sedativegunk

Akwabaa (“welcome” in the local Ghanaian dialect)

Humjibre is a small remote village of 3000 people located about an 9 hour drive from Accra. Upon arrival we are greeted warmly by the locals. This place doesnt get many outside visitors as it is far from anything remotely touristy, so you can imagine what kind of curiousity we are for the local people, particularly the children who may never have seen a white person before.

The climate here is tropical and green. Insulated in the cocoon of an air conditioned bus for the better part of the day, our bodies are shocked, then quickly drenched by the humidity. And while the heat gives the locals a healthy glow, we foreigners look overexerted and ready to drown in our own fluids within minutes of debarking the bus.

Our late arrival meant that we sit down to eat after dark. Peace is our cook. She has been hired by Habitat for Humanity here in Ghana to ensure we are well taken care of. Our first meal: speghetti with a little fresh pineapple for dessert. Our meal is excellent and serenaded by the sounds of overexcited children off in the distance, still wound up by our arrival.

For sleeping arrangements, we volunteers are put up in Habitat houses that have not yet been occupied. The houses have very basic electricity, pit toilets and no running water. We would quickly be initiated in the time tested tradition of the bucket shower which, after a days work in the oppressive heat, we would discover is remarkably satisfying.

Adjuma (“work” in local speak)

5:00 AM – that is the time the loudspeaker proclaimed it was time to get up. Im used to waking to the sound of roosters on African mornings. Ive woken to the sound of traffic blasting horns in Indian cities. But a loudspeaker??? We find out later that the loudspeaker and the sultry voice of Brother Love (as we affectionately call him) is Humjibre’s version of a radio station and that it is the communities main source of information.

Our first day on the job was in a word, difficult. At first we chalked it up to our bodies not being acclimatized to the heat, but by the end of the day we came to realize that the locals were also suffering in 30C heat and high humidity. A word about our team: with an average age of over 40 and 4 people aged 60 or more (the oldest is 73!), it is easily the oldest Habitat team I have been on. But age is no determinant of ability, strength or will to get the work done on this site. Everyone on this team is tough and committed, and it is truly inspiring to see. My first day, I was assigned the job of mixing and moving mortar with a local guy who was inexhaustable. I drank five 1.5 litre bottles of water the first day alone. That evening a number of us found a local “club” to quaff a well deserved beer while being bathed in the local hip-hop, high life and reggae music known in this part of the world.