Near Kumasi, the second-largest city of Ghana, the Kumasi Institute of Tropical Agriculture, is located. With Ghanaian students from this university we are going to work on two projects:
Moringa Powder Project: using the powder’s qualities to decrease malnutrition. Nena Roes and Nienke Zweers
Clean Cookstove Project: improving the life standards of traditional wood fuel cook stove users in the Ejisu Juaben District by developing a clean cook stove. Cateau Albers, Henriëtte Teeuwen and Marianne Teng
The group of five students will be divided into two groups. This means that during the day we will be working on the same campus, except when there is an activity off campus, then we will be working separately on the different projects. For both projects excursions to other villages and cities are required. The transport for this will be arranged by KITA.
Near the campus of KITA, there is a small mini-apartment of Kumah Farms Complex where we will live during our stay. The apartment contains a small kitchen, two bedrooms, a primitive shower, a toilet, and a terrace. It is surrounded by a gate. There is running water, so we do not need to use the water pomp. In the kitchen we can cook our own meals, there is one pit working on gas. The distance between KITA and our apartment is 500 m. In the neighbourhood are two small villages (Domeabra and Apromase) and Kumasi is a 45 minute drive.
Culture
Ghana has 24 million inhabitants, who are mainly Black African. The national language is English, but there 50+ local languages. The most important one of these is Twi. Most people are Christian and 15% is Muslim. There are fifty distinct groups to be found in modern Ghana, each with its own dialect, culture, history, and traditions.
Politics
Since the independence from the Brittish in 1957, Ghana has been a democratic republic. It has been a stable democracy since 1992 when the constitutional democracy was introduced. This makes Ghana the first democratic African country. The two biggest parties in Ghana are National Democtratic Congres (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP). The government has a zero tolerance on corruption, but studies revealed that corruption still occurs. This happens mainly in the police customs and the judiciary system.
In Ghana there is press freedom and freedom of religion. The constitution also provides freedom of speech. It is also forbidden to discriminate against race, sex, disability, linguistic and social status. However homosexuality remains (About Ghana, 2010).
Social economical situation
The statistics stated below are valid for the Ejisu Juaben district. These are statistics from 2010.
In 2010 65,7% of the population older than 15 years was employed, 4,7% was unemployed and 29,7% was not economically active. About 37% of the employed population works in agriculture, forestry and fishing. More than two third of the employed population is self employed without employees.
On literacy the district does well; 84,7% of the population older than 11 years is literate in a language. F the literate population 73,1% is literate in English as well as in another Ghanaian language. Almost 13% of the population did never attend school, more women than men have never attended school (Ghana Statistical Services, 2010).
Climate
Ghana is flat and low lying. Almost half of the country lies at an altitude if below 150 meters. The combination of low altitude and proximity of the Equator gives Ghana a typical tropical climate. During the day it will be 30°C. The nights are a bit colder, but still very hot. January is the warmest and driest month. November and December are warm and dry as well. The average humidity is around 80%, because of the tropical climate. The winters are dry, warm and humid.
Health: For the most up-to-date information, go to the website of the Center for Disease Control & Prevention.
Vaccinations All adults are encouraged to stay up-to-date on routine vaccinations: measles/mumps/rubella (MMR), diphtheria/pertussis/tetanus (DPT), and polio virus vaccines.
Required: Yellow Fever — required upon arrival for all travelers older than 9 months of age; it is recommended to receive the vaccination at least 10 days before arriving.
Other risks
Malaria occurs in all regions of Ghana. If you will be traveling to Ghana, you should discuss methods of prevention with your healthcare provider. Methods include:
Taking a prescription antimalarial drug
Using insect repellent and wearing long pants and sleeves to prevent mosquito bites Sleeping in air-conditioned or well-screened rooms or using bednets
All of the following antimalarial drugs are equal options for preventing malaria in Ghana: Atovaquone/proguanil, doxycycline, or mefloquine.
Other diseases that occur in Ghana and West Africa include: Dengue, filariasis, leishmaniasis, and onchocerciasis (all are carried by insects). Do not swim in fresh water while in Ghana and take all precautions to avoid insect bites.
Tuberculosis is also a growing concern in Ghana and West Africa for which we informed the tuberculosis office in the Netherlands and they advised us to go see after after we have returned.
Points of attention during the trip
There are several treatments the trip brings with it, that deserve some extra attention.
In table 1, the top 20 causes of death in Ghana is displayed.
|
Cause |
Road Traffic Accidents |
||
|
1 |
Stroke |
11 |
Road Traffic Accidents |
|
2 |
Influenza and Pneumonia |
12 |
Hypertension |
|
3 |
Coronary Heart Disease |
13 |
Cervical Cancer |
|
4 |
Malaria |
14 |
Low Birth Weight |
|
5 |
HIV/AIDS |
15 |
Birth Trauma |
|
6 |
Diabetes Mellitus |
16 |
Prostate Cancer |
|
7 |
Liver Disease |
17 |
Kidney Disease |
|
8 |
Malnutrition |
18 |
Lung Disease |
|
9 |
Diarrheal diseases |
19 |
Endocrine Disorder |
|
10 |
Meningitis |
20 |
Falls |
Table 1
Of course because we will only be staying in Ghana for three months, many of these threats do not apply to us. Nevertheless, there are some causes in the list that are also to us a treat. One of these treatments is malaria. We will travel a lot to rural areas, where there are a lot of mosquitoes that can transmit malaria. In order to prevent malaria, we will all be using anti-malaria pills. These mosquitoes are especially active after sunset. This means that after sunset it is important to wear covering clothes and use mosquito repellent. But also during daytime there is the treatment of mosquitoes, because then the dengue mosquitoes are especially active. Therefor, also during daytime there will be used a mosquito repellent lotion.
For the largest part, Ghana has escaped the civil strife that other African countries are dealing with. Nevertheless, in the year 1994/1995 there was a lot of ethic violence in the north, where 1000 people died (BBC, 2015). We will not be traveling to the north and besides that, the violence was a long time ago. This means this is not a very big concern for us.
In the top 20 of threats, you also see that road traffic accidents are a high ranked cause of death in Ghana. According to the latest WHO data in 2014, traffic accidents reached 5540 (which is almost 3%) of the total deaths in Ghana. Therefore, it is important that we won’t drive ourselves in Ghana, but always arrange our transport via KITA or use the public transport (World life expectancy, 2014).
In the risk table below, every threat has been analyzed and given a likelihood chance (how big is the chance this treat occurs on a scale from 1 to 5), the impact (how big are the consequences on a scale from 1 to 5).
|
Threat |
Likelihood |
Estimated Impact |
Consolidated Risk |
Measures and mitigating actions |
|
Robbery |
High (5) |
Low (2) |
10 |
|
|
Diseases |
Medium (3) |
Medium (3) |
9 |
|
|
Traffic accident |
Medium (3) |
Medium (3) |
9 |
|
|
Bad hygiene of food |
Medium (3) |
Medium (3) |
9 |
|
|
Dirty drinking water |
Medium (3) |
Medium (3) |
9 |
|
|
Situation Burkina Faso |
Low (1) |
Medium (3) |
3 |
|
|
Violence |
Low (2) |
High (4) |
8 |
|
|
Kidnapping |
Low (1) |
High (5) |
5 |
|
|
Sexual violence |
Low(1) |
High (5) |
5 |
Personal Behavior
The agreements that are made in order to assure the safety and security of the group are stated below.
We will always be at the house before it gets dark. If not we will ask someone we can trust to walk us home.
We will not drive a car ourselves.
When we are taking cash from the cash machine we will try to do it inside a bank. The money will be kept in several places.
The house should always be locked properly and valuables should be stored on a safe place. When we are inside the key must be in reach so that we are always able to get out of the house
We will always bring a charged phone.
We will avoid conversations on religion, politics etc.
The food we will eat must always be washed with cooked water.
We will bring medicines and have a document with our medical information.
We will prepare for power cuts; bring enough water and food in the house, make sure we are not dependent on electricity.
We will wear appropriate clothes.
Group rules of engagement
We will always inform the group of where you are going and when you will be back.
We will never go away from the campus on your own.
We will all consult with a medical professional at least 4-6 weeks before traveling to allow time for our vaccinations to take effect.
We agreed to all take the recommended rabies vaccinations as we are 9 hours driving distance from a hospital.
We have agreed to all be sleeping under mosquito nets and regularly applying insect repellent.
we will all bring an adequate supply of prescription medication we may need during the trip.
When we leave the apartment we will always check if everything is locked properly. Think of suitcases, windows and doors.
If anybody acts irresponsible then the rest of the group will appeal him.
Everybody has his own buddy. For example he/she can always share his/her problems with his/her buddy, or tell him/her every time where he/she is going to when leaving the group.
Once a week we will evaluate the encountered problems and how we coped with them
Contingency plan (what if…)
Malaria and Dengue
- When fever of longer than two days is detected:
- Stay calm
- Accept
- Visit Hospital
Ebola Virus Disease
- If a case of Ebola Virus Disease is discovered in Ghana:
- Go to residence address
- Follow steps ‘Report an Incident’
- Go to Dutch Embassy Accra
- Leave country
Terrorist attack
- Stay calm
- Accept
- Find shelter, flee to safety
- Go to residence address
- Follow steps ‘Report an Incident’
Traffic accident
- Stay calm
- Accept
Only material damage:
- Call police (191)
- Call local contacts
- Follow steps ‘Report an Incident’
Physical Injury:
- Call ambulance (193)
- Call police (191)
- Call local contacts
- Follow steps ‘Report an Incident’
Criminal activity
- Stay calm
- Accept
- Give away
- Look and remember
Only material damage:
- Call police (191)
- Follow steps ‘Report an Incident’
Physical Injury:
- Call police (191)
- Call Ambulance (193)
- Follow steps ‘Report an Incident
Incident reporting
Inform crisis centre Insurance (+31 10 453 56 56)
- Inform Dutch Embassy in Accra (+233 30 22 14 350) (+233 24 43 23 806) (NOOD) 89 Liberation RoadAko Adjei InterchangeAccra
- Inform emergency room TU Delft (+31 15 278 12 26)
- Inform contact person (ICE) (personal)
- Inform local contacts (KITA) (+233 02 44 108 268); (+233 02 43 235 017); (+233 02 44 796 059)
Who: Identify yourself (Name, student, student number)
Where: Share your location
When: Indicate time of incident
What: Describe the incident
Which: Describe what needs to be done
Organization details
Kumasi Institute of Tropical Agriculture (KITA)
P.O. box 293, KNUST, Kumasi
Ghana
Accommodation and transport
Accommodation
Near the campus of KITA, there is a small mini-apartment of Kumah Farms Complex where we will live during our stay. The apartment contains a small kitchen, two bedrooms, a shower, a toilet, and a terrace. It is surrounded by a gate. There is running water, so we do not need to use the water pomp. In the kitchen we can cook our own meals. The distance between KITA and our apartment is 500 m. In the neighbourhood are two small villages and Kumasi is a 45 minute drive.
The accommodation is arranged by Africa In Motion, an organization that connects Dutch and African students with each other. Each month we will pay an amount of money to Africa In Motion for our accommodation and transport that is project related.
Local transport arrangements
Most transportation is already arranged for us
For long distances always arrange through KITA
Only use public transportation during daylight hours
Always check with locals you trust if transportation is safe
Leave transportation when it’s not.
Considered S&S aspects for accommodation and transport.
Infrastructure deficiencies ,bureaucracy, and corruption are still barriers to economic growth. Due to these challenges, it is necessary to adapt technology and products to local realities.
Safety conditions can change at a moment's notice. For the most up-to-date safety information, we should consult information available from our organization or our home country's travel and safety resources right before we leave and during our stay.
Crime is a concern in Ghana. Personal property theft, such as pick-pocketing, and various types of scams are the most common crimes affecting visitors to Ghana. Visitors should be alert and protect personal belongings at all times, particularly when at the airport, in crowded public areas, when using ATMs,and when using taxis. It is recommended to use cash or travelers' checks for purchases and not use credit cards; credit card fraud is common in Ghana. Travelers should avoid making any display of wealth in public.
Travelers should also be aware of strangers offering deals on transportation, lodging, or anything that seems too good to be true. Foreigners are often the targets of scams.
Travel details and local address
Departure: 7November 2015 from Amsterdam via Lissabon to Accra with TAP Portugal.
Return: 26-27 January 2016 from Accra via Lissabon to Amsterdam with TAP Portugal.
Below the exact travel details are presented.
When we arrive in Accra it is already evening, so we will stay one night in Accra. This will be arranged by Africa In Motion. The next day we will travel to our location near Kumasi by bus. There people from KITA will wait for us and will show us everything we need. During the first days they will also take us to Kumasi to show where we can find an ATM et cetera.
Our local address is not exactly known, but it is very close to the KITA campus (see address of the organisation).
During our time in Ghana we will mainly stay around the KITA campus, but sometimes we will have to travel to other villages for our projects. We will discuss with KITA how we can get there safely. During the weekends we would like to make small excursions to other parts of the country. Each time we will check with KITA if it is safe to go there. During our Christmas break we would like to travel to the southern coast (Accra, Elmina, Cape Coast, et cetera).
Important telephone numbers
|
Name |
Address |
Telephone number |
|
Dutch Embassy in Accra |
89 Liberation Road, Ako Adjei Interchange, Accra, Ghana |
+223 30 221 43 50 (24/7) |
|
Eileen Focke-Bakker |
TU Delft |
316 38829149 |
|
KITA Ghana |
P.O. Box 293, KNUST |
0244 108 268 / kitaghana.org |