Adventures in Akosombo

 

This week Jessica and I kept up with the newspapers and their gender articles as always, and were also asked to write feature articles for the Gender Centre's newsletter - very exciting! My article discussed the links between gender based violence and politics, and compared certain aspects of this with Canada. My supervisor Lena has not yet returned it to me with notes, so I could be way off base, but I will share with you what I chose to write about. Political violence is a risk in Ghana with upcoming elections causing inevitable ideological tensions in the country. The papers constantly have articles which encourage keeping the peace, and Ghana has had success doing so in the past; however, it is a very new democracy and so one can never know for sure. In my article I discussed how political violence can affect gender based violence, and hinder women's participation in politics. I looked at gender based violence not only from a physical perspective, but also from an economic and mental one. I took time to consider the efforts being made to encourage women to participate in politics in Ghana compared with that in Canada. For a little perspective, women's representation in Ghana's parliament is at 8% compared to Canada having almost 25%. (Though, anyone who knows me knows that I still think Canada's is not high enough and I make that clear in my article!). Writing the article was extremely interesting. Getting to sit in an office and research issues in women's rights in Ghana is really a great way to spend a summer!

Today we met up with one of our orientation leaders (and now friends!) Nana, and Jessica and I set off with her to Akosombo, in the Volta region. The trotro ride was 2 hours long which is not bad considering it takes that long to get to work each day in Accra! We went to the Volta Hotel first, and went on their balcony in order to get a view of the Volta Lake, which is one of the largest man-made lakes in the world and is home to the Akosombo Dam. The views were incredible. Then our taxi driver took us to the Adome Bridge, the only suspension bridge built in Ghana. He even let us stop and take pictures which was nice. The bridge and lake were impressive and beautiful.

 We then made the short trip to Sajuna Beach Resort, owned and ran by obrunis and situated on the Volta River. The resort was alive with Ghanaian youth swimming, eating, playing sports, and relaxing. Nana's mother had made us a huge lunch for the day - jollof rice and chicken. Best meal ever. Nana opened the container and Jessica and I just about died of happiness. We finished our meal (quickly!) and then just relaxed and drank fruit juice, watching all the activity. We also ended up in a foosball tournament somehow which predictably ended with us losing terribly but I was able to get some remarkably good goals in regardless!

We went on a boat trip down the Volta River which was wonderful! I am such a pro at being in tiny boats in big rivers now. The views were spectacular, especially those of the bridge! It was nice that we got to go on it as well as go under it. The Volta region is so lush and full of hills - I just loved everywhere I looked. The lake is man-made and was created only in the 1950s - however, it has become such a source of life for the people living on its shores. Even though many boats go by there in the run of a day, the kids on the banks still did not lose an opportunity to wave to an obruni! The excursion on the river was brilliant; those are the views I came to Ghana for. A great and cheap way to spend a day. Tomorrow is relaxing at the beach, and then another work week begins! Can't wait to see what is in store.