The End is in Sight ( trip to the Northern region recap.)

Dear friends and family,

I have been working to bury my head in the books... Finals time has truly commenced here. I have been trying not to fall back into my typical procrastinator habits but I knew I could no longer neglect my loyal blog followers.

(How have I been spending my past few weeks here in good ol Ghana? Shall we photo montage? Yes I think we shall.......)

From the 6th to the 9th of November we took a trip up around the Northern region of Ghana. It has a predominately Muslim population with many different tribal groups intermixed. I know that my trip to the north really helped to round out my experience here in Ghana. It is pretty unbelievable to see how visiting a region just a couple hundred km north can transform a view of a country.



Why of course I will share the trip highlights, which are as follows:


Dr. Abdulai's clinic

We visited a free clinic which was started by a local Ghanaian surgeon, Dr. Abdulai(he is wearing white in the picture). He shared his story with us about how he was working in Germany making a very comfortable living and made the decision to start his clinic based off of the success of two unpaid surgeries he performed in Ghana. He felt that their successes were a direct message from God to start the clinic and today it runs completely on donations both foreign and local. He is a man who simply exudes light and joy. Within seconds of meeting him it was impossible not be thankful that people like him exist in this world.


Mosque

Allahu Akbar

Diviner

I was able to meet with a Diviner. The Diviners basically tell you of your future or anything which may interest you. To insure things go the way you want in your life they always present a prescription at the end. My prescription included purchasing cola nuts and giving them to the mother of twins, while on the other side of things one of my friends was asked to slaughter a cow.

Pikworo Slave Camp

The Pikworo slave camp was a location in Paga used to hold slaves before they were brought down in chains to the castles and forts along the coast of Ghana.

My friend Joy holds a rock once used by female slaves who had to grind and cook food on the rocks in the scorching heat.

This is the punishment rock. When certain slaves behaved very badly they were made an example of and were chained to this rock at their feet and were beaten to death. Their struggle is represented in the erosion that their chains had created at the base of the rock.

Widow Basket Weavers


We visited with widowers who have been able to find a steady source of income through basket weaving. Female widows are typically out casted in tribes of northern Ghana. When their husbands initially die, the wives are firstly accused of killing him either by their own hand or through fetish(voodoo or witchcraft). They are then frequently forced to walk through their villages completely exposed when they go to bathe and are publicly humiliated or shunned. These women have been able to ban together and find happiness in their unity, though widows across northern Ghana continue to face hard times within their communities.