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Shots outside the Opportunity International Datano Branch Office.
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Meet the awesome team from Students of the World - Boston. I had the privilege of spending my week in Ghana along side these talented filmmakers.
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Day 6 and Day 7
Yesterday was an early day. We started out by visiting the Kejetia Branch so that the team could capture a few more shots of the mobile bank. We were also fortunate enough to see the ATM in action and got some footage of Nana making a withdrawal. The ATM at the branch has only been installed for a short time and this was Nana's first time using it.
In addition I was able to attend the tail end of the morning staff meeting. They reminded me very much of my time at Macy's. They're a combination Q&A and pep rally. The Branch Manager, Peter, spent some time conducting training, going over "housekeeping" issues and talking through questions the staff had. Every member of the staff was dressed for a Friday, which means wearing a red, white and black printed shirt that is made up of the Opportunity International logo. I'm a bit jealous we don't have these in the states. The meeting closed with the joining of hands and a short prayer. After that there was music and singing while the staff snacked and headed into the building for work.
After we left the branch we took a short tro-tro ride to meet with Beatrice Boaten. Beatrice is a farmer just outside of Kumasi in the village of Nerebhi.
The SOW team spent some time in Beatrice's home conducting an interview. After, Beatrice showed us her farm where she grows plantains, cassava, maize and cocoa. Again, like Nana's farm, we went down a dirt road into the jungle. While there the team conducted interviews with Beatrice, a member of her trust group, Muhammedn Opuku and Abena Sarpong, their loan officer.
After the interviews were complete, we loaded into the tro-tro for what was to be my last tro-tro ride in Ghana.
After a brief break at the hotel a few of us loaded into a cab and headed into the city to explore. I hope that the photos and videos I have posted and will continue to post convey some of the energy and spirit of Kumasi. The city is so vibrant and so alive, unlike anything I have ever experienced before.
We ended the day with dinner at Vic Baboo's a local restaurant frequented by Abruni's or whites/foreigners. In fact, the only other two tables were filled with young men and women from Europe. I had fried rice and some paratha bread with a mango Lassi. All restaurants in Ghana seem to consist of the same items which always include, pizza, burgers, a sampling of Indian and Chinese dishes. The night ended with good food and good conversation.
Today was a quiet day mostly spent relaxing and recuperating from the week. I spent some time with the team reviewing the footage from the week and discussing anything else that needed to be captured next week.
I'm getting ready to head out now. Meeting up with my friend Andrew who now lives here in Ghana. I'm sure my last night in Kumasi will be memorable.
:)
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Click here to read the blog of my fellow travelers, the team from Students of the World.
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The view from out tro-tro as we drove through Kumasi near Kejetia.
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Starting our morning outside the Opportunity International Kejetia branch.
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Day 5
Today like the previous days started out with a ride in our favorite mode of transportation, the tro-tro. Id be lying if I said I hadn't grown attached the tro-tro. The way it creaks under our weight, it's gentle scraping of the ground as we go over a bump...I'm getting all teary just thinking about leaving it.
Our drive this morning wasn't too bad, we were traveling with the mobile bank and the villages it stopped at were closer than our previous travels. The Opportunity Mobile banks are trucks with banks in the back. There is a small office for meeting with a teller as well as a teller window for quick transactions. The bank provides access to the suite of Opportunity International banking services that some clients wouldn't normally be able to utilize because of their distance from the city.
At our first stop we met with three clients. The first, Comfort Bioh is a palm oil vendor and came to make an 890 Ghana Cedis loan repayment on behalf her "Respect Yourself" trust group, Comfort has been with opportunity for a year and through her loan has been able to increase her stock as well as her savings.
Next we met with Ama Boatemaa. Ama a relatively new Opportunity International client was there to ask a few questions before making her first loan repayment next week. Ama is not only a loan and savings client, but has an insurance policy with Opportunity International. If something were to happen to Ama or her family, the loan amount would be reduced or forgiven. Ama, a mother of three sells undergarments and fruit along the main road in her village. As she walks, she balances a large bowl of bananas on her head. She told us how grateful she was that Opportunity International had a mobile bank that came to her village each week. She is proud to be able to easily repay her loan and to begin to save and invest in her future.
Lastly we met Akosua Amponsah. Akosua is a used clothes and fabric vendor who has a shop a few hundred feet from where the bank makes it's weekly stop. Because of her loan from Opportunity international, Akosua has been able to improve both the quality and quantity of her stock.
The more time I spend here the more I am impressed and amazed by the determination of the Opportunity Clients. They each work so hard and are focused on improving the lives of their families and their community. I'm looking forward to tomorrow and a new set of reasons to be proud of the work of Opportunity International and my colleagues around the world.
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The hustle and bustle outside the Opportunity International branch office in Kejetia.
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The Mobile Bank getting set up for the day in the village of Manso Nwkwanta
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The Students of the World team gets ready to interview Ama Boatsmaa a local vendor who sells undergarments and local fruits and is an Opportunity International savings and loan client.
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Day 4
Today started out in a very similar way to yesterday. In fact, we started down the same bumpy road. This time however, we took a different turn and ended up in the village of Kenyago. Kenyago was not much different from Bonsaso - there was a church, a school, a number of shops lining the main street and homes in every direction. We started our time by attending a training session with Christiana, a transformation manager with Oppoprtunity International. Christian a joined Opportunity Five or so years ago and two years ago was promoted from Transformation officer to manager. Her primary responsibilities included providing training and guidance to all of Oppoprtunity International's Ghanian clients. Today here training was focused on savings and it's importance. Though all members of the two tust groups we met with (God First & a group whose name translates to "Getting someone to help you is difficult") are savings clients, Christiana spent time reiterating it's importance and making sure they understood all of the different savings products. There were general savings account, fixed term deposit accounts (similar to a CD), as well as the highest yielding Susu accounts. It was so amazing to see how excited the trust group members were. They were engaged in conversation, asking questions and participating with such energy! After the group meeting we travelled around the village visiting the homes of clents. During one of the interviews a group of children began to gather and Alex, one of the students from Students of the World, gathered them up and took them around the corner so they wouldn't disturb the recording. What started as a group of about 10, quickly grew into at least 20 children who were so excited to play with Alex. She took their pictures and showed them on the viewfinder on her camera. It was so fun to see how the children reacted just like every other child - they pooled fun and mocked each other for the faces they were making or the way they looked in the photo. I taught a few of the older kids a hand shake that involved a high five and a snap and within minutes all of the children were mimicking the gesture and enjoying their new found way of expressing themselves. As we drove away from their area of the village they ran after the tro tro, making the hand gesture and the noise that I had included with it. We made one more stop at the home of a farmer named Joseph Amposah. Joseph showed us how he dried the cocoa beans on drying racks in front of his home and the team conducted a quick interview with him. After that we were back in the van and in our way home. Each day continues to impress and amaze me. It is inspiring to meet people who in the face of such poverty are able to see their communities potential and are working hard to improve their way of life. It gives me hope that the children I have met in these villages will not have to face the same challenges as their parents. No matter where you go, parents all want the same thing - a better life for their children than they had.
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