We did a number of community consultations – mostly under trees as usual and mostly very positive although one community was very downtrodden and could not understand why anyone would bother to come and ask them what they thought or needed – depressing. The small towns were great – real wild west frontiersville – the Bedford truck rules supreme here with the old Peugeots – making Ho look like the height of sophistication. My kind of place, full of old run down shops, great signs and wonderful wrecks. We also met for lunch and a chat with Togbe Joe who runs an NGO in Jasikan working against child labour and is a Kpetoe chieftain.
The next week was spent getting ready to move – negotiations with the landlady from Togo progressed and before we knew it we were planning to move in on the Sunday. Johnson took the bulk of the strain and we roped in as many helping hands as possible. Suddenly it was goodbye to our little house – not really a moment too soon as the flooding has been getting progressively worse although we are sad to leave our neighbourhood. The new house is a palace by comparison – have to say that I do feel guilty – we now have a proper bathroom (one en suite + guest bathroom!), floor tiles, a huge kitchen, veranda and roof terrace to say nothing of the wonderful garden with mango, papaya and guava trees and coconut palms.
Sorting out, meeting the neighbours and adjusting to our new environment – the only downside is the long walk into town – about 40 minutes. The Togolese landlady, Mama Ida, stayed on a
The end of the month has been a little sad – we heard from Jocelyn, the Assembly Woman, that Frits had died after a bad bout of malaria. Frits was a real gentleman in the old fashioned sense of the word – full of bonhomie and wit, a charming raconteur. We had only just began to know him and were hoping to see much more of him. He was a respected filmmaker in Holland and he had told us with great pride about the film he made of Liverpool Street Station. It is hard to believe that he is no more. Then came more bad news last week – Dehole, who was due to travel to Accra with Kiran and Francis to meet some potential donors form Denmark, collapsed the same day and was taken to hospital after a massive stroke. He remains seriously ill and we are all hoping for his recovery.
So it really has been quite a time. We are both a bit knackered – unsurprisingly – especially Kiran who travelled to Accra and back twice in the space of a few days with the two Danes, Dan and Torben. Hopefully, though, this will bear fruit in the future and it seems that there might be a large sum up for grabs to develop projects for people with learning difficulties. I will be off to Accra for a week next Monday to do some work with the VSO Office Team – looking at how partner arrangements can be better managed and formalised.
On the broader front prices keep going up – it is getting harder by the day for people here to make ends meet (assuming that they could do so anyway), new tros keep appearing on the streets of Ho, courtesy of all the loans to buy them being dangled – cant help feeling that this is going to end in tears for some, election fever is mounting as we edge ever closer to December and the Black Stars are preparing for their crucial World Cup qualifier next week against Libya – so more cash, more beer and more football – vote for me.