Ghana
Ashanti Region

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    • Day 14

      Kumasi und die Ashanti

      February 25, 2023 in Ghana

      Wochenende! Und Wochenende bedeutet, viel Zeit für einen Ausflug zu haben. Deshalb ging es heute früh los Richtung Kumasi, wo wir die Nacht verbringen wollten. Mittlerweile waren wir Trotro-Experten und so saßen wir gegen 10:00 Uhr in einem wirklich modernen, nicht all zu vollen Trotro, dessen Motor offensichtlich noch so gut war, dass der Fahrer wie ein Irrer nach Kumasi brettern konnte. Lebensgefahr gegen frühere Ankunft, ein guter Deal!

      Wie schon im letzten Footprint erwähnt, ist Kumasi die zweitgrößte Stadt des Landes und ehemalige Hauptstadt des Ashanti-Reichs. Die Ashanti sind die größte Volksgruppe in Ghana und die Stadt ist immer noch Sitz des Königs, viele Ghanaer betrachten Kumasi als das eigentlich Zentrum des Landes.

      Im Hostel angekommen, war ich total überrascht: Es war einfach nur schön und gemütlich! Der erste Ort in Ghana, der liebevoll gestaltet, ordentlich und wirklich sauber war. Das Hostel wurde von einer Organisation betrieben, die ghanaischen Frauen Arbeit, Ausbildung und einen sicheren Platz zum Leben bieten möchte. Direkt angeschlossen ist eine Schneiderei und Webwerkstatt und die dort hergestellten Produkte waren im ganzen Hostel zu sehen: Kissen, Gardinen, Bettdecken oder Servietten in den buntesten Stoffen zierten die Möbel. Natürlich gab es auch eine große Auswahl an Kleidung und anderen schönen Dingen zu kaufen und mir war sofort klar, dass ich hier ordentlichen Souvenirs besorgen werden würde.
      Als wäre das noch nicht genug, war auch unser Mehrbettzimmer tip-top geputzt und wir hatten ein eigenes, großes Bad mit fließend Wasser und richtigem Duschkopf! Die eigenen Ansprüche verschieben sich in Ghana ziemlich schnell…

      Ich war super gelaunt und hätte am liebsten direkt den Aufenthalt verlängert, um das Hostel so richtig auszukosten, aber am Montag mussten wir leider wieder in der Klinik sein. Also wollten wir keine Zeit verlieren und machten uns auf den Weg in die Innenstadt zum Kumasi Central Market.

      Der Kumasi Central Market ist der größte Markt Westafrikas. Das war er schon immer und bis 2018 bestand er aus einem Gewirr hunderter kleiner Gassen mit tausenden Ständen, in dem man schlichtweg alles kaufen und sich wunderbar verlaufen konnte. Dann wurde das ganze Gelände dem Erdboden gleichgemacht und eine gewaltige, mehrstöckige Markthalle errichtet, um Ordnung ins Chaos zu bringen. Jetzt befinden sich die meisten Stände dort, quadratisch, sauber, und irgendwie seelenlos.
      Natürlich war der Markt trotzdem beeindruckend und seine schiere Größe erschlagend, aber die Atmosphäre und Lebendigkeit eines natürlichen gewachsenen Ortes, wie sie die kleineren Märkte zum Beispiel in Nkawkaw besaßen, vermisste ich.

      Vom Markt aus gingen wir zu Fuß zum Ashanti-Kulturzentrum. Dabei handelt es sich um eine Parkanlage um deren zentrale Grünfläche in kleinen Gebäuden verschiedene ashanti-typische Werkstätten untergebracht sind, etwa Schmuckmacher, Töpfer oder Instrumentenbauer. Außerdem gibt es ein Archiv zur Ashanti-Geschichte und natürlich mehrere Souvenirläden.

      Leider war das ganze Gelände nicht gut in Schuss, die meisten Werkstätten hatten geschlossen und die Waren in den Souvenirläden waren so sehr eingestaubt, dass offensichtlich war, wie wenig Publikumsverkehr hier herrschte. Außerdem gab es kaum Informationen, keine Tafeln oder ein Museum, wo man mehr über die Ashanti hätte erfahren können.

      Eigentlich wollten wir uns auch noch den Ashanti-Palace angucken, den Sitz des Königs. Aber wir hatten nicht auf die Zeit geachtet und da er schon geschlossen hatte, machten wir uns stattdessen auf den Weg zurück ins Hostel.

      Wir waren gerade rechtzeitig dort angekommen, denn über der Stadt zog ein gewaltiges Gewitter auf. Von jetzt auf gleich fegten die Sturmböen durch die Stadt und mit unserer Hilfe konnten gerade noch so die meisten Dinge nach Innen geholt werden, bevor der Sturzregen begann. Der Lärm war ohrenbetäubend, denn das Haus hatte lediglich ein Wellblechdach und funktioniert wie ein Resonanzkörper für das Prasseln der Tropfen, eine Unterhaltung war kaum noch möglich. Innerhalb kürzester Zeit viel Straßenbeleuchtung aus und wir konnten es uns nur gemütlich machen.

      Nach einer halben Stunde war das schlimmste vorbei, es blitzte und donnerte nicht mehr und der nur noch ein leichter Nieselregen war über. Das Timing war perfekt, denn so konnten wir das Abendbrot auf der überdachten Terrasse essen und die jetzt saubere, kühle Luft genießen. Das Essen war super lecker und wir hatten viel Spaß mit den anderen Gästen, die zusammen mit uns an einem großen Tisch saßen.

      Eigentlich hatten wir geplant in eine Bar und feiern zu gehen, aber der es regnete immer noch. Für uns wäre das zwar kein Problem gewesen, aber es ist fast unmöglich und viel teurer bei solchem Wetter in Ghana Taxis zu bekommen, weil die Fahrer es einfach nicht gewohnt sind, auf den nassen, schlammigen Straßen zu fahren. Deshalb machten wir es uns stattdessen wieder gemütlich, schlugen kräftig im Hostelshop zu und spielten den restlichen Abend Karten.
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    • Day 2

      First footprints in Kumasi

      February 6, 2023 in Ghana ⋅ 🌩️ 24 °C

      We have arrived to Kumasi!
      Amazing Flo (friend from Marilyn from her time in Ghana) picked us up at the airport and we have arrived at the beautiful new home of Sunshine Volunteering Organization.
      We have spent the day exploring Kumasi and started our journey at the local orphanage. Lots of the kids are either left behind as the parents can’t or do not want to keep them for different reasons (poverty, disabeled child…) or the kids truly become orphans. The youngest baby was two weeks old and oh my we all did our best to hug as many as we could and not cry.
      Afterwards we continued our journey to the Kumasi market, one of the biggest markets in the country to explore, buy some textiles to make some clothes from later and also buy some school supplies for the schools that Sunshine volunteering org. works with.
      As busy as the place was, it is a place where so many people meet to sell everything you can imagine and we quickly learned the most important lesson: DO NOT STOP. 😁
      Even tho we are in a city, we spent half of the day in cars commuting or being stuck in traffic. Our driver is a passionate dj so the rides were always very loud and funky. (To Yasmins pleasure)
      We finished the day at the semastres to put down our orders for some clothes we wozld like to have made, just when a tropical storm hit. Usually, the rain season here stars in around March, but with the climate change, nothing is certain. Therefore we got to experience our first blackout - the wind was so strong the power was cut to prevent fires. We got to have dinner with Flashlights and have quite the memorable first day!

      (K.)
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    • 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.)
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    • Day 11

      Bonwire Kente Weaving Village

      August 3, 2023 in Ghana ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F

      Our first stop of the day was the Kente weaving village. Originally kente was made only royals, but today kente is widely known around the globe as a symbol of African excellence. Kente is also a form of communication with each fabric representing specific emotions, life lessons, or historical events. New designs are agreed upon communally and presented publicly.

      Take a look at the pics and videos.
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    • 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.)
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    • Day 3

      Kumasi children

      February 7, 2023 in Ghana

      Today we finally got a good night's sleep - we are so lucky to be staying with Flo, Marilyn's friend from the Sunshine Volunteers organisation. She also made us better French toast than they have in France, leaving us ready for many school visits where we dropped off school supplies such as books and pencils. The kids were absolutely precious - their energy, smiles and curiosity are so contagious (despite the +30°C heat). They did also always call us "obruni" meaning white people which took some getting used to at first. As it would be impossible to be mad at these adorable little creatures we decided to just go with it and call them "bibini" (dark person) as well, which gets them all shy and laughing. They also asked if our blue eyes were real, and the ones who weren't actually already called Kevin suddenly decided they were now gonna have the same name, too. However, too much text if images speak louder than words would be a shame so this is where we tell you to just look at our photos :)

      (Y.)
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    • Day 3

      A taste of Ghana 🍛🧋🎶

      February 7, 2023 in Ghana ⋅ 🌩️ 33 °C

      After experiencing all the welcoming laughters from the school children in the various public and privat schools, we received an amazing refreshment drink called “Sobolo” from Flo’s godmother.

      With new strength from the ginger in the Sobolo, we made our way back to the house, after stopping quickly at the market again to buy essential medical supplies for the local hospitals.

      Once we were back home, it was time for a cooking lesson from Flo: We prepared the local dish “Redred”. It is a spicy (🥵🌶️) dish with ginger, garlic, onion, red pepper, black eyed peas and most importantly fried plantane. It is served with rice from the north of Ghana. For dessert we had amazing local papaya.

      We finished the day with listening and dancing to popular songs, such as “it’s plenty” from Burna Boy and “45” from Black Sherif. We had a blast! 🇬🇭🤩🙌🏾

      (Kev.)
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    • Day 4

      Village school visit

      February 8, 2023 in Ghana ⋅ 🌩️ 34 °C

      We started our Wednesday really early and got up at 6am to travel to a school in the outskirts. The jorney consisted of a taxi to the “Barrier”, from there by public transport to the big Kumasi market, from there again by public transport (2 hours) to a town in the outskirts, then by taxi to a village and then with a “YellowYellow” (version of a Tuk Tuk) to the senior high school.

      There we were greeted in the usual Ghanian welcoming manner by the principal of the senior high school. We distributed books and pencils to the students and shared a few words on the importance of education, as advocated by Flo and her inspiring organisation Guide Educational Foundation (find out more here: https://www.guide-educational-foundation.com).

      The students were obviously curious and had many questions. Nevertheless, they were also really shy which prevented them from interacting with us. Afterwards, we had some interesting conversations with the teachers and their requirements to teach the students effectively.

      After visiting the senior high school, we walked to the neighbouring primary school to distirbute some more school supplies. The teachers were overwhelmed and really excited. The children were shy at first, but after the first high five, everyone wanted to participate and touch the “obroni”.

      After playing a bit with the school children, we started our way back to Kumasi. Exhausted from the long journey, the many interactions and impressions, a nap on the bus was inevitable.

      (M. & Kev.)
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    • 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.
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    • 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.)
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Ashanti Region, 아샨티 주

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