Mike in Ghana with VSO

Mike's assignment with VSO working in Organisational Development (OD)

Friday, January 1, 2010

What to pack

I put this onto a VSO  community site, but have been asked about luggage by other volunteers going to Ghana or other places in Africa, so here it is on my blog:

Extract from an email to a volunteer heading for Ghana - questions about what to take.


Some of this is Africa-specific, or specific to warm countries anyway, but posted here in case it's of interest. ..................

1) Is there anything you wish you had taken and didn't?

(1) A long list – we have a very definite measure for this because I was coming back to the UK briefly for family reasons after 2 months out in Ghana and came back to UK with a shopping list! Let me pick out a few highlights – either things we glad we brought, or added in the second trip out.

FOOD Things to spread on bread – e.g. marmite, jam, peanut butter, vacuum-packed hard cheese, or whatever is your favourite that will travel. Treats – sweets, cereal bars.(Either decide to give up cereal, or bring some out to start with – you can buy it in Accra but very expensive)

SOUPS and SAUCES

– packet mixes of the ‘just add water’ variety. Tin-openers and bottle-openers

OLD COMFORTABLE SHOES

A few weeks walking on Ghanaian roads paths and tracks seems to deteriorate shoes – I have brought well-worn UK shoes that are still comfortable and have assumed they will all be wrecked during time in Ghana.

THE GO-EVERYWHERE KIT

We try to make sure that we always have: torch, mosquito repellent, wipes/toilet-paper, hand-sanitiser, on the basis that we may be out of the house longer than we expect.

TRAVEL

I find an inflatable cushion and a small towel handy for long journeys on public transport (e.g. your first bus-ride up North). Travel-wash liquid & clothes pegs have been handy (helped to travel light on short trips away).

CHEMIST

Favourite toiletries and medications of course. We also brought out a DIY-tooth-filling kit from Boots.

AUDIO/ COMPUTING

Something to play music in the house.

ALSO - I wish I had taken an MP3 player and some audio-books as I ended up doing a number of 14-hour coach journeys to and from Accra for various reasons.

People who can get BBC World Service on short-wave radio enjoy this.

Portable hard drive to back up your computer files, and Kensington lock if you’re ever going to take your laptop out of the house (some don’t)I’m experimenting with a “laptop cooler”. I also used a spare mosquito net in order to use the laptop “under the net” in the evenings to keep the insects away.4-gang surge-protector extension-lead - many electrical sockets are quite dodgy, and I always plug my equipment just into my own extension lead, and then plug that into the wall - so that if anything gets broken trying to get it out of a tight wall socket, it's a replaceable extension-lead rather than (say) my laptop charger.

TOOLS

I was glad I brought basic bike tools, e.g. bike pump, and one or two others – hammer, hacksaw, adjustable spanner – but having said that there are plenty of people who will fix a bike problem for one or two cedis (less than a pound ). I have knocked plenty of nails (can be bought locally) into doorframes and shelves to hang things on, but late on brought out some cup-hooks which I’ve not seen in Ghana.

PHONE HANDSET (unlocked) For family calls we have been glad to have had a speaker capability on the phone

CASH & BANK CARDS

Not as easy to change cash as you might imagine, but it can be done. Most towns that have ATMs seem to have at least one ATM that works with foreign bank cards (if you have any money in a UK account, that is!). Getting Ghana bank account set up takes a while, though VSO provided us with first 3 months salary in cash.

STATIONERY

If you want pens, pads etc to do your job, it can probably all be bought locally, but you may want to bring out what you need if that makes a difference to you.

ENTERTAINMENT - BOOKS AND FILMS (DVDS)

Another reason for the laptop is to watch a film in the evening if you bring DVDs. We have been surprised that we haven’t found time for reading though. There is a small collection of various books to borrow in the VSO office in Bolga. You may want to bring pack of cards , book or crosswords or Su Dokus, or whatever you fancy.

2) Is there anything you took and didn't need? Very conscious of my luggage allowance!

(2) A common outcome, but I think we brought too many clothes. We quickly found what works well for us, wore that all the time and didn’t touch the other things so much. In my case this was cargo pants and a short-sleeved cotton casual-but-smartish shirt – in Charlotte’s it was an elasticated sundress, with a wrap for her shoulders when required, or ¾ length trousers and T-shirt. I did try the tip of “bring out a pair of trousers that fits you and have another pair made up locally”, but I’ve lost weight out in Ghana so that original made-up pair now don’t fit! We’ve found you do occasionally need to be business-smart (e.g. suit in my case) but not very often.

We brought out “solar showers” from the Outdoor shop – hang up a bag of water in the sun and after a few hours you can have a warm (or even hot) shower underneath. Finding we were in a house with showers we gave away the solar showers we had brought out, and they were popular gifts. (Though in fact I think we’d get warmer showers if we used them.). Everyone’s water situation (when it’s on, how strong the flow is etc) seems to be different, but a common factor is that the water is just a single temperature – basically cold, but can be warming up by the end of the day.
 
Hope that helps!
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The different paths to our VSO placements

THE PATH TO CHARLOTTES PLACEMENT

Jan 2009 - With 2 younger children still at university, Charlotte & I apply for short-term work with VSO. Both turned down - I think they aren't taking people short-term unless they have development experience.
(For more insights, see MORE INSIGHTS below).

Feb 2009 - Charlotte offers to go long-term and her application is reconsidered. I will be able to be more flexible (e.g. travel back to UK) if I am her Accompanying Partner (i.e. not volunteering).

April 2009 - Assessment Day, and Charlotte is accepted.

May 2009 - I start to wind down client work, because there is much to be done before we can go overseas.

June 2009 - Preparing to Volunteer course, for both of us.

Charlotte accepts placement in Northern Ghana. We have decided that I will go out with Charlotte to begin with before returning to UK after some weeks abroad.

July 2009 - Skills for Working in Development course for Charlotte.

August 2009 - Family holiday for 9 (Mike, Charlotte, Tom, Sarah, Peter, Abi, Anna, Daniel and Kate) in Normandy.

Sept 2009 - Anna's 21st party - we couldn't go abroad until after this.
The most common question in September is "Mike, how long are you going out for?" The answer is "I don't know - will decide that when we're out there". Final preparations and off to Ghana. Very busy getting ready to go, but when I'm out there I expect to have plenty of free time for a few weeks...
_______________________________

THE PATH TO MY PLACEMENT

Sept 2009 Day 2 of In-Country Training - I volunteer to assist VSO Ghana with Organisation Development. For more details, see blog over Oct-Nov 2009. I can't claim any expenses, but volunteers are very gracious at inviting me to stay overnight.

Dec 2009-Jan 2010 Back home, collect Anna and Daniel from university, back out to Ghana for 2 weeks over Christmas (see Charlotte's blog), take them back to university.

Jan 2010. Skills for Working in Development course for me.
Start official placement as Organisational Development Adviser.

So one irony is that I have ended up with exactly what I applied for - a short-term volunteer placement that doesn't clash with university holidays. (Business and Trustee commitments would also have prevented me coming out for 12 months).

The other irony is that I thought it unlikely that Charlotte & I would find work in the same place - she was likely to be in a remote deprived area like Northern Ghana, and I was likely to have a national role given my skills. But now I have a national role, based in the deprived North where most of the volunteers are, which is much better for supporting them than back in Accra, the capital city down South on the coast.
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MORE INSIGHTS - are available here (from our church website in Jan 2010)

What’s In, What’s Out.

The Shenley Christian Fellowship blog gives the opportunity for people in the fellowship to share what’s on their mind with a wider audience. This blog entry comes from Mike Cashman who is an SCF Trustee as Head of Finance.

I’ve just seen a burnt area of semi-forest in the Mole National Park in Ghana. The park ranger explained that fresh grass grows a few weeks later, strong and nutritious, and attracts the wild animals.

What does this have to do with the New Year, the call of Abraham, and being a husband, father, Christian, church member, and professional roles as well? Well, let’s see….

In September 2008 our Church Leader Chris Doig preached on Genesis 12:1, the call of Abraham which came when Abraham was comfortable and settled in Haran – Abraham heard God’s call and left his comfort zone. Later Abraham made a move to Egypt which appears to have been his own idea, and that didn’t work out too well. So - sometimes God calls us to move, and sometimes he calls us to stay, and it’s good to discern which way he is calling. In September 2009, after reflecting on this message, Charlotte (my wife) and I found ourselves in Ghana with Voluntary Service Overseas. Definitely out of the comfort zone.

We can apply this message about God’s call beyond physical movement. Sometimes we need to keep on doing what we’re doing – using the gifts he gave us in our various roles, e.g. Christian, husband, father, church member, professional roles, and indeed our roles in social, community and leisure activities (e.g. gardener, goal-keeper, unofficial agony aunt, devotee of our favourite TV series or soap opera). It may be a juggling act or a plate-spinning exercise, but we feel we are just about managing to fulfil each role. But sometimes there are things that just need to be removed from our lives – not to say they’re wrong, but they just need to go to make space for new growth. I’m not referring to temporary disciplines like giving up chocolate or TV for a while – I mean cutting something right out of your life. Sometimes a friendship is one that no longer benefits either party. (I hasten to add that I have no-one in mind personally as I write this!) Maybe that solo sporting hobby which dates from your unmarried life needs to make way for hobbies which involve the family more.

Our change was a little radical. We both removed many professional and community roles from our lives, trying to do this in an orderly fashion. For Charlotte this included teacher, parish councillor, magistrate, chair of Loughton Residents’ Association, school governor, school governor trainer. What Charlotte found hardest to give up was home and face-to-face contact with friends and family. What else had to go, at least for a while? TV, sweet things in general, newspapers, car-driving, on-tap hot water, to name a few. (Not as many as we feared – we’re glad that much of the time we have running water, internet, email and phone contact). But in working out how we would follow a call to Ghana, some things were the rocks of certainty – for example I would still be a Christian, still a husband, still a dad, still a Church member, but no longer do I swell the viewing figures for ‘Match of the Day’.

January – the month which for the Romans was the month that looked forwards and backwards – is not the only time we can assess this question, but it’s a good time to do it. What is in your life? What perhaps is worth taking right out, even if that is painful, to make space for fresh growth? What might God be calling you to do which is completely new? What fresh growth could occur when there is space for it? Or – as you look at how you are fulfilling the various roles God called you to, do you feel his pleasure and encouragement to continue on the same path?

Mike Cashman is an independent programme management consultant based in Milton Keynes, currently assisting with organizational development in Ghana on a short-term basis. He is married to Charlotte, who is the VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas) Teacher Support Officer in Walewale, Northern Ghana. Mike and Charlotte have four children and two daughters-in-law, aged between 19-26.