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Yasmin ErnstYasmin Ernst
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  • Ghana
    2
    Day 13

    Surf time in Busua

    February 17, 2023 in Ghana

    We have spent amazing 3,5 days in Busua, a surfer village at the coast of Ghana. It is a tiny place where life stands still, the beach is the place to be and the waves call you to catch them. Our days in Busua were simple but amazing: surfing lessons in the morning, chilling at the beach afterwards and practicing some more surfing in the afternoon. From time to time we enjoyed a freshly made juice from the local juice maker Frank.

    We ended our days at the beach with a beach volleyball game or two where we tried to blend in with the locals (our skills were good but our skin color and having no idea what was being argued after every point made us stand out anyway 😅).

    We all fell in love with the place and just when we started getting used to the beach lifestyle, it was time to say goodbye.

    A big thanks goes to the Justice’s Brothers Surf School and Kelly and Peter in particular, who helped us improve our surfing skills and to Henry who took us in and helped us blend in. 🤙

    Now we are spending the last day in Accra before taking our flight back home in the evening.

    This holiday was an amazing experience for all of us and another eye opener we will happily take back home. Hopefully we will be able to share some of the Ghanian vibes with you all in person! ❤️💛💚

    We will be back to this amazing country - sooner or later… 🌊🇬🇭

    K. & Y. & K. & M.    Read more

  • Ghana
    1
    Day 9

    We are offline - beach & surf time!

    February 13, 2023 in Ghana ⋅ 🌩️ 32 °C

    We arrived to Busua, a surfer village in the middle of nowhere. We are spending our days surfing, reading at the beach and playing beach volleyball.
    After the turbulent week we had in Kumasi, we are really enjoying the stay here where time stands still. We will be here until Friday and will make one more post about our surfing progress tomorrow or Thursday.

    For now, we are offline and go enjoy the sun. Peace & surf 🌴🏄🏻‍♀️🌊🏄‍♂️

    (K., Y., M. & Kev.)    Read more

  • Ghana
    Day 9

    Learning about slave trade in Ghana

    February 13, 2023 in Ghana ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    After a 5 hr journey by bus, we have arrived to Cape Coast yesterday evening. Today we visited the Cape Coast Castle, which is known for being one of the biggest slave trading spots in west Africa.

    We feel like pictures cannot make the history justice, just as our words. Please read about the place and the horrifying slave trade history here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Coast_Castle

    „Make humanity never again perpetrate such injustice against humanity. We, the living, vow to uphold this.“    Read more

  • Ghana
    Day 8

    Sunday Church Service

    February 12, 2023 in Ghana ⋅ 🌩️ 35 °C

    After our dancing lessons at the funeral, we were ready to show off our new skills at the Sunday church service. As we arrived, everyone was already fully participating in the dancing on the front stage. This was followed with a long hour of preaching (or mostly shouting) in Twi - the local language. Their stereo system seemed to be on full volume and us being jumpy from their shouting through the microphone, we were ready to leave the church service to go home and pack. As we of course were not able to visit in-cognito, we were given a big goodbye by the priest 👋🏽

    (M.)    Read more

  • Ghana
    Day 7

    Traditional Ghanian Funeral

    February 11, 2023 in Ghana ⋅ 🌩️ 36 °C

    Yes, you are reading it right - we visited a traditional Ghanaian funeral and no, we do not know the deceased. 👀
    In Ghana, the funerals are big social events where up to a few hundreds people can attend. It is enough to know someone from the family and friends and then you can invite your friends as well. This time, we knew the daughter of the deceased who is our seamstress. We did not really blend in, as we never do here, but we tried to be as respectful as possible. Little did we know that this would include going around the whole place, waving and eventually dancing in the middle of the huge „stage“. Watch some of the videos to see how it looked like - approximately 200 people attended and watched as we tried to follow the dance of the natives. We sure were able to make the crowd laugh, which was highly appreciated. In Ghana, you show your sorrow and respect for the family with a dance. So we just went with it 😎
    All in all, it was a very impressive event - the sad part is in the morning where people can go to see the body and take part in the burial. That part is there to express your sadness with tears and cries. In the afternoon, it feels much more like a party. Everyone is dressed in black, those who know the family closely wear a special textile that is orange-red with black print and the close family wears red.

    Enjoy the video for a feel of what we were lucky enough to witness from within.

    (K. & Y.)

    FAQ:

    Who died?
    -> The father of our seamstress, we do not know him and we met her just two times. We were invited even before we got to Ghana.

    Does everyone get a funeral like this?
    -> Yes, virtually everyone get‘s this funeral. Of course it is even bigger the more famous or important you are.

    How do you dress?
    -> If you do not know the family closely, you just dress black. If you know the family, you dress in red with black print and if you are directly related, you wear red.

    Can anyone come?
    -> No, you have to be invited by the family or by someone who is invited. Another option is if you knew the deceased directly, you can come to pay your respect.    Read more

  • Ghana
    2
    Day 6

    Traditional Ghanian Dinner

    February 10, 2023 in Ghana ⋅ 🌩️ 29 °C

    After the hospital visit we struggled through over an hour of traffic with hungry stomachs to visit friends in the outskirts of Kumasi. They had invited us to make the traditional Ghanian dish called Fufu. After a quick introduction to the Fufu preparation process, they allowed us to try and make it ourselves with a small ‘trial’ portion. After miserably failing, it became clear that they weren’t expecting much else and we were kindly served the portions they had already prepared for us. While for some of us it was easier to eat up, others struggled more, but we all went strong as we wanted to show our appreciation to the family and for the traditional local food.
    After dinner, the girls were very interested in the texture of our ‘weird’ hair und the exploration from their side felt like a good head massage on our side. When talking about school, they proudly presented their report cards and drawings and left us really impressed - what a great and kind hearted family ♥️

    (M.)    Read more

  • Ghana
    Day 6

    Visit to one of Kumasi Hospitals

    February 10, 2023 in Ghana ⋅ 🌩️ 35 °C

    In the afternoon, we visited the Suntreso Government Hospital in Kumasi. We wanted to hear how the healthcare works in Ghana and to donate some medical supplies that the hospital desparately needs. We were lucky to be welcomed by the director of the hospital, mr. Agyarko-Poku, who has so many titels that they barely fit on one page (of which he is - of course - very proud, just like he is about the 7 books he wrote and the many countries he has visited).

    The hospital is state-funded but as we understood, the hospitals operate on their own and are only getting funds if they can prove some of the patients cannot afford the bill. Not only is the hospital lacking funds, but it was also not built for the number of patients it is currently handling (1000 patients per day). The biggest problems are sexually transmitted and respiratory diseases (malaria, HIV, dengue, covid).

    When it comes to doctors, the profession is liked and well paid but there are not enough doctors. Nevertheless, the gender gap is picking up as now up to 57% of medical students are female. Out of the 27 doctors at the hospital, 13 are female. Nurses are still majorly females as the profession is done by 91% females. We also learned that being a doctor is helpful when stopped by the police as this is the only way the police will treat you with respect.

    All in all, it was a really interesting conversation and we learned a lot about the healthcare system and mr. Agyarko-Poku. Let‘s put it this way: we all hope we won‘t need it while we are here and appreciate the swiss healthcare more now. 🙃

    (K.)    Read more

  • Ghana
    Day 6

    Footbal match

    February 10, 2023 in Ghana ⋅ 🌩️ 32 °C

    Shortly before 12, the teachers organized a football game for us with some of the students. We do not know why but we always get to do the most intensive activities right at noon here! As you will see in the pictures and videos, we all suffered as you can imagine. 😁
    The youngest students were all shouting “obruni” eventho we were playing against each other. We loved the support, because we all visibly struggled with the heat. Yasmin and Kevin did strike and Marilyn and Kamila were holding the base. We had lots of fun but were fully soaked when the game was over. Little did we know that the day will be still very long, but somehow, by now we got used to being sweaty ALL THE TIME. 🫣😂
    Enjoy 😎

    (K.)    Read more

  • Ghana
    Day 6

    Visit at Kids Masters Comunity School

    February 10, 2023 in Ghana ⋅ 🌩️ 35 °C

    Today was a busy day!
    We have visited the Kids Masters Community School near to where we live and have spent some time there talking to the kids, giving out our donations and playing sports with the kids. Because we have done much more afterward, we will separate the day into 4 parts - this is part nr. 1.

    The private school in a poor neighborhood has been kind to welcome us and let us spend some time with the kids. We have started off the day with a dancing session with some of the younger pupils and have loved the joy that everyone carries. Later we have visited all of the classes to donate some supplies and books to. The students particularly enjoyed the darts that will help them practice calculus in a fun way.
    We have never been so blessed as every kid told us “thank you and god bless you” after reaching the books and supplies to them.

    (K.)    Read more

  • Ghana
    Day 4

    Visit to lake Bosumtwi

    February 8, 2023 in Ghana ⋅ 🌩️ 34 °C

    We needed a break from the buzz of Kumasi an decided to pay a visit to the nearby (2hr ride) lake Bosumtwi, where Marilyn has already been while volunteering here in 2021.
    The lake is a 2hr ride with the taxi away from Kumasi and is in the middle of Ghanian jungle. Altho the ride has been very bumpy, we have finally made it (with way too many flights over speed-bumbs) to the serene nature around lake Bosumtwi. The lake with its hills reminded all of us of Switzerland, altho the fauna and flora was obviously very different!
    We spent our time playing board games and reading books at the terasse, while enjoying the sounds of the jungle.
    At night, Yasmin and Kamila even had some jungle visitors including a mouse, a spider and a lizzard. Altho Kamila has been a bit nervous about the fauna, Yasmin slept through. 👀
    The next day, we have borrowed a kayak to explore the lake, but the water and all the warnings we got before our departure have left us leaving the lake pretty soon after we got in. Also: our paddling skills definitely could use some training… 😅
    All in all, we were very happy to get a break from the city and enjoy the nature.

    (K.)    Read more

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