2012 Fellowships

Big thanks to everyone who came out to the 2011 Summer Fellowship Symposium in LA last week. Everyone was inspired by the work all of the fellows did and by their candid representations of their products.  Thank you fellows!

Our 2012 Summer Fellowship session is expanding to two sites.  We will have our first session in Ghana in the Central Region and our second session in Kenya near the Maasai Mara.  More information will be available in the coming months and our application process will open early in January 2012.  To keep updated please sign up for our mailer by clicking on the "Newsletter" tab and signing up.  We look forward to next year's fellowship!

- The BK Team

The Group

Isabel Penaranda, Columbia University

Our last full day in Asuansi Farm Institute. The only sounds are the dutiful typing of keys, and the fan (as the power has mercifully returned). Yesterday we had a small goodbye party, in which we served fried plantains (my Colombian contribution), artfully arranged peanut-butter and jelly crackers, GORP, pudding, hummus and soda – our taste of America for the past few weeks. I didn’t know how Ghanaians felt about this reception-style format at first– what would be the local way to say goodbye? – but seeing our Divya argue with Julius, one of the farm students, about Ja Rule, as I talked to Irene about how incredibly difficult it is to find books on agriculture in Ghana, it struck me that we were doing good.

I’ve struggled a lot with this identity of the obroni (white person), of coming here with, if not a straight-up volunteer project, at least with the hopes of “doing good”. These arguments repeat in my head again and again, with all the familiar guilt about being white and privileged. I’m ok with not having any answers to those feelings; I expect them to continue to define that bizarre new identity, that of someone who works in development, which I seem to be heading towards.

The books we brought initially seemed like an afterthought – I had no way to gauge how impossible it is to find them in Ghana, what it means to only have access to books from 1972 in the subject you are dedicating your career to. Then again, I gave my rubber boots to a family I befriended in Asomdwe, a more remote town I liked to bike to. I wanted so badly to feel connected to them, and I think to a certain degree we did. But in giving them my boots, my sunglasses, did I just reinforce the narrative of the white privileged handing out goodies? Did I set a precedent for other members of the community to try to befriend obronis because of the material rewards?

I was in a Zen monastery before I came to Ghana, which might explain the tone of this post, but as we leave what has been our home for the past month, I think, at least in my mind, the idea is to look for some sort of conclusion to provide closure. But for me, the best way of coping with the changes, the guilt, even the joys, is to feel them as questions. I can’t say whether, when you add it all up, we did ‘good’. But I got a thorough exploration of my own intentions and reactions, of negotiating complex realities. That the questions unleashed now will lead to others, and those to others, and that will hopefully lead to a wiser kind of development work. But to me, seeing them as questions leads to a humility and grounding which keeps away a crippling guilt or arrogance, and also opens up more possibilities. That seems more important than having a fixed idea on what we got done.

Casey Schmalacker, Lafayette College

This week has been a pretty relaxing week as compared to my last week. We started the weekend prior to this week with a nice mini-vacation at the Wli Falls in the Volta Region. Before our mini-vaca though I headed to Accra early to meet with the Sea-Freight Pineapple Exporters Group of Ghana to discuss their business model and how they are assisting in building exporting capacity. This meeting was very productive, although the place was very hard to find. Then we went up north to the Wli falls which were one of the most beautiful places I've been in the world. After a 2 hour hike vertically up a mountain we emerged in a secluded area that had the most beautiful waterfall and fresh water reservoir. The weekend ended all too quickly and it was back to research. During this week I met with more farmers who had business relations with the Brazilian business Pinora. The people all had very good things to say about Pinora, but not the same about the processing plants that were in Ghana. Pinora exports different citruses for the farmers and deals with the production aspect, as well as pick up and transport. The production facilities would deal with the pickup and transport, just as Pinora, but were not consistent and tended to leave the farmers with goods that would spoil. The main concern of these farmers was funding for increasing output. They were not able to hire help for weeding or picking because they had no micro-financing options.

Everything has begun to come together in my research and my outlook is appearing a lot brighter than even just a week ago. As a reward to ourselves for another productive week, we visited Kakum National Park and participated in a canopy walk. Although I am afraid of heights, the experience was amazing and something I would do again. All of the smells here are unique and fresh, something I don't get much of at home. I continue to take in every experience possible because I don't know when I'll be back to this beautiful place. Rather than letting this feeling take away from the short time I have left here, I will continue to do as I have and live up this experience as much as possible.

Megan Lambert, USC

Wow - where do I begin? These past two and a half weeks have been incredible, challenging, adventurous, enjoyable. The time has sped by, yet at the same time, my life at home seems so far away already. There have been some lows – lack of electricity and lugging buckets of water up the hill to hand wash my clothes for example– but my overwhelming feeling here is contented happiness and excitement to learn. I am really enjoying the slow pace of life here; what a change from living in the center of Los Angeles!

My absolute favorite part of Ghana though is the people. I had heard they were hospitable before I left, but that doesn’t even do it justice. They are the friendliest, nicest, happiest people I’ve met. They are quick to smile, quick to laugh, and always greet you with a friendly wave. One of the most memorable moments was when Aron, Lauren, and I met this woman on the way home from town. Within two minutes of conversation, she invited us to visit her home. Once there, she introduced us to all of her family, gave us the only three chairs in the house and insisted we sit down, and then after, showed us all over her farm for two hours. She gave us fruits and vegetables to try, and had her cousin climb a palm tree to cut down a coconut to drink. We were complete strangers, yet she acted like we are the best of friends. These situations happen all the time here and it blows me away each time.

I could go on about how much I love Ghana for a long time, but I’ll talk about my research now. I’m studying girls' education in Ghana, focusing on the critical transition from junior high school to senior high school. Only one of four girls that start formal school end up finishing junior high school (8th grade in America), and for that one girl that is lucky enough to finish JHS, her chances of attending high school are only abut 15%. My goal is to find out what factors affect her decision to attend high school, and what can be done to encourage other girls to as well. I really believe that educating females is the best way that Ghana can improve. By giving half of their population an education, the business sector will double, health will improve, family planning will be more prevalent, domestic abuse will decrease, and a whole host of other benefits. The school I visited yesterday had a statue that summed it up well: “Educate women, educate the nation.”

My research is split into three parts. The first is to meet with officials in charge of public education. I’ve talked to the Minister of Tertiary Education, the district Minister of Education, and the regional Girls’ Education Officer, as well as gather all available statistics on the subject. This part was interesting but it was largely idealistic – what the government would like to see, rather than what is actually happening. To find out the reality, I went into rural villages and surveyed 200 primary students, 140 JHS students, and am currently surveying SHS students. With the help of a translator, I ask them about their career goals, educational path, and what problems they face in school. Yesterday I analyzed the data for primary and JHS and it was really exciting to see patterns emerge. Now I’m on the third part of my research, which involves one-to-one personal interviews with students where they can openly tell me about their experience with the educational system. This part is my favorite, since it gives the students a chance to speak and be heard in their own words. I’ll be doing interviews for the final two weeks and wrapping up my paper after that. I love learning about the educational system here. The students have so much to teach me, and each day I go into it with an open mind, not sure what I’ll find out but excited all the same. I’m really grateful to have the opportunity to learn and expand my mind like this; it’s definitely been an once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Aron Theising, USC

Greetings from Ghana! This past weekend, we traveled to the Volta region in the East. After nearly a full day of shared-van rides, we arrived to our hotel around midnight and were greeted by an older German woman who was a bit furious with us for not calling to inform her of our late arrival – a humorous beginning to our amazing weekend. After getting some rest, we woke up early on Saturday and decided to explore the waterfalls in the area. We made the grueling but beautiful two-hour hike to the upper falls – it was a difficult walk, but when we saw the waterfall, we agreed that the trip was worth our effort. We hung out there for a few hours, swimming in the water and climbing on the rocks surrounding the waterfall. Now we’re in a trotro headed back to Cape Coast so we can resume researching tomorrow.

My research project began as an attempt to analyze the economic effects of HIV in Ghana. My first realization upon arriving in Ghana was that contacting the HIV positive population would be nearly impossible without access to the proper channels, as most Ghanaians keep their status private. This is due to a social stigma geared toward individuals who have been diagnosed with HIV – an individual with HIV will 1) lose his job 2) be socially outcasted and 3) be rejected by his family if he chooses to publicly acknowledge his status. A fun statistic – only around 15% of Ghanaians have accepting attitudes toward those who are HIV positive. Since its initial inception, my project has expanded due to this reality. My study is now including an analysis of what the stigma is rooted in.

On Monday, I will be surveying HIV positive patients to assess income, unemployment, education level, and several other factors to help formulate an understanding of how HIV-related costs affect the consumption and savings levels of sick individuals who are already living on subsistence wages. On Tuesday, I will be surveying a random population of individuals to assess whether stigma in Ghana is rooted in personal fear, or a social construct.

I made an unexpected discovery when I was reading through the 2010 regional HIV statistics. The published percentage of HIV prevalence in the Central region is around 7%. However, upon looking at the raw numbers, I realized that 7% is too low. In 9 of the 17 districts (including Cape Coast, the largest), prevalence rates are higher than 10%. Rather than taking a population-weighted average of the prevalence rates in each district to calculate the regional prevalence rate, the government simply takes the average of the district prevalence rates. I won’t get into the mechanics of it, but the reported regional rate is probably around 3% lower than it should be, and when dealing with HIV, 3% of a population is definitely significant.

That’s about all I have for now – until next blog post.

Robert Rosencrans, USC

Outside crowded passenger vans and taxis speed by, and the children in
school uniforms play American video games on neighboring computers.
Even when connected to the entire world via the internet in this Cape
Coast cyber cafe, the reminders that Ghana waits just outside are
everywhere. Culture shock is by now a phrase so often repeated that it
loses any meaning until you experience it. At least that was my
experience. The streets are chaotic; drivers honk to remind you
(gently, but firmly) that they are on a collision course with you,
street sellers offer goods ranging from cell phones to sandals and
everything in between. Perhaps the most jarring experience is to
notice a corporate logo printed on the side of a corrugated metal hut.
Similarly, the Ghanaians have an affinity for expressing their
religious views in store signs, thus "God Is Great Computer Repair"
and "Jesus Saves Instant Photo". Water is drunk from industrially
sealed plastic bags, and President Obama's photo is everywhere--on
welcome signs, toothbrush packages, and yes, water bags. Ghana too has
caught the advertising bug. Most everyone here speaks some English,
but between each other, almost always in Fante, Twe, or one of the
nearly fifty other dialects.

When I landed, I had only a vague idea of what I was meant to be doing
here. Research on sustainable agriculture, or something like it. It
felt pretentious to come here, with the assumption that I could
somehow help. What good could I be to this country? Coupled with
entering this strange country, synthesized in part from a world which
existed two thousand years ago, with goats and cattle wandering the
dirt roads, and in part from the industrialized society we are
familiar with, with concrete (although occasional) sidewalks, taxis,
internet, and even an approximation of ice cream called Fan Yo, this
uncertainty was anxiety provoking, to say the least. Worst of all for
me was the experience of the language barrier. Being on the outside of
every conversation, and always feeling that a joke was being had which
I wasn't in on, is unpleasant to say the least. That experience,
however, became a germ from a which an idea and direction for research
sprouted.

All of the time, development volunteers come here with big plans for
Ghana. "Modernize and Christianize", as the old saying goes. As a
result, the Ghanaians too experience a language barrier, but that
barrier is internal. They become strangers in their own country. The
government's official language is English, and to date I have yet to
meet a farmer who spoke it as their native or most natural tongue.
Likewise, how many development organizations bother to teach their
volunteers the native language? And how many publish their plans in
Fante or Twe? With perhaps good reason, very few. The investment
wouldn't be worth it, unless those volunteers were coming for more
than a few months. You can pick up what else you need on the
street--the Ghanaians are, by and by large, extremely helpful.

Nevertheless, it seemed to me that a great need would be served by
working around this basic barrier, by finding and accumulating the
words so often used in development, but in their native language.
Sustainability. Food Security. Organic. Conservation. They have a
different way of communicating these things. Today, for example, I
learned that in Fante, one would say "nyame nsa no edwuma" to refer to
what we call "organic". This literally translates to "everything that
God makes", and stands in opposition to "endzema a nympa aye", or
"everything produced by human beings", which refers to industrial
practices like pesticides, herbicides, and so forth.

The opportunities abound for clarity and parity, and with each passing
day, I feel as though I belong a little more, as I gain in language
and understanding. This is an incremental and necessarily incomplete
process, but one that in conversations, I have realized all of us
student researchers share. I no longer feel so pretentious or out of
place, because I know we don't come to help; I have no illusions of
saving the country or modernizing it. We come to learn, and in
learning discover how we might help this place to help itself. That's
all I have for now. Best wishes and medase ("thank you" in Twe).

Elisabeth Wolfenden, USC

I didn’t really know what to expect two weeks ago as I sat on a plane on the way to Ghana, but my experience so far has been incredible. The Ghanaians are very friendly and go out of their way to make you feel welcome. I have made many friends with the people in the communities that surround the Asuansi Farm Institute and enjoy seeing them as I travel around doing my research. The fellows have also gotten very close, bonding over our experiences, our research and the lack of luxuries that we enjoy in the United States, such as running water and electricity.

For my research, I am studying the administration of health education in primary and junior secondary schools in three communities in the rural central region of Ghana and how this impacts the overall health of Ghanaians. I have made great progress in my research; however, there have been a few challenges in getting permission and access to the people and information I need to do my research. Last week, I met with the Ministry of Education in the Abura-Asebu-Kwankankese District and was granted permission to speak with the headmasters, the School Health Education Program (SHEP) coordinators, teachers, and children at the schools that I have been and will be visiting. Additionally, last week, I met with the Ministry of Health and the District and the Regional Director of Health in Cape Coast and got access to the health statistics of the three communities I am researching.
This week I have visited the primary and junior secondary schools at the District Assembly School and private Oxford Preparatory School and had the opportunity to speak with the headmasters, the SHEP coordinators, some of the teachers, and the children. I got a lot of great information about how health is taught in schools and a variety of opinions about what needs to be done. I am excited to go to the Methodist school in the community of Moree today and to continue my research in Abakrampa next week!

Lauren Gaw, Brandeis University

I have been having a very successful time here in Ghana. At this point I feel pretty well adjusted to the culture. I have really enjoyed getting to know my way around the rural villages that surround our house at the Asuansi Farm Institute. I have been working on finding out the Asebu community's needs and wants for the upcoming demonstration farm. This past Wednesday I visited all of the schools in the village in order to gauge students' interests in farming. I also had a very sucessful meeting this morning with a professor here in Kumasi where the group has come for a few days. I am excited to get back to the slow pace of village life tomorrow and can't wait for what comes next!

Divya Rao, USC

My research is about the sustainability of tilapia farming. The reason
I decided to pursue aquaculture in Ghana is because fish is a main
component of Ghanian protein intake, and therefore a study and future
projects concerning sustainable development and production of tilapia
could both help the country with food security and maintain
environmental stability. Prior to arriving in Ghana, I completed an
extensive literature review looking at methods of tilapia farming and
sustainability, and also the current state of aquaculture in Ghana.
Also, by sustaining the environment fish farmers will be able to reap
benefits of tilapia production in the short and long-term. In the
course of my research I will be going to several local fish farms and
interviewing farmers, then evaluating the farms on their respective
sustainability. Additionally, I will work with the Asuansi Farm
Institute and Cape Coast University to understand how aquaculture and
sustainability are being taught. Rounding out my research, I hope to
talk to tilapia vendors and consumers to figure out how much they know
about their food.

As of right now, my research looks very promising! Intentionally or
not, most of the fish farms I have seen have some very sustainable
elements such as integrated aquaculture with agriculture. This is when
a fish pond is located centrally to a farm, and during periods of
heavy rain or drought can provide the agricultural components of the
farm with extra water or prevent too much water from washing away
vegetable beds. This next week I will be interviewing professors from
the University of Cape Coast, as well as visiting more local fish
farms, talking to vendors, and Asuansi Farm students.

So far, my time in Ghana has been incredible. Yesterday, we took a
four hour tro-tro ride from Cape Coast to Kumasi, and roamed the vast,
bustling marketplace. Today we attended a research seminar at the
Kwame Nkrumah University with an amazing professor, who is studying
agricultural engineering. Tonight we'll be heading to the cultural
markets of Kumasi to take a closer look at the Ashanti region's arts
and crafts. It's only been a little more than a week and we've already
been able to travel rather extensively around the country from Accra
to rural Asuansi, Cape Coast to Kumasi. I can't wait to explore more
of Ghana in the coming weeks

Lane Johnston, USC

While in Ghana, I am comparing the different ways that sustainable farming is being taught at the Asuansi Farm Institute (where we are living for the next five weeks) and the University of Cape Coast School of Agriculture. I am looking forward to talking with the teachers and students from the Institute tomorrow because I feel that they will be able to provide insight into my topic and possibly bring up certain threats to Ghanaian agriculture which I have not thought about yet. Some of the things I am interested in finding out are: 1. What sustainability means in Ghana, which may be very different from what we think of at home, 1. What are the current biggest threats to the agriculture sector in Ghana, 3. How much are sustainable farming practices emphasized at the University versus at the Farm Institute, and 4. How can the agricultural sector be improved?

I learned from books I read this morning at the University of Cape Coast library that in Africa there are many aspects to sustainability, including organic, integration of livestock, less pesticide use, loss of genetic resources and macro conservation principles. Not only that, but it is estimated that about 6.9 million square kilometers of sub-Sahara Africa is under the direct threat of desertification (Holland, 1990). It seems that I may encounter many problems that teachers and professors are working on here in Ghana.

Yesterday we were able to do some exploring of the nearby villages. Rob, Lorenzo and I turned left off the Asuansi Farm Institute road, which was the direction the group knew the least about. We walked for about 3 miles until we reached the next real town of Asomdwee. For the last 5 minutes of the way there we were given a ride from a Pentecostal clergyman, who was on his way to do a two hour service in Asomdwee.  The first thing in the main part of the village is the primary school with a soccer field, followed by two small stores which sell pretty much the same things, including rope, tomato paste or sauce, water, toothbrushes,etc. The small bar, which only would have been able to seat one person, is next to the "chemical shop" or pharmacy. On the other side of the street is a small road that goes to the Pentecostal church and Methodist church, but apparently there is a total of 9 churches in this small town. At the end of the main road is Michael's, the barber, shop. Michael was very kind to us and showed us his pet doves and how they make palm nut oil. He then took us to the local clinic which was very useful to know about. All the kids in the village were walking with us at this point and they all were thrilled when we took their picture and were able to show it to them on our digital cameras. It was a great experience.

Lorenzo Tovar, USC

While in Ghana I will be examining the effectiveness of the recent reforms in the Ghanaian education system in increasing the quality of education provided and its accessibility to children in all regions of Ghana. One topic my paper will examine is the allocation of funding to school districts in different regions in order to determine whether students in underdeveloped and rural regions of the country have the opportunity to receive the same quality of education as students in urban parts of the country. School districts receive funding according to the number of students enrolled in it. Some districts have bxeen classified as “deprived districts,” based on the percentage of qualified primary teachers in the district, the student to teacher ratio, the gross enrollment ratio, and the percentage of girls in the district. Therefore, the smaller school districts with the least amount of students and the largest percent of under qualified teachers are the neediest, but receive the least amount of funding.

            In the few days I have been here I have begun to understand the incredible obstacles that children and their families face as they attempt to obtain the best education possible. Truly understanding the lack of resources available in the many small schools in villages all over Ghana is something that can only be accomplished by seeing these schools and talking to the children that attend them. Everyone I have spoken to is excited to have us here and have asked us to do everything we can to help their country. I think that since the other fellows and I have been in Ghana we have felt a much stronger sense of responsibility towards the different communities we are trying to help and we are all excited and anxious to begin our work. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to help a community in great need that has welcomed us with open arms since we arrived. We are all going to do everything we can to understand the issues they face and help them in the time we are here.

One Week to Go!

In one week our fellows will be arriving in Accra to begin their journey of growth and accomplishment this summer. We are looking forward to hosting all of you! - Elizabeth