The Jewel in Ghana's Crown

Dust drifts up into our faces as Olivia and I trudge down the mud track to Shechina medical clinic. The eyes of young children who live along the path gleam as they catch sight of us. Timid toddlers chant ‘sillyminger hello’ repeatedly, meaning ‘hello white person’, because of the novelty of our skin. Braver children run towards us extending their hands towards ours, eager to experience the sensation of touching the skin of two such unfamiliar looking people.

                Meandering around the final bend, we approach the large black entrance gates that are decorated with Hebrew letters, spelling out ‘Shechina’, meaning divine presence. Immediately our eyes are drawn towards the crowd of people seated in the Out-Patient Department (OPD). The building is more of a barn with non-existent walls and benches seating approximately thirty people. These people are among the most deprived of the town of Tamale. Most of them do not have sufficient income to invest in the national health scheme. Shechina clinic is unique in Ghana providing free medical care to under-privileged citizens.

                A plaque inscribed with a mission statement gazes down from the front of the room, reminding those entering that the clinic does not require payment and relies on divine providence alone. Everyday, throughout the morning, these patients are seen by a practitioner and medicated accordingly. Almost adjacent to the OPD is a pharmacy, stocked with donated drugs, able to supply for a broad range of conditions.

                Shechina clinic was founded in 1991 by Dr David Abdulai, the only doctor providing constant service to the clinic, offering consultations and small surgical procedures such as hernia operations, that he performs using only local anaesthetic.  He enthusiastically shares with us his enduring faith in the divine providence stemming from his religious Christian beliefs. He tells us his fundamental purpose is to love the people who enter his clinic. This stunning depth of human caring seeps all over the clinic and is the driving force for the various projects the institution undertakes.

                Within the small grounds of the clinic is a small enclave of mud huts, where homeless patients suffering from HIV live. When the clinic began, patients would come here to die, but now with the advent of anti-retroviral drugs, patients are able to live normal lives and travel into town, appearing as healthy individuals.

                Sturdier buildings house mentally ill patients and those suffering from the debilitating condition, leprosy, many of whom have been ostracised from their communities because of their ailments. Their only asylum is the Shechina clinic. On his weekly ward round, Dr Abdulai makes a social visit to each of these patients, he feels it is vital to show a loving interest and we watch humbled as he offers each patient fruit that they gratefully accept. 

                The final branch of this under reported gem of a charitable institution is the food programme. Everyday an abundance of food is prepared and distributed in a truck to the needy people in Tamale.

                In the few days since the beginning of our placement, we have been completely taken aback by the rope uniquely tossed to rescue deprived people who have fallen through the pit falls of society. 

Written by David Fisher

Second day in Accra!

It was our second day in Accra and Ben and I had decided to explore the market areas so we could get a greater more of a feel for the city.

We had been given the task of buying a gift for the guest house we had been staying in and this paved the way for our little adventures round the coast of Accra. We started off in the ‘Makola Market’. This was our first African market experience and it certainly was an experience. Hundreds of stalls selling almost anything a Ghanaian could ever want lined the streets of the busy market area. Traditionally dressed women walked around with piles of items on their heads with tiny children strapped to their backs, whilst bartering for a wide range of products. A major highlight included the stall that was comprised of no less than one thousand saucepans. We wondered how the owner locked them away at the end of the day.

We eventually began to make our way towards Ussher Town; probably the most eye-opening part of our day. We walked for about twenty minutes through the shanty-towns of Accra before we reached Fort Ussher; the poverty and depravity of areas of this city was clearly evident. Both Ben and I were slightly gobsmacked at people actually living in such dyer conditions. This was our first real encounter with the issues we would have to face in the weeks to come. We decided to sit down and have a Sprite with a very friendly local to dwell on the day’s experiences so far.

We were still getting used to the heat so we spent a while recharging our batteries before we set off again on our whirlwind tour of Accra. We soon realised we were re-entering the more tourist areas of the city as we began to see several groups carrying the same guidebook we were using. We were soon mobbed again by several people attempting to sell us their merchandise at a ‘very good price’. I was dragged into someone’s shop by the arm and coerced into buying a football shirt which I wasn’t too bothered about because it was on my list of things to buy anyway.

This is where we met Kojo, a Rastafarian and his friend who owned a wood-carvings stall in the art market area. We decided to buy an African mask for the guest house and we were then invited to have a drink with our two new friends at a bar built into the cliffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. This was by far the highlight of the trip so far. The view was magnificent; the locals we were with were incredibly welcoming and treated us as family - an unforgettable moment.

After leaving our Rastafarian friends with a badge of the Mighty Jah, we went for lunch at a hotel on the beach. We then went and sat on the beach drinking Savannah, watching life go by and the beautiful view of the ocean reflecting on what we had seen and who we had met throughout our very eventful day.

Doing anything in the heat was difficult. We must have walked five miles throughout the day and we were definitely ready to appreciate the air conditioning machine by the time we got back home. All-in-all a very interesting and eye-opening day, experiencing many aspects of this awesome country including the beauty of its coast, the hospitality of the locals but the extreme depravity in which most of them live.

By Maximus!

Hello from Ghana!!

Our story begins in Accra, where five of us were hosted by the kindest and most generous Israelis for three nights. There, we were showered with water, food and lots of very good advice. At mealtimes, we obtained a taste of the delicious fruit Africa has to offer and we have since been buying many fresh mangoes, small bananas and watermelons.

Our stay in Accra really opened our eyes to the Ghanian culture and way of life. Upon leaving the guest house we were staying at on Friday morning and walking out onto the main road we soon realised, from the number of hoots which seemed to be directed at us, how much attention we attract through being white.  This is something which, even now, we are still getting used to.

We had many rather interesting cab journeys that day, riding over bumpy dirt tracks with four of us squashed into the back of one car in the most uncomfortable positions. Perhaps not the safest way of travelling around Accra, but it was definitely an experience!

Although we felt safe and quite excited exploring the streets of Accra, we did have a rather scary encounter with the security guards on duty at Independence Square. Upon taking a photograph of the square, a nearby guard immediately started questioning us about where we were going. Our answers didn’t seem to satisfy him and he soon went to get his boss who asked us more questions. We were careful not to bribe the guards as they seemed professional and would probably have arrested us for doing so. Eventually, to everyone’s relief, we discovered why we were being interrogated; we weren’t allowed to walk near one of the castles which was located along the beachfront we were heading towards. This minor incident didn’t stop us going for our walk. However, upon being persistently asked for money by one Ghanian, we soon turned around and went for lunch.

After, we walked to a nearby market. Upon entering the market place, we found ourselves bombarded by people attempting to sell us their commodities, mainly bracelet’s, necklaces, football shirts and paintings. We were all extremely overwhelmed at first but our fascination with the speed the sellers made their jewellery in and the friendliness of the people soon relaxed us. It seemed that the sellers wanted to converse with us as much as they wanted us to buy their goods. Max, who seemed to attract more sellers then the rest of us, found themselves leaving the market place with three bracelets, a necklace, a football and an African mask. This was as much of a surprise to them as it was to the rest of us!

Just before heading back to the guest house, we took a short walk to a cash point, stopping off at a petrol station to buy water which, to our surprise, sold Cadbury chocolate! We also walked past a street seller, with random, second hand English school books laid out on a blanket in front of him. It was at this moment that we truly understood the description of third world countries as ‘our dumping ground.’

We were very lucky to have been staying with the Jewish Israelis as we were provided with a Kabbalat Shabbat service and big meal. It was extremely surreal, performing the Shabbos ritual in Africa and easy to forget, during the course of the evening, where we were and what was in store for us over the next few weeks.

(written by) Caroline x