Accra Ghana--Here we go!

I'm officially on a continent I know very little about. From what I have seen so far the people are as warm as the sun. On the plane, I met a retired man who has a Health and Eduacation Foundation based in New York that works to improve the lives of children in Ghana.We had a great dinner together (he is pictured in the photo)



This man worked for JP Morgan Chase for many many years and retired when Septemeber 11th took away his office. He decided to use his contacts to build a school in Accra and quickly realized that lack of an institution for school was the least of these children's problems. They were not attending school regularly because of being ill frequently or having to stay behind at home to care for a sick family member. He decided to open a clinic inside the school for the families and the children to see how that improved attendance. Sure enough, it did. You can read more about the organization at the website (Click here) and feel free to donate to the cause...it's legitimate and a great organization!

Although there is a government health scheme here where any family can purchase a card for about 10 USD a year, many people still do not enroll in the health care because of the money and time to go to large health care centers in the city. When Ghana gained its independence 50 years ago, the first president wanted to show off his power and desire to help the people. So, he built large palacial health centers in the city that are inaccessible for some. Moreover, the population has changed in the past 50 years--both the demographics and the urban/rural spread.

He recognized Malaria as being the greatest preventable reason for students to miss school. Although many families had mosquito nets, many did not use them. Mainly, the mosquito nets provided by the local NGO's are box shaped and do not cover those who sleep on mats on the floor. Also, the directions are in English, French and Chinese but nothing to assist the illiterate woman who uses one of the 14 tribal dialects. Also, the color white represents death (as in many cultures) so many people feel a ghost is hanging over them.

He has organized a group of CUNY Global Health Students to go into some villages and help educate the people to tie up the nets properly etc. He has asked that I join on this trip. There are some 14 students that live in Harlem and most of them are children of immigrants from all over the world. Sounds like fun and also we would get to go visit the gold mines and see the mining company's set up for Malaria prevention.

So far, Accra is similar to India (I can't believe how many Indian clothes are for sale in the markets)....there is a thirst here that I can't pinpoint. The soil is so orange, you feel so close to the sun and there is a constant feel of dust.

Ok more to come! Here is a pic of my little bag I am doing this two month trip with and some of my initial photos.