Kill the Schisto

One of the challenges that people have here in Ghana is infectious disease. This becomes especially prevelant when you introduce water into the equation. Whether it's drinking, washing, or peeing, all of it requires a sanitary place, hygienic processes, and some common sense in addition to water to make them happen. Many Ghanaians (and even the obrunies - that means white people/foreigners) either don't know, don't care, or take for granted that just because there's water around, it doesn't make it good for the above tasks.

The most prevalent of these diseases (behind malaria) is a little bugger called schistosomiasis (aka bilharzia). What is schisto...I don't know how to pronunce the rest? Shis-toh-soh-mi-uh-sis is actually a parasite that comes from a snail that has been introduced to infected poo or pee (see graphic below - it's kind of a chicken and the egg thing). That means a guy with schisto decides to go to the bathroom in the lake, snail absorbs human waste, parasite is released from snail, and infects water around it. You come to stand in the water/gather drinking water/wash your clothes or body and presto; you're now infected! All you have to do is touch the water, the rest is done through the skin. After a few days/weeks, now you have anything from a tummy ache to diarrhea to blood in your urine/poo to distended bellies due to schisto worms. Sweet!

So, how does one get rid of schisto? Simple: 1) take some praziquantal and 2) don't reinfect yourself. Number 2 is always the hardest to teach because it requires cultural change. What if it's just easier to get water from the lake shore rather than paddle out into moving water in the middle of the lake (where the snails don't live)? After all, it's not affecting how well I can plant my yams and sell them. Here in lies the challenge.

On March 15th, we'll be talking with a lot of big wigs (Ghana Ministry of Health and World Health Organization) to tackle this issue especially in the villages that don't have access to roads (let alone hospitals). Stay tuned for more Ghana health education action!

Welcome to My World

After settling in a little bit, it's time to get to work.  My vocation has turned from IT security specialist to logistics, project management, and general administration.  There are a ton of moving parts around the airfield from water to fuel to materials that need to be coordinated in order for everything to come together.  As a result, I need to be organized and on top of things (some of which I'm still learning).  To give you a better idea, let me have you take a peek into my world.

Let's start at the desk.  I have to admit, this is not a typical desk.  Coming from my prior house, I wanted to bring a lot of my little toys to make life easier.  I also have to protect these things from dust since it's the dry season.  Here I take care of all the finances (cash flow, taxes, payroll, etc.), plan MoM missions, keep track of projects (e.g., building construction), and other general administrative tasks.

I also have peers and people who work for me to make things happen around the airfield.  Jonathan (aka Captain Yaw) is the MoM visionary as well as the resident Ghana guru as far as knowing the method in which things get done around here (e.g., construction, mowing, maintenance, etc.).  He is also a pilot and engineer by trade.  Then, I have my workers: Mr. Solo, Le Le, Ben (not pictured), and the masons.  These guys together take care of all the construction and ground maintenance.

Another colleague is Patricia.  She is the lead for the AvTech school (you can read about them here) as well as an accomplished pilot (the first African female pilot in Ghana).  While she and the AvTech girls are not under my direction, I have to highlight them and all that they do (cleaning, cooking, washing, and even technical things like generator and aircraft maintenance).

In addition to all this, Michaela and I are starting to get into a special project with the Ghana Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization (WHO), and other local universities/specialized teams to battle a disease called Schistosomiasis (aka Bilharzia).  I will blog more on that in the next installment.  You can also find some more information on Schisto on the MoM blog.  Until next time though, I hope you enjoyed reading and please, please, please leave notes below with any questions or comments you may have!

The Accommodations and Harmattan

So, I told you guys that there have been some changes to the airfield in my last blog. Holy poo...have there been changes. In the last 5 weeks, the bungalows have gone from foundation to roof (they still need the plaster and inerds). Both Michaela and I are really looking forward to our new house. Also, realize that we have another bungalow attached to ours that will be a mini clinic and training room. The training room will also be a quasi-entertainment room hopefully. That's another thing I'm looking forward to because I'll be the one setting it up with learning machines and hopefully an area for an xbox!

For now though, we've taken shelter in a bedroom in one of the existing bungalows until our house is up and running. Despite being just one room, it has plenty of space and a dedicated bathroom. I'm still getting used to the temporary bucket baths and the "one flush" toilets (more on that one later). Boris is also finding his home there and even has a new spot behind the laundry basket.

The last thing I'll mention is the stunning picture of the landscape caused by something called harmattan. I've enclosed two before and after pictures (you may have seen these in Michaela's post on the MoM blog). For those who are not Ghanaian, there are two seasons here near the equator: dry and rainy. The dry season is called harmattan and throws up a ton of dust in the air from the north. It truly is a sight.

Stay tuned for some new stories!

The Adventure Begins

Well, after a couple SNAFU moments and 10.5 hours of flight time, we've finally made it.  We took an Airbus A330 from Atlanta around 9:30 at Saturday night (2/4/2012) and arrived in Accra, Ghana around 1:00 PM Sunday afternoon.  Aside from our original flight being cancelled 4 hours before we were supposed to leave, the trip itself was surprisingly uneventful.  Boris (our cat) was a little bit of a whiner, but he was drowned out by the crying baby.  When we landed in Accra, we took the obligatory jaunt through immigration where our mug shot and electronic finger prints were taken (we thought that would be the easy part).  After that we got our checked luggage and prepared ourselves for some bartering and bribing in customs.  Much to our surprise, the line kept moving and we were never stopped.  Well, I guess all that time, stress, and money spent on Boris' health paper work and import permit were unnecessary.  Oh well...at least we were prepared.

After a quick greeting from an old friend (thanks Dad Owen),  we loaded the luggage into the car and made our way to Kpong Airfield.  The rest of our day was basically spent letting our eyes soak in all the changes since our initial trip 9 months ago (more on that in the next installment) and synching up on all that we have coming up during the next week (it will be busy).  We ended the night unloaded our stuff, found some dinner, and hit the sack after a long day.

We've got consistent internet now, so look for more posts to come soon!  Also, see the comments section below.  I welcome any feedback or questions you may have!

1 Week to Go

Hello all,

My life in about 240 lbs.

Welcome to the Ben Sholes Ghana Blog. The purpose of this guy is to give those in the states (and abroad) an idea of what it's like for a day in the life of Ben Sholes as I get prepared and start rocking and rolling in Ghana. Please leave some comments in the forum space below the blog for things you may want to see or questions you may have. The overall goal is to keep you guys informed and entertained as much as possible.






Let's start with the preparation:

As you can see, when you move this far overseas, you kinda have to liquidate everything. What you observe in the picture above is the entirety of the possessions and resources I will have once I land. That's right...all I have is a backpack, suitcase, and two thirty gallon tubs at no more than 50lbs each. The rest I'll have to leave behind. While one might find this stressful (and in a way it is), it's also very...cleansing. It was a great excuse to just "get rid of the junk". I found it a bit liberating.

One of the other major adjustments I'll have to "endure" (I'm actually looking forward a bit to this part) is my new office: While I can appreciate a nice ergonomic chair and blazing fast internet connection, I think the new office will be a nice change of pace and scenery. I'll also have the opportunity to work toward a pilot's license (at least for the small aircraft we have) - pretty exciting. Well, I'll cut it off here for now. Stay tuned for D-Day (departure day, silly) and more updates on living situation.

The old

The new

Until next time...