Long Story Short

Artifacts displayed at the Ghana Armed Forces Museum

After our overnight stay in Kumasi, our group decided to wake up early in order to squeeze in a tour of the Ghana Armed Forces Museum before continuing on our journey to Tamale. We arrived at the museum and were led into a hall by a Ghanaian man who spoke limited English. He showed us the objects collected from World War One and World War Two with the help of our dear friend Francis translating for us. We assumed this man was our guide. After looking through most of the hall, the actual tour guide rushed into the hall and instructed us to gather back around the first few objects so that we could begin our tour. 
 
He began by saying "I will make a long story short" which is ironic seeing as we found ourselves still on the tour two hours later...we didn't mind this unexpected lengthy tour because of how incredibly passionate this man was about Ghanaian history.  It didn't take long for us to realize that he was not only a tour guide but also a storyteller and an actor. He creatively explained Ghanaian history in the form of a story while acting out the roles and voices of various characters. His performance was very impressive, the only problem was that he had a very strong accent and our group could not understand half of what he was saying. Even though our understanding was minimal, I think that we were all very entertained  and could appreciate this man's passion and enthusiasm for his work. After the tour, our group used the information booklet to fill in the blanks. 

Navy Room

We learned that the Ghana Armed forces museum was built by the British in 1897 and first served as a British colonial administration with offices and residences for troops. After World War Two it was used to train local junior officers know as the Boys Company. This museum is the only military museum in Ghana and it displays objects collected from the Germans in World War One and objects from the Italians and Japanese in World War Two. These objects included various types of guns, rifles, swords, bayonets, metals, and badges. The museum also has various other rooms with themes dedicated to Ghanaian history.



We also learned about the Ashanti people of Ghana and how they were a strong force in Ghanaian history. It is said that Ghana would not be as it is today if it were not for the Ashanti people because they were the only group strong enough to overthrow the Colonial government. Many members of our group wondered why the indigenous people of Canada were not able to do the same with the colonization  of Canada. We remembered that this was due to numbers. In Ghana, the Europeans were outnumbered by Ghanaian people explaining why the Ghanaian were able to rise up and fight the colonizers. In Canada, the colonizers overwhelmed the indigenous people, leading to illness and disease that decimated the indigenous population in addition to stripping them of their land and traditional ways of life making it impossible for Aboriginal people to regain their previous lifestyle.

Our tour guide mentioned that he is a "traditional man" and that he has chosen to live a traditional lifestyle in order to return to his roots and stay healthy. This resonated with many of us because during the process of completing our Aboriginal Health Modules, Eric Mitchell, the Okanagan Knowledge Keeper who taught us the Modules, mentioned that he and many other Aboriginal people in the community were trying to  return to their traditional lifestyle. Ghanaian history is similar to Canadian history in that both of our indigenous people were happy, healthy and self-reliant until colonization destroyed their culture.

We finished our tour by getting together with a large class of school children to take a photo.  They were eagerly looking to sneak in a "hello" at every glance during our tour. This made for a joyful way to end our tour of the Ghana Armed Forces Museum :)
 
-Stephanie Townsend. 

 

Amazing Grace

Death Door

"Until the lion has his historian the hunter will always be a hero"

- Elmina Castle Wall

Between the heat, swollen feet and long hours without food it amazes us how the Ghanaian people even complete their daily tasks. We had the privilege of visiting the Elmina Slave Castle and learned more about the history of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. 

From 1400-1800 AD, Elmina was the slave castle in which every transatlantic slave was shipped out. It dawned on us that our petty complaints were nothing compared to the tragic history of this nation.

View from top of castle

The amazing views and scenery left you speechless. The pictures we took could not do justice to the beauty all around us. But beneath all of the beauty is the ugliest of stories.  Millions of people were taken or coerced into leaving their homes, their families, and everything they knew for a chance at a "better life in America". This castle housed a minimum of a 1000 Africans at any given time. 80-100 people were placed in small, hard, brick cells for 3 months until they either passed away from famine, disease, torture or were shipped off and would struggle to remain alive until they reached the Americas. On arrival they would spend their remaining life as the property of slave owners. We are so privileged to have the freedom of our life, our body, our thoughts, to do with what we please. We forget to appreciate the small things, but this experience served as a reminder to be humble and grateful for what we have. 

View from Door of No Return

Door of No Return

The Door of No Return was the door the slaves were forced through onto the ships. Not everyone has the privilege to stand in the exact spot where Africans stood for the last time on their homeland. The Holocaust is well covered in school, but we only learn a small piece of the African Slave Trade. While standing at the "Door of No Return" our guide asked us to join him in singing "Amazing Grace". According to our guide, Amazing Grace was written in 1779 by the slave trader John Newton. Newton came to the realization that his actions had horrific consequences, and that slaves were not property but human beings, captured in the verse "once I was blind but now I see".

"In everlasting memory of the anguish of our ancestors. 

May those who die rest in peace. 

May those who return find their roots. 
May humanity never again perpetrate such injustice against humanity. 

We the living vow to uphold this."
 - Elmina Castle Wall

Courtyard

By: Madi Phemister, Alyssa Sand, Paige Bunbury

We're packed and ready to go!

We spent all day yesterday preparing for our journey.  Rebekah Chase, one of our graduates who participated in a Global Health practicum in Zambia last year, presented the International Birthing simulation lab for us.  Everything we need to know about assisting women through child birth in low income countries.  She was fantastic!

We spent the afternoon packing our supplies.  A heartfelt thank you to everyone who donated items.  Norma Hillsman's son and his Scout troupe created some dental hygiene kits.  Days for Girls donated 100 menstruation kits, we have a multitude of medical supplies, education materials, Steve Manuel on behalf of the HEAT Varsity programs donated some awesome HEAT paraphernalia and some volleyballs (these will be a big hit!)  and many many many more items.

We want to send a special thank you to Kelowna Instaprint.  This amazing company graciously donated 300 Nursing Assessment Handbooks.  These pocket sized quick reference books were created by UBCO nursing students and will be shared with nursing students in Ghana.  Instaprint has been a wonderful supporter for our Global Health work for several years.  Thank you!

We'll be leaving on Monday.  You can follow us on the blog.


Stay tuned
Ghana Girls 2016

Days for Girls

A big thank you to daysforgirls.org for creating and donating menstruation kits for girls and women. We were very touched when we learned about this project as menstruation is a huge part of women’s lives worldwide. These kits not only help improve sanitation during women’s menstruation cycle, it also creates a sense of empowerment (eg. allowing girls to go to school while menstruating, teaching self-care, pride, etc.). We will have the opportunity to provide teaching before handing these kits out.

Kits last up to 3 years. All kits come in a drawstring bag and include:

-          Moisture barrier shields (shields are leak-proof because of a moisture proof liner called PUL)

-          8 absorbent tri-fold pads

-          Washcloth

-          1 bar of soap

-          2 pairs of panties

-          Visual instruction sheet

-          Large Ziplock bag to carry soiled pads and launder them

A completely sustainable project, and we are so excited to be involved. 

Ghana Girls

It's that time of year again!  We are preparing for our Global Health practicum in Ghana, Africa.  I'm excited to share that 14 beautiful fourth year nursing students will be coming with me this year.  Dr. Vida Yakong, our Ghanaian colleague will be meeting us in Accra and will be working with us while we're in Ghana.  We'll share our stories along the way.
Stay tuned!
Jeanette Vinek
Nursing Instructor UBC Okanagan

UBCO Nursing Students and Instructor