Ghana - Winneba

The first day we arrived in Ghana I travelled to the city of Winneba with my friend Haley, about 50 other students and several SAS faculty. Winneba is about 3 hours away from Takoradi, the city where we were docked. When we arrived we were greeted by the political and cultural leaders of the city. Ghana is set up on a parliamentary system in which there are ministers and other officials to oversee individual areas of land. However, traditional chiefs also still hold a lot of power. There is an entirely separate governing system in each town or city made up of traditional leaders and elders who hold an enormous amount of cultural and political power. After being welcomed by both bodies we had a delicious dinner of chicken, rice and plantains. That evening we were invited to visit one of the campuses of the University of Education, based in Winneba. We were welcomed by several members of the faculty and student government at the university along with other Ghanaian students who had come. We received several speeches and musical performances. After the official welcome we were able to talk to the students before we left. Everyone was so friendly and hospitable, it was amazing. The next morning we visited the music department at the University of Education. A large part of Ghanaian culture focuses around formal ceremonies of welcome in order to extend their hospitality to guests so we listened to several more speeches welcoming us and telling how happy the faculty and students were to have us here. We then were lucky enough to have several student performances. We were also invited to dance and the students were more than happy to show us the steps. The dance was called a high life, which my partner, Festus, explained to me was a popular Ghanaian dance based on more traditional dances but had been changed to suit the more modern times. We were able to talk to the music students and I met one student called Sarfo who was involved in student government and hoped one day to come to America. I also met a student named Kenneth, who played the violin (like me) so we were able to talk about playing. He told me that as part of his training he had to learn to completely take apart his instrument and reassemble it because classical instruments were so rare in Ghana. Before leaving Winneba we were also visited by the minister representing Winneba in the Ghanaian parliament. He told us about politics, land use and health care in Ghana. The government is pushing for sustainability in both rural and urban Ghana but oil is also a big factor and often wins out over more environmental concerns. The government also wants to encourage business and foreign investment. Health care is a new issue in Ghana. A new program was recently implemented that provides free or reduced health care for certain people who qualify. The elderly, disabled, disadvantaged or abandoned qualify to receive health care while others still have to pay. There are many technologically advanced hospitals in Ghana but sanitation is still a problem and most rural communities don't have basic coverage or clinics. The majority of Ghanaians use natural medicine in conjunction with drugs and modern doctors. To be continued...