Motech Field Lab (Ghana)

This morning was the first time I got up early enough to see the ship enter port. I was so excited for my field lab that I went straight to breakfast and headed straight to the bus. On the way to my field lab it was a very bumpy ride. The roads were worse than the potholes in Brooklyn; it literally felt like I was on a roller coaster. Along the way there was scenery like that which I have never seen before. The streets were congested with cars and people and almost every area looked industrial. Homeless people were passed out on the sidewalks, on top of shacks and on the outskirts of the beach. There were many buildings unfinished or run-down. 

For a country that is supposed to be on a path to development, I could not understand what I was seeing.  The bus tour guide – Kofi - stated that there are not any standard regulations put on finishing buildings. He also explained that you’re able to build at your own economic strength, at a time when your pockets will allow you to finish building. 

However, seeing Ghana like this, which is supposed to be a developing country, made me wonder about the rest of the countries in the world that are supposed to be making their way up the ladder as well. Do they all have the same regulations as Ghana, which are no regulations, and if so, when will we be expecting to see a greater Ghana one day? 

The first few hours in Ghana were a definite culture shock and something all very new to me. But once I made it to my field lab I really was amazed at how some people live on a day-to-day basis. Throughout this semester, I would hear that 48% people live on just $2 a day, but seeing it in front of your eyes is something completely different.

During my field lab to the Grameen Foundation there were three components; first was the Grameen Foundation in Ghana, next was the Ghana Health Agency, and last was a visit to a village. At the Grameen Foundation, their focus was on the business of Motech. Motech undertakes two community initiatives which are the Mobile Midwife and Nursing Application. Mobile Midwife is a concept used in mobile technology for community health. This concept allows nurses to interact with their patients in the community through mobile phones. Through this application, the nurses are able to give information to patients so that they won’t have to travel far for a visit. The Nursing Application is a system the nurses use to keep up with the patient’s current files. The nurses have a specialized cellular device which they use to send and receive information from the server about the community patients.  This allows them to send out reminders and alerts to the community women of any upcoming or missed doctor’s visits, educational and procedural information about birth, and tips on how to save money for delivery. 

Motech is used for the increase of quantity and quality of prenatal care in Ghana through the use of mobile phones. The focus of the Motech project is on Millennium Goals 4 and 5, which is reducing child mortality rates and improving maternal health. The idea is to provide primary healthcare for Ghanaian residents. Motech has been a success in many communities but just like any other business, there are still challenges that are faced. Challenges faced in the community are network connection with the mobile phones, dietary myths, and traditional superstitions and rites. There are many myths and superstitions that Ghanaians believe and have affected pregnancy. The evil eye is a myth and it's a belief that someone can take a woman's baby out of her stomach before she is due. Saying this, many women would prefer community members not to know they are pregnant before she is showing.

During the agency visit, the woman in charge discussed how Motech helps the agency keep up with the women in Ghana. Thirty percent of women and children have no postnatal check within the first 6 weeks of birth. The agency gets information and statistics from Motech about the women who participate which then allow them to find those who haven’t been reached. One thing I found interesting was that everything was written down on paper; there weren’t any technological devices for data. 

The community profiles and action plans of 2012 were outlined on construction paper; and the profiles of the women were documented in a large paper-bound book. I wasn’t sure if it was an economic factor or a technological incapability but I had a chance at the end of my field lab to ask the woman in charge of the bookkeeping. She explained that electricity is a big issue in the villages and it’s something that most villages do not have. She stated that they would love to have access to programs to maintain the profiles, but at this point and time it will not be able to happen.

My fellow classmates and I had a chance to go to a village and meet the women who have participated in the Motech initiative. The women had nothing but good things to say about Motech. 

They spoke about how useful it is and how much it comes in handy. 

One thing I was concerned about was how much the women depended on the mobile phones. I believe the women should not rely so much on the phones because the network in Ghana is not the greatest. If they aren’t able to receive service at that moment in time, they could miss a very important call or text. This type of condition could result in a mishap or unfortunate accident for the woman and the baby. Aside from this assumption of challenges faced, the organization itself seems to be great and is leaving women healthy and happy. On another note, the village I visited was very different from my living space in the U.S. I was amazed at how people lived and what some would even call a home. Some of the children in the village weren’t wearing any shoes and had dirt all over their feet. One little girl had leaves and flies sticking to her legs. This part of my field lab was really overwhelming for me and made me question a lot of things about life. I couldn’t understand how I wasn’t that child in the village carrying a bowl of water on my head. I couldn’t fathom how I was not born into the conditions I saw the children in the village living in. Why was I so fortunate versus the children in the village? Still a question I can’t find the answer to.

Walking back to the bus I had two children following me, a little girl and a little boy. They were talking to me but I couldn’t understand because they didn’t speak English. I didn’t know what to say or do, all I know is I wanted to embrace them with a hug. 

Along the way to the bus I stopped and saw something that looked like a teepee with a clay-looking object in the middle. Unsure of what it was, Kofi came in front of me and told me it was a kitchen. At this moment I looked at him, then looked at the teepee, then looked at him again… “This, this is a kitchen?” I asked. He said, “Yes, it’s a kitchen; the clay object in the middle are where sticks are placed to burn fire and cook the food.” Hearing all of this, all I could do was stand there and shake my head. Stunned by my surroundings, I was the last one to return to the bus. Kofi and the children were still with me as I walked back.

After leaving the kitchen, Kofi turned to me and said, “Is this your first time being in a country like this?”

 “Yes” I said

“It’s a lot different from your country, right?” he said

“Yes, way different from my country. I never saw anything like this before. I can’t understand how people could live like this.”

Kofi then told me, “Life goes on. The people of Ghana don’t allow their living circumstances to bring down their spirits. They take it one day at a time and keep pushing for better.”

When Kofi was finished talking I walked in silence to the bus and thought to myself. Thinking about if I could be as strong as the people in the village, I was uncertain that I could. 

This field lab was definitely an eye opener for me. Like I stated in the beginning of this texts, it is one thing hearing about poverty and another seeing it in person. I can honestly say that I was not fully prepared for what I had encountered. Finally making it to the bus I watched the two children following me wave goodbye as the bus took off. 

The picture of those two children saying goodbye will always remain with me.

El España

During my trip to Spain, I spent time in Cádiz, Jérez de la Frontera and Gibraltar. The first day I explored Cádiz and worked on some school work. The streets of Cádiz were really clean and the walls of graffiti were like art.    

Two friends and I did some sightseeing by walking around the city and on the beach fronts. We grabbed some tapas, which are small appetizers of different foods, from a local seafood restaurant in the city center. In the restaurant, I had my first experience eating shark which tasted better than other fish. I couldn’t believe I even took a chance on eating it; this was something definitely out of my element if you don’t know me (lol). But I’m glad I did because I loved it! After leaving the tapas restaurant we went to grab some gelatos from across the street. Since Ghana was our next port, we weren’t sure when would be the next time we would have gelatos, so we lived it up (lol). 

Later that night a group of us went out on the town to explore the nightlife in Cádiz. Two things that stuck out to me were that in every bank I saw, there were homeless people sleeping on the inside of the ATM vestibules. They would all pile up on such little floor space and stay in there for the night. The second thing was that Cádiz felt like the safest city I have been in throughout all of my ports. I felt so safe in Cádiz and never felt threated; I thought this was such a weird contrast. Because Cádiz was the first city to have the most homeless people among the rest of the European cities on our voyage, it was surprising that I felt safest there. Everyone in the city kept to themselves and was really laid back. My first day and night in Cádiz were easy, relaxed and observatory. 

The second day, on the other hand, was a bit spicier. On my second day a few friends and I took a bus to Jérez de la Frontera to watch a Flamenco show at La Cuna del Flamenco (Resturante Tablao Corpas). 

We were lucky because that day was the last day of the flamenco festival season. Flamenco is a huge deal in Spain; it is a very traditional dance in Spain that millions from around the world come to see. In the past history of flamenco, the dance was shown as a more provocative style of dancing. Men would belittle the women who did it but wanted more of them because of the provocative moves. Today, the flamenco dance is an empowering dance for women and is a show of pride for them to tell their stories.         

On our way to the show we looked around at the buildings and cathedrals. Jérez is a beautiful city inside the autonomous region of Andalusia. We ate some tapas at a local restaurant and had a traditional Spanish drink, “tinto de verano.” Fifteen minutes before the show started we walked back to the restaurant and waited for the performers to come out. The hosts of the restaurant gave us complimentary traditional Spanish wine. Specifically, one was Sherry wine, a very famous dry white wine from Spain that has a high export demand. Personally, I wasn’t a fan of the Sherry wine or any type of wine in Spain. Spain has dry and spicy (hardcore) wine that is not easy to drink (lol), but I must say I was a fan of the tinto de verano.

When the show finally started everyone was so excited, including me. On stage there were three men and one woman. The woman started the show off by singing a song really loudly, a love story, and one of the men played the lead male actor of the love story; the two of them tap-danced separately and together. The intensity of the tap-dancing was something to make you feel the passion in the story. The second song described a time in her life when she was abused by her husband. The flamenco show was something new for me and very enjoyable; I would definitely see one again.

Before coming to Spain, the ship made an announcement that we wouldn’t be traveling to Morocco anymore. Because of the issues that had arisen between the U.S. and the Middle East, Semester at Sea (SAS) decided that for our safety it would be in our best interest not to go. Though there were no threats from Morocco, SAS did not want anything to stir up while we were there. When I heard the news about not going to Morocco, I was so upset. Morocco was the main country I was looking forward to visiting but I knew it was best for us not to go.

Since I was unable to go to Morocco, I spent my last day in Spain traveling to Gibraltar. Gibraltar geographically is a part of Spain but is a territory of the United Kingdom.  Spain is constantly fighting the U.K. because they feel the U.K. is trying to take over their country and possess their land. I was told that from the Rock of Gibraltar you are able to see Morocco because it’s located only a few miles across the Strait of Gibraltar. When I heard this, I knew the only way I would feel okay about not going to Morocco would be to see it from Gibraltar. 

The morning of my last day in port it was pouring heavily outside and many people from the ship, including me, were traveling to Gibraltar to climb the Rock of Gibraltar. Hesitant about going in the rain, it made me question whether I really wanted to climb a huge rock or not. I’m glad I made the decision to go because I had the greatest time. 

                       

I had a chance to see monkeys and experience naturally-formed caves that are breathtaking.  When I heard there were going to be monkeys on the mountain I was so anxious to see them until I got there. The monkeys were like thug monkeys (lol); they were very vicious and loved to take things out of people’s bags and hands. One of the monkeys jumped on my friend’s head and she started to scream (lol). She was so terrified the monkey was going to fall she tried to grab him to put him down and the monkey tried to bite her finger. It was so bad! At that point, we were all ready to go because the monkeys were crazy. Aside from the terrifying monkeys, I also wasn’t able to see Morocco that day because it was so cloudy from the top of the rock. Nonetheless, I did have a chance to see naturally-formed caves which were absolutely beautiful! My trip through Spain to Gibraltar was great and I’m glad I had a chance to experience climbing the Rock of Gibraltar.  

Portugal “Querer E Poder

Lisboaaa!!!! I will be back as soon as I get some money (lol).

On a serious note, Portugal has to be the most beautiful country that I have seen yet. This country is so gorgeous! The funniest part about it is that this is the country that I have seen the most graffiti in. This might sound really weird but it is true, and it’s not the graffiti that makes it so beautiful. If anything, because the country was so beautiful I was able to look over the graffiti walls. The scenery of the cities, beaches, ancient architecture, and the colorful or pure white homes really made this country pop. While I was in Portugal I spent two days at two different beaches just because of the views (not exaggerating).

At night the Portuguese didn’t come out until late - probably not until after 11pm - they eat late and party late. The lifestyle that the Portuguese live is just so laid back. I had the best food in Portugal and the greatest time (lol). 

Unfortunately, right now Portugal is not in good economic standing because of their economic crisis. Because of this, when you visit the center of the city, you’ll tend to see many outside street actors, artists and entertainers working to earn 
some extra money. 

The coolest street performer that I saw was a man posing as a juggling sculpture.

Even though the country is experiencing economic downfalls right now, I would still recommend anyone to go and have a good time. While I was there I was able to visit some of the country’s special sights as well - the Castle of São Jorge and the Alfama District.

The Alfama District

Alfama is the oldest district of Lisbon, Portugal. It is between the Castle of São Jorge and the Tagus River. The Alfama area contains many important historical attractions, restaurants and fado bars. During the era of Moorish domination, Alfama was the first neighborhood started in the city. During the medieval and early modern European times, many Europeans referred to anyone of African or Arab descent as a Moor but there were no specific people or groups of people that were classified as Moors. It is a term made up from European settlers during that time. However, it was during this specific time that Alfama was established. The district of Alfama is a beautiful place to see that has great views overlooking the city.

               

The streets in Alfama are small and very narrow due to the Great Lisbon Earthquake that took place in 1755. The houses are so close to one another that you can hand something right out your window to your next-door-neighbor. Although this tragic natural disaster took place it truly helped create a unique look for the district of Alfama. In Lisbon, Alfama is known to be a poor area with bad neighborhood conditions. But when I went to the district it didn’t even register to me that it was a poor neighborhood. I could tell it was an older area but it was still a beautiful historical place.

Today in Alfama there are some new restaurants and renovations on some of the older houses. There are also many small businesses and entrepreneurs that I was able to meet when I was in the area. One in particular was a woman who was interested in handmade jewelry from any kind of scraps of metal, plastic and utensils. My friends and I spent about 2 hours in her shop looking and talking to her about business. 

There were so many amazing designs to her jewelry; we were so upset that we couldn't afford much. Unfortunately, she didn't allow pictures to be taken, so I was unable to do so. However, my friends and I did have her custom-make dog tags for us. Everyone had engraved their own personal statements that meant something to them. I told the woman I wanted something in Portuguese that meant setting your mind to something eliminates the impossible. The words to symbolize what I was looking for took forever to come up with but when she finally figured it out, I was satisfied (lol). She thought of an old Portuguese saying that meant exactly want I was looking for: “Querer E Poder,” which is a Portuguese statement that means what you want, you get and if you set your mind to it nothing is impossible. Out of all my souvenirs from different countries this is one that is dear to me. The symbolism of my tag represents my story of getting to where I was that day and all the hard work it took.  Not to mention, Portugal is one of my favorite countries so it was just right to have a necklace that sits near my heart (lol).

St. George’s Castle

The Castle of São Jorge (St. George Castle) is also an ancient landmark that was built during the 6th century. Saint George's Castle is oldest parts dated during that time, when it was fortified by the Romans, Visigoths, and eventually the Moors. It also served as a Moorish royal residence until Portugal's first king Afonso Henriques took over in 1147 with the help of northern European crusaders. The castle was dedicated to St. George, the patron saint of England, commemorating the Anglo-Portuguese pact dating from 1371.The castle looks over the whole city of Lisbon and is located at the top of the highest hill in the city; and it is one of the main historical attractions in Lisbon.

                              

                     

Trying to make the sunset on my way to St. George's Castle, I was pretty disappointed when my friends and I missed it. I was told by many of the residents in Portugal that it was a sight you must see, so we left the beach and tried to catch it. Unfortunately, we didn't end up making it for sunset but the city was just as beautiful at night with all the city lights.