post Ghana

New photos at bottom and along side.
The most popular man in Ghana is, without a doubt, Barack Obama.Every one asks about him the minute they see us. We stand out because those of us who are white are the only white people any where we go in the country. There are huge billboards along every road with pictures of Obama, many depict him beside a local, or at least a Ghanaian, politician. Any connection with Obama will bring them votes.
The Ghanaian people are friendly and gracious to us everywhere.They want to talk with us and get to know us. They are all happy that we have come to their country. Everyone on the ship was treated well where ever they went in Ghana.
Their teeth are stark white and shinning and perfect--far better than our own. They all brush their teeth with the bark of a particular tree that is cut into a brush-like shape. Apparently this bark has medicinal powers for teeth. I can't believe no one has yet cut downall of these trees and shipped them to Europe and America--we seem to have striped the land of everything else for our own benefit. Don't tell anyone so maybe they can keep their teeth brushing trees. We all wish these warm and friendly people the very best.
In spite of companies such as Nestle having factories here, most people are unemployed or earning less than they need to live on. Some guides quoted unemployment at 50% We could see for ourselves that it was very high. It costs $60 a month for an apartment in Accra, but most people can't afford it because they have to pay two years in advance before they can move in. So many sleep on the ground in front of their small shops. Many shops are too small to get into to sleep.
Street hawking is illegal--which makes all of us laugh because there are hundreds of people on the sides of the road who run into the street selling anything you can think of. Imagine emptying out a whole Walmart (one with a grocery store) and putting item by item, each product piled high on someones head for them to carry out to the street to sell. Just to be clear there are no Walmart Stores in Ghana--no big stores of any kind. The business are small ones in small sheds, too small to enter, that sell one thing (often stacked in front of the shop)for example, chairs,all alike, beds, all hand-made and all alike, limes only, bananas only, cinder blocks only. cement only, used tires, chocolate candy,plantain chips...
I find it hard to understand why there are so many cars in such a poor country. There are taxis, vans, many mopeds, small motorcycles, some bicycles, trucks... Most people walk. So you get the idea of how many people live here--millions.The sides of the roads and the cities are teeming with masses of people walking, many with loads on their heads, lots selling the items on their heads, but others just going home with stuff on their head. The women wear long skirts, and some wear long slacks, men mostly wear long pants, children all wear school uniforms and look neat (as in clean and tidy). There are many private church-related schools, but some public schools which also require uniforms. The public schools are not comparable to the private schools. Illiteracy is high, I don't have a percentage. All babies and toddlers are carried, mostly by woman and mostly on their backs in cloth. The children everywhere run up to us and want to talk with us, love the cameras and love to pose, and are delighted to look at the camera and see a picture of themselves. Fortunately for us the official language of Ghana is still English (because it was part of the British Empire until 1957) so we have no troublespeaking with people. All of these people speak their own ethnic language at home, and most speak several local languages.
Religion in Ghana is visible everywhere. The majority of people(60% or more) are Christan--mostly evangelical, fundamental. The missionaries have done their work. They were even here, living in the castles housing slaves packed into dungeons, holding services while inhuman practices were going on around them. The tiny shops along the roads have names such as, "Jesus Saves" Tires, "Psalm 24" Tomatoes,"God Loves You" Cement, etc.. There are many church-related schools,Methodist, LDS, Jehovah's Witness, Anglican...I saw many of them with all of their students in uniforms. Muslims are about 16%, Catholics are here. The main thing is that religious freedom reigns in Ghana, individuals here choose to participate in whatever church they want. And almost everyone chooses to belong to a church. The churches seem to be as poor as the people. No grand cathedrals or huge, beautiful mosques (as in Casablanca) here.