After what i experienced a month, ago i think i have to re-evaluate the way i see things and ease up on a lot of stuff. OK here goes..... I took a trip... a month ago, to go say whats up to ma peoples in the 9 part of town(Volta Region). so i know conditions are not really good in these rural areas... but not this bad. I mean seriously people in the urban areas compared to them are living luxurious lives and we are taking so many things for granted.We got there on Sunday 1st of February 2009, the first thing that was on my mind was a nice hot bath and comfortable bed and a socket to plug my laptop and by some stroke of luck a really nice *chop bar(local restaurant) so i fill up my stomach. Thinking like a city kid(child).
So we get to the guest house and i am like ooh ok this is not bad i can live here for 5 days.
So i ask my supervisor whether that's the place we are going to stay and she says yes..... but that's the housing for the females and the male housing is a little further down. So we get there and I'm
like huh!! 
they always say don't judge a book by its cover but when i entered the room i realized this book can be judged by its cover... Chale the ceiling was just the Zingli(aluminium roofing sheets) there were no sockets in the room and the fan blew heat instead of a cool breeze. ooh yea before i forget there wasn't a W.C but a shweetom(pit latrine). So i tell myself if i ever wanna use the bathroom i will definitely go and use the one at the girls side and not guys. Do you know how many kids would consider this as a punishment.(boy are we spoiled).
So i ask my supervisor whether that's the place we are going to stay and she says yes..... but that's the housing for the females and the male housing is a little further down. So we get there and I'm
like huh!! 
they always say don't judge a book by its cover but when i entered the room i realized this book can be judged by its cover... Chale the ceiling was just the Zingli(aluminium roofing sheets) there were no sockets in the room and the fan blew heat instead of a cool breeze. ooh yea before i forget there wasn't a W.C but a shweetom(pit latrine). So i tell myself if i ever wanna use the bathroom i will definitely go and use the one at the girls side and not guys. Do you know how many kids would consider this as a punishment.(boy are we spoiled).So i set up all my stuff still disappointed about not being able to use my laptop or have a nice hot bath, but then i decide to take a walk and survey the whole area to find out what i am working with. I kinda realized all the housing in the area, well not all but most of the housings in the area
were made out of mud. Seriously i counted the number of brick houses in the area and i being honest and not exaggerating it wont be more than 10 trust me.(seriously its a sharp contrast) 
So Monday comes and we start with the work we have to do, going round taking co-ordinates and asking question so we get to this old man and this dude asks for 30gp(22 us cents) and says he's gonna take some shots(alcohol: whisky, vodka etc) with it.... so i ask myself what kinda shots is this dude gonna take coz, in Accra i definitely know that 30gp(22 us cents) will either get you a shot of alomo(local drink) herbafrique or even no shots at all...I doubt you could even get a bottle of Coca Cola.so i start to think when me and my boys go out to drink we spend more than 40ghc total at a bar.
I mean not only me and my boys. Which bar or pub have u been to in Accra that has 30gp(22 us cents) worth of shots.....lets see Twist....Purple pub.....Celsbridge....HoneyS...Champs....Uncle Jerry's(East-Legon)...the list goes on and on.. If you find any let me know coz i wanna reduce cost when i step out.You know how we always complain about how when we go out its one way(the same thing)....kinda like its always a drink up or like we are going to celsbridge or a club or something.. The people in the rural areas live a totally different lives. From what i saw and what i think, i might be wrong but i believe there's a lot of monotony and also they sleep extremely early. Some people might think i am being patronizing... but i am just trying to compare living situations and it seems like we take things for granted in the urban areas.
7 comments:
Interesting stuff Bonti,I'm sure that some people who live outside of Africa would be surprised that you (being an "African native" and all) were shocked at the sharp contrasts in living standards between city and rural life.
I visited Ghana some years ago and I was saddened by some of the sharp disparities between rural and urban areas. There were also stark socioeconomic differences within urban areas with the haves and have-nots. I remember seeing air-conditioned jaguars and hummers zooming past urban slums. Don't you think that your government has some responsibility in addressing the problem of poverty?
Please do not be surprise about what you saw,it is worse here in India the so called up and coming superpower of a billion people.There is notting i think any government can do the whole human experience to me has failed.It will shock you to see the level poverty here in my country with some of the riches people in the world.People shit everywhere almost 90% of the population have no running or in house plumping so they shit everywhere.All over asia i see very bad poverty.Sad thing all these poor countries out side of africa use you africans to feel good about them whiles they even in worse shape than lot of african states..Hold your head up my friend and just do your very best for your fellow man if you can..
@anonymous thanx for da insight on India..
@Abena i dont think people will be surprised that i was shocked coz we normally dont see the sharp contrasts till we actually visit these places
@Marcus how do u think government can help with addressing the problem of poverty....and i think is a dicey one
I really loved reading this post.
It gives such a great insight into the different parts of our country, a land trying to rise up on her feet despite the obvious challenges we face.
What I foresee is a vastly improving future for Ghanaians.
Interesting post Bonti - I guess people would be surprised that you could be shocked at the great contrasts in living standards between city and rural life...
Even here in France where I live, conditions differ greatly between rural areas and the major cities - I guess it's a worldwide phenomena :)
@posekyere thank you for the positive vibe but are sure that ghana is going to improve vastly with the way things are going now.
@Here... thanx for the comment
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