Updates

Merry Christmas!! It’s my 3^rd Christmas here in Yapalsi and it went by just like my first one, unnoticed. Haha.  I spent the day peeling cassava and hanging out with my family. How much cassava does it take to feed a family of 10 for a year? I’m not sure but I know it takes more than 10 solid days of peeling from 7am-4pm.  I was only around for 2 of those days because I’ve been down in Accra.\

I was down in Accra to have a medical checkup (I’ve been deemed healthy and happy) and to say goodbye to the last of my fellow colleagues that boarded the same plane for Ghana as I did. It’s strange to think that it’s been 2 years but I’m ready to do a bonus one.

Back up in Yapalsi we started a women’s savings group where every week the women meet and deposit a bit of money in a lock box. The money that is saved can then be given out in the form of loans. This allows the women a way to get loans that they otherwise would not be able to. The woman has a set amount of time to pay back the loan with a small interest. At the end of a term (decided by the women) the women collect their saved money. 

The example I always use to explain the benefit of a savings group is… “There is a peanut farmer. They don’t have the money to buy seeds for this year so they don’t grow any peanuts. That is obviously not good. Now the alternative is that this person takes a loan from their savings group. They use the money to buy and plant the seeds. When the peanuts mature they can sell the extra and pay back their loan while also having peanuts.”

We’ve just had our 9^th meeting and my group has managed to save close to 300 cedis (roughly 150 dollars). In truth my group doesn’t seem to be too interested in the loans aspect, but if they are just happy saving than I’m happy. I also think they want to see how the savings go for their first term (decided to be 6 months) before trying anything more risky.

So once again Merry Christmas! 

(It is also once again bush rat season. Tis the season to be happy! I’ve gone from being slightly horrified/scared to eagerly anticipating them. Good or bad?)

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!

Kids of all ages are allowed to participate... you'd think it would be horribly dangerous however I've yet to see one of them cut themselves in my 2 years. Of course the knives are extraordinarily dull too.

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I wrote a blog a few months ago in October about the Muslim holiday back in October so here it is:

Eid Al-Adha

Sala Day! The Feast of the Sacrifice. It’s one of two religious holidays celebrated by Muslims worldwide. It marks the end of the annual Hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca. Its a time where my village gets to eat themselves silly. 

My entire village (being Muslim) celebrated Sala day in great style and energy. Lots of rice balls, fufu, and MEAT. Many a goat, sheep, ram, chicken, rabbit, and 1 cow met their end Oct. 16^th in Yapalsi.  Everybody got to eat meat and sharing the same diet as my village I was (nearly) as excited as my 10 year old sister to be getting some meat. It’s been a long while.

There was drumming and dancing with no alcohol. It was just pure old traditional celebration. It was great. Two other people came to Yapalsi to attend, one was a PCV at a deaf school nearby and another a JICA volunteer living at a veterinary college 8km away from my village. I think the two of them got their fill of local festivities!

I’m really enjoying hanging out in village.