The image of Africa is often shown in the media as a poverty ridden continent in desperate need of aid. In turn, sympathizing with Africa has become a trend among the rich, with stars like Angelina Jolie and Bonno publicly embracing Africa and helping to raise tens of millions of dollars through live events and concerts. Helping the poor is not a new phenomenon, the rich world has been giving aid to the poor world for roughly half a century; however, as Jonathan Glennie argues in his book “The trouble with aid: Why less could mean more for Africa,” aid to Africa has actually caused more poverty, worse basic services for poor people and damage to already unstable democratic institutions. Through an honest assessment of both the positive and negative consequences of aid, Glennie manifestly demonstrates that, while aid should not be immediately cut, the answer to the many problems Africa faces is not simply more aid. Rather than the Make Poverty History slogan “Double aid to Africa,” Glennie suggests the opposite: “Halve aid to Africa,” and of course he is right. The solution lies in establishing a promising and beneficial aid system that ensures a sustainable development and a reliable socio-economic growth for Africa.

Glennie maintains that he isn’t opposed to aid but rather calls himself an aid ‘realist.’ Aid realism, he proclaims, means not getting “swept away by the ethical glamour to ‘do something’ when a proper analysis shows that what is being done is ineffective or harmful.” Therefore, his book sets out to provide a careful analysis of the overall impact of aid on Africa. All the impacts of aid, positive and harmful, long and short term, easy to measure and hard to calculate, must be taken into account if we are to get a true picture of how aid is contributing to or undermining efforts to reduce poverty. That the author, an aid practitioner himself, reaches the conclusion that much aid has been deleterious and should in fact be reduced is compelling. He does not deny that there are aid activists and charities out there with good intentions; however, he singles out for criticism the bilateral donors, laying bear the aid politic and the reason that it is seen as an easy and strategic alternative by developed world governments to making the hard decisions that would affect long-lasting change in the developing world.

Glennie presents, in very clear terms, the effects that aid has had on African economies, laying particular emphasis on the indirect impacts, all the more deadly because they are often overlooked in other assessments. Indeed, it is the conditions rather than the aid money itself that has the most lasting effect on the recipient economy. The balance of evidence suggests that the lasting impact of policy conditions is greater than that of the actual financial resource transfers associated with them. Over the last twenty-five years, western governments and institutions have gotten very involved in setting the policy agendas of the majority of countries in Africa and the aid system has been their tool of choice, with trade agreements and other forms of diplomatic pressure used to underpin it. In 1962, US president John Kennedy asserted that “Aid is a method by which the United States maintains a position of influence and control around the world.” As Glennie attests, the largest recipients of US aid are not the poorest countries but those the United States sees as strategically important. Recent large increases in US aid to West Africa are strongly linked to the fact that the US has identified the region as the potential source of a quarter of its energy needs in fifteen years’ time. The West is giving aid not because it works but as a cost-efficient way of buying economic advantage and political support, all the while, making it seem to be responding to the continuing and unacceptable poverty that exists in most of the world.

African nations are now developing policies which respond to what it knows to be donor preferences; therefore, government capacity, its ability to plan and develop coherent policies, is undermined by dependence on aid. The reordering of government away from the people and towards donors has grave implications for the development of an accountable state. The more African governments are dependent on international aid, the less ordinary citizens such as farmers, workers, teachers, or nurses have a meaningful say in politics and economic policies. Furthermore, not only do citizens lose what trust they might have had to their ability to influence their governments, but the nature of people entering politics may even change, with people motivated by a desire to change things, being replaced by people seeking a slice of the government cake. This can be detrimental for the future of Africa as it can easily lead to an increasingly corrupted governmental body. Furthermore, Glennie claims that aid can further lead into corruption when there is urgent pressure to disburse large amounts of money without proper oversight mechanisms being in place.

To admit to the public now that, actually, aid in many countries in Africa is not doing much good and might be doing a good deal of damage is never going to be easy. Still, what is required is a deliberate change of direction, moving away from aid dependence. So the question is – where should the money come from? Glennie concludes the book with a full chapter on prescriptions for change, and in keeping with the rest of the book, these are potentially achievable, radical and realistic at the same time. In an ideal world, everyone would pay something, so that everyone has the right to demand an accountable government. Ultimately, Glennie states that a strong personal income tax collection system is needed; however, that is a long way from being possible in much of Africa, where people do not receive an income, or do so in an informal way that is hard to register. Low income and mostly agricultural and rural-based economic agents form the backbone of the country; however, the privatization of banks does not cater to their needs as these banks lend to large borrowers such as the public sector, large enterprises and wealthy households. Therefore, developing more informal and semi-formal saving and investment mechanisms needs to be a top priority for Africa.

Overall, the dilemmas surrounding aid are not easy to solve, and will not melt away if enough money is thrown at them. Aid is not helping to build sustainable development, but rather creates increasingly dependent nations. A sustainable solution must go beyond immediate responses and focus on systems that work for the long term. We must look into why western societies invest in certain projects. What are the real reasons behind these initiatives – to help the poor or to benefit themselves? Most importantly, African governments need to reduce their dependence on aid to have the power to set their own development agenda, as well as regulate and formulate policy as they see fit, not as they are told to do by donors that stand to benefit from certain economic policies. Furthermore, rather than transferring millions to poor countries, we should be spending money on the development of new technologies, including life-saving drugs, renewable and clean energy, and other global public goods. After all, as Glennie argues “an investment in technologies that matter to Africans is an investment in Africa.”

After three and a half weeks in Africa, I am still trying to grasp everything that I experienced while in Cape Coast, Ghana. Partaking in the Field School was one of the best decisions I could have made, and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for an experience of a life time. I must say, Ghanaians are the most welcoming and sociable people I have ever met.

I left Canada with no expectations of what I would experience while in Ghana and although we had a few pre-departure classes to go over some of the cultural differences we might encounter, nothing would prepare me enough for the trip ahead. I must say Africa was nothing like I had imagined and I was surprised at some of the things I saw during my trip; however, I had to remind myself that I was in a totally different culture. I was taken back many times while working at the Human Rights Commission and seeing that the laws in place were not being followed through in reality. It became imperative to open my sociological imagination and view the lives of Ghanaians in conjunction with the social, cultural, political and economic factors at play. Yes, in Ghana children under the age of fifteen are prohibited from working; however, I learned that Ghanaians are a very collectivist society and many families rely on their children to provide enough food to eat. Although, in the West, we see child labour as incomprehensible and immoral, one can understand the situation when looking at the socio-economic factors at play in Ghana.

One thing that struck me the most while abroad was the easy access to technology in a country that lacks such basic infrastructures such as paved roads and garbage disposals. I was taken back at seeing the majority of people with cell phones all the while living with no running water. Not one day would go by without someone asking me for my e-mail or my Facebook. On my last day in Ghana, we all went to the market in Kumasi before heading to the airport. There, I met a young man named Amen. Having done all my shopping the time before, I took the opportunity to get to know Amen and see his living arrangements. I quickly discovered that Amen slept in his drum shop and sometimes would go a day without eating; however, surprisingly, he had Facebook and access to the internet. I have kept in touch with Amen since I’ve been back home and I’ve struggled with the desire to help him. Although I realize that technology can be a great tool to bring about change; if basic needs such as food and a home are not provided, how does one really make a difference over the internet?

Overall, Ghana has opened my eyes to a whole new world. I feel more than ever privileged to be living in Canada and every day I am thankful for everything that I have. Every time I take a hot shower, I remind myself of how much water I really need – one bucket is all I really need.

Thank you to everyone who made this trip an amazing experience!

Ghana has a long tradition of a very active fishing industry and fish is one of the main staples and the biggest commodity in Cape Coast as it provides an important source of animal protein for most Ghanaians. It is a common sight to see fishermen sailing out on their traditional wooden ships or taking the time to fix their nets alongside the Cape Coast Castle. In the streets and the markets, women are the ones selling what was caught at sea. Initially, I thought that catching and marketing fish was a husband and wife venture; however, as I learned through the lecture of Dr. Akua O’Britwon, the fishing industry in Cape Coast is a well organized, multi-layered commerce made up of a hierarchical ladder of key players. Furthermore, it is largely gender segregated; while men fish, women do the marketing and processing. Once a woman gets married to a fisherman, it is her obligation to process the fish, market it and provide her husband with enough income to be used for investment towards building a house or savings for their pension. Therefore, women play an integral role in the fishing industry and have to possess proficient entrepreneurial skills to secure profit through the marketing of the fish.

Fresh fish is one of the most important economic resources in Ghana; therefore, it is important for both women and men to secure their access to this precious capital. However, gender inequalities in the cultural norms of Ghana are seen in the fishing industry. Not only are women prohibited from fishing but, the traditional inheritance system denies them access to their husband’s wealth. This can be a detrimental scenario considering a woman can be left without access to her economic source. I believe that women should have more equal rights and an easier access to the fishing industry considering they play such a critical role in the processing and marketing of the fish. Furthermore, occupations such as firefighting or policing, although it is slowly changing, are still very much male dominated. I trust that the fishing industry in Cape Coast, with time, will break some of its gender norms and you will start to see women on the fishing boats.

The desire for home ownership is deeply rooted in the Ghanaian psyche. Owning a home embodies the promise of individual autonomy and of material well-being that many people seek, not only in Ghana but all around the world. In addition to its functional importance and economic value, home ownership has traditionally conveyed social status – the bigger the house, the wealthier the home owner. However, in Ghana, the process towards acquiring a home is much different than in Canada. While in the West we are used to mortgages and lines of credits to pay for what we believe to be the greatest investment of our life, in Ghana, the process is a much lengthier one. When walking or driving around Cape Coast, I can’t help but notice that most of the houses are in the process of being built, all at different stages. Most of the homes have the ground level complete with the top floor still under construction. This is also true with larger buildings. At first sight, you might think that they are all abandoned and this might be true for some; however, after sharing my observations, I learned that Ghanaians can sometimes work their whole life to build their home. Most of us are oblivious as to what entails building a home from scratch and we often hire a company to do the work for us or, more typically, we buy a home once it is already built. In Ghana, the process is much more gradual – one that requires a lot of time and money. To build their home, Ghanaians have to acquire their own construction materials (usually bricks and cement); however, most cannot afford to buy everything at once. Therefore, they save little by little and steadily build their home one brick at a time. This process can sometimes take a lifetime. Furthermore, although they might afford to complete their home, Ghanaians will often leave it unfinished as to not pay any taxes.

Today, Tetteh was back at the office with a full day planned for us. We were to visit two different orphanages located in the Cape Coast region and investigate their conditions. When I found out we would be going to orphanages, I prepared myself for the worst. Most of us have a negative image of orphanages, forcing us to imagine an environment in which lonely and starving children are placed in inadequate facilities. On our way to the first orphanage, I was trying to imagine the conditions I was about to witness. Considering I have been washing myself with buckets during the duration of my stay, I wrongfully imagined an even worst sanitary living condition for the children in the orphanages. When we arrived at the first orphanage, I was pleasantly surprised to see a considerably large home gated with a large courtyard up front. We were greeted by two very little boys who looked happy and seemed to be healthy. To my surprise, the house was well kept and there was a decent size living space for all the children to live adequately. I accompanied another member of the Commission to a different orphanage located 5 mins away, while Iman and Tetteh stayed to interrogate the founders of the first orphanage. At our arrival at the second orphanage, I noted that the house was much smaller than the other one. We were greeted by a young man who brought us in to an office. I did not see any of the children while there; therefore, I cannot note their conditions; however, the living space seemed to be well kept as well.

The Human Rights Commission was to investigate the conditions of the orphanages through a set questionnaire to be asked to the director of each orphanage. Through the interviews, I was able to gain an understanding of some of the difficulties orphanages face here in Ghana, as well as discover how the facilities are structured and maintained. The orphanage housed 12 children – 1 boy and 11 girls – who were between the ages of 9-16. Out of the 12, only three children had lost both their parents and the other nine came mostly from single parent families who could not financially take care of them. All children attended school, were provided with 3 meals a day, and were all covered by health insurance in case of sickness. Throughout my stay, I have witnessed and talked to many children who live with their parents in rural villages and I have noted that many of them live in worst conditions with fewer opportunities for education than those in orphanages. Although the Constitution of Ghana states that education should be free of charge and accessible to all Ghanaian children, this is not the case. Public schools are rare and the private ones are quite costly for most families costing 180 Ghana CD a term – with 3 terms in one year.

Tetteh, our direct boss for the internship, was away for the beginning of the week. Therefore, Iman and I were to sit at the registrar office for the time being. I was able to get a feel for a typical work day for someone working at CHRAJ (Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice) at the administration level, and I must say it was quite a relaxing atmosphere. Considering there is only about ten cases reported a month, not much happens on a regular basis. On Tuesday, we were supposed to sit in on a mediation session between two parties regarding a wrongful termination case; however, the respondent did not show up. In that case, a letter was sent to the respondent to attend at another date.  If they do not show up again, the case will be sent to court.

Being at the registrar office gave me a feel of the kinds of complaints being reported. The most common ones have to do with the un-maintenance of children and/or mother (these usually had to do with the father not financially supporting his family), as well as wrongful termination. It was interesting to note that many of the wrongful terminations reported were suing the same company, which was a Methodist Church. The individuals suing were security guards who had been terminated because the Church had hired a cheaper private security company. To give you a feel of how much people make here in Ghana, the security guards who had been terminated were making 67 Ghana CD a month (about 33 Canadian Dollars), which is actually below the poverty line of 2 Canadian Dollars a day. It is appalling to think that the newly hired security guards are making considerably less than the previous employees.

Overall, I believe that the small number of complaints being reported to CHRAJ has to do with the fact that there is a lack of education on human rights being given here in Ghana. If individuals don’t know their rights, how are they to know they are being maltreated, much less reporting such treatments? Therefore, I believe education is the catalyst for ensuring individuals are not being exploited and I am happy to see that CHRAJ is taking a leading role in educating the public about their fundamental human rights and responsibilities through community outreach initiatives.

Iman and I were finally able to settle in our placement with CHRAJ (Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice) and we are now on our third day as official interns. It has been a very interesting experience so far, although worrisome at times because of the contradictions between what is written in law and what the reality proves to be. Our days at the Commission have been comprised of a lot of reading of the different mandates and constitution of human rights, as well as some community outreach. Last Friday, we were invited by our boss, Tetteh, to join him for a half hour interview on a local radio station. He informed us that the focus of the talk will be on the Children’s Rights Act and we had an hour before heading out to read the Act and pull out interesting points of discussion. Unfortunately, when we got to the radio station, the interview with Tetteh was conducted entirely in Fanti. Iman and I were writing notes to each other the whole time discussing some of the major points we should raise if we were asked to comment on the topic. The time that we anticipated finally came as the radio host introduced the both of us to listeners. She asked us to describe the children rights that Canada has in place and how effectively they are maintained. It was interesting to note that, throughout the entirety of the interview, the radio host asked the questions directly to Iman and never once addressed them to me. Although I was able to sneak in my perspective on foster care in Canada and get some time on Ghanaian radio, I was a little disappointed at the gender inequality I experienced – noting that the radio host was a woman herself. When I came home and discussed my concerns with the other housemates, many of the girls informed me on how they’ve also experienced gender discrimination. Through my discussions with Ghanaians, I’ve come to understand that the role of a woman is still largely perceived as that of the caregiver and house wife. Even if a woman is highly educated or in a leadership role, if a man is with her at a time of discussing important matters, it will be the man’s opinion that will be taking into higher consideration. I’ve also noticed when working at the Human Rights Commission that the Ghanaians give more attention and eye contact to Iman than me.

Another contradiction that I have noted between what is written in the law and what is actually happening in reality has to do with the disciplining of Ghanaian children. Under the Children Rights Act, corporal punishment, which includes acts such as hitting, slapping and beating for the sake of discipline, is prohibited. However, my experience at the after school program and my various discussions with Ghanaians gave me a different reality. In Ghana, hitting is perceived as an effective way and the only way to discipline children when they are acting in a deviant manner. I experienced this, first hand, at the after-school program I volunteer at. A young little boy, aged 5, got 7 out of 10 on his exercise, which, in Canada would be perceived as a decent mark. However, in Ghana, the expectations of students are very high and if a student gets even one wrong answer, he or she is humiliated or punished in front of the whole class. It was very hard to watch this little boy get hit with a stick three times on the palm of his hands (three times for the three answers he got wrong). I wanted to stop the teacher; however, I had to stop myself and remember that I was in a totally different culture. This occurrence is not the only time I have noticed that Ghanaians strongly believe in corporal punishment. At my placement with the Human Rights Commission, Iman and I addressed our concern with the way children are being disciplined and we were very surprised to hear that the woman at the registrar office, where we’ve been working the last three days, felt there was nothing wrong with disciplining children with corporal punishment, as long as it was no more than five hits on either the palm of the hands, the buttocks, or the back of the legs. I was astonished to find out that even an employee working for the Human Rights Commission didn’t uphold the law on children’s rights. She even told us that she had hit her son the night before to teach him a lesson; she stated that children won’t learn unless they are fearful of being hit again. I am in a dilemma and feel helpless regarding this issue. I thought I would be able to address my concern with an individual at the Human Rights Commission and gain some insight as to where to go from here. I wish Ghanaians would realize the negative effects of corporal punishment on children. However, this realization will only come with education on the matter because corporal punishment is still so strongly entrenched in the cultural norms of Ghanaians. One can also note that even with education, as seen with the individuals working at CHRAJ, those who are supposed to be upholding the law are still heavily influenced by the cultural norms of the country. I am now waiting to talk to Tetteh, my boss, who has been away the past three days, and address my concern. I hope he will have a perspective on the matter different from the one I’ve been faced with since I’ve arrived. Hopefully, I will be able to discuss some of the steps to take to start unraveling these cultural norms. I was hoping to bring the Children’s Act to the after-school program and educated the students on their rights in Ghana. I am waiting to see if this would be the proper way to go about it.

As part of the course requirement, we are to attend two lectures given out by Ghanaian professors once a week. We had our first series of lectures last Wednesday and although I was very tired from working all day with the Human Rights Commission and the after-school program, I found the lectures to be very engaging and educating. The first individual to give us a lecture was De-Valera Botchway, a history professor at the University of Cape Coast. He provided us with a brief introduction on the history of Ghana and on how the Gold Coast came to be an independent nation in 1957. The second professor was Dr. Emmanuel Asmah, who works in the economics department at the University of Cape Coast. They were both very engaging professors and I now have a better understanding of many of the issues and concerns deeply rooted in Ghanaian society.

I will now provide you with some of the major historical events that I learned from Professor De-Valera Botchway on the history of Ghana to help put in perspective the standing of Ghanaian society today. In 1470, the Portuguese came into the Gold Coast, and in 1482, they had made their mind to stay in Ghana and build a fort. This subsequently attracted the jealousy of other European countries, which started to recognize the potential of Ghana’s natural resources. In 1821, British Crown took position and control of all the major forts in Ghana. It is important to note that colonialism served as a catalyst to bring Sub-Saharan African ethnicities together; however, it has also separated them as several civic wars took place throughout European rule, and most significantly when the British were in power. The major tensions were between the Asante and the Fante. In 1844, the Fante were convinced by the British to sign an agreement of protection against the Asante, which the British adopted as a sign of colonial power. Several wars took place against the Asante and in 1902 the British took over Asante’s territory. Upon close examination and discussion with local Ghanaians, it is clear that there is still, today, animosity between the two clans. In 1960, Kwame Nkrumah became president of Ghana. Being of an anti-colonialist and anti-capitalist ideology, Kwame went to the market people and used Marxist theory to revolutionize the country. His socialist ideals were opposed by the West, especially the United States, and many called his way of governance a form of communism. In 1966, he was eventually sent into exile as he was said to be a dictator. To this day, it is clear that Kwame is highly respected by most Ghanaians for the work he has done on building infrastructure and providing free education in many parts of the country. There is even talk that Kwame’s daughter might become president of Ghana in the years to come, which would be very interesting in such a patriarchal society. After several subsequent military coups following Kwame’s imprisonment, Ghana finally elected a civilian government – the National Democratic Congress, which ruled for eight consecutive years.

Ghana’s history is filled with European invasion and control, and it is evident that Ghana is, to this day, suffering from a deep colonial hangover or, as suggested by Bob Marley, a “mental slavery.” This colonial hangover is visible through Ghanaians’ extreme belief in Christianity and the failure to reinvent the indigenous way of education. School textbooks tell the history of Ghana through the eyes of the British – the colonialist perspective – and ignore any other viewpoints. Dr. Asmah raised his concern on the invisibility of African Academic writings in Ghanaian education. I was further appalled when I saw that Prince Charles was on the cover of one of my student’s exercise book. Although Ghana has long gained independence, Britain continues to hold a powerful place in Ghanaian society. Furthermore, Christianity remains the largest religious demographic in Ghana and Christian sayings such as “Jesus is the Ultimate One” can be found on taxis and town signs all across the country.

Today was the first day of our placement, so everyone got up to leave at 8 am. Like every morning, Mavis had our breakfast ready on the table (watermelon and veggie omelet) and we were on our way to the Old Site, which is where you can catch cabs to pretty much anywhere you have to go. The walk there from our home is about 15 minutes.

Once at the old site, there are two types of cabs you can grab – a shared cab or a drop cab. A shared cab will only take you from one station to another station; while a drop cab can take you anywhere you want to go for a flat rate negotiated between you and the driver. All shared cabs are 3CD ($1.50) to Kingsway, which is one of the main station we get dropped off, located right by the ocean front, where you can find various shops and restaurants. It is also where the Human Rights Commission building, also called CHRAJ, is located – where I will be working every morning for the next two and a half weeks. Since all cabs hold 4 people (although we have been up to 6 people in one cab on various occasions), each seat is a rate (governmentally set) of 0.75CD (40 cents). Therefore, with a shared cab, you can wait until all four seats are occupied and pay the 0.75CD each, or if you are just two or three people and don’t want to wait for the other seats to fill up, you can pay the flat rate of 3CD between the two or three of you and head to your destination station right away. Most cabs are pretty run down; however, the cab drivers are very friendly and will give you any information you need to know. I also love any opportunity I get to hear Ghanaian music and most cab drivers will play the main radio stations on our way to the station.

All non-Ghanaians are called Obroni, which means “white foreigner.” Walking down the streets, I will often hear kids call out “Obroni, Obroni!” and the very young ones will even be so fascinated by my different skin colour that they will grab my arm to see if I feel any different than they do. It is quite amusing and I have already gotten used to my new nickname and turn around every time I hear the word. I’m trying to get my fellow classmate, Iman Ghahremani (www.followiman.wordpress.com) to get “Obroni” shaved in his hair at this local barber who does various hair designs for men! Still haven’t quite succeeded!

Talking about nicknames, every Ghanaians have a middle name that corresponds with the day of the week they were born and there is a female and male name symbolizing each day of the week. I found out I was born on a Saturday which makes my Ghanaian name “Ama” and I have used it several times now to introduce myself to Ghanaians as a shared point of connection.

Tomorrow, I will “hopefully” officially start my placement with CHRAJ (the Human Rights Commission) as there was some miscommunication this morning as to how many of us were supposed to intern. I have now learned that there is a lot of miscommunication that happens here in Ghana. One of the main reasons for this mal entente or delay in action the fact that authority is given to the highest ranked person in the company or organization; therefore, individuals are not able to solidify or approve anything without the approval of the top ranking figure. In our case, the director, which was not in the office at the time of the meeting, holds all the power to make the final decision. Although the contract was already settled to have two individuals intern at CHRAJ, myself and Iman, the absence of the director disabled our commencement as planned.

I will also be working with an after-school program three days a week after my workday with CHRAJ. Today was our first day meeting the facilitators and the kids we will be teaching. Although I initially thought we would be acting more as tutors, we are actually required to teach full subjects such as Mathematics, Science, Social Sciences, and English. I proposed to teach French and I am excited to utilize my skills and have fun teaching these kids my native language. Today, we were a little bit thrown in and I teamed up with Iman to teach a class of elementary school kids mathematics, specifically division. Although we didn’t have a lesson prepared, we had a lot of fun with the kids and it was great to see how excited they were to have us teach them. I am looking forward to bringing them all the pens, stickers, notepads, and various games I brought back from Canada!