This past week I have been very busy collecting and analyzing samples from Tarkwa and surrounding villages. It has been exhausting but wonderful! I have spent a lot of time worrying about my project the last couple months and now that I am actually getting some data I feel empowered and optimistic. I have been working almost everyday to meet the goals that I put forth in my grant proposal and really feel that I can do some great work in my final two months in Africa. Can it really be only two months until I return?
Well, I promised last time to write a bit about my trip to the coast on April 19 and 20th. It was just after I returned from Accra with my supplies and although I was tired from all the traveling, I was excited to get a small vacation in before I began sampling. My friend Henry and I went to Takoradi and Cape Coast on the southern coast of Ghana. Takoradi is a city a bit larger than State College and has some amenities that are lacking in my small town of Tarkwa, for example, a bookstore. There are no bookstores in Tarkwa (except school books) and I love to read for relaxation. Henry said there was a “large” bookstore that he knew of and I had to admit the sign outside the store was quite elaborate. Well, the store was not exactly what I was hoping for. The store only had about 100 fiction and nonfiction books to choose from and they were all used (some really in poor condition), but I found four sci-fi books that look interesting and seemed to have all the pages so I was very happy. I also purchased a Ghana cookbook so I can treat you all to some traditional goat hoof soup when I return!
From the bookstore we traveled by tro-tro (big van) to Cape Coast to visit Kakum Nature Reserve and the Cape Coast Castle. By the time we got to Kakum it was late in the afternoon, but we still made the last tour of the day. The tour consists of traveling through the reserve area on a rope bridge that is suspended about 40 meters (130 feet) above the ground. Did I mention that I am afraid of heights?
Unfortunately, we didn’t see any animals. Not only do the animals rest during the day because of the heat, but the folks behind us screamed nearly the whole time on the bridge, ensuring that any animals who might have wandered into view were scared off by the noise. Bummer! You can take night and early morning tours, where you are more likely to see animals, but they are rather expensive and the timing of our trip didn’t allow for a night in Cape Coast. However, I do hope to make another trip to Kakum before I leave and possibly spend the night at a nearby hotel so I can actually see some animals.
From Kakum we traveled back to the town to tour the Cape Coast Castle. I would have to say that this was the most interesting and most depressing thing that I have experienced in Ghana. Cape Coast Castle was a hub of the West African slave trade. It was the place where slaves were kept before shipping them off to the Americas. You could almost feel pain radiating off the walls of the dungeons. The tour guide told of the terrible conditions and horrific experiences of the slaves while in captivity. As we walked into the dark dungeons and torture rooms Henry held my hand as I cried. Neither of us said much on the tro-tro back to Takoradi.
Here is a picture of the castle and of the 'door of no return'. Once you left this door you were loaded on a ship and knew you would never see you country again!
We spent the night in Takoradi, which besides the large bookstore, has an American restaurant. At this oasis I had a glorious, wonderful hamburger! I told Henry he should try some US food, but he politely declined and ordered some banku with fish. The next day we hung out on a beach and relaxed to the sound of music and surf. I was excited for the start of the week and the start of work!
I met with Isaac (Fifi is his local name) on Monday to discuss water sampling sites and protocols. In case you are wondering, Abina is my local name, which means Tuesday born. Isaac is a master’s student here at UMaT and has interest in several sites that are also of interest to my project. We are basically looking at wells and boreholes in and near Tarkwa. I want to focus primarily on drinking water sites, whereas he is surveying the whole area. We will sample about 60 sites in total. After the analysis of these samples, I will select 10 sites with interesting results to sample monthly. I believe I can get Isaac or another student to take and analyze the sample sites when I am back in the States (July-December). Isaac works at a lab that has the capability to do bacterial and some metals analysis, while I have the ability to analyze for many heavy metals (copper, chromium, lead, cobalt, etc.) and some non-metals like nitrate and phosphate.
Sampling began on Wednesday and it was very successful! The local people were very helpful with information regarding what the water is used for and approximately how many people use the well or borehole. We could also gather information about how reliable the source was and if there was ever any sort of bad smell, taste or illness associated with the water. We get a lot of attention when we go out. Isaac says this is primarily because of the Broni that accompanies him, but I prefer to think that the people are just very interested in the quality of their water J. Kids will follow us to the sites asking me tons of questions and asking me to take their photo, even in the pouring rain. It disturbs me that more of them don’t attend school! At one site we had to meet with the village chief and elders before we were permitted to take the sample. It was just like in the movies! We sat on benches in a circle while the chief and elders asked us questions about who we were and what we were doing. Isaac translated for me, since they don’t speak English, and after a while they took a vote to see if we could collect a sample. The major concern was that we may be from the local mining company. They don’t like the company because it takes away their farm and hunting lands and pollute the waterways. They thought we may be spies coming to survey the land or that we would falsify the water data in the mining companies favor. I guess they were satisfied with our responses because they let us sample their drinking water borehole. Here are some pictures of the sampling sites. The first is a drinking water borehole, the second is a rudimentary well. The well is only occasionally used for drinking, but becuase it is uncovered and at ground level it should never be used for drinking.
Well, we sampled Wednesday and Friday all day in pouring rain. On Thursday and Saturday I spent about 14 hours each day analyzing samples. I don’t have a good way of storing samples, so I try to analyze them within 24-28 hours. There is a small refrigerator in the lab, which will hold one day’s samples (about 10-12 bottles), so I need to empty it before each sampling trip. We have two more sampling days scheduled for this week (I am writing this on Sunday, April 27), so I will have lots of work to do to keep me out of trouble. That being said, every day in Ghana is an adventure and I am sure I will have some stories for my next blog!
For those of you who are wondering, I had running water briefly on Friday but it was off again on Saturday and today. That makes nine waterless days out of 10! I have hope that tomorrow I will be able to take a nice long shower!!
No comments:
Post a Comment