Devon's Trip to Ghana

(Note: I will add more information to this page as I receive it)

My role with YCI

Our focus will be on capacity building but we will also be assisting with proposal writing and fundraising. We will be running workshops based on a variety of community development topics to Council Members and Assembly men and women (community leaders). Upon our arrival we will be staying in Accra, the capital, for two days for orientation. Afterwards, we will be splitting our time between two places, Takoradi and Koforidua, spending five weeks in each (see areas circled in maps below):

Takoradi

Takoradi is about halfway between Accra (a four-hour drive) and the Cote d’Ivoire. It is twin cities with Sekondi and is capital of the Western region. As twin cities they form the 3rd largest city, with a population of approximately 1.9 million. Takoradi has been described as the “industrial, commercial, and educational centre of Western Ghana.”

In Takoradi we will be staying in the YMCA hostel in shared rooms. We will have power, although power outages are frequent, and we will be taking bucket showers! Our breakfast will usually consist of fruit, eggs, and/or bread; and rice, chicken, and beans for lunch and dinner. Takoradi is home to wild monkeys and a good selection of restaurants, although the following quote from my Bradt travel guide worries me:

“Takoradi seldom inspires affection in travelers, and while one recent letter characterizing the city centre as a rat-infested, smelly dump does seem unusually harsh, the reality is that the city is of interest primarily as a well-equipped staging post for forays to more inherently attractive places.”

The good news is that the travel guide also says some of the nicest beaches are located nearby!

Koforidua

“Founded in the 1870s by the New Juaben people, who were forced to migrate from Juaben in Ashanti after they staged an unsuccessful (and British-inspired) revolt against the authority of the Ashanti king in Kumasi.”

Koforidua is the capital of the Eastern region and is two hours from Accra. Its economy is primarily administrative and commercial. The local language is Twi. The most recent information I have is that the population is around 87 000. In Koforidua we will also be staying in shared hostel rooms. Here we will have the opportunity to hire a local woman to cook our meals for us as volunteer groups have done in the past. Koforidua has one traffic light and one library, although the books are not necessarily up-to-date. Exciting to me as a jewelry lover is the fact that they have a Thursday morning bead market (this apparently attracts tourists and people from all over West Africa!). Popular attractions including Wli Falls and the Tafe Atome Monkey Sanctuary are within day trips.