Some fun stuff I’ve been doing and a little about Ghana’s economy

I’m usually pretty busy during the week and make it home just in time for dinner. So I only have the weekends to travel and see the rest of the country.

The first weekend here was packed full of cool tourist things to see. We went to Kakum National Forest, where we walked along a series of seven rope bridges over the tops of trees. The bridges are safe but they shake and sway when everyone walks on them.  After that, we went to a drumming and dance lesson on the beach. I was already exhausted, so my dancing skills were even more horrific than normal… but it was fun nonetheless.

Canopy walkway

Ghanaian girls selling snacks and water

African Drumming lesson 

We also got to tour the Cape Coast Castle, where salves were kept until they departed to the Caribbean and America. The history is interesting yet very sad, and even to this day you can see the effects of the slave trade in Ghanaian culture. A few people I have come across are very polite and nice but are not shy about expressing their animosity towards whites about how they were treated during this time.

Since Cape Coast is located on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea in the South Atlantic, there are plenty of beautiful beaches to relax on. We’ve spent a few Saturdays and Sundays just lounging on the beach under coconut trees, and swimming in the warm but very salty ocean.

one of the many beautiful beaches in Ghana

This past weekend a few other participants and I traveled to the Western Region. We took a small canoe and paddled through the jungle and out onto a Lake Tedane where, about 45 minutes later, we reached a village called Nzulezo, it’s build completely over the water on stilts and platforms. The village has been around for over 500 years and has a population of around 500. They are completely isolated and even the children attending school above primary levels have to take a canoe back to the main land. The canoe ride though was my favorite; it reminded me of Disney’s Jungle cruise, but even better! Haha

Canoes we used to get to the stilt village

Through the jungle

Nzulezo stilt village

We spent the night at a very nice beach resort and even though it was raining, we didn’t mind because the temperature was very cool, enough to even be cold (we didn’t think to bring a light jacket though). It was a nice relaxing weekend, and we are already planning our next trip!

On weekends that we don’t travel, we usually spend time in the market. We shop for souvenirs and try to find new snacks. Everything is bought at the market, from fish, meat, veggies and fruit, to clothes, shoes, housing furniture and tools, pretty much everything you can think of that you would need on a daily basis.

We take taxis everywhere, but the market is so crowded that we usually get out early and walk the rest of the way. Haggling is also a must here, I’m not very good, but I’ve been able to hold my own I think, and I’ve made a couple friends at the booths that I can come back to and get a good price for things.

The market where food is sold

Most of the vendors in the market are from a lower social class and this is usually how they make their entire income. Many of the families cannot afford to send their children to school, so often you will see younger children walking around the streets selling items from the buckets on their heads.

Ghana is a middle-income country with a GDP of around 67 billion, but has a very high government debt of over 50% of GDP. Although it the GDP per capita is only $3,300 (US) it is one of the highest in Africa and is also one of the fastest growing economies as a rate of 14.4% growth in 2012.

With a Gini coefficient of 42.8 (2006), Ghana has an income distribution similar to that of the United States (measured at 45 in 2007). The income disparities can easily be seen though. For instance, the family that I stay with is relatively well-off, the children attend private school, we have running water and electricity. However, those families that sell in the market, as I have previously mentioned, struggle to purchase the most basic necessities and other important household appliances like a refrigerator or a stove and can’t send their children to school, even the less expensive government schools. Then there are much wealthier families that drive very nice cars (even compared to those in the US) and live in very large houses.

I have been doing some interesting stuff at work this past week, look out for it in my next post!

Thanks for reading! Until next time…