The Ghana Life
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Arjun
29 Juli 2014 | Ghana, Koforidua
Wo he te sen? (How are you?)
So another week in Ghana has gone by already...
First a project update:
While we were busy finding new suppliers for the bottles, we have found a better way of selling liquid soap. We are going to focus on gallons of soap instead of smaller 250ml bottles. Producing and selling gallons of soap will be more profitable since there is a good demand and the costs are lower.
Last week I made a new calculation sheet and went to town to get the ingredients. One day later.. and the people from Salom Village managed to produce eight gallons. We are selling it below the market price and therefore we can sell the gallons easily. Today we sold the last two gallons and we will start to produce a bigger batch tomorrow. One hour ago I checked all the numbers and we have made a profit of 48 GHC. We are very excited and we will make sure that the project will stay profitable from now on.
Currently we are setting up a business workshop for the people from the villages. The workshop has to learn the people the basic principles of doing business.
That's it so far about the project.
I'm getting used to the Ghanian life. Everything is becoming normal. I don't really miss the things back home, except for the western food and my loved ones. Living here, being with people all the time.. it shows me that life can also be good with all the small things. Living in The Netherlands is really a privilege. We are very spoiled and most of the time we don't see the little things. I have started to realize that there is not much needed to just be happy. The people here are the living truth of that.
Last week was a busy week, working on the project, partying and traveling this weekend. On Friday morning we left Koforidua to visit Cape Coast. We arrived 14.30 and checked in at our hotel. From there we took the taxi to Elmina Castle.
"Elmina Castle was erected by the Portoguese in 1482. It was the first trading post build on the Gulf of Guinea. And is the oldest European building in existence below the Sahara. First established as a trade settlement, the castle later became one of the most imortant stops on the route of the Atlantic Slave trade..." From: http://www.elminacastle.info/
The feeling of entering a slave castle was really strange. I have always heard the stories but never felt something like it. We visited the dungeons where the slaves stayed. Everything was dark, most of the dungeons had no daylight and there were hanging chains. The last room we entered was called " The room of no return".. from there on the slaves had step out of a small door that led through the outer walls of the Castle where slaves were lowered into boats and then onto the big slaving ships waiting further out at sea.
Slave ships would go from castle to castle collecting slaves until they were full enough to set sail across the Atlantic. Once a slave passed through the "door" they would never return to Africa again.
Although it was a nice castle, I had mixed feelings. It is hard to describe, you must have visited the castle to know what I mean.
After visiting Elmina Castle we got back to our hotel and went to the famous Oasis Beach Resort. There were a lot of tourists around and we had a couple of drinks and went to bed.
On Saturday we took the tro to Kakum National Park. We did the Canopy Walk in the morning. The Canopy Walkway is a walkway of bridges between treetops ranging from 11m up to 40m. We had a lot of fun but as we were very enthusiastic we finished the walk in 30 minutes instead of 60.
After the Canopy Walk we went to an Ostrich Farm. Not that interesting but it was fun feeding them. On our way back we visited a Hans Cottage Botel. This was the most interesting part of the day. This place had crocodiles swimming in their waters. We had the chance to follow the guide that was feeding them. We could get very close. The crocodiles were tame so we could stroke them. I never thought that we would experience something like that. Great thing to experience.
That night we had dinner at Oasis and after some shots we went to bed.
On Sunday after breakfast we headed back to Koforidua. The tro ride took 3.5 hours. One thing I have to mention... the roads here are very bad. The cities and surroundings have a good infrastructure, but as soon as you drive along the villages you will get sick of all the holes on the road.
So this was last week. This week I will continue to work on the microfinance project and will join the people on outreach and visit some orphanages and schools to see some more happy faces.
Thanks for reading. Have a nice day.
Arjun
So another week in Ghana has gone by already...
First a project update:
While we were busy finding new suppliers for the bottles, we have found a better way of selling liquid soap. We are going to focus on gallons of soap instead of smaller 250ml bottles. Producing and selling gallons of soap will be more profitable since there is a good demand and the costs are lower.
Last week I made a new calculation sheet and went to town to get the ingredients. One day later.. and the people from Salom Village managed to produce eight gallons. We are selling it below the market price and therefore we can sell the gallons easily. Today we sold the last two gallons and we will start to produce a bigger batch tomorrow. One hour ago I checked all the numbers and we have made a profit of 48 GHC. We are very excited and we will make sure that the project will stay profitable from now on.
Currently we are setting up a business workshop for the people from the villages. The workshop has to learn the people the basic principles of doing business.
That's it so far about the project.
I'm getting used to the Ghanian life. Everything is becoming normal. I don't really miss the things back home, except for the western food and my loved ones. Living here, being with people all the time.. it shows me that life can also be good with all the small things. Living in The Netherlands is really a privilege. We are very spoiled and most of the time we don't see the little things. I have started to realize that there is not much needed to just be happy. The people here are the living truth of that.
Last week was a busy week, working on the project, partying and traveling this weekend. On Friday morning we left Koforidua to visit Cape Coast. We arrived 14.30 and checked in at our hotel. From there we took the taxi to Elmina Castle.
"Elmina Castle was erected by the Portoguese in 1482. It was the first trading post build on the Gulf of Guinea. And is the oldest European building in existence below the Sahara. First established as a trade settlement, the castle later became one of the most imortant stops on the route of the Atlantic Slave trade..." From: http://www.elminacastle.info/
The feeling of entering a slave castle was really strange. I have always heard the stories but never felt something like it. We visited the dungeons where the slaves stayed. Everything was dark, most of the dungeons had no daylight and there were hanging chains. The last room we entered was called " The room of no return".. from there on the slaves had step out of a small door that led through the outer walls of the Castle where slaves were lowered into boats and then onto the big slaving ships waiting further out at sea.
Slave ships would go from castle to castle collecting slaves until they were full enough to set sail across the Atlantic. Once a slave passed through the "door" they would never return to Africa again.
Although it was a nice castle, I had mixed feelings. It is hard to describe, you must have visited the castle to know what I mean.
After visiting Elmina Castle we got back to our hotel and went to the famous Oasis Beach Resort. There were a lot of tourists around and we had a couple of drinks and went to bed.
On Saturday we took the tro to Kakum National Park. We did the Canopy Walk in the morning. The Canopy Walkway is a walkway of bridges between treetops ranging from 11m up to 40m. We had a lot of fun but as we were very enthusiastic we finished the walk in 30 minutes instead of 60.
After the Canopy Walk we went to an Ostrich Farm. Not that interesting but it was fun feeding them. On our way back we visited a Hans Cottage Botel. This was the most interesting part of the day. This place had crocodiles swimming in their waters. We had the chance to follow the guide that was feeding them. We could get very close. The crocodiles were tame so we could stroke them. I never thought that we would experience something like that. Great thing to experience.
That night we had dinner at Oasis and after some shots we went to bed.
On Sunday after breakfast we headed back to Koforidua. The tro ride took 3.5 hours. One thing I have to mention... the roads here are very bad. The cities and surroundings have a good infrastructure, but as soon as you drive along the villages you will get sick of all the holes on the road.
So this was last week. This week I will continue to work on the microfinance project and will join the people on outreach and visit some orphanages and schools to see some more happy faces.
Thanks for reading. Have a nice day.
Arjun
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29 Juli 2014 - 23:29
Rolf En Hemmala:
Hè Arjun,
Wat ontzettend leuk en vooral leerzaam wat jij allemaal meemaakt. We moeten zeggen, hoe je het ook verwoord is ontzettend knap. Het verschil tussen Ghana en thuis leg je fantastisch uit. Wij zijn erg trots op jou dat je deze ervaringen op mag doen en je daarnaast ook nog zeer nuttig maakt met het project. Super, doe je erg goed.
Dat je tevens leuke en interessante dingen doet en ziet van Ghana maakt het allemaal nog indrukwekkender. Geniet van je laatste week, doe nog een aantal nuttige dingen en dan zien we je gauw weer.
Groetjes,
Rolf en Hemmala -
30 Juli 2014 - 10:31
Esh:
Leukkkkkk, wat gaaf allemaal en inderdaad met kleine dingen kan het ook heel fijn zijn. Mooie ervaring voor je.
Jammer he nog een weekje daar, geniet nog maar extra van en daarna goede reis gewenst.
Vind het ook een mooi project wat je doet, super.
Groetjes, Esh. -
30 Juli 2014 - 10:59
Yasmin:
Hee mop,
Leuk om weer wat te lezen van je. Jullie hebben het soap=project echt goed opgepakt. Topper!!
Ik kon in je verhaal bijna meevoelen over the slave-castle. Heftig hoor. Maar goed om dat es mee te maken.
Gaat goed zo, toch. Wat fijn dat je zoooo goed begrijpt wat nu écht belangrijk is om gelukkig te zijn hoe ontzettend verwend we zijn hier in Nl.
Hee, maak je nog wat coole foto's van de weeshuizen en schoolkindjes? veel plezier verder en tot gauw.
Huggies, M. -
30 Juli 2014 - 13:55
Sabine:
Hai schat,
Leuk om deze verhaaltjes eens in een andere context te lezen, haha. Je wordt bijna ontdekt als schrijver! Ben benieuwd hoe je alles in het echt vertelt en wat we nog niet weten na alle blogs en appjes. Je mag trots op jezelf zijn dat je hier op deze manier kunt kijken naar de mensen en dat je ze ook nog eens kunt helpen. Wij zijn in ieder geval wel ontzettend trots op jou. Kick some ass met de workshop en hopelijk kun je jouw kennis overbrengen naar de Ghanezen. Geniet van je laatste weekje voordat we je weer verwennen in Nederland. Dikke kus & knuffels
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30 Juli 2014 - 19:01
Ash:
Nice Son, ben blij dat je zelf hiervoor gekozen hebt om dit te doen. Nu weet je wat er nog meer te koop is op deze wereld. Ben trots op je. Geziet nog effe van de laatste week en kijk wat je nog meer kan doen voor ze daar. Kan niet wachten om je dan weer in mn armen te sluiten.
Knufknuf, Shel&Ash.
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