Holy Moley, is it really a year since I left snow bound Britain and joined the ranks and file of sweat, dirt, and putting 'O' on every other word ....sorry -O! So much has happened for us all over this last year. I have been settling in to my new role as Volunteer Management Adviser with the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership. I am enjoying this new role, I see so much potential to make a difference at a point in time when many economists and development experts are looking to Ghana as an example of success of the global action to alleviate extreme poverty. Ghana is on track to achieve most of its Millenium Development Targets by 2015 and with the recent extraction of oil and gas there is a real sense of urgency to put in place the infrastructure that will help sustain future development activities. Roads are being built to create access to markets and enable job creation beyond Accra and its other main sities (Kumasi, Takoradi and Tamale). Whilst the government are still striving for universal primary education ,especially in the poorer northern half of the country, they have recently said they want to achieve universal secondary education too. But there are still real challenges for Ghana. Over the last few weeks I have been visiting some of the Cocoa growing communities in the Eastern Region where the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership is investing some £10 million over 10 years to help sustain the cocoa supplies for the future and support thriving local communities. Wells and boreholes are being provided to supply fresh drinking water, roads, schools, health clinics are being built to provide basic community amenities. A Canadian advertising company raised money to buy bikes for school children in the Cadbury-Kraft communities to help improve school attendance and subsequently performance. The project has also supplied solar lamps which enable the children to do their homework in the evenings. It gets dark here shortly after 6pm so previously all they could study by was the kerosene lamp. And these CCP communties are some of the lucky ones, there are many others that are not getting this investment ...yet. Local people complain that they are seeing very little improvement in their quality of life despite the governments accelerated growth plans. There are power cuts almost every other day here in Accra and these last many hours; our water has been off for three days and it is getting to the hottest time of the year. So there is very clearly much work still to be done. But there is a growing pool of human talent pouring out of Ghana's universities and higher education institutions every year. I hope to capture some of that talent as volunteers who are willing to share their knowledge and skills with some of the less advantaged communities who possess many talents too but sadly lack many of the opportunities to realise their ambitions. I feel so privileged to have this opportunity to work alongside people here; every day I really do count my blessings. So I am sweating it out here for another while but will be coming back to the UK to check up on everyone in April :-)
P.S Anyone notice my new 'chocolate' coloured background???
Joseph and his family in Kumasi
.George, Kele Wele and who is that in the background?
S
