Practical Women’s Day: WomenWhoInspire

Over the last week or two, I have been involved in a project to showcase inspirational women in Ghana. Here is the introduction to the  project and further down my contribution!

The first International Women’s Day (IWD) was first held in 1911 and every year since women have been celebrated and the issues that affect them highlighted on the 8th of March. While IWD started as a way of highlighting what was unjust, wrong and harmful to women, today we can also celebrate how far we’ve come and recommit to the work yet to be done.

WomenWhoInspire is an online project created by a group of Ghanaian women as a contribution to the 2014 International Women’s Day theme: Inspiring Change!

WomenWhoInspire is a reminder through video, photos and words that women everywhere are powerful, beautiful and truly inspiring. Join us as we celebrate WomenWhoInspire over the next two months. Let us celebrate the social, political and economic achievements of women! Let us advocate for equality for everyone! Share your story or that of another amazing Woman who inspires!

We want to encourage women to record themselves or other women. Here are some guidelines!

Suggestion for questions for 1 min video:

  1. “My name is … and I hope my story inspires you”,

  2. I am a / the …. eg mother, student, Manager of…[they can give multiple roles]

  3. I use technology to / when… eg I use technology when I use to communicate with friends and to get my work done.

  4. Another woman who inspires me is ….

  5. My three words of inspiration to women are…

Upload

When you upload your video, be sure to use the hashtag #WomenhoInspire if you want us to find it and share it!

My video

Here is the video I made, of an inspiring woman in my life, my mother-in-law Grace Dolly Acquah (apologies for poor sound).

An interesting aspect is how fun it has been working together with other women, Most of the work has been done online, but today we met Away From Keyboard and it was great!

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Made in Ghana Clothes: Friday Local Wear

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Yesterday at the Ghanian independence day, I came to talk about Ghanaian clothing with some people attending the same celebratory event. We said, on a day like this, why are people not waiving the Ghanaian flag, attending parties in wax print and local cuts? 

I was wearing my waxprint patchwork pants and a Golden Baobab t-shirt and he was wearing jeans and a blue striped shortsleeved shirt. He was praising me for always wearing Ghanaian clothes (its true, I often do), but I was saying I feel people in Ghana do patronise Ghanaian attire a lot, compared to other countries. One reason I wear Ghanaian clothes is to better blend in! The President even bragged about his Ghanaian footwear in his State of the Nation address recently! So I said: When was the last time you saw a Brit sporting an “all British” outfit? But here another partygoer jumped in and told us about Benin where two days a week are local wear day and then even the police dons Beninoise clothing. In Ghana, it is once a week, officially. Many companies have a custom-made cloth so for instance bankers will be dressed in their company cloth.

However, once a week is not enough for me. I have come to love the bold and colourful prints, the opportunity get any outfit sown for me and anyways, my clothes from an earlier life were all too heavy and warm! Today, this campaign was started: are you wearing something made in Ghana? I say, stop me if you can! 

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Ghana 57 years – What’s Next?

Congratulations, mother Ghana to your 57 years.

You stand proud. You remember happy days filled with sunshine and song, sad days of abuse and pain, regular days with little water, but much warmth and the not so regular days with a trip to the beach waiving a flag. With a black star. With a cold Star in hand. You smile thinking of your children. You wish their lives would be easier. Behind you lie dusty accounts of history, some still not unearthed, some bleached by the sun.

But what lies ahead, if we open the door, what is next?

doorThis post is inspired by the many fine poetry blogs we have in Ghana.

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Blogwalk or PhotoWalkGh in Airport Residential, Accra

Photowalk

On Saturday, I joined the group of early risers at 7 am. Armed with smartphones, cameras and red t-shirts (with one exception, see group photo above!), we aimed to take a closer look at the Airport Residential Area of Accra. The event was one in a series and also meant to highlight the upcoming BlogCamp14 in April!

I had fun, talked to new people and got a few decent shots, mostly with my iPhone, but also with my Canon G9. I did NOT however, get much exercise as my group moved by taking one step, then one shot, then tweeting/instagramming/facebooking a photo – then ready for a next step and photo…

Follow BloggingGhana on Facebook or PhotoWalkGhana on Twitter if you want to come along next time.

Here are some of my highlights! (the photo above belong to the organisers, the ones below are all me!)

Blog Walk collage

 

 

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One Wedding and One Funeral: Ichafu or Gele and Kente

In the last month, I have been both to a wedding and a funeral. 

The wedding was a Nigerian one, so I invested in a headgear for the occasion, through Chimamanda I know now it is called ichafu – but here it is called gele  (for a fantastic experience, picture-Google any of these two terms). The wedding was held at a beautiful venue with full attention to detail!

The funeral was an Indian/Ghanaian funeral and though it was very sad, I also found comfort in being there and in the beautiful details such as the kente strip the ISAG community was wearing and the flower that was pinned to my dress as I walked into the chapel.

I wanted to share some photos from these beautiful events, getting an ichafu/gele tied, the wedding and the funeral.My gele collage

Wedding collage  Funeral collage

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Did President Mahama Go Too Far? State of the Nation 2014 #SOTNGhana

Screenshot 2014-02-28 11.30.30This week, the Ghanaian mediascape was cluttered with comments about the state of the nation address, held on Tuesday. All well and good. The problem was, most commentators were upset about the light tone of the speech, at a time that is hard for the wo/man on the street.

See for instance CitiFM or InformGhana‘s storify-summaries of the discussions on Twitter.

Read the whole State of the Nation address here on the presidency website.

Interestingly, my last post here on the blog was on Ghanaian political humor and I personally felt the president just “joined the grammar” (“Mr. Speaker, who said ‘Tweaa’?”) and spoke about politics in the most Ghanaian way possible, with some jokes and a hearty laughter.

But clearly, I was in minority. Most commentators sighed (or even booed) and said that our politicians have lost touch with the reality on ground. What do you think?

 

Pic borrowed from InformGhana, BloggingGhana’s new project.

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University of Ghana Road Toll

 The road toll has been in effect for two weeks and as a graduate student, I am of course not happy that in addition to fees that almost double from year to year, I now have to pay just to get on campus!

However, after the first weeks of confusion and queues that stretched long (my first day to enter, I waited for 25 minutes just to pay my 1 GHC (0,30 USD), some efficiency measures have been taken, including many more attendants in reflective vests to collect fees from motorists, a new entry point into the campus, and this morning the queue was negligible.

There has been much debate whether or not the university has the right to charge Ghanaians to drive on a public road without asking the parliament for permission (they grant all taxes and fees), but as I do not speak lawyerish, I am not sure what to think. They way I see the toll is that it is a very serious statement from the university telling Ghanaians:

“we are on our own now. The government does not support us and we must do cost recovery to survive!”.

Increased tuition fees is one measure, a road toll another.

Sadly, that message seems to have been lost between reflective vests, 1 GHC tickets and first page squabbles.

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Shirley Temple: Actress and Ambassador in Ghana

Shirley Temple Black Americans have for long understood the potential of a face known from film. Not just President Ronald Regan or Governor Arnold Schwartsenegger  made the transition from white screen to colorful politics, actress Shirley Temple did too.

In 1974 she landed in Ghana as the American ambassador. The country was 18 years out of colonialism, but head-deep into dependency, especially due to the American oil crisis at the time. Temple stayed in Ghana for two years.

When I first heard about this interesting career change and Temple’s time in Ghana, I marveled. I became almost obsessed with finding photos of Temple in Ghana and my eyes widened as I saw her coiffed hair bobbing around in the Ghanaian sun surrounded by traditional leaders and welcoming parades.

 It would be interesting to know more about what her everyday life in Ghana was like, maybe now that she is gone, some writings might appear? Some interviews will be done? but never the less, her life reminds us that no matter where you start in life, you might end up in Ghana, smiling in the sun.

Photo borrowed from The Guardian from a worthwhile biography.

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What is Ghana’s Tourism Policy?

Is it “Akwaaba, it’s an expression you will hear several times daily…it means ‘Welcome!’ and you will be” or is it “Visa requirements are subject to change…” ? Both quotes are from Ghana’s official tourism page, touringghana.com. The whole discussion started with a German acquaintance writing me an email to say she was coming to Ghana as a tourist. She was looking forward to the weather, the beaches and the cultural sites. Could we catch up for a drink? A while later she emailed again, now for “an invitation letter”.
I was shocked, why would a tourist to a country that calls itself “the gateway to Africa” need an invitation letter? Then, what is a tourist? and what does Ghana want with tourism? Why are we spending good money on advertising Ghana on CNN for instance, if we later make it so cumbersome to just get a Visa to enter?

I took my questions to Twitter and the rest is history. The highlights included the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Hanna Tetteh, getting heavily involved in the debate!

BTW @HannaTetteh I just wrote an “invite” for a German acquaintance who wants to come to Ghana as a tourist. Why does she need an invite?
@kajsaha @HannaTetteh the system is inefficient and makes Ghana look bad. I wanted to spend cedis there! Ghana made it hard.
@MissEDCofie @BlueBirdTail @kajsaha @RoisKiDGh@I_am_Kophy @Gondu because of some few dollars, you gonna turn people away? No big picture?
The first part of the debate was the “reciprocity/retailation” argument, that frankly surprises me and makes me think of Binyavanga Wainaina’s recent discussion about Africa’s middle class wanting to become Europe. Why are we comparing Visa schemes with Europe and not with other African countries such as Kenya or the Gambia.
@sondy @kajsaha when Ghanaians have to apply for visa’s to enter your countries to spend their own money does it make your country look bad?

 

@kajsaha @visafreeghana don’t tourists from #Ghana have to have invitation letters going the other way? #justasking
@kajsaha do you have any idea what Ghanaian citizens have to go through to get visa’s to travel to any country outside of Africa?
@kajsaha @kobbrown @Gondu @visafreeghana the day European,American n Canadian visa are free then we will do same.till then 2 only W africans
@sondy @kajsaha giving Ghanaians an opportunity to enter your countries without paying visa fees, showing bank statements etc would be great
@kajsaha as you retweet my responses kindly retweet the one on bilateral agreements. Reciprocity is an indication of mutual respect.
@kajsaha I’m sure you know that issues of visa’s are not just a matter of tourism policy. For now your friend requires an invitation letter
@sondy we can have visa free travel when there are bilateral agreements between our countries giving Ghanaians the same treatment you want
@osarpong @OsabuANNY @kinnareads @HannaTetteh @kajsaha I’m all up for reciprocity! I don’t have elected representatives but I’ll write!
Secondly,  there was the issue of tourism management in general, how it was lacking… (but can we not start with cleaning up Visas?)
@kajsaha @RoisKiDGh valid points there is a lot to do but abolishing visa wont solve much
@kajsaha Kenya requires visas of Westerners. It does have a better tourism infrastructure which is essential. @HannaTetteh
@HannaTetteh @kajsaha I question the “losing to Kenya” statement. We don’t have 30% of the tourism infrastructure Kenya has.
@kajsaha exactly my point. Even with free entry, mismanagement will drive all tourists away. @MissEDCofie
Ghana is not worth coming to, so we should make it hard to enter? Sorry @RoisKiDGh but that does not make sense. @kobbrown@angelgooner
 
Then there were some personal issues…
@kajsaha have you read anything on Ghana & Tourism Development/ Tourism Policy or is your comment only based on the issue of visa’s?
It is based on public info from Min of Tourisms website, the budget and the email I got to invite a tourist. Still learning! @HannaTetteh
@kajsaha @kobbrown @visafreeghana You know some of the Chinese who were in illegal mining were on tourist visas?
In the end, we kind of all agreed. 
@kajsaha @visafreeghana However, I agree that the system is outdated and needs to be reviewed.
@kajsaha What a country can do is make visa processes more friendly, less cumbersome. @HannaTetteh
@kinnareads @kajsaha @HannaTetteh visas may not be a right, but why make the processes harder than it needs to be, and lose passports?
I guess the debate continues.  

I found out that that rules are different depending on what countries the tourist comes from. For instance Ghana’s embassy in Germany demands one letter of invitation, in Canada it is two. Form my recent experience, Scandinavian tourists do not need an invite, only an address and contact in Ghana (which might also stop some tourists).

Lisa from Canada shared her story on the Scrap Tourism Visas for Ghana FB page:

“My parents had big problems. Again needed 2 letters of invitation. The consulate in Toronto (CAN) wanted addresses with complete street address and house #, not simply PO box. As we were simultaneously trying to get visas for my parents + my boyfriend from 2 consulates, it was bad. Toronto rejected the letters & demanded new ones while the consulate in Ottawa accepted them. Why the difference? & how many people in Accra have a full street address? Its not the same as in Canada.

Throughout my extensive travels a common theme. Foreigners mainly come to visit family members/friends working in Gh, infrequently as visitors. Partly because the visas. The expense plus needing the letter of invitation. I understand the government can’t “lose” people within their borders but there must be a better system. The visas r too expensive. We spend a lot of $ in the country anyways.”

Here is also an article by a campaigner to “scrap” tourism visas for Ghana, although I personally think “scrapping Visas” is going too far, I found the examples highlighting other African experiences interesting.

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We have a parrot!

Yesterday, I was told a parrot had been seen in a tree in our backyard. The announcement came at a time I felt tired and flustered, but now my whole body shaped up – a parrot?

After sneaking around for a while we saw it (and possibly its partner) in all its green and orange glory. It moved on the branches with the help of its beak, sang in a chirpy way, hid in the greenery and finally – like in a flash-  sailed away in a quick orange streak.

My daughter was also excited and called it “a carrot” as she is in the process of learning vegetables and fruits in school.

I went inside and googled that parrot’s ass. Green+parrot+West Africa and there it was.

The Senegalese parrot, or Poicephalus Senagalus Versteri in our backyard. Isn’t it beautiful?

Screenshot 2014-01-29 14.28.09

Photo from parrot.org

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BloggingGhana in 2014: #MoreStories

This year, my organisation BloggingGhana is taking a giant leap forward by getting our own physical space: Ghana’s first social media hub. But we need help to create opportunities for #morestories to be told. Over the next month and a few more days, we are trying to crowd-source USD 10 000 for our new office. You can be a part of our success!

See our video (featuring my colleague Edward and myself!)

Donate on Indiegogo!

 

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Mandela in Memoriam or How Should We Remember Him?

In 2005, I went to South Africa for a three week visit. It was amazing. I remember beautiful vistas of mountains and penguins, Freshly ground’s hit, pinstriped crowds on busy Jo’Burg streets, sweaty DJ sets at “Mama Africa Club” in Cape Town, ANC songs sung in a minivan somewhere on the Eastern Cape, touring the Apartheid museum with chills down my spine and braii moments with plenty of meat and laughter.

I also remember getting a text message from the first of my close friends to have a baby. “Boy has arrived! Mother and child are both healthy!” In my joy, I was looking for something to buy and soon found the perfect gift. A onesie with pink stripes and a stylized photo of Mandela. It was gift wrapped and delivered to the newborn child.

In the weeks since Nelson “Madiba” Mandela’s passing the discussion on how to remember Mandela. As a young lawyer? A son of a traditional leader? A terrorist? A prisoner? A father and husband? A world leader? A pacifist? A nice guy? The best guy ever?

mandela onesie

That I think of “Madiba” as a icon on a kid’s outfit, I find both horrible and hopeful. Horrible as it reduces a revolutionary to a commercial item, but also hopeful as his leadership – immortalised by a calm smile on an ageing face – in a small way will be remembered by the next generation across the globe. 

Photo borrowed from The Tuesday Photo.

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