, therefore I am'. Nor an inspiration from Satish Kumar, 'I blog, therefore you are'. I think it was initially more got to do with: 'I blog, because I have fuck all else to do'.

When I was living in Warsaw, I thought it would be a good idea for Irish and Polish people alike to have an opportunity to read about the experiences of an Irishman in Poland. Hopefully it was.

Now that I am back in Dublin and have less time on my hands I blog less. My eyes are grateful. If I had advertisements, the advertisers would not be so happy. I don't, so that is irrelevant space-filling. Which goes to the central point of this posting. The delusion blogs suck one into. That they actually have something interesting to say and that it is worthwhile writing it. I asked a friend recently
how many hours he thought we wasted watching 'Home and Away' when we were kids. He replied: 'If we took a half hour piano lesson instead of every episode we'd be savage by now'. Hmmmm, good point.

One may jot down the finest words and beseech upon the world the most wise thoughts in poetically unassailable language, yet if you don't attempt some form of marketing your 'brand' your wisdom will drop into the ocean and disappear. Which has led me to think deeply about why I have really writing about social justice issues and various forms of activism I have been involved in, or experiences I have had. And I began to realise that a main driving force seems to be fear: of not being heard, of getting a cardiac arrest at 28 and having not roared out in laughter for all to hear, or in anger for all to join in or laugh off. Fear, the basis of my getting up out of bed today. That I wouldn't eat and therefore would have a grumbling belly; that I would miss an appointment with a friend; that it would be pissing down from the heavens soon if I didn't get my arse out of the scratcher!

'I fear, therefore I blog'

Irish in Ghana Blog - Update

2008-08-26T02:45:00.001+02:00

Latest post on Irish in Ghana blog:

Patience isn't just a popular card game

Ireland's recession - My late awakening! (Part II)

2008-08-19T01:42:00.004+02:00

Only kidding about the book - the story is a freesome; no one in their right mind would dole out cash to buy a book I had written

I was acutely aware for some time that since leaving the seminary in 2003, my hair had begun to recede in rapid fashion. But I brushed it aside, deeming it best to just not look at the back of my head in mirrors too often. At 28, I could have guessed that it would end up like this. If you saw my brothers you'd know what I mean. Of course, there is nothing wrong with been bald. Though it did seem to affect my self-esteem for a while.

2007 - Leaving some hair in an Egyptian pool

But this was the first time I had been aggressively told to cover it up. It was like a Pauline letter to the Corinthians had come to life in order to make me feel ashamed that my head was bare. How dare I! To those with highlights and a good stock of hair on their scalps, it was a mortal sin to expose such an horrific sight.

I laughed it off, but a few days later I fulfilled what I had been meaning to do for a long time - shave my hair off and see if embracing the bare facts would be more visually appealing.

The razor blade in the hands of the Polish hairdresser swiftly wiped the slate clear. '€7 please,' he uttered in broken English. He had only arrived in Dublin 5 days earlier. We spoke in Polish for a while during the rapid process. Polish hairdressers are used to giving crop haircuts. It is part and parcel of the stereotypical Polish male, 16-25 years old, during the summer months. No sideburns, shaved head, shorts, white socks pulled up, dark coloured sneakers, athletic build, tracksuit top, and a studio-tan.

Glancing in the mirror, I knew that no other multi-colour haired teen would ever bother his arse hanging out of a car window again to point out my baldy patch again. He might think he us up against a hefty Pole who would take no prisoners. And after all, my hole head now looked like a baldy patch.

Embracing your weaknesses often disarms your nemesis.

As regards male pattern baldness, or alopecia, Lois Bragg informs us in Oedipus Borealis of the recently married protagonist,

"Grim was then 25 years old, and was that time bald-headed; from then on, he was called Bald-Grim."

She continues,

"Joseph Nagy (1981) has shown that in medieval Ireland baldness is associated either with low rank (slaves, for example) or, in contrast, with liminality (druids, for example, or heroes undergoing intiation, such as Finn Mac Cumhail), and this matches what we find in Homer's presentation of Thersites, who was bald as well as crippled and deformed, and who was treated like a slave yet functioned as high level advisor to Agamemnon."

.

All fascinating stuff. Then I came across Baldness: A Social History by Kerry Segrave, a fantasic 200 page book covering the history, causes, cures, eccentric explanations, quackery, and social attitudes to the modern industry preventing nature from taking it's course.

July 2008 - Albedo affect

Let me leave you with the opening lines and in the knowledge that I am not as vain as the prophet Elisha.

One of the earlist overreactions by a baldie concerned the prophet Elisha. In the second book of Kings, Chapter 2, it is recorded; " And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head, go up, thou bald head; and he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them."

After taking the plunge - Skint to the bone

Ireland's recession - My late awakening! (Part 1)

2008-08-14T23:34:00.006+02:00

Hair today, gone tomorrow

It landed suddenly and violently upon me, like a storm surge brewing silently ceasing it's prime moment for attack.

The 'R' word has been on everybody's lips since I landed back in Ireland early July. Not that the throngs of teens and adults with bizarre and expensive hairstyles in shopping mode along Henry street would give any indication that problems lay on the horizon. In fact, as I was soon to find out, problem's were but a hair's breadth away. Unless you have been living on planet Zog for the past few months, you are bound to have read some articles on the issue, maybe even heard Joe Duffy blabbering on about it, and even the staple topic of chit-chat - miserable weather - is oft knocked off the charts when the 'R' word finally hits home.

Just in case you are confused, let me bring you through the incident that brought it all home to me. I'm on my rusting bronze mountain bike. The location - Ballybough, Dublin. For those of you from down or up the country(or maybe abroad), that is the area you usually park your car, have your flask of tea and eat your ham sandwiches in, prior to watching your team star in Croke Park.

Cars are zooming by, fast as ever, grumbling stomachs eagerly awaiting their take away dinner from Hu Zhang's Chinese or Toni's Italian restaurant. I hear my Damo been carried away in the wind. To turn around or lose concentration in such a situation, where potholes abound and drivers are stark mad, could mean grave injury and potential loss of limb. Once I again I hear the wind lightly carry my name into the distance. It reminds me of how tormented Heathcliff imagined the voice of Catherine on the moors in Wuthering Heights.

Then, SMACK! The realisation of my recession landed with the belt of a sturdy magazine against the back of my head. A red Volkswagen Golf sped past, packed with late teens, one hanging from the side window - a rolled up magazine in one hand, his full head of hair luminated with highlights, and a ghastly smirk on his face. He screamed at me: 'Cover up that baldy patch'.

If you want to read Part II, buy the book!

Drenched to the bone

2008-08-10T22:54:00.004+02:00

Dublin after the downpours - from RTE.ie website
Dorota and I were cycling home yesterday as Croke Park fans were also making their way back down and up the country.

1st calamity. One of the bolts and nuts on the carrier of my bike fell out after I went into a pothole. It was either that or get nailed by crazy, thoughtless Dublin drivers. The sidebar wedged into the spokes and I can count my blessings that I reacted quickly enough not to lose control.

Bicycle angels. Within a minute of stopping and pulling the bike to one side, a local woman (it was Ballybough area) came over and asked if I had a puncture. After explaining the situation to her, she then asked if we needed any help, that she lived nearby and was an avid cyclist. I thanked her but said that it was ok. I'm stubborn and wanted to figure it out myself.

It took a few minutes to get the bar out without breaking any of the spokes. The back wheel seemed a little buckled and displaced by the scenario, so I was cursing the unavoidable pothole for my bad luck.

Then another local, a father of 3 young boys, whose house we parked alongside came over to have a look. He went inside to get some tools in order to loosen the brakes and the axel so we could move the wheel back into place. While he was using the vice grips out popped another neighbour, he seemed Eastern European, who knew a lot about bikes and gave us some advice and help. 3 bicycle angels came to save the day with their tools, expertise, and concern. It lifted my spirits. Off we set for Coolock.

Grev clouds loomed as we approached the Luke Kelly bridge en route to Gracepark road. We decided to take refuge at the Mace garage just at the bottom of the turn-off near Tolka park. Lo and behold, the skies opened up. It was like the Ganges, finding no where to deposit it's volumes suddenly soared above the city and let loose. It shot down en masse, and even the canopy we were sheltering under couldn't prevent the rain from getting through. Waiting, waiting, and more waiting. 45 minutes after we pre-emptively took shelter, while it was back in drizzling mode, we decided to venture out and head for home.

Gracepark road was like the dodder, streaming down the left side of the road and heading straight into the poor unfortunate owners of the house at the bottom of the hill.

We did our best to stop drivers from splashing us. Most were driving slowly anways to avoid flooding their cars. By the time we got to Collins avenue junction it started up again, as if the clouds suffered from amnesia and had forgotten that they had already pissed down upon us all moments earlier. We trudged through swathes of water, mini lakes, and by the time we got to Beaumont the danger of heavy traffic had passed. It was quite an enjoyable feeling having your clothes washed for free, your boots carrying a litre of rainwater each.

Our front garden yesterday evening

Then we got to our house. It was like a crannog! All of our neighbours and our own temporary setting were surrounded by water. 2 more inches and it would be time to move up stairs. We had no sandbags, Dublin corporation weren't answering - understandably as they had worse hit places elsewhere in the capital.

But little by little, the sky-spitting stopped, the water receded, and mother earth soaked it all up.

I know we are always mouthing off about the weather, but God almighty, that sure was a brutal downpour yesterday, My bones are still ringing wet!

My New Blog - Irishman in Ghana

2008-08-10T16:05:00.002+02:00

Well, I'm not actually in Ghana yet, but I'm getting ready. I'll keep this blog alive as much as possible as a space to rant, whine, pull the piss out of whatever I feel like. My other main focus at the moment is to get this other blog onto the blogosphere radar. So please check out www.irishinghana.blogspot.com to keep tuned into my preparations and struggles to volunteer in Kumasi, Ghana for 9 months from October, 2008.

If you have friends interested in African culture, Ghanaian football, the Twi language, Irish people living abroad, volunteering, charity work, etc. then please send them a link and suggest they add advice, criticisms, and remember me in their wills!

See you here, and see you there.