Life in Jamestown

So the best part about quitting your job and buying a one way ticket to a new country is that when you arrive, there is nothing, I mean nothing, tying your schedule down. "Wo ye free" as they say here, and boy did I welcome this new found feeling at the start of my adventure. Lucky for me, Sharifah has been in the game for about 8 months now so she has a little more of a routine going. In the time that she has been here, she has built a successful repertoire as a budding videographer. What does that mean? She makes videos y'all, and she's pretty darn good at it. Her growing success in a market that is still growing here means that she is usually the first one people call when they need videos made. I had the pleasure of accompanying her during one of her gigs my first week.

In all my past trips to Ghana I never got the opportunity to spend much time here in Accra so every trip I took in the beginning my head was half way out the window admiring all the sites. To be real though, it still is a lot of the time.

Told you so!

Sharifah's assignment was to shoot a intro/informational video for a new NGO working with a Jamestown school. She lured me in by telling me I would be getting to see the beach, but trust, it was far from a bikinis and beers kinda day. Jamestown is one of the oldest districts in Accra, an area also commonly referred to as "British Accra" due to their heavy presence centuries ago. It is a fishing town, and sadly most recently is a highly neglected seaside community. Regardless, it is still a big tourist attraction- you can't deny the beauty of the beaches, characteristic lighthouse, or the old forts.

 

(images courtesy of google)

Our destination was short walk away from the main road. When we got there, it was lunchtime and the kids were feasting on white rice and stew, a staple here. For those of you who know me, you know that I wasting no time getting chummy with all the little kids-mind you, some of them were not too shy either. So you know how excited kids get when you give them a toy, or candy, or any other object of their desire? Pair that with the excitement/greed that overcomes them when they know that object can be theirs, no sharing required. That my friend, is exactly what happened when Sharifah pulled out her camera. These kids may not have a lot, but by golly they have full knowledge of what a camera is, and what it means. The posing was priceless!!! The pushes, shoves, and tripping over each other I could have done without. As Sharifah struggled to get some good shots, (the kids would not stay still-everyone wanted a piece of the limelight!) I played referee and instructed, and at times reprimanded, the kids in Twi to the best of my ability.

We spent about 15 minutes outside before we were taken inside the school to get a good look. When I say school, I mean one large room with portable partitions to divide the different age levels. We witnessed three. The youngest group, and most populous, took up one third and spent their time learning, drawing, and naming various shapes. I was too consumed with the two 1.5 (ish?) yr olds battling it out over toys in the back. The girl took the trophy for that match I can you that. The kids ranged in age from about 4-7. The next "class" was the 8-12 year olds who were busy doing algebra. The last group, was age 12 and up. They were working on multiplying, dividing, etc. powers. I patted myself on the back for being able to solve one or two.

*pics to come.

Sharifah wanted to get a few shots of the surrounding area so we were escorted by one of the teachers to the waterside. He gave me a little rundown of his history and told me a bit more about the school. I was more than impressed by his work and dedication to the kids. He told me about seeing many of the kids in the community just hanging around and convincing them to come to his school instead. I don't think it was possible to admire him more after he told me that. My western "ticks" were kicking in, and I needed to return to some A/C  shade so we headed back to pick up our things from the school. I don't know where this little firecracker was hiding all day but her timing was impeccable. I noticed her when she thought it would be funny to slap my butt- she's lucky she was so cute. She spent the last 20 minutes of my visit antagonizing me with sticks and just flat out hitting me. I can't say I wasn't having a good time. After a day of "learning" and and writing the kids' english names on their chalkboards it was time to head out, my fragile American skin had had enough of the scorching West African sun. I unfortunately spent too much time enjoying the kids and not enough documenting it. Luckily, Sharifah did so I will be following up with more pics from the day. Until then, let me leave you with Sharifah's final product, a beaut if you ask me. I know they're accepting donations so if any of you are feeling generous....yeah you get it. NO PRESSURE.  checkkk it outtttt. you don't wanna miss it. I HAVE A CAMEO and also yes, I want to show you, that "dis is ghana."

The Noyaa Association shot and edited by Sharifah Issaka March 2013.


peace & fufu
Ohemaa J