Adrienne goes Africa: sunday outing

procession, praying for rain

from Bolga in 4 hours in Ouagadougou

Already a week later. Much has happened, let me start with th sunday outing. One of the midwifes, Mary took me for a trip around the country, we had an amazingly old cab, hold together with ropes, but we made it all the way! the first town was Congo, where we were going to visit a cathedral on the top of a hill, that appeared to be closed. But we had the chance to see a large procession, with over 500 people along the road, clapping and dancing behind the cross. Mary –who is a moslima herself--- told me they were praying for rain. Anyway, an impressive site! Then we drove on to Bongo, to visit a small hospital. On the way we passed two health centres and a CHIP. Kind of very small HC, but they do deliveries there. This region is one of the poorest of Ghana, and you could see that in the fields. Women working hard sowing and digging, carrying water. It is a beautifull landscape, with a lot of very old trees. A great variety, I saw the kapok, neem, mahogany, teak, sheanut, and of course the BAOBAB. That is the tre I love most, and it is flowering now, which is only a short time, and I never saw it before. The sheanuts are covered by a green peal and in it a layer of very nice tasting fruit- like sweet avocado. And of the nuts they make the sheabutter. The land is very dry though, now wonder they’ re praying for rain.. The Bonga hospital was small but seemed neat and well organised.. One of the midwifes working here is a very famous midwife, she won the price of the best midwife of the year and went to Washington to receive it. An amazing woman who managed to lower maternal death rate in this region by her own convincing methods. She went to all villages around her health centre to why people kept delivering at home. After this inventarisation she changed the manner of working in the HC and people started coming. For instance they were allowed to take their own herbal bath. Maternal death does hardly occur anymore-she says. Now she is working on preventing teenage pregnancies. An inspiring lady! The price of 5000 dollar she used to buy bicycles for all the fieldworkers, to restaurate the health centre and invest in projects.

Than we had again a nice trip to the place Sirigu(only 5 km from the Burkina border) where another inspiring woman started a cooperation for women. 500 women are working for this organisation, painting, weaving baskets and making pottery. All in the old style. Also they paint their huts in the way it used to be den here. Beautiful to see, and of course I bought something there .

Next day was rhe last training day and we enden with a real ceremony and certificates. Most of them learned a lot and picked it up fast

Meanwhile I started my next project, that will be for the next blog