I have always thought it good to be born Ghanaian and still remember with nostalgia the days we sang “Goo blessa oomlan ghaaaaaana” either mixing up or loudly and seriously mispronouncing the words. Though we barely understood what we sang, let alone meant, I can say for myself that the rhythm and the fact that we all sang the same thing filled me with a sense of patriotism. It is indeed a song of many inspiring and courageous words. Speaking of which; resisting the oppressor’s rule indeed needs all our will and might.
Many times however, I have dreamt of becoming a citizen of another country because, experiences and observations give me a feeling which more than I want, that my country is the most unfair.
For me (and I’m sure for many others), Ghana is a land of limited, hidden and unequal opportunities so that the affluent, the “violent” and “double eyed” are the only beneficiaries; they always have been.
Scenario:
A pupil in “Braha bebome” LA primary school is awaken every dawn by a violent shake from a frustrated and nagging mother, the quality of water he uses and drinks is nothing compared to that which is used to flush down the toilet in many other homes. His tattered school uniform is ironed under his pillow-if he sleeps on any - and walks many miles to a school which is the sheer generosity of the shades of a tree. On his tummy,-if he doesn’t have a chair to carry to school, he listens to a teacher who is there “fortunately” because there is no other job. Whose motivation he is told awaits him in heaven and who in many cases, needs to be taught himself.
Another child wakes by a gentle pat on the back, uses treated water that the other child drinks only in his/her dreams. He has access to the internet and parents to help with his homework. He even has private teachers. Imagine that these two characters are tested with the same examination and are expected to pass equally. Your guess is as honest as mine.
Few of the former who are able to make the grade despite all the hardships get to access help from individuals and organizations which is very good but most often its only the “brilliant and needy” as we call them. What happens then to the not brilliant but very needy? Sometimes they just need a second chance and a brighter opportunity. The end result is overcrowding in urban areas and all kinds of social vices as most of them grow up feeling hopeless and useless even if they really are not.
They then become very useful tools in the hands of nation wreckers who train them to do all kinds of ills in the society. Even if they don’t become dangerous in society, what is the future of a nation, a larger section whose people are feeling hopeless and useless? As for the rich, whether brilliant or not, quality education is always assured. Maybe Ghana needs to be bleached a little to be a bit fair because some unfairness in so unfair.
The Ghana I know
I found myself growing up in a place where children are given the least of everything; from meat at the dinner table to a platform for self expression, a place where politics of insults and vindictiveness dominates the airwaves whilst pregnant women lose their lives and babies because of terrible roads, inaccessible transportation service or unavailable health facilities. Where people have their teeth discolored and others develop all kinds of diseases because they cannot get the very water others are using to flush down their toilets to drink, not to mention the “on and offs” of electricity even in the cities.
A Place Where custodians of the law are the very people who break it with impunity; where the police are well known for accepting a daily “offertory” every now and then from drivers who would just not abide by simple rules and regulations. A place where education is a luxury reserved for the rich and influential and those who know the “ways and means”. It is easier to pull out hair from the nostrils than to know of an impending scholarship, let alone access it. As for jobs after school, I don’t want to mention because many people seem to be passing the “interview part two”.
A place where port charges are about fifty times the price of what is being cleared from the port, and the money goes into some few pot bellies who spend it lavishly on young ladies who have no respect for old age. A place where people are treated based on what they have and how much they can give.
I see a place where journalists who can keep those in authority on their toes cannot live without dear brother “solidarity” because the job pays so woefully “well” yet unfortunately, it brings them into contact with very influential people, making it almost impossible not to dance to their “pleasant music”.
A place seemingly peaceful yet very much aware that it is seated on a time bomb of ethnicity, chieftaincy disputes and their big brother, “do or die” politics. A place engulfed with filth, where corruption has done so well for itself by penetrating high, low and spiritual places; from the politician to the pastor, the landlord to the laborer. The list is endless.
A place where everybody is quick to nag about everything especially about government’s incompetence yet they themselves do nothing to brighten their corners. It seems to me the only language the Ghanaian understands is FORCE and for many, the only thing to keep them doing the right thing. Like the conservancy laborers, the tanker drivers and the teachers in Amu Djoleto’s “money Galore”, sometimes I’m tempted to long for a military regime that apply the kind of force to keep people from doing wrong.
One that appreciates zero tolerance for bloodshed, one that is not based on revenge but for the greater good of the greater number-the masses. I am told it is a dangerous wish but sometimes there is absolutely no hope in “democrazy” for the masses and in hopelessness, we wish for any other thing. What a country!
Credit: Gifty Andoh Appiah. (giftdot@yahoo.com)
Friday, April 9, 2010
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Business Plan Development Workshop for members of Tanzania Telecentres Network
Business Plan Development Workshop for members of Tanzania Telecentres Network
From 26th of October to 2nd Of November, 2009
Introduction
As part to IICD's planned Capacity Building activities for it's partners, the idea of developing the entrepreneurial skills and knowledge of has been discussed and implemented in a number of workshops and other occasions. Earlier in the year in August, there was a successful Business Plan Development workshop for staff and management of the ten (10) supported CICs in Northern Ghana.
From the 26th of October to the 2nd Of November, it was the turn of the national Telecentre Network in Tanzania, TTN.
Participation, Content and Observations
With representation from 18 telecentres across Tanzania, the 5 day event at the Crop Marketing and Research Bureau (CROMABU) in Magu, Mwanza sought to ensure that all participants would develop their own Business Plans/Proposals by the end of the period.
Deliberately organised and executed in an informal manner, the five days of brainstorming and fun veered from the conventional way of building capacity on entrepreneurship and business plan development in that it was a practical hands on training through out the period. Miep Lenoir, Knowledge Sharing Officer, and Bernadette Huizinga, Capacity Development Officer were the lead organisers with Coordination from CROMABU, the hosts.
True to the initial objectives, at the end of the workshop every participant had developed a final draft of a personalised business plan and demonstrated a good understanding of the various segments of a business plan. Participants further went on to do a SWOT analysis of the the national network, TTN, to which they belong.
For a Ghanaian trainer who had conducted a similar training on the same topic to a Ghanaian audience a few months earlier, this was an opportunity to learn a few things on inter-cultural domains.
Very noticeable in the plans of the participants was the ambition of the Tanzanian telecentres of owning an FM Station by virtually every telecentre. They considered more, the information needs of the immediate society and how they (telecentres) could offer these services for free or at highly subsidised rates. This was markedly different from the Ghanaian CIC managers' plans. None of the ten (10) participating CICs in Ghana indicated plans of owning an FM Station. They concentrated more on equipment such as Video cameras and photocopiers – equipment that had the potential of raising immediate income for the CIC. Is this observation perhaps linked to Ghana's switch from socialism much earlier than Tanzania's?
Julius Nyerere (the first present of Tanzania – socialist) left the political scene in the 1990s, his party is still in power and so the socialist ideas are still stronger. In Ghana, socialism was overthrown with Kwame Nkrumah in the 1960s, his party no longer in power.
Noticeable also is the fact that although both telecentre groups have founding roots in government funding, the Tanzanian telecentres still enjoy tremendous government support.
At the end of it all, it was clearly visible how telecentre managers who are relatively underpaid are struggling their best to run their telecentres. Job satisfaction seems to stem from the fact that the telecentre managers see themselves as their own bosses with a substantial amount of room to operate with little need for instructions from above. This is true for both Ghanaian and Tanzanian managers.
Possible relevant ideas for Ghanaian telecentres
Not directly linked to the training; it was easy to notice the use of xerophytic plants in the desert like Mwanza for greening the land. It will be interesting to see how the CICs in Ghana can generate relevant content to encourage farmers and other community members to use plants to battle the growth of the Sahara Desert.
The visit to the CROMABU beneficiary community where women are making strides in their livelihoods through improved poultry breeding due to access to information from CROMABU is also worth trying in Ghana.
The Navrongo CIC already has a similar programme with rural women. The Navrongo CIC can adopt some of the modes of communicating information from the telecentre to the beneficiary women. For example, the Navrongo CIC can of the use of notice boards in centralised locations in the beneficiary communities to provide relevant information.
Final Thoughts
On the whole however, the idea of empowering telecentres in partner countries by IICD is a very laudable one and must be encouraged. All efforts should be put into sustaining this initiative and especially to encourage knowledge sharing at the local level or beneficiary level.
From 26th of October to 2nd Of November, 2009
Introduction
As part to IICD's planned Capacity Building activities for it's partners, the idea of developing the entrepreneurial skills and knowledge of has been discussed and implemented in a number of workshops and other occasions. Earlier in the year in August, there was a successful Business Plan Development workshop for staff and management of the ten (10) supported CICs in Northern Ghana.
From the 26th of October to the 2nd Of November, it was the turn of the national Telecentre Network in Tanzania, TTN.
Participation, Content and Observations
With representation from 18 telecentres across Tanzania, the 5 day event at the Crop Marketing and Research Bureau (CROMABU) in Magu, Mwanza sought to ensure that all participants would develop their own Business Plans/Proposals by the end of the period.
Deliberately organised and executed in an informal manner, the five days of brainstorming and fun veered from the conventional way of building capacity on entrepreneurship and business plan development in that it was a practical hands on training through out the period. Miep Lenoir, Knowledge Sharing Officer, and Bernadette Huizinga, Capacity Development Officer were the lead organisers with Coordination from CROMABU, the hosts.
True to the initial objectives, at the end of the workshop every participant had developed a final draft of a personalised business plan and demonstrated a good understanding of the various segments of a business plan. Participants further went on to do a SWOT analysis of the the national network, TTN, to which they belong.
For a Ghanaian trainer who had conducted a similar training on the same topic to a Ghanaian audience a few months earlier, this was an opportunity to learn a few things on inter-cultural domains.
Very noticeable in the plans of the participants was the ambition of the Tanzanian telecentres of owning an FM Station by virtually every telecentre. They considered more, the information needs of the immediate society and how they (telecentres) could offer these services for free or at highly subsidised rates. This was markedly different from the Ghanaian CIC managers' plans. None of the ten (10) participating CICs in Ghana indicated plans of owning an FM Station. They concentrated more on equipment such as Video cameras and photocopiers – equipment that had the potential of raising immediate income for the CIC. Is this observation perhaps linked to Ghana's switch from socialism much earlier than Tanzania's?
Julius Nyerere (the first present of Tanzania – socialist) left the political scene in the 1990s, his party is still in power and so the socialist ideas are still stronger. In Ghana, socialism was overthrown with Kwame Nkrumah in the 1960s, his party no longer in power.
Noticeable also is the fact that although both telecentre groups have founding roots in government funding, the Tanzanian telecentres still enjoy tremendous government support.
At the end of it all, it was clearly visible how telecentre managers who are relatively underpaid are struggling their best to run their telecentres. Job satisfaction seems to stem from the fact that the telecentre managers see themselves as their own bosses with a substantial amount of room to operate with little need for instructions from above. This is true for both Ghanaian and Tanzanian managers.
Possible relevant ideas for Ghanaian telecentres
Not directly linked to the training; it was easy to notice the use of xerophytic plants in the desert like Mwanza for greening the land. It will be interesting to see how the CICs in Ghana can generate relevant content to encourage farmers and other community members to use plants to battle the growth of the Sahara Desert.
The visit to the CROMABU beneficiary community where women are making strides in their livelihoods through improved poultry breeding due to access to information from CROMABU is also worth trying in Ghana.
The Navrongo CIC already has a similar programme with rural women. The Navrongo CIC can adopt some of the modes of communicating information from the telecentre to the beneficiary women. For example, the Navrongo CIC can of the use of notice boards in centralised locations in the beneficiary communities to provide relevant information.
Final Thoughts
On the whole however, the idea of empowering telecentres in partner countries by IICD is a very laudable one and must be encouraged. All efforts should be put into sustaining this initiative and especially to encourage knowledge sharing at the local level or beneficiary level.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Welcome Wolfram|Alpha
The date is 17th May 2009, the time is a few minutes to midnight and I am online wanting to be one of the first few to log onto the launched www.wolframalpha.com
I doze off for a few minutes and when I finally get online a few thousand visitors worldwide had already logged on and made a few queries!
From the cursory look of it, WolframAlpha goes one step beyond the search engines we know of into the real of knowledge engines. For example, instead of the lines of hyperlinks you get when you use your favourite search engine, WolframAlpha gives you precise answers.
My first query to WolframAlpha was “Who is the President of Ghana?” I not only got the precise answer, John Atta Mills, I also got information on the start date of his tenure of office, official designation plus some other relevant information. I did not need to open multiple tabs to pick pieces of information here and there. Everything had been compiled on one page as if someone had anticipated my question and and actually prepared a sheet with answers.
Aparently some of the web pages indexed by my favourite search engine are not yet aware of the transition in Ghana's politics.
The next thing I did in the question bar was to type the equation: 2x + 5 = 13 and instantly I was informed the value of X was 4. Amazing! Plus, there was graph showing how WolframAlpha arrived at the answer
The third time I tried something interesting, I used a popular search engine to look for the distance between the moon and the earth. I got varying answers as wide as twenty thousand miles. I used WolframAlpha and what I got was surprising. All those varying answers, you get in your search engine are indeed correct (sometimes!).
Why sometimes correct? "Because the distance from the earth to the moon is not constant: it changes by as much as a mile a minute. Wolfram|Alpha not only tells you the conventionally quoted average distance, but also the actual distance right now..." Plus, how much time it will take light to travel from the moon to the earth at the present.
So far Wolfram|Alpha has succeeded in taking my time and interest as I explore the numerous possibilities. And I am sure it will be a real tool as it gets more and more popular and the guys behind it get more and more feedback.
I doze off for a few minutes and when I finally get online a few thousand visitors worldwide had already logged on and made a few queries!
From the cursory look of it, WolframAlpha goes one step beyond the search engines we know of into the real of knowledge engines. For example, instead of the lines of hyperlinks you get when you use your favourite search engine, WolframAlpha gives you precise answers.
My first query to WolframAlpha was “Who is the President of Ghana?” I not only got the precise answer, John Atta Mills, I also got information on the start date of his tenure of office, official designation plus some other relevant information. I did not need to open multiple tabs to pick pieces of information here and there. Everything had been compiled on one page as if someone had anticipated my question and and actually prepared a sheet with answers.
Aparently some of the web pages indexed by my favourite search engine are not yet aware of the transition in Ghana's politics.
The next thing I did in the question bar was to type the equation: 2x + 5 = 13 and instantly I was informed the value of X was 4. Amazing! Plus, there was graph showing how WolframAlpha arrived at the answer
The third time I tried something interesting, I used a popular search engine to look for the distance between the moon and the earth. I got varying answers as wide as twenty thousand miles. I used WolframAlpha and what I got was surprising. All those varying answers, you get in your search engine are indeed correct (sometimes!).
Why sometimes correct? "Because the distance from the earth to the moon is not constant: it changes by as much as a mile a minute. Wolfram|Alpha not only tells you the conventionally quoted average distance, but also the actual distance right now..." Plus, how much time it will take light to travel from the moon to the earth at the present.
So far Wolfram|Alpha has succeeded in taking my time and interest as I explore the numerous possibilities. And I am sure it will be a real tool as it gets more and more popular and the guys behind it get more and more feedback.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
When the keyboard becomes history
I have had to teach people on a number of occasions how to type on the 'rather awkward' computer keyboard. Each time, I take some time to explain that this 'rather awkward' arrangement actually makes typing much easier and faster than a 'properly arranged' keyboard.
However, as we move towards 5th generation computers and are already familiar with touch pads, I doubt if the role and usage of keyboards as we know them today will remain the same.
Now a prediction; gradually the touch pad will get more incorporated into personal computers to the extent that users will actually just write using the light pen (or any common device such as a pencil) and then have this converted to any font of choice on the screen onto say a word processing document.
As time goes on, people will get more used to that and making the keyboard somewhat an obsolete 'accessory' used only by techies and conservationists. Gradually, later generations will only see keyboards in a museum or on google images or wikipedia or ..... anywhere else except on their laptops or desktops.
But.....
What will happen to the non alphanumeric keys such as SHIFT, ALT, ESC etc, the Function keys (F1 - F12) and all such?
There will be a small key pad somewhere on the computer or attached optionally to the computer for use as and when needed.
But will this last very long? I doubt how long it will given the trend that voice recognition is also on the rise and is certainly going to be of more convenience. But the challenges of this are yet to be sorted out especially with accent. For example if a computer will respond properly and print out "Water" when it is mentioned by an American, the same computer might just print out "What a" when the same word is mentioned by a Ghanaian.
Its a long interesting road to go. And I look forward to it.
What you think?
However, as we move towards 5th generation computers and are already familiar with touch pads, I doubt if the role and usage of keyboards as we know them today will remain the same.
Now a prediction; gradually the touch pad will get more incorporated into personal computers to the extent that users will actually just write using the light pen (or any common device such as a pencil) and then have this converted to any font of choice on the screen onto say a word processing document.
As time goes on, people will get more used to that and making the keyboard somewhat an obsolete 'accessory' used only by techies and conservationists. Gradually, later generations will only see keyboards in a museum or on google images or wikipedia or ..... anywhere else except on their laptops or desktops.
But.....
What will happen to the non alphanumeric keys such as SHIFT, ALT, ESC etc, the Function keys (F1 - F12) and all such?
There will be a small key pad somewhere on the computer or attached optionally to the computer for use as and when needed.
But will this last very long? I doubt how long it will given the trend that voice recognition is also on the rise and is certainly going to be of more convenience. But the challenges of this are yet to be sorted out especially with accent. For example if a computer will respond properly and print out "Water" when it is mentioned by an American, the same computer might just print out "What a" when the same word is mentioned by a Ghanaian.
Its a long interesting road to go. And I look forward to it.
What you think?
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Christmas is Coming!
Is it really Christmas time in Ghana?
Not that I am the festivity type - Infact I have never been interested in Christmas but perhaps this time round I can afford to think of it somehow. This Christmas, in Ghana, the political campaign songs are louder than the Christmas carols.
The gospel according to political parties is more pronounced than the gospel of the coming of the Lord.
And we anticipate more, the coming of the next president (whom we don't know yet) than the birth of Christ.
The Good Old Days
In those good days the world's biggest problems could be solved with some little persistence and some cry. So soon that already belongs to history but I still relish it.
Every Christmas we were dressed up in the best attire. This included spectacles that with images of animals on them.I still remember the "up and down" that was sewed for me a few times. I felt on top of the world and the two pockets in the front of the shirt came in handy. Sweets, spectacles, biscuits and other Christmas items competed for space in the little pockets.
And I remember how we went door to door in Yendi singing Christmas Carols and the gifts we got after wards - and how we quarreled over the distribution of the gifts.
I also remember how a month to Christmas, Mom would ask me to behave if I wanted to have that bottle of Fanta like the rest of the kids. Chocolate was for the privileged and I knew I would never taste it even if I behaved a saint.
Time has passed since then. Now Christmas means looking back and wishing I still had 3 more months to the end of the year. Another year is just around the corner. Bills and rent should be paid. The plans for the year have not been fully met - not even halfway!
Christmas cards have to be bought or printed for friends and loved ones! You don't want to miss out anybody.
Christmas day is perhaps not going to be different from other days. But certainly, it will mean one less Christmas in this life of (y)ours
Merry Xmas if you read this.
Not that I am the festivity type - Infact I have never been interested in Christmas but perhaps this time round I can afford to think of it somehow. This Christmas, in Ghana, the political campaign songs are louder than the Christmas carols.
The gospel according to political parties is more pronounced than the gospel of the coming of the Lord.
And we anticipate more, the coming of the next president (whom we don't know yet) than the birth of Christ.
The Good Old Days
In those good days the world's biggest problems could be solved with some little persistence and some cry. So soon that already belongs to history but I still relish it.
Every Christmas we were dressed up in the best attire. This included spectacles that with images of animals on them.I still remember the "up and down" that was sewed for me a few times. I felt on top of the world and the two pockets in the front of the shirt came in handy. Sweets, spectacles, biscuits and other Christmas items competed for space in the little pockets.
And I remember how we went door to door in Yendi singing Christmas Carols and the gifts we got after wards - and how we quarreled over the distribution of the gifts.
I also remember how a month to Christmas, Mom would ask me to behave if I wanted to have that bottle of Fanta like the rest of the kids. Chocolate was for the privileged and I knew I would never taste it even if I behaved a saint.
Time has passed since then. Now Christmas means looking back and wishing I still had 3 more months to the end of the year. Another year is just around the corner. Bills and rent should be paid. The plans for the year have not been fully met - not even halfway!
Christmas cards have to be bought or printed for friends and loved ones! You don't want to miss out anybody.
Christmas day is perhaps not going to be different from other days. But certainly, it will mean one less Christmas in this life of (y)ours
Merry Xmas if you read this.
Friday, November 7, 2008
The Obama in Me
I am not the kind of person who would normally idolise other people. Sometimes, I believe this attitude actually prevents me from finding a much needed role model in life. But this year, two people have got me really routing for them and wishing I were them. See, I really idolise them
First was Usain Bolt at the Olympic games. Only heaven knows how I wish I had a son today. I would personally hand him over to Usain and ask him to make sure he transforms him into the next him.
Second and even more important ......... the Obama factor. I still I'm suffering from the Obamania that infected me a little over a year ago. I should have had a son last Tuesday, he would have been named Barrack. Yes, Barrack!
The Obama factor brings a lot of thoughts to me;
First he is an African American, not the original type whose roots cannot be traced. This is the African American whose Kenyan roots are well known. He stood at a time when his native Kenya is in political turmoil. It couldn't be used against him.
Even in Kenya, his tribe Luo doesn't quite sound like an influential tribe. Very few Luos have been able to make it big time even in Kenya. And that couldn't be a discouraging thing! I have a Luo friend and I know what I'm talking about here.
And did you know his middle name is Hussein? This name is not a very likable name in the US, thanks to Obama's predecessor. Yet his middle name couldn't be used against him.
He is a first time senator with very 'little experience'. And when his opponents brought this up, it actually earned him more votes.
For me, the key lessons in this feat can never be over-emphasised; No matter what conditions you find yourself in or are born into, you can wade your way out of it just if you are determined.
The world is gradually moving to the stage where colour or creed or tribe or looks would no longer matter. And that offers a lot of hope.
I feel so Obama these days and hope this euphoria lasts till the day he becomes the first minority to successfully rule the United States to hand over after two full terms.
What does an Obama Presidency offer Africa, Asia and Latin America? Not much, in my opinion. What I do know is that it offers more hope.
First was Usain Bolt at the Olympic games. Only heaven knows how I wish I had a son today. I would personally hand him over to Usain and ask him to make sure he transforms him into the next him.
Second and even more important ......... the Obama factor. I still I'm suffering from the Obamania that infected me a little over a year ago. I should have had a son last Tuesday, he would have been named Barrack. Yes, Barrack!
The Obama factor brings a lot of thoughts to me;
First he is an African American, not the original type whose roots cannot be traced. This is the African American whose Kenyan roots are well known. He stood at a time when his native Kenya is in political turmoil. It couldn't be used against him.
Even in Kenya, his tribe Luo doesn't quite sound like an influential tribe. Very few Luos have been able to make it big time even in Kenya. And that couldn't be a discouraging thing! I have a Luo friend and I know what I'm talking about here.
And did you know his middle name is Hussein? This name is not a very likable name in the US, thanks to Obama's predecessor. Yet his middle name couldn't be used against him.
He is a first time senator with very 'little experience'. And when his opponents brought this up, it actually earned him more votes.
For me, the key lessons in this feat can never be over-emphasised; No matter what conditions you find yourself in or are born into, you can wade your way out of it just if you are determined.
The world is gradually moving to the stage where colour or creed or tribe or looks would no longer matter. And that offers a lot of hope.
I feel so Obama these days and hope this euphoria lasts till the day he becomes the first minority to successfully rule the United States to hand over after two full terms.
What does an Obama Presidency offer Africa, Asia and Latin America? Not much, in my opinion. What I do know is that it offers more hope.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
A close shave
Last weekend I decided I had had enough of the complains that I was working myself out.
So off I was to the VRA clubhouse in Tamale on my motor bike and backpack. I thought I would have a hard time getting into the water since I was without company and could easily become self-aware. Fortunately there were a couple of known faces so it was an easy thing to dive in there and to start doing my own thing.
After a while of "flexing" my swimming skill I decided to go for the kill. I handed my camera to a friend, Paul. His task: - To video me on my non-stop return trip across the Olympic sized pool. It was an easy trip to the shallow end. I promptly turned for the return lap.
Who ever deceived me I was capable of snatching an Olympic gold medal in swimming had obviously been lying big time to me. Why did I try this adventure in the first place?
Just as I got back into the deeper waters (about 7 feet deep) my muscles gave in; they were too tired to go on. For my lungs, it was decided it was time to recycle that stale air in there. The short breaths I had been taking while breathing were not enough to sustain me now. But that was the wrong place to think of doing that. I stopped to catch my breath but.... No, I am only 5'10". I panicked as I tried to come to the surface for atl east a milliliter cube of air. The time above the surface was too short for that. I found myself going down there again. That was when it dawned on me I had made the mistake of my life. What was I to do?
I took a U-turn, at least I was closer to the shallower part than to the end of the pool. So with a couple or so double strokes I tried swimming away from danger. I thought I'd done enough to stand up and take some rest but................ No. It was still too deep. At this point, I decided to throw both hands in the air to signal a desperate swimmer. No one took notice. But I simply could not afford to cry out. with a strong effort I pushed again for the top, with my hands in the air to signal that I NEEDED help. Wasn't anybody human enough to save a poor soul? Still, no one took notice.
So... a few more strokes and this time, it was just enough have my feet on the ground with my head above water and phew! some long awaited sweet oxygen. I waded to the other end of the pool to finally take a good dose of air.
Paul walked with me camera in hand to announce that he had captured it all on video. I could go back home and view how I had had to abort my return journey and how I had struggled to escape drinking a few cups of pool water.
"So you knew I was suffering and you didn't come to save me?" He smiled and responded, "I knew you would come out"
So off I was to the VRA clubhouse in Tamale on my motor bike and backpack. I thought I would have a hard time getting into the water since I was without company and could easily become self-aware. Fortunately there were a couple of known faces so it was an easy thing to dive in there and to start doing my own thing.
After a while of "flexing" my swimming skill I decided to go for the kill. I handed my camera to a friend, Paul. His task: - To video me on my non-stop return trip across the Olympic sized pool. It was an easy trip to the shallow end. I promptly turned for the return lap.
Who ever deceived me I was capable of snatching an Olympic gold medal in swimming had obviously been lying big time to me. Why did I try this adventure in the first place?
Just as I got back into the deeper waters (about 7 feet deep) my muscles gave in; they were too tired to go on. For my lungs, it was decided it was time to recycle that stale air in there. The short breaths I had been taking while breathing were not enough to sustain me now. But that was the wrong place to think of doing that. I stopped to catch my breath but.... No, I am only 5'10". I panicked as I tried to come to the surface for atl east a milliliter cube of air. The time above the surface was too short for that. I found myself going down there again. That was when it dawned on me I had made the mistake of my life. What was I to do?
I took a U-turn, at least I was closer to the shallower part than to the end of the pool. So with a couple or so double strokes I tried swimming away from danger. I thought I'd done enough to stand up and take some rest but................ No. It was still too deep. At this point, I decided to throw both hands in the air to signal a desperate swimmer. No one took notice. But I simply could not afford to cry out. with a strong effort I pushed again for the top, with my hands in the air to signal that I NEEDED help. Wasn't anybody human enough to save a poor soul? Still, no one took notice.
So... a few more strokes and this time, it was just enough have my feet on the ground with my head above water and phew! some long awaited sweet oxygen. I waded to the other end of the pool to finally take a good dose of air.
Paul walked with me camera in hand to announce that he had captured it all on video. I could go back home and view how I had had to abort my return journey and how I had struggled to escape drinking a few cups of pool water.
"So you knew I was suffering and you didn't come to save me?" He smiled and responded, "I knew you would come out"
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