Hardala

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009 was a truly unforgettable day. It started with a dose of confusion that seems to have become a staple in my life since arriving in Ghana four months ago. I was expecting to be picked up by World Vision at 1000 so when I got a call from Samuel, the World Vision driver, at 0810, I panicked. I still had to take my bucket shower and eat some sort of breakfast! But also in true Ghanaian style, it all worked out. I think the driver sensed my panic and called back minutes later saying he would be there at 0945. Much better. That gave me enough time to really enjoy my bath; now that the Harmattan winds have started, the mornings are cool enough that you aren’t immediately sweaty after a bathing. It is a glorious transition.

Samuel arrived at the college administration building at 0945. He was driving the nicest vehicle I had been in since arriving in Ghana. Seatbelts that worked, air conditioning that also worked and an air freshener. Heaven. We stopped at the Pong-Tamale market so I could add some yams to the schoolbags filled with some few items that I was bringing to Hardala. As I was about to get into the pick-up after buying some water, I saw my friend Rahi. She is the stall-owner that I go to almost everyday. She sells me my staples: toilet paper, water and pasta. She was actually heading to the hospital to get her eyes checked. They had been bothering her for awhile; she had been to the clinic a few days earlier and got a prescription for some drops but they were not helping. We drove her to Savelugu to catch a taxi to Tamale. At this point, I had no idea what to expect for the day. All I knew was that I was going to meet that beautiful little face that had been on my shelf for months. Rahi alluded to the fact that the whole community would probably be waiting and there would be dancing and drumming. Okay, so a few people would come out I thought, I’m used to dancing with random groups of Ghanaians at this point, although they still are leaps and bounds better than me, whether they are two years old or ninety. But it ended up being more than just a few…

We bumped and see-sawed our way past people trashing rice and collecting water to the Tolon-Kumbungu district ADP (Area Development Programme) World Vision office. Tolon-Kumbungu is the district beside Savelugu-Nanton. The communities are Dagomba, the same tribe as Pong-Tamale. My little knowledge of Dagbani greetings (language spoken by the Dagombas) came in extremely handy on this day. I was ushered into Faustina’s office, the manager of the Tolon-Kumbungu ADP. We then hurried out because “the whole community is waiting for us”. Oh my. Whole community? Really? Oh my.

After many more bumps and turns (I kept wondering why we even have those little carousel-style horses that you put money into and they toss you around like a rag doll back in Canada; why would you elect to have your limbs flail sloppily all over the place?) we pulled into a village called Chirifoyili. Before the car had even come to a stop, I could already hear the drumming. I stepped out of the pickup into a sea of colourful cloths, dancing and singing. Another World Vision employee, Elizabeth, greeted me and spoke loudly so that I could hear above all the noise “They are all here for you!” Wow. There must have been close to a hundred people. And dozens of dusty little kids all staring wide-eyed at me.

I was invited to sit at behind a table at what I would call the head of the gathering. People were seated in a sort of horse-shoe shaped manner and I was placed at the top of the opening. The chief of the village soon arrived and was escorted by a procession of chanting, drums and scream/singing. We paid our respects to him and then greeted the crowd. Faustina announced the event to the community and some of the members spoke in return. They all spoke of the gratitude they had for me being there. They were so thankful that I had taken the time to come and visit their community, to see how they live. They blessed me over and over again. It was a good thing that I was almost the last one to speak (in true Ghanaian style, impromptu speeches are a must) because I was sitting there for most of the procession with a lump in my throat. I felt like I was in a movie, when the sound just vanishes and it’s like the character is just lost in their own world. I was completely overwhelmed by the colour and music and energy of all the people who had come together to honour a stranger from another country. One thing Faustina said that really stuck with me “Just as she [me] probably wonders if her sponsor child really exists, today also proves to you [Hardala and her community] that her sponsor truly exists”. I had never thought of it from the child’s perspective. Of course my world must seem just as intangible and unbelievable as hers did to me. I have never felt in my life how I felt in that moment. It was a feeling of absolutely incredible connection.

For those of you who haven’t heard the story of how this day came to be:
It really all begins from an interest in human development but more specifically it began in Metrotown, a huge mall in Vancouver. I walked into a strange looking exhibit in the middle of one of the mall intersections. It was a World Vision display. You were given an iPod; either pink, green or blue, and dependent on the color, had a child’s story to follow. I remember mine was of a little boy from Malawi whose parents lived had been claimed by AIDS. As I came out of the exhibit, I talked to one of the volunteers about the common misperceptions about child sponsorship programs. She proceeded to explain the ADPs and the idea of community development in conjunction with individual sponsorship. That event sealed it for me. A child should have the chance to go to school, to live a health and productive life. This was a chance to try and contribute to that desire. Children are the future after all. I went home, went online and picked Hardala from a number of children that is just too high. I committed to a monthly contribution. I essentially took a leap of faith based on that exhibit, that volunteer and the website. I received Hardala’s picture a few weeks later and placed it on my shelf. I admit to the sponsorship having a sort of subconscious role from that point. For the next year or so I continued to receive information about the sponsorship program thanking me for my participation and providing me with updates on the programs being implemented in Hardala’s community. It’s just so hard to picture though from the 7th floor of a Vancouver condo. So Hardala became a monthly one-liner on my credit card statement and an occasional source of wonder.

Fast forward to Ghana. I had been in the country for about a month and I was lying under my mosquito net having a precious phone call back to Canada. My mother informed me that I had mail from Ghana. Puzzling. I am in Ghana. I forwarded my mail from Vancouver to Montreal… but how did I get mail from Ghana to Montreal? I asked her to open it and she proceeded to read a hand-written letter about a little girl’s schooling. I almost dropped the phone. It all clicked. World Vision. Hardala. She lives in Ghana! I reached for my map of Ghana as my mother read the district Hardala lives in. I found Pong Tamale (where I am staying) on the map and then searched for Tolon-Kumbungu. I looked far and wide and finally found it. About 20kms from Pong Tamale. How is it that I ended up being placed 20kms away from the child I sponsor?

Running with nothing but a name, I went to the Savelugu World Vision office to get the wheels in motion in arranging a meeting with Hardala. The normal procedure for sponsor visits follows strict rules and requires much advanced planning but since I was already in Ghana, people were very helpful in making this visit a success. The manager at Savelugu contacted the coordinator of Sponsor Visits in Canada who relayed me to the manager of the Tolon-Kumbungu district. Over the course of the next few months I would check my email, fill out the necessary forms, mail them to Canada and wait for the call from Faustina to arrange the visit.
And so three months, many emails, plenty phone calls and incredible chance later I was seated in Chirifoyili.

As the speeches and greetings and drumming proceeded, Faustina asked me if I would recognize Hardala. I had to admit probably not. I hadn’t seen her picture since I moved out of my condo in May. And there were so many children all around. There was this one little girl that I did notice however. She was dressed up and was sitting quietly on one of the older woman’s laps. My exact thought when I saw her was “That child is absolutely beautiful.” It turns out that was Hardala. Timid and with a demeanor that could be described as regal humility, we were introduced and she sat at the head of the event with me. Her little sister joined us and we all ended up dancing together; as is the tradition. Hardala’s father then spoke and again thanked me so much for being there. I told him that it should be me thanking them. For making me feel so welcome and for giving me this incredible opportunity of meeting Hardala.

As the large event came to a close, we were invited to visit Hardala’s home. Faustina and I led the way like a pair of pied pipers (say that 5 times fast haha). Hardala was holding my right hand, an enthusiastic little girl was grasping my left, and dozens of little legs and dusty flip flops were following behind us. For once I was not even thinking about the heat. It just didn’t matter. What mattered was the tiny hand in mine. How different our lives are yet there we were: walking together.

We sat down on a wooden bench outside her family’s compound and the procession of children and adults formed a crowd around us. I gave the few items I had brought and proceeded to learn my favourite Dagbani word as it was being told to Hardala: Lama. It means smile. And it also means love.

We entered the family’s compound, a series of round huts connected by shoulder-height walls made of the same brown dried mud that make up the structures themselves. Standing in the middle of the compound I got to meet more family members: Hardala’s mother, uncle, grandfather and grandmother. We took some more pictures, exchanged some more greetings and before I knew it, it was time to leave.

I still find it difficult to express how I was feeling as I sat in the front seat of the almost ready to go pick-up, window rolled down with Hardala still holding my hand. As the little hand went from clasping my fingers to a goodbye wave, I turned to Faustina and Elijah in the back seat and said, “I think I am going to cry.” Faustina said, “You can. It’s okay.”

Back in the World Vision office I tried to turn down my emotional levels and turn up my inquiries. I wanted to know about the ADP and have a clearer understanding of how sponsor money is spent.

It’s the 20th of the month and the contribution amount to World Vision has been charged to my credit card. Where does it go?

The money goes to the World Vision Canada support office. Each district in Ghana is linked up to a different National Sponsorship office. The district I work in (Savelugu-Nanton) is supported by World Vision USA whereas the district of Tolon-Kumbungu is supported by World Vision Canada. So funding for the ADP in Tolon-Kumbungu comes directly from the Canadian office.

The money goes from the Canadian support office through the Ghanaian national World Vision office in Accra and then goes to the various projects in the engaged communities within the districts. The Tolon-Kumbungu district is made up of about 235 communities. An unofficial census estimates the population to be about 185,000 individuals. World Vision has sponsorship programs in 12 communities but its projects reach 69 communities.

The projects themselves are designed from the community level-up. World Vision officers will go into a community and sit down with them and discuss what their community needs for the upcoming year. Faustina said in passing something that stuck with me: that the World Vision staff are actually servants; they are there to listen to the needs of the community. Once a consensus has been reached in terms of projects, the World Vision officers will go back to the office, draw up a yearly budget estimate and then get the money from the head office-Canadian support office link.

About the projects themselves: I was really interested in how Faustina explained the partnership-style work they do while implementing their projects. She explained that World Vision does not implement projects; rather they work with the local Government and local industry to support their efforts and help build their capacity. World Vision chooses different projects whose vision and values line up with theirs in the areas of health, food security, education, water and sanitation, micro-credit and small business development, agriculture projects etc and then they offer their support. Examples of these type of projects in this district include: regular health and dental assessments for community members, nutrition and health-related information sessions, reading clubs formed in conjunction with Ghana Education service which coordinates volunteer teachers to go to remote rural areas that would not normally have any type of educational training and assistance to farmers in the form of animal traction. We also passed a rain-water harvesting system and a bore-hole (water supply) that had pipes leading to the community it was supplying. This concept of local capacity building and a bottom-up approach to development resonated as these are some of what make up the core of EWB. At this point, we got to talking about aid and how Obama summed up its role “...aid should not be aid in itself. It should create the circumstances under which it is no longer needed.” It was so inspiring to be having this conversation and seeing its principles in action.

The sponsored children themselves also do get particular benefits; school uniforms, footwear, school bags, towels, buckets; in fact Faustina explained that it is the children who tell them what they need and World Vision takes that into consideration and supplies them.

The World Vision staff themselves live in the district that they work in. This is thought to promote work efficiency and to ensure that they do not lose sight of the communities they are working for. This type of relationship/trust building within the communities is invaluable. While in Chirifoyili, it was clear that all the World Vision staff were respected deeply by the community. Each of the staff is a consistent face in their lives of the community members, working with them to try and improve their livelihoods.

So in the end it all comes down to the little drop of water creating that tidal wave of change. Building capacity, making lasting connections, promoting opportunities and circumstances under which human potential, dignity and freedom are commonplace – this is what human development should be all about. I not only saw this first-hand, but felt it.

The most lasting feeling I have from that day was one of connection. Meeting Hardala, encouraging her to continue learning well in school and seeing how engaged her entire community is in the ADP projects has reinforced my already existing pledge to promote human development throughout my life.

According to World Vision, after you meet your sponsor child, you are no longer the “sponsor” and they are no longer the “sponsor child”. Your new titles are actually the same – you are friends.

November 25th, 2009 can be summed up in one word: LAMA