Oscar for best short film goes to...

Schools in Ghana. Sometimes they are fun and the kids seem happy. But more often after a visit I feel like crying as their eyes are hollow and the teacher’s cane seems to be the only teaching material that is used in the school. As you can see from this video (shot by my fiancé; I cut out most parts where he zoomed in on my legs and other body parts) Ghana is still facing numerous challenges, particularly concerning the quality of education. Due to the rapid increase in school enrolment after the abolishment of school fees, classrooms have become over-crowded in many areas. Half of public primary schools do not have latrines and nearly 40 percent of them do not have running water. Schools generally lack textbooks. Less than 60 percent of primary teachers have had proper professional training. And teachers just make the children repeat, repeat and repeat. Which is clearly not very effective as after 6 years of primary school only 36% can read and write.

But the kids make me smile too. And I really hope that our work contributes to a slowly but steady change in the educational system. A change towards a more child-centred pedagogy which makes the children enjoy learning new things. And a system which helps them develop their full potential, encourages them to participate in class, ask questions and express their opinions. But it’s a long way to go.

Upper East Region I love you

The art of cooking

Seamstresses can make perfectly fitting dresses here, just by looking at your body and looking at a picture of a dress you like in a magazine. And some cooks can do the same thing by looking at a picture of a plate of food or by just reading the menu and assuming what would be the ingredients. But sometimes they make a tiny little endearing mistake. Friend E is American and therefore needs her burgers every once in a while. When we had lunch together last week she ordered a vegetarian burger. But this attempt to be a bit healthier than eating a normal burger turned into a weight watchers meal. She got a bun with a bit of lettuce and ketchup. And no, they didn’t forget the vegetarian burger, because they had no such thing. Friend C had a cook who proudly announced he had made crème caramel for dessert. But really, it was a fried egg with some jam on top. I’m guessing she ate the whole thing not to disappoint or discourage him.

And again, same American friend E was all excited the other day about the cheese nachos with guacamole on the menu. She ordered them, but they were covered with rasped carrot. We wondered how that had happened. After some deliberations (do they like carrots on their nachos here?) we settled on that it must have been the interpretation of the orange cheddar cheese of the picture. We didn’t settle on whether it’s the American's own fault though, as they don’t know how to make cheese. But really, órange?