Ghana Day 1 (delayed post)

So I’ve been in Ghana now for four hours, and I haven’t stopped sweating since I stepped off the plane. Besides the mugginess (I was told it rarely got above 30 degrees, which isn’t terribly reassuring), everyone has been super friendly starting from even before I got anywhere near the continent. I met a Ghanaian man who lives practically next door to me (Alexandria, VA) on the flight from DC to Heathrow. He stole my window seat, but besides that was very nice and we sat together waiting for the flight to Accra and chatted. He expressed optimism about the future of his country, which seems to be a general feeling in Ghana.

Quick Ghanaian recent history lesson: Ghana became the first African country to be independent from colonial Europe in 1957, but democratic experiments were repeatedly interrupted by coups. The military dictator, John Rawlings (who was pretty benevolent as dictators go), won the first two presidential elections in 1992 and 1996 after he decided a transition to democracy would be a good idea, and then he stepped down after his term limit. His party won the 2000 election, but lost the 2004 elections. In December 2008, his party made a comeback because Ghanaians didn’t like how the new folks were running things. Ghana is rare in that its parties have a fairly ideological bent, rather than being simply manifestations of whatever obvious societal cleavages exist. While the new president, John Atta Mills, was Rawlings’ vice president and hand-picked successor for the presidency, everyone tends to see him as a fresh start for the country. Rawlings certainly implemented some good policies, but his administration was far from spotless. It’s pretty interesting that so many see him as detached from previous corruption and mismanagement. More on that once I learn more though. (This is certainly not a Ghana- or Africa- specific lesson mind you – lots of people have very short memory spans).

So on the second leg of the flight I met another man who was very nice, although not Ghanaian. He has a family-owned business in Accra and West Africa and general, but the family is Greek. Besides offering me his card to call him in case I got in trouble (since I showed up in the country not really knowing where I was going besides that I was supposed to be picked up at the airport), he offered me some interesting insights on foreign direct investment in the country. His business requires skilled management, which he imports from Korea, and then the work crew is largely African. Not an isolated trend by any means. I asked him what he thought about corruption in the country as a business owner; while saying it couldn’t compare to the United States or similar, he did think it was pretty tolerable here. Besides which, he said, corruption isn’t really the problem; he doesn’t give money for nothing, he offers payment for expedited service – “and that’s not really corruption.” It’s interesting how the concept of corruption can be twisted to fit a number of definitions.

I was picked up without incident at the airport by Prince and Gifty, the people who run National Volunteers of Ghana (Navog). They are both wonderfully nice and welcoming. I am staying in the Nungua Estates area in a decent sized compound that houses numerous people, all of whom I don’t think I have met yet. The matriarch is Patience, but everyone calls her Grandma (she is Prince’s aunt). Her husband is Mike. The children and grandchildren I am not straight on and will provide a family tree for later, but her son Tony lives in the same building in the compound as I do with his wife and two children, along with a Scot named Steven who will only be around for another week before he leaves. Steven’s been here helping to coach one of the local football teams, so he’s occasionally a local hero (and sometimes the local punching bag, when the team loses). Seems like a very nice chap though. Contrary to the businessman on the plane, Steven tells me corruption is ubiquitous and is rather appalled by it.

Orientation happens tomorrow (Thursday), and I’ll be learning all about Accra, changing money, getting a phone, seeing sites, and all that jazz. I don’t start work at the Daily Guide until Monday, so I have plenty of time to acclimatize myself, see some sites, maybe do a little of the reading I wanted to get done before I got here. In any case, I’ll probably have time for a few more entries and maybe some pictures pretty soon.