As my first month in west Africa comes to a close, I’m finding things are beginning to settle. Flying into Accra with Morgan, we arrived in the night to an airport crowded with people and humidity. Eventually we made it through a long customs line and received a very minor taste of the well-orchestrated chaos Read More …
Since I’ve been here, I have repeatedly made the major mistake of holding out for one adventure to stand out from all of my other experiences to write a blog post about. Now, sitting among my fellow students in our mansion in the outskirts of Accra and looking back on the last couple of weeks, Read More …
Happy (very belated) 4th of July! For our big celebration, the group went to Frankie’s—the most American restaurant in Osu—and got a fairly alright burger. Afterwards a few of us explored the Accra Mall and went to see Jurassic World (side note: mediocre movie, crazy theater). In America, this would be a pretty relaxing Saturday. Read More …
When Ghanaian DJ and entrepreneur Sonny Louis — who has performed with many of Ghana’s top artists, including Sarkodie, Shatta Wale and Jay Soul — had to DJ a child’s christening, he was nervous. The child’s grandmother had told him that if he didn’t play good music, she wouldn’t pay him, and he knew the Read More …
Saturday marked the halfway point of my trip. It is bittersweet. On one hand, I miss Starbucks, clean clothes, my bed, my cat, and clean air. But on the other hand, I have no desire to leave at all. Things that used to shock me are becoming normal and each day seems like a new Read More …
Alongside exploring Ghana, we are here to intern and work with a reproductive advocacy group, ARHR. Today, I took a break from my internship at Emerge to go interview the head maternity surgeon at a local hospital. A group last week went and interviewed a hospital in the Volta Region. The hospital is overpopulated and Read More …
This weekend we were fortunate enough to enjoy some time away from Accra and visit Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti Region, which is about a four hour drive north from Accra. At its peak, the Kingdom of Ashanti was bigger than Ghana and stretched all the way to present-day Ivory Coast. Today, the Ashanti Read More …
Last week, a few of us went to the Volta region in central Ghana to document conditions at two local hospitals, the Ho Municipal Hospital and the Mater Ecclesiae Clinic. This is a story I wrote for the Public Agenda about the experience: Although scorecards from hospitals such as the Ho Municipal Hospital and the Read More …
I can honestly say that this is the first time that I’ve really had a hard time blending in. Having had the opportunity to travel a ton has been an incredibly eye-opening experience, but it has also been a realization that I look like I can be from anywhere. While my family is of European Read More …
Technology. Intended to make our lives easier, better, and more enjoyable. Right? Eighteen days spent in Ghana and my belief is, no. A phone means more than just calling in today’s world. You can search up absolutely anything in almost any place in the world (if you have service). But unlimited access and knowledge of Read More …
Day 18: 2100 hours, 34 minutes. Living in a house full of strangers is challenging. You find out plenty of new things about each other—some things you hate. Plates scattered across tables, shoes abandoned in corners and trash can be seen tumbling across the living room floor when the morning smog blows in through the Read More …
Alliance for Reproductive Health Rights (ARHR) is a Ghanaian NGO that advocates for gender equality, community empowerment, and reproductive health rights. The Media in Ghana group has formed teams to create a bank of images, graphic designs, and multimedia projects to capture stories and help ARHR with advocacy. These projects, along with a social media Read More …
In Ghana, I’m interning for Today Newspaper, an independent daily whose slogan is “We Blend Our Vision With Truth & Enlightenment,” and so far, this has proven true. Sitting near the door, I hear the constant hustle of reporters coming in and out of the office. There is always laughter, or arguing, and definitely no Read More …
From the perspective of someone with very little previous interaction with the sport of football and absolutely zero interaction with the Ghana Football Association, I did not know what to expect on my way to see my first professional match. Growing up in America we often hear about the passion for the sport of football Read More …
Today Esi Benewaaa, a Starr FM reporter, and I went to Old Fadama mentioned in my previous post and elsewhere online as Sodom and Gomorrah. The area within Old Fadama called June 4 was the latest area to be demolished, leaving residents displaced. This is a humanitarian crisis that is leaving over 50,000 homeless and Read More …