Visiting the slums

Last week was by far the most mentally exhausting. During my internship last Monday, Maria (my supervisor), Fifi, and I drove to 2 schools located in the Accra area. At the first school we spoke to Frank and told him about the girl we are sponsoring to attend his school. When we visit these schools we're instructed not to say we are from the West African AIDS Foundation, but rather the International Health Care Center, so as to avoid any stigma or discrimination towards the kids. When I was told this on the ride there they told me of times in the past when school administrators found out that some of the kids we sponsor are HIV positive, or even just associated with an AIDS foundation, and immediately kicked them out, or created restrictions on their activities and interactions with the other children. It was crazy to me that there could be so much hostility directed at a child that, by no act of their own, had contracted the disease. It's as if the mistakes, or even similar situations, of their parents were a determinant for how they would be treated. After the first visit we travelled to the second school. It's so interesting getting from place to place here because all of these locations rarely have an address. Most organizations, schools, houses, etc are denoted by a P.O. Box and a neighborhood region, which tells you little to nothing about where it is. The process of finding these schools is usually driving to the region and then asking various people where the school is, often getting completely different directions from different people. Yikes.

On Thursday, Maria, Fifi and I drove across town to visit an Islamic school located in Zongo, which is the predominantely Muslim slum in Accra. The school was in the middle of the slum, so we walked through nearly the entire thing to reach it, seeing all the houses, people, and little shops. I have never seen poverty like that, even in Ghana. It amazed me how most of the houses were seperated by only half a foot of space, each house approximately the size of my bedroom, but housing around 10 people. No electricity, no running water, and communal bathrooms that act as a breeding ground for disease and harassment. And the people all looked so happy. The children here are amazing in the way they seem to be able to ignore so many circumstances and find ways to just be children. They play soccer with rolled up socks, play games I would never have been creative enough to make up, and run around the smallest and most confined areas as if they were wide open fields. I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of the kids living in these slums are happier than many of the children in the US, who have access to nearly everything they need. It's just a completely different emphasis in life, and materials are just so immaterial.
At the school we met Luwisatu, who is a very shy girl who hid behind the legs of her mother as she spoke to me about what she likes to do in school. I told her that I would be visiting her at school every couple of weeks to hang out, see how school is going, make sure she has everything she needs, and to talk to her teachers about her progress. She said almost nothing as I talked to her, but when I left she ran up and gave me a huge hug, and smiled and waved as I left. I don't really know how to describe what that feels like.

We visited another slum a few miles away that I think is referred to as Adabraker. We met with Sadik, who lost both of his parents to AIDS and is now living with his aunt and his 9 cousins. There were 12 people living in his house, so he spends the majority of his time hanging out with his friends on the makeshift soccer field and fixing electronics. He has never liked school, and as of late hasn't been putting in the necessary energy for the organization to feel good about investing in him. I sat and talked to him about what he likes to do outside of school, and he said he loves fixing computers and televisions, etc. We then spoke to his aunt, who said he was acting up around the house and refusing to eat the food she makes. We told Sadik that it's completely fine that he wants to work in electronics, but that he has very little future in it if he doesn't at least have his basic degree. As somewhat of an incentive, he was told that if he can keep his grades up until he graduates in 4 years, the organization would consider paying for his technical school so he could be a certified electronic repairman. We got little response from his as well, but so it's always hard to know how much you're getting through to someone.

I think I really lucked out with this internship. I had no idea what I was getting into, but after hearing about how other people in my program are writing grants, doing data entry, or aren't given any actual tasks, I think I'm spending my time in the best possible way.