May 14th 2009

I arrived at SWOPA (Sirigu Women’s Organization of Pottery and Art) in the early hours this morning. Pok, our main in-country contact, arranged for my transportation from Bolgatanga. I’ve never seen anything like the vehicle he dug up for us. It has no US equivalent. The best way I can describe it is a safari wagon. It cost 22 cedis to take the bus 18 hours from Accra to Bolga, and then 60 to hire a driver for the 40 minute drive from Bolga to Sirigu. I was too tired at the time to care.


I slept late into the morning until it got too hot to stay inside. SWOPA is the best accommodation around, but there is still no air conditioning in the huts. I remember it being a lot harder to sleep the first time I was here, though I can’t say you ever get used to 105 and humid. I notice the Ghanaians still sweat a great deal. More so you just get used to being hot and wet all of the time. I spent the better part of an hour today sitting in front of a fan.

I met with Pok for dinner this evening to discuss our plans for the clinic construction. Pok is a prominent contractor in the area. He has built dozens of structures similar to the one we have planned in Yua. Pok has agreed to serve as general contractor for this project

We looked over the plans and decided to scrap the inner hall and replace it with an outside veranda. This is a design that is much more characteristic of the area. He also suggested a completely different style of foundation than the one we designed. I agreed to the change for the sake of having the building “built Ghanaian”. Pok insisted that he has used the same foundation in his buildings for decades and never experienced problems.

-John Yatsko