GHexpat

Actually as I write this, I’m no longer in Tamale.  My trip was cut short by, most simply put, an employer stabbing me in the back.  The workforce in Ghana is dominated by small-scale scale entrepreneurs, which makes it more readily possible for workers to be treated unfairly as opposed to being employed in a corporate-like system.  But that’s a discussion for another day. For the most part, I enjoyed my time in Tamale though fell really sick upon departing, and it took me a good week to get over that illness.   The best thing about the city, as opposed to those in in the south of country (including Accra), is the low cost of living.   The caveat though is that Tamale is generally dirty, which logically would contribute to sickness if your body isn’t used to the environment.   And what it feels like is that I caught a case of malaria, very weakening though thankfully not completely debilitating. SOME VILLAGES CLEANER THAN THE CITY Some of the villages o...

I remember a few years back, I was reading what may have been a Watchtower pamphlet.  There was an intriguing article about this old American couple who was in one of those Asian island countries that has serious civil issues.  They ended up being kidnapped by a band of rebels, those types that are always moving around in the bush so that they won't be detected.  The rigors of being on foot like that wasn't easy for them, and unfortunately the husband died along the way.  So it was the wife who lived to tell the tale. While captive they did a lot of praying, as to be expected.  And as time progressed and they grew more accustomed to being captive in the bush, it even reached a point where, according to the wife the couple prayed to the Lord Himself for hamburgers.  And one day, out of nowhere, it's like they found themselves on the outskirts of the city and were able to get some. There's now Burger King in Ghana, thank God. It was that particular aspect of...

On 16 May 2018 while working with Be The Change Foundation I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Evert Van Effelen from the Netherlands , someone who had volunteered with the organization in the past and came by to check on its progress.  What I thought would be a casual exchange of pleasantries led to an hour-long conversation in which I was so intrigued with Evert that I requested to interview him the next day for this blog, of which he obliged. Evert @ Twitter Paradise Guest House in Ampenyi , Elmina Words in parenthesis are those I think I heard correctly but am not 100% sure.  "Unintelligble" means I couldn't make out what he was saying on the recording at all.  Words in bold are proper nouns, and "laughter" is of course laughter. INTERVIEW WITH EVERT VAN EFFELEN 17 MAY 2018 MA:   Good morning.   This is Malcolm Aaron.   I’m interviewing a serial volunteer from the Netherlands to Ghana named Evert Van Uffelen. Evert, I just wanted to ask you what first…...