Back From Bamako

.

Sorry it’s been a while since I put finger to keyboard; been away from easy access to ya’ll. Let me bring you up to speed. I returned a couple days ago from Mali, where the West Africa Team of the CRWRC got together to talk work-related things over and offer the latest of what we are learning to each other. I’ve now jumped back into work in Ghana, and find Renita preparing for her two week journey to Liberia and Cote d’Ivoire in mid February. As for my week in Mali, this is my second opportunity to spend time with my colleagues there, and my sense of the place and people is solidifying.

Every country in West Africa is unique, and I naturally compare them with each other. My “base line” for comparison is Liberia, for a couple of reasons: first, Liberia is where we began our African adventure together and second, Liberia represents the most underdeveloped nation in the region—it ranks at the bottom of the poverty and misery indexes. So my standard is low, but I know it’s not going to get much worse where ever I go. It is ironic then, that I find Ghana—the most stable and developed nation in the region—more like Liberia than struggling Mali. In terms of development, Mali too is a very poor country, but at least like Ghana, many of the roads are smooth, and in the capital, the utilities are reliable. In fact, the water and power in Bamako, Mali is more reliable than it is in Accra, Ghana. Accra loses power every day, for a few minutes to a few hours, an has water running 5.5 days out of 7. Mali’s utilities are up and running on both counts with only rare interruptions.

It is the culture of Ghana and Liberia that strike me as similar to each other, and also quite different from Mali. Liberia and Ghana are coastline Anglophone countries, hot and humid, and also heavily influenced by Anglo-American values. People in and around the Capital cities dress casually, blue jeans and tee-shirts are common, and there is also a decidedly consumerist and materialistic ethos. Even though both nations are poor by North American measures, success still seems to be related to the accumulation of things, so big houses, big cars, and the latest technological gadgets, from plasma HDTV to smart phones, are all status indicators. Both Liberia and Ghana are dominated by Christian influences, and both have many who follow the “prosperity gospel.”

By contrast, hot, arid, dust-covered, land-locked Mali is much more heavily influenced by Muslim forces. Although consumerism is making inevitable inroads, the people of Bamako dress and carry themselves less casually, more conservatively. Islam is everywhere. The five-times daily call to prayer echoes through the neighborhoods, a ever-present and hypnotic reminder that here, Allah and His Prophet dominate. Mali is also Francophone, which of course is another major factor that separates it from Ghana and Liberia. I liked the people I met in the streets, enjoyed trying to communicate with them, and happy to see their delight mirror mine as we connected over the simplest things. I liked the dry air, which even on the hottest days kept my clothes free from perspiration. I am happy to report my body’s natural evaporative cooling system works wonderfully well in Mali.

Mali’s dry climate is one reason why so many in this country are hungry. Around Bamako, the land receives about 40 inches of rain annually, most of that falling from June to September. (Compare that to Monrovia, Liberia’s 200 inches a year). But up in Tomboucto, less than half of that falls each rainy season, and for eight months the land sees virtually no rain. Crops frequently fail, and throughout Mali, thousands of forgotten little villages endure steady misery.

The WAMT meetings kept us focused on addressing hunger, poverty and other justices in West Africa, and even greater injustices in Europe and NorthAmerica. For my part, I was able to introduce some ideas to the team that I hope I’ll be able to nurture and grow over the coming months and years. I don’t pretend that what I am doing-- or even what CRWRC in West Africa, or Renita and Partners Worldwide is doing-- will impact more than a small percentage of lives in a world where billions deserve better. But I remain committed to doing the little I can. I am grateful that we are on this pathway of discovery, that we get to see more of the world as it is, and grateful that we can no longer insulate ourselves from it. Mostly I'm thankful that I have a hand and the will to lend it.

.

I took the picture on the left in 2007, and the one on the right last Wednesday. Its the difference between the wet season and the dry.

Tis a panorama of Bamako, city of 2 million, taken from hills in the north.

A side stream of the Niger River, all dried up. Shale was everywhere.

A lonely little garden near the Niger River-- which was actually behind me.

Yers Trooly, presenting on Justice and its inevitable but sometimes annoying partner, Conflict. I think I was pretending I was John F. Kennedy at a press conference-- pointing while talking.

The West Africa Ministry Team, minus most of the staff from Nigeria. By the end of the week of meetings, we were feeling a tad testy.

Deja vu vis-a-vis Mali

I thought I wuz supposed to be in Bamako

.

If that title has a familiar ring to you, you have been following us a long time. Not arriving on time at various destinations is a mini-theme of ours, particularly in our blog The Reeds in Liberia. The last time we used it with reference to Bamako, Mali, the entire family was trying to get to there. It was August 2006.

.

Monday, I thought I would be boarding a plane for nine days in that capital city, most of the time spent in meetings with folks from the CRC's West Africa ministry/development teams. But due to a visa problem, I'll have to wait. The nice lady at the Mali embassy told me I could get the visa today, so we'll see. If all goes well, I'll write to you soon from Mali.

.

.

Yers Trooly, Tuesday

Oh, here is a link to that post from 2006:

http://reedsinliberia.blogspot.com/2006_08_24_archive.html

In Haiti, Catastrophe

The disastrous earthquake in Haiti resonates with Renita and me. Like Liberia, the nation was founded in the early 18th century by African slaves. Like Liberia, the nation is one of the poorest on earth. Even though it is in the Caribbean, it has a distinctively West African flavor. And like Liberia, Haiti has been virtually destroyed by corruption and civil disorder. Haiti was further hammered in 2008 by four major tropical storms. Now the earthquake. The 7.0 quake and aftershocks hit Tuesday afternoon and evening, local time, just a few miles West of the nation's capital of Port Au-Prince. It looks like almost every building in the city are heavily damaged-- most have collapsed. As I write, young girls, old men, women and children are trapped under tons of concrete and cinder block. They don't have much time to live. In their poverty and political instability, the country and citizens are ill-equipped to rescue loved ones and protect themselves from more disaster.

Right now is the time to act. The first 48-72 hours are the most crucial for rescue efforts. Our request is that you get involved. At the very least, you can support the rescue and relief efforts with your money. Both CRWRC and Partners Worldwide are active in Haiti, and CRWRC in particular has a disaster response team already at work. Please contact the CRWRC at

http://www.crcna.org/news.cfm?detailid=3556&newsid=1722

In Ghana, We Continue

Back in Accra, Renita and I are active in our worlds. Renita is currently teaching a week long, thirty-hour workshop for business coaches. She is test-driving the new 80 page Partners Worldwide business curriculum-- which she put together-- on a group from Hope Line Institute, a local NGO providing community and business development support to mstly women in the area. She meets everyday from 9am to 4pm with fourteen men and women who assist small and medium-sized businesses with loans. Up until now, training has not been part of their work. In fact, up until now, they have not known a lot about how to support the business men and women who receive their loans. They thought they did, yes, they thought so, until they spent their first day with Renita and the curriculum. She got their attention with her expertise on the subject, and the scales have been removed from their eyes. She's having a great time, and loves the in-house banter between the Ghanaians whenever a controversial subject is broached. Beyond this, she is learning as much as her students, as they talk about their lives and the various nuances of culture that make up the whole of Ghanaian culture.

Next week, I'll be heading North via Cote d' Ivoire to Bamako, Mali. I'll be there for nine days of meetings with CRWRC and CRWM (Christian Reformed World Relief Committee and World Missions, respectively). We have these meetings annually to bring all our teams together and address various issues. This year we are closely examining issues relating to the dangers of fostering dependence among the people we serve, and how we can avoid any sense of superiority or parental behavior. It is a hot topic. Can our "helping" sometimes hurt? If you've followed this blog at all, you already know what I think. I'll also be facilitating a conversation on how to best incorporate a "justice consciousness" into our work. The Reeds have been to Bamako before, in August 2006-- You may read all about it here:

http://reedsinliberia.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2006-08-01T00%3A00%3A00Z&updated-max=2006-09-01T00%3A00%3A00Z&max-results=33

I'll tell you more when I get there. In the meantime, please don't forget the people in the rubble of Haiti.

Blue Moon Perks

It is true that if one makes a decision to stand with people in poverty in far-away places, unpleasant experiences come along for the ride. Sometimes, to privileged senses, regions characterized by poverty are not only different, but uncomfortable and disturbing. It is the beauty of the humanity within poverty that draws us in, but we often share that beauty within the context of various forms of ugliness-- including in ourselves. When one adds that this activity happens thousands of miles from home over the course of years, we understand why some might think the work is too much to ask, even of people of faith. We understand why people would rather see pictures of family fun, enjoying canopy walks, singing happy birthday, making Christmas cookies. And truly, if our lives actually were forever up to our elbows in human misery and pain, it would probably be too much. But working in West Africa has its perks, so if the sadness and struggle were all we shared with you, we would not be painting an accurate image of our activities. And though we are not here on vacation, there are times when we get a day or two off and we get to simply be tourists in West Africa.

The last couple of weeks contained those off days and we took advantage of them. You’ve already seen some images of our trip to Kakum. Now, few more images of 1) our journey to Boti, one of Ghana’s many beautiful waterfalls, 2) Two nights in Eastern Ghana, at Ada Foah, sleeping on the beach under a Blue Moon, in a futile search for sea turtles laying their eggs, and 3) our kids enjoying a retreat at a beach resort to the west. Enjoy.

First stop, the Boti waterfalls. North and slightly East of Accra, near the Volta River. This is what the twins look like during the wet season...

...and this is what they look like now. It seems like a trickle, but the camera is a hundred yards or more from the falls. Looks to be about a hundred foot drop.



This gives a better idea of the scale of the canyon into which the falls empty. That's Hannah.

Another one of those magnificent Kapok trees.

A couple days later, we were off to Ada Foah, a town about an hour's drive down the beach. We took a little boat to our destination. As we traveled, we realized we were at the mouth of the Volta, and that the shores were covered with huts.

The whole area is made up of fishing villages-- villages that that have been here beyond memory. Currently, the fishing trade and the tourist trade live in harmony, and are even mutually beneficial. Can they be so forever?

The people live their lives around the fishing boats that sustain them. The boys learn to pilot a twenty foot boat before they are ten.

Cleaning nets on the ocean side.

This is where we stayed over two nights. Our hope was to encounter one of the many large sea turtles that come up on the ocean beach to lay their eggs. We enlisted a guide from an NGO that works with the government to protect the turtles from poachers. He and his American volunteer ride up and down the beaches until 3:00am making sure they are safe. There had been turtles the night before, he said, so we thought we would certainly see them during our stay. He would come and get us when he saw them.

A lovely evening, just Renita and I-- the kids were at a retreat-- enjoying the river side of the camp.

This young man came by, dropped his traps, and in a few hours, picked them up. I imagine this is his life's work. I can't figure out if I feel sorry or envious. That night, we slept on the beach under a Blue Moon-- a New Year's Eve Moon, and waited for the turtles to come.

We were disappointed both nights we stayed. At about six, while my dear wife slept, the armada of fishing boats left, as if on cue. You can make them out in the distance; we saw twenty or so pass by our little camp site.

This is what we missed: Lepidochelys olivacea. The Olive Ridley sea turtle. At about a hundred pounds, the smallest of the giants, but still the sight of a lifetime for me. I hope I can return.

This is why they come on shore, and risk their lives. They dig all night, sometimes even making fake nests, to lay their eggs. Dogs dig up most. The day after we got home, our guide called to say that the next night, there were six on the beach in our area.

Hannah and Noah were having their own good time at a church retreat. Here, Noah looks on as one of the counselors eats baby food. Its what they do for fun at church retreats.

Hannah at the beach during Free Time. Sometimes those waves knocked the kids off the rocks. More retreat fun!

Weather: Accra weather has been consistently hot and dry, with moderate humidity. Daytime temps remain to the low to mid 90sF almost everyday, down to around 80F at night. We get a light breeze-- around 10mph most of the day. No rain.

In Case You Missed the Memo

Suspending Our Fear of Heights

Twas the Week Before Christmas and All Through the Canopy...

The kids are on Christmas break and even though Renita and I have daily duties, we didn't allow that to stop us last Thursday. Renita asked for an unusual birthday present-- she wanted to be serenaded to in the clouds by those most dear to her. She had to settle for the three of us and Noah's friend chortling out "Happy Birthday" at tree-top level, but it was the best we could muster.

At 6:30am, we headed off for Kakum National Park, a rainforest preserve in southern Ghana. It took us two hours to get through Accra, and an hour and a half to get the rest of the way on very good roads. The 370 square kilo park is the home of rainforest elephants, leopards, crocodiles, pangolins, monkeys, hundreds of bird species and much more. It also offers an attraction unique in Africa and famous world-wide-- a 350 meter rope bridge, suspended 40 meters (130 feet) above the forest floor. The bridges are anchored to trees that towered another 30-40 feet above us, the majestic kapok, or silk-cotton tree.

Kakum National Park is a well developed and maintained place, with professional managers and guides, as well as a nice cafe, museum and gift shop. There are trails and even places for tent camping, but it is the canopy walk that draws tourists in from all over the world. As for Yers Trooly, I had mixed feelings about the excursion. On the one hand, I wanted Renita to have a great birthday, and I love getting out into nature anytime. On the other hand, the rainforest canopy is an incredibly humid place by 11:00am, and a rope walkway requires some effort, especially for a fat 55 year old. Not only that, the walkway itself is very narrow, and one never forgets that one is swaying twelve stories above the ground. I mean, as I tipped and tilted, squeezing along the walkway, I was looking down on the tops of 90 percent of the trees below. The pic to the left gives you an idea of the view down.

Anyway, we walked the canopy, and it was lovely in spite of how tired it made me. The highlight of course was being able to grant Renita's wish, and sing to her while in the canopy. Hannah caught it on video, and if you are a brave soul, it exists for your viewing pleasure below. It was clear we were only getting a bare introduction to the park. The area demands to be explored at length, and with the Cape Coast and Elmina castles nearby, one could easily spend weeks immersed in this part of Ghana's history, geography, zoology, and botany.

We left in time to visit a local restaurant that served up crocodile-- not on the menu, but alive on the patio. They'd come up out of the pond that almost surrounded the restaurant and the waiters would toss them some chicken. Real touristy, but they are beautiful in the water. We left the area by 3:00pm, made good time until we hit Accra, and covered the remaining 10 miles in two and a half hours.

A stretch of the Kakum National Park Canopy Walk, with a supporting Kapok tree in the middle.

Looking out at the forest from the canopy walk. Really beautiful. Most of these trees are about 60 feet tall, or about 20 meters. Notice how the Kapoks dwarf them.


Our Birthday Gal.

A good view of that narrow walk, with Noah and pal Philip trying to make it rock.


Hannah, Yers Trooly starting on another section of the walk, with Noah and Philip behind on the platform. Love those platforms!

Yers, lumbering, puffing, and oofing his way across. You use your arms and shoulders as much as your legs to make your way.

One of the crocs at the restaurant. Bread brought fish, fish brought the croc. Note the nostrils on top of the snout.


Noah and his new friend. I know, I know, its a touristy pic. But we were tourists. And the croc was real, and alive.

A beautiful animal.


On the way out, a glimpse of Cape Coast Castle. Built by the Swedish around 1655, it was seized by the Danes in 1663, then by the British in 1664. Initially it was used for general trade with various local groups, but eventually became a central location for trafficking thousands of men, women and children as slaves. In 1844, it became the seat of British colonial rule.

Captured on Film: Human Ceremonial Chortling

Matriarch and fam 120 feet up in the Ghana rainforest, Kakum National Park. (Note Patriarch climbing the rope "Stair of Testing" to offer worship.)

.

.

.

Spending Season

Both Renita and I have been getting a fairly regular stream of gloomy financial news from our respective home offices for about six months now, and after cutting and reducing, there may even need to be personnel layoffs. It’s a sign of the times, but as hard as we get hit personally, we are ok. We are grateful for past tough times that have convinced us without doubt where real security lies. Living in West Africa also helps keep things in perspective, and we have good support from co-laborers who sometimes have a way of saying things that clarify and give courage. What follows is from Renita:

Every Tuesday morning, I join the rest of the LEAD team on the phone, and for a half hour all we do is pray together on a Skype call joining folks from the US, Liberia and Ghana. David Graf is the leader of this call and has been part of LEAD Grand Rapids since the beginning. He is passionate about prayer and has pushed us to pray regularly as a team (for those of you who know David, you know what this means - cajoling, demanding, pleading, imploring, whining, teasing:-).) The time has become precious and dear to those of us who regularly call in.

Yesterday morning our list of prayer requests (which we receive every Monday) included praying for the children in Liberia. UNICEF tells us one in every nine will die before the age of five, that 40% of kids are stunted in their growth due to malnutrition, that one in three young women between the age of 15-19 has a child, and one in seven of those children will die within the first year. We also had some specific medical concerns for persons with whom we work in Liberia. All in all, some pretty sobering prayer requests.

Then we prayed about the loss of Christmas, a season that once celebrated the free gift that we have received, forgiveness, grace, salvation -- and has become a time when we overspend, overeat, over consume. While Christian humanitarian organizations have to cut back, and the children they serve continue to struggle without basic nourishment, millions of relatively wealthy Christians carve out another obliviously happy moment of family excess. Even in West Africa, the season ruins our priorities. The streets are filled with plastic toys that will break after a few days; we marvel at how much people go into debt over this season even in ultra poor Liberia, a place where men are ashamed to go home because they don't have their children or spouse's “Christmas.” Another incongruent picture. Stark needs. Innocents dying. Stark waste. Insane priorities.

So we prayed. And as we prayed, David said something that spoke very powerfully to me: "Father, give us the courage of Abraham, to walk up the mountain with nothing to sacrifice but our own."

Initially, not very comforting words. Abraham, the Hebrew patriarch, was a very wealthy man. For years, he had no children, and then, miraculously, God granted him a son, Isaac. Isaac would inherit Abraham's wealth and carry the promise God had given Abraham into the next generation. Isaac was Abraham’s Treasure. And then, God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on a mountain alter. Think about that... this man of great wealth, this patriarch of all, so close to God... walking up the mountain, with nothing to sacrifice except his very own, his only son, in whom he had placed his entire future. (Of course, God was only testing Abe-- Isaac was spared. But that's a another blog.) Suddenly there came the realization for me that despite my initial reaction to David’s prayer, I found great comfort there. Life has always really been simple when I remove the distraction. Life is about allegiance and obedience to the only One who offers true security. I can't control what other people spend, how others treat Christmas, what people give or keep for themselves. In the end, I need to walk up the mountain with my sacrifice. In the end, it’s about spending my treasure on the Word of Love. If I’m doing that, nothing else matters.