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Life and Work in Ghana: Reflections After Three Weeks

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It has been just over three weeks since I began my humanitarian mission in Kongo, Ghana, as an advocate for gender equality and women’s empowerment. This is something I had been considering for a long time, and finally being here feels both meaningful and challenging. Friends and family often ask me: “How are you doing?” and “What is the hardest part?” The truth is, the most difficult part has been starting a new life from scratch — learning how to live and work in a community where everything feels unfamiliar. From transportation and food to cultural norms, nothing resembles what I was used to before. But with time, people adapt. Almost every day I learn a few new words in the local language, ask countless questions, and slowly realize that my life is changing in ways I hadn’t imagined. This experience has made me appreciate even more the things I often took for granted at home in Latvia: reliable electricity, safety, access to different needs and services, the ability to plan my time...
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  A little more than a month to go. I think it’s time to start reflecting on my journey so far and assess what I have achieved. I focused my micro finance activity on waste management. The project team selected the Zugu community for the initiative. I began by meeting with elders of Zugu to introduce myself and gather their feedback on the type intervention I was planning. In the second meeting, we conducted an assessment using three main focus groups to identify their waste management practices, the types  of waste they dispose of, and their level of awareness of the impact of poor waste disposal on human and animal health, as well as the environment.  In our third visit, we carried out the main activity, which included a sensitisation campaign with images illustrating the impact of garbage, followed by a cleanup and the placement of dustbins and gallons. Dustbins are primarily intended for plastic, which will be collected by a plastic recycling company.  We plan to...
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More than a month has passed since my first day here and I can now say that the initial culture shock has slowly faded away.   First, I somehow sorted out the transportation issue, or let’s say I got used. At the beginning, I was so determined to learn how to ride motorbike and get one for myself. The idea of not being able to move around independently, always relying on others or an unstructured taxi system, really bothered me. In the end, I figured out how to make the daily commute work. Every morning, I hail at some yellow yellow (a tricycle taxi)  for part of the way to the office and enjoy walking the rest. For longer trips I call my go-to yellow yellow driver, and sometimes I‘m lucky enough to get a lift from either my colleagues or friends. Plus, I realized that even though riding a motorbike is not that difficult, I’ll only be here for a short time, and navigating this chaotic traffic with a vehicle I’ve just broken in might not be the wisest choice.  Sp...
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The travel day has been a roller coaster of emotions. In the morning, I was super excited to start this new adventure; I couldn’t wait to embark on this experience. But at the airport, when the moment came to say goodbye to my loved ones, I cried, letting out all my subconscious worries.  On the flight, paranoid thoughts and regrets briefly took over. But it was just a passing moment. Overall, the journey went smoothly—the real shock was yet to come. As soon as we drove into the city, I felt disoriented. I started stressing out about how I would buy basic necessities, as all the shops looked so unfamiliar. I quickly realized that for almost any activity, I’d need to take a taxi because the distances are huge, and there are only a few useful stores near my house. At the same time, I had the chance to meet almost all the HO members, and they were incredibly kind to me. My mentor was especially supportive and always available, driving me around the city to help me recognize landmarks ...
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Un "hasta luego" lleno de gratitud.

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Parece ayer cuando escribía el blog sobre mis primeros cuatro meses... y ya van seis, y es momento de despedirse.  Mis dias en el centro de informática y en Konsec han terminado, ahora escribo este borrador desde una habitación de hotel mientras visito un poco el país antes de mi regreso a españa.  He podido disfrutar de un par de semanas visitando el pais, desde el norte donde vivía, ahora me encuentro en el sur y procedo a explicaros en unas palabras mis destinos para qué tengáis testimonios de primera mano. Empezamos por Busua, playas super naturales y bonitas. Se puede practicar surf y es bastante turistico, destacar qué yo viaje en temporada baja y todos mis destinos estaban bastante vacios. Cape Coast me dejó marcado por su historia y su belleza natural. Visitar el castillo fue una experiencia conmovedora, un recordatorio doloroso del pasado esclavista. Después, me perdí entre las copas de los árboles en el parque nacional de Kakum, donde la naturaleza se mostraba en tod...
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Same Same, but different

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 It's 2am and I'm in the international airport in Accra waiting to board into my first flight towards Italy.  I can't even describe all the emotions that I'm feeling right now, I feel very sad of leaving my Ghanian family but also excited to meet my family and friends again.  What I know for sure is that Ghana has a special place in my heart, and all the memories and all the people will always be with me wherever I'll be. Ghana leaves me with a lot of professional and personal skills, in this 9 months I explored a new culture, embracing any aspect of it, and I have pulled my self out of my confort zone, looking for opportunities to learn, especially at work.  What I know for sure is that Ghana made me realize how strong my values are and how much I want to advocate for them and keep them as engine for my future choices.  I think this collage represents my experience the best. Same pictures but a bit different, that's exactly how feel. The same Maria Andrea, but ...
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Until we meet again, Kongo

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I cannot believe I am saying this, but my time in Kongo village and Ghana in general is almost over. When I first came here, I thought 3 months and a half was plenty of time, but I could not have been more wrong. These months have passed by so quickly that it feels like I came here a week ago. I guess this just proves how amazing my life has been here, because time flies by so quickly when you are engaged in activities that are interesting and fun for you. And as much as I miss my country and my loved ones, I would love to stay in the village longer. I want to start my final blog by saying a huge thanks to a Kongo based NGO CoDA, that has been hosting me all this time. Their dedication to make me feel great in this village was incredible. Since the day I arrived in the village they treated me like a family member and helped me in every step of the way. Taking me around for sightseeing, teaching me the local language, cooking me delicious vegetarian meals, greeting me with a smile eve...
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