Ghana photos!!
(University of Minnesota public health students are writing about their experiences abroad this summer.)
By Ele Scherman
Environmental Health Sciences
Writing from Ghana
Hey everyone, I can't believe that I was actually able to send these along! I'll be brief with this message because it took quite a while for them to download. Sorry about their orientation, I just pulled them right off my camera. So, check them out if you get a chance.
>>> Click here to view a slideshow of my photos on the SPH Web site
Descriptions: 1. An infant being weighed at one of the child welfare clinics held in town. Most baby girls wear the beads you see, around their waist and knees. They will continue to unravel and wear the waist beads throughout their life, but discontinue the knee beads once they lose their "baby fat." 2. An baby receiving a vaccination at the clinic. 3. My family, a friend of the family (the woman from Canada I mentioned), and me at the Aburi botanical garden. 4. Me at the Boti Falls. 5. My host brother (middle) and two neighbor boys taking a break from playing soccer in our yard. 6. My host mother and I pounding/making fufu, my absolute favorite dish here thus far...it is cassava and plantain pounded together to form doughy balls that are served with meat and soup. 7. A man at a loom, weaving traditional Kente cloth in the town of Bonwire, the origin of Kente. The finished product is absolutely gorgeous, as well as quite expensive. 8. A fisherman bringing in his catch of tilapia from Lake Bosumtwi. They paddle the wooden planks out to the spot where their traps are set, dive down under the water to bring them up, paddle back to shore and sell them to you right there, or bring them to market. We bought a good bunch for about $8! They were delicious in soup and the bones are so soft that you can carefully chew them and eat them.
I hope everyone had a safe and fun 4th of July. My day here was great because the sanitation unit gave me the go-ahead to begin my food handling project. I'm going to go around to the different venues and conduct surveys about the sources of the food they use, how its handled, and their hygienic practices. I hope to be able to make some feasible recommendations on how to improve food safety in the area. I am also going to be going to some primary and secondary school classrooms to give some general health education. Can't wait for that!
Take care, all of you! Enjoy some of my favorite views into Ghana!
Peace, Ele