Workity Work Work!

I've now been in Ghana for a month and Tamale two weeks, and as I get accustomed to life in this city I find my work keeping me positive and challenged ( things happen really slow here) which is why I’ve decided to write about work before my perspectives on the city. I promise to write about life in Tamale soon!

Many people have asked me what I do here? Is it really all that different from a 9-5 in Canada? My job seems to change every week and YES very different. Essentially my job is to work with an association of women Pagsung which means “Ideal woman”. The women are a part of a network of shea nut pickers and processors and are scattered around the three regions in northern Ghana. Visit their website: pagsungsheabutter.org for more detailed information on these amazing women!!


The Sign at one of the centers.... This ones about 9 miles from the city!

So what have I been asked to do with the project? I’ve been asked to do a few different things which will support the association in becoming an effective association one which would eventually be fully independent from Africa 2000 Network Ghana. The association has 18 centers (which in theory produce shea products for sale) with about 750 members which in itself present many challenges. Oneof the challenges I have been asked to work on is need for basic infrastructure in order to move into becoming more of a business model so that the women can bring in new buyers for their Shea products. The association has two main offices which are bare (no computers, desks etc). In order to do any business related activity the women need to utilize the A2N office in Tamale. Another issue is the need for transport mechanisms due to the distance between centers and the need to transport Shea from the field to the processing centers effectively (currently women carry it back and forth which is extremely tiresome).
Therefore, part of my job is fund development to support these challenges. I’ve been visiting the sites, meeting with the women to figure out and prioritize needs and challenges. This part of my job has been amazing- these women are resilient, intelligent, proud and absolutely welcoming! The other part of my job is the marketing and branding of the association to attract new buyers in order to expand the women’s income generation. There is an abundance of shea, and women interested and available to process it- now it’s just a matter of finding more reliable and consistent buyers.


One of the training centers at Pagazza!


Recently I was able to work with a group of women on a project funding by the UNFP Ghana. The women were being trained at one of the pagsung centers. The women suffered from Fitsula which “develops when blood supply to the tissues of the vagina and the bladder (and/or rectum) is cut off during prolonged obstructed labor. The tissues die and a hole forms through which urine and/or feces pass uncontrollably. Women who develop fistulas are often abandoned by their husbands, rejected by their communities, and forced to live an isolated existence.” WHO estimates there to be about 2 million women suffering from fistula majority from sub-Saharan Africa.
Below is their story….