Departure from OA

So, three weeks after my stated last day of working at Orphanage Africa, I finally stopped working there Friday. The OPE (refugee job) work permit still hasn't come yet, so I had to extend my own tourist visa last week till it comes. They didn't want to give me the form for a re-entry visa, telling me to apply for it duirng my two week stay in South Africa (hello?!! hassle!!!!). Eventually, the immigration officer that I had met the last time I was there 3 months ago remembered me and could still pronounce my last name properly (the other time, when I went to collect my passport two weeks after leaving it, he surprised me by knowing my name from memory).

I didn't actually have enough money with me at the time, but a kind Ghanaian man came to my aid and gave me the 10,000 cedis (just over a $1) that I was short. I scrounged around in my purse and saw I had 1,300 in change: the exact fare for a tro-tro home, though it wasn't so far I couldn't have walked. I went to the ATM nearby to try to get money and go back to return it, but I had the wrong card and didn't know the PIN.

My boss ended up picking me up to go to a program, but I spent the day with only the change to my name. I have been thinking about trying to get by on a $1/day, as so much of the world has to do because of poverty. I'm establishing the rules, though afraid I won't abide by them: I can't use internet credit I already have, I can't use my cell phone credit, I can't eat food at home that I've already paid for. I think it would be really tough...I'll let you know if I try.


From the June Monthly Report I prepared

Pictures available HERE.

Somonya Babies

On Sunday, June 26^th, I received the following text message from the OA President:

“2 babies found, both almost dead. Both now in St. Martin’s Hosp in Somanya. One has been nibbled by maggots, the other is skeleton. Have asked Ishmael to go and see.”

On Monday, Ishmael, Lizzie and I set out to visit these babies. Kofi is from Ayenyah, the site of our future orphanage. He is three months old and his mother died two months ago. He was being carried for by his mother’s family. He is severely malnourished, but those words cannot communicate adequately how terribly skinny he is. I had to avert my eyes, it hurt just to look at him. In my mind, I kept thinking of him as ‘it,’ he looked so un-human. I wondered how anyone could have let a baby get so close to the edge of death and realized: poverty and lack of education. If a baby is being breast-feed, like most here in Ghana are, but the mother dies, the villagers cannot just simply go to the supermarket to get baby formula as a replacement as we would do. As a cost comparison, baby milk costs about 42,000 cedis/month, while the monthly budget for this family is about 200,000 cedis. In all likelihood, the baby was fed gruel, which lacks the necessary nutrients and vitamins a baby needs.

The second baby, Efia, was found abandoned in the bush in a basket that Friday. Like Kofi, Efia means “Friday-born” in a local language. She is about two months old and not much else is currently known about her.

Orphanage Africa is attempting to have both babies sent to Ampomah upon their discharge, as we can provide the care and have the resources necessary to ensure a successful recovery.

Interviews for my position

Executive Director Kwame, Home Director Phyllis and I held interviews for the position over the course of 3 days.

During one interview, I was surprised to hear Phyllis question the applicant as to whether he believes in witchcraft and demons! (He was holding a book on his lap, Defeating Demons, which may have been the basis for the question, as well as his current profession as a preacher for a specific church.) The question is relevant when dealing with children, as such beliefs could affect the person’s approach in handling certain matters (e.g. sickness). However, I never expected that I would be sitting in an interview where such a question would be asked. It certainly wouldn’t have happened in the US! (His answer, by the way, was that he believes in demons and spirits, but said they cannot do anything to someone who believes in Christ.)

Kwame probed the applicants’ social awareness and ability to articulate an opinion and argument by asking if they believed if prostitution should be legalized, a topic that has seen a lot of press recently. Almost all of the applicants said that it should not be, based on religious and moral reasoning. However, some acknowledged the increased ability to regulate the trade and protect both the men and women involved.

Amongst the applicants, one emerged as our clear choice. Henry will join the OA team in July. Though Ghanaian, he completed university work in Kenya and Tanzania and has experience with NGOs as well as social work.