Polio Campaign

LDS Charities partnered with Ghana Health Service in a vaccination campaign to stamp out polio in the country. Along with Elder and Sister Panter, an LDS humanitarian couple, we were allowed to follow Dorcas, a registered nurse, and Wonder, a volunteer, through the sleepy little village of Pram Pram as they went door-to-door in search of children between the ages of infant to 5 years.

Ghana claims that there have been no new cases of polio for several years. They want to keep it that way. This was phase II of the polio campaign, where the children received their second dose of the drops. Wonder and Dorcas did not write down names, but they kept a count and marked each house and school with a chalk symbol to show that the child/children had received their vaccines. After the drops were administered, the child's pinky fingernail was marked with a permanant marker.

Not a single parent turned down the opportunity for their children to receive the polio vaccine. We were touched by the sweetness of the people and the tenderness with which the two young volunteers treated each child.

These pictures are an example of what happened that weekend all over the country of Ghana as thousands of volunteers made this polio campaign a great success.  

Simple Pleasures

Elder and Sister Bullock are humanitarian missionaries in West Africa. When they are out of the office working on projects, he loves to play with the children. This fun video clip shows how confused one little girl was with his tricky hand whistle.

Weaving Kente Cloth

We are fascinated with the skilled weavers of kente cloth in Ghana. Previous blog entries show a variety of kente patterns and styles. This post includes a video of a talented young man who has been trained to carry on the kente weaving tradition in his village of Kpetoe.

Although the kente cloths are identified primarily by the patterns found in the lengthwise (warp) threads, there is often little correlation between appearance and name. Names are derived from several sources, including proverbs, historical events, important chiefs, queen mothers, and plants. Each color in kente cloth has a specific meaning.

  

Kente cloth is a type of fabric made of interwoven cloth strips
and is native to ethnic groups of South Ghana.

Cloths are chosen as much for their names as their colors and
patterns.

Pottery in the Volta Region

We were able to watch some women in the Volta Region demonstrate a fascinating pottery-making technique -- an art form that the Ewes in Ghana have passed on from generation to generation. Traditionally, pots have played very important roles in the culture of the people of Kpando, beginning from birth through to death. They are used in performing customary rites, boiling herbs, cooking and storing food, and carrying liquid substances. Clay used for the production of these pots is dug from clay pits found along the river banks.

  

The indigenous pottery is handmade by kneading the clay and
rolling it into a ball depending on the size of the intended pot.
Notice the woman on the left preparing her clay.

After flattening one end of the ball of clay, a hole is made
through the center and widened with the fingers from one end
 to the other to obtain a rim.