Snapshots of Life

This is a photo of Jubilee House, the presidential palace in Ghana.  It is the equivalent of the White House in the U.S.A.

There are some really nice homes in Ghana as can be seen here.  Sorry that the pictures were taken at a distance.  This was a taken a little ways out of Accra itself, in one of the surrounding communities.  As can be seen the growth is a little more natural on roadsides out in such areas, and can come right up to the homes - though this is the exception, not the rule.

Another example of a large home.  This is also not in central Accra, as can be seen by the dirt road because in the main city the vast majority of roads are paved.  In more outlying areas dirt roads are not an unusual sight.  In the central city goats can be seen now and then.  In outlying areas such as this, they are common.  Notice the high masonry walls topped with electrical wire.  Very common surrounding compounds that contain nicer homes or apartments.  Sometimes there is concertina wire instead of electrical.  This is a preventative measure to keep honest people honest.

One of the reasons that it is a good idea to encourage honesty in the ways previously described is because of the contrast between the haves and have nots.  There is a lot of housing that looks like this.  These are metal storage/transportation containers converted into homes.

I did not get a good look at these, but I believe they are other storage container homes, these sitting next to piles of rubbish.  In my experience, such piles of refuse are not often this close to homes, but it does happen.

This photo shows the contrast between the nicer homes/buildings (in the background) and the storage container homes (foreground).  They are often side by side, rather than kept apart by zoning ordinances as I am used to in the states where I have lived.  You might also find the flora interesting, as well as its proximity to the homes.

This is a farm located between the central city and the closely linked but smaller cities that surround it.  On the left hand side of the picture is a structure that is either the home of the farmer or perhaps a temporary shelter for when he is at work in the fields.  Corn seemed to be the primary, but not only, crop.  These farms in this area were not separated by fences so it was hard to see where each one began and ended.  In my conversations with a friend who used to be a farmer, I got the impression that farms tend to be small.  He grew up on a 5 acre farm.  When I see the work going on in the fields it is done by hand.  For example, the farmer is often using a hoe to work his fields.  That is hard work anyway, but especially so when it is 88 degrees and 75% humidity!

Again, the contrast side by side.  On the right are large and quite nice houses.  On the left is a large section of shanty homes.  I should note that the nice homes are middle class, not the wealthy.

In previous pictures street hawkers have been shown.  This is a little different because the selling was going on on the sidewalk.  This is a sort of open air shoe store.  The shoes were simply spread out on the pavement and people came by to pick out what they wanted, rather than the seller walking between cars at the light.

There are many areas in the cities where roads are lined with booths where goods of all sorts are sold.  This is just one example.

We were fascinated by this scene.  The same parking lot held ambulances (towards he back fence) and hearses (on the left).  I am not sure if they are planning ahead or what.  Be prepared in case the ambulance does not arrive in time, perhaps?

A close up of some of the shanty homes inhabited by the poor.

A closer view of container homes.  Notice the clothes line in the foreground.

Another close up of a shanty home.  In this case, the native growth grows right up to the building.

We both find ourselves tremendously busy.  Sister Emfield working with the missionaries, and I working with local members.

Many of the people here have so little, but they are friendly and happy.  They love to sing the hymns, and to laugh, and even though the drivers are extremely aggressive (and that is an understatement!), they don't get mad at one another, and it is quite common for these very aggressive drivers to, out of the blue, make way to let someone into traffic.

For those who are concerned, we remain healthy.  We were told that there was little chance that we could avoid getting malaria in this tropical country, but that if we took our anti-malaria medication we would probably never know that we had had it.  The meds would kill it before we had any symptoms.  We pray that that will prove true.

Elder Emfield