World Cup Ghana:)

It is World Cup fever here in Ghana! What a great time to be here. The village meetings arecoming to an end over the next few weeks and the realization that I will be heading back to Canada soon is shocking! I love it here and the time spent in the villages has been incredible. Most of the people here I have spoken to have never left the borders of Ghana but they are so friendly and accomodating.
This last weekend I spent in a neighbouring village where there was a funeral for one of the grandfathers. It was a whole three day event with mourning and celebrations. The grandchildren went around mimicking the old man. It was an unforgettable experience. One of the hosts was my sister here, Priscilla, and she fed over 200 people herself with using fires outside to cook. Truly incredible. The family unit here is the center of everything, and everyone is your sister, brother or auntie. it makes me think of how much we have lost the significance of our family units at home. Ghanians remind me of what is reallt important in life: family, working together, good food, laughter and love.
I hope that the project proposal that we will contribute to here will be successfull and continue on as a sustainable project for the villagers here. The guinea fowl and the chickens are so important to the villagers, if they need money for school fees or a hospital visit or for visitors or funerals it is the poultry that they count on.
I am off to enjoy a cold Ghanian beer while enjoying the heat:)
Kirstin

P.S. Looking forward to the next Ghanian game;) GO GHANA!

Village Meetings

I am absolutely loving the villages! We have meetings each morning at a different village and things have been going so well. The villagers are so friendly and helpful and our research is progressing. We have had some good submissions and have been busy with necropsies of the guuinea fowl and chickens. There are animals just everywhere here so I am in heaven. Tomorrow afternoon we are going to a rural local market so I may just come home with a new, very cute pygmy goat!! LOL We will be buying some birds from the market for sample submissions. Our work here is so interesting as the mortality is really unknown and farmers talk of losing all of their birds when this disease hits each year. They use the birds here to sell them or their eggs when they need money, for example, when a relative is in the hospital or they need school fees so their birds are very important to them! I sure hope we will be able to help.
I am off to hang out with some locals!
Ghana is great, the weather wonderful and the people so very kind.
Kirstin

Accra market

Enjoying a refreshing drink of coconut milk at the Accra Market