Ghana Love It - Part 8

Previous - Part 7

Etesein, everyone - Now edited with photos!

Back again with likely my final blog post from Kumasi, Ghana! I can't actually believe I'm going home. I leave this Monday, then arrive in NYC at 5am Tuesday. It's mind-blowing to me that the time to leave is actually here. But before I leave, I plan to go to Korforidua to see the Boti Falls this weekend. I have to fit something fun in of course.

Typical Ghana dog though they're usually tan-colored

Today was a bit slow in the clinic, though of course I had a fun chat with Daniel and the other workers. Yesterday's Outreach however was anything but slow, Alex, Daniella and I vaccinated 70+ village/stray dogs against rabies on a community trip yesterday. I was also able to castrate my first dog! The day was crazy fun. We drove to a tiny village past the west side of Kumasi and were immediately greeted by a large group of villagers with mongrel dogs, some of the dogs clearly there against their will. I have many pictures I can't wait to upload, but for now I'll just describe it the best I can. Dogs here have a very foxy face with slightly squinty eyes and pointy floppy fox ears, and come in many different colors. They're not that large and are usually small to medium sized mutts that are wary of humans (probably because so many Ghanians hit dogs to train them unnecessarily) and in need of rabies vaccinations. Some of the dogs while we were waiting for our vet and coordinator (they had a bit of an issue with the police due to a car license plate) would actually give a sort of high-pitched howl not unlike wolves. With our resident veterinarian Achiampong, I and my other two vet interns scrambled about in this unorganized injection party in a small, dusty town trying to give shots to any dog that didn't resist a muzzle too much while being gazed at by children. Sometimes the villagers would have trouble putting muzzles on the dogs (and some dogs got away, which was a bit comical to see) and would ask us to vaccinate them anyway, but seeing as me and my fellow interns had no desire to be flown home and given intramuscular injections for rabies we declined. It was slightly chaotic but very worth it in the end, and one of my favorite experiences to date. After the vaccinations I was even allowed to castrate a dog, done much in the same way I did the pig castration detailed earlier however with smaller testis that were slightly easier to tie knots in. It was a very fulfilling experience, and I'm very glad I had the chance to do it before leaving this country.

This dog had some sort of skin disease as well, but not all were like that.

The lines steadily disappeared into mayhem as I draw more rabies vaccine.

Will crushing the fufu while Matteos watches

In our Projects Abroad meeting this week, I learned how to prepare fufu, a starchy mixture which has the consistency of tough dough which is a staple of west african food. We did not prepare the peanut soup that came with it, but we were allowed to crush the yams and plantains with a tall wooden staff in a small wooden bowl while another helper moved the newly crushed yams in a circle (with her fingers! It was scary!) It is difficult to describe, but the person with the staff would bang it in the bowl followed by raising it up while the other person moved the fufu around with her fingers. It had a rhythm of 'bang' move 'bang' move 'bang' move 'bang' move and took a while to prepare. In the end it was delicious, and I have a few great pictures of my friends mixing the yams (I opted not to do it.. I felt like I would've sent someone to the hospital with crushed digits). I can't wait to upload photos of it, but in the meantime here is a google image of a fufu dish:





The meat in that dish looks a bit dodgy but is actually quite good, and usually I have chicken with my fufu. The sauce in this dish is ground nut soup, though you could have palm soup as well. And yes, true to Ghana it can be quite spicy. I'm not sure my stomach has forgiven me yet for this trip.

I will leave off here, thank you so much for reading this far! I can't wait to upload pictures!

-Marisa 

Next and Final - Part 9