Take a look at the work the Geek Corps in doing in Ghana

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By Admin1 (admin) on Wednesday, August 08, 2001 - 8:50 pm: Edit Post

Take a look at the work the Geek Corps in doing in Ghana



Take a look at the work the Geek Corps in doing in Ghana

Take a look at the work the Geek Corps in doing in Ghana

A chronicle of technical volunteers in Ghana, West Africa.

New Photos Online 20 November 2001

I've posted new photos from the past few weeks to my Ghana site.

You can find them here: http://home.earthlink.net/~kyancey123/ghana/image_index.html

enjoy more... by kyancey

Circle of Life 07 November 2001

This weekend was supposed to be a quiet one, since everyone was gone away. Here is a brief play-by-play...

Saturday morning - Problem: hungry. Solution: got up and went to Pit stop with Ben, another true Canadian. Yummy English breakfast, followed by ice cream at Brunchie. Who can complain?

Saturday morning after breakfast - head out with Richard on bikes, to purchase a full-size wicker couch for my room. Richard swings a deal, gets it for c400,000. Problem: need to get the darn thing home. Solution: place it width-wise on top of a small corolla, don't strap it down, but instead have both myself and the driver hold it with one hand each while driving at about 45 km/h. This is not a joke. Should have seen the driver shifting gears. Couch actually made it home in one piece... more... by ddinicolo

Africa Online: Office Sing-Along 02 November 2001

It's Friday afternoon at Africa Online, at Nkrumah Circle in downtown Accra. Not unlike my office in San Francisco, the weekend gets an early start, and it's relatively empty around here. But Mike and I are working away, and having a sing-along: this time it's "When I Need Love", playing now on JOY FM. We are singing! We sing as we work.

"Wheeeeeeeen I neeeeeed looove...." We sing loud.

Yesterday Mike said singing helps Ghanaians deal with everyday hardships: "We have to sing! If we don't sing, the other stuff gets to us."

more... by skarasic

Grassroots Human Rights in Ghana 31 October 2001

Mohammed Ayariga, human rights attorney, is an inspiring man. When he was a student, he founded the Legal Resources Centre (LRC), a civic organization that promotes human rights in Ghana. Since 1998, the LRC has provided civic education and legal aid to the public. They also work with chiefs and community leaders on strategies such as Alternative Dispute Resolution to resolve legal issues in their local areas, and provide them with conflict management skills. At LRC-run forums, community leaders are introduced to certain rights. They examine these rights in relation to their communities, and with support from the LRC, they create strategies for promoting them in a culturally-sensitive manner.

more... by skarasic

the travel agent at the penta hotel is trying to kill me 29 October 2001

do yourself a favor, when in accra, do NOT buy any airline tickets at the travel agent at the penta hotel. he will keep you in limbo forever. you will come to his office five times a day for at least a week, and you will receive *nothing*. he will say to you sweetly: 'come back in one hour! i will have it! i am coming!', but in reality he is going home.... it will be a LIE. A LIE! A LIEEEEEEEEE.. more... by kmahoney

Work in Accra Vs. San Francisco 29 October 2001

There are similarities and differences between working in IT here in Accra as compared to San Francisco. Sometimes when I'm sitting at my computer in the air-conditioned Africa Online office, with employees IM'ing each other, opening Photoshop, and searching on Google, I feel right at home. However, during each workday there are reminders that um...well, as the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz puts it: "Dorothy, you're not in Kansas anymore." Here is an attempt to begin to spell out some of the differences:

more... by skarasic

The Asante Web Site 26 October 2001

One of the projects I have been working on with Africa Online is the website for the Asante kingdom. Before I left San Francisco, I had visions of what the site could be: gorgeous images of the Kingdom of Gold, of stools and kente, colorful festivals, a recounting of glorious history and culture, features on Asante people today. We could highlight the Asantehene Education Fund, which the king (Asantehene) started himself to improve the lot of his people. When I first got to Africa Online, my co-worker Mike put together a site design, and we discussed what features would appeal to an international audience.

more... by skarasic

yeehaw chop! 25 October 2001

advice for the geeks following us. remember this: there is power in a chop bar. eating chop that you've gotten yourself made the people in my office very happy.

i've vowed recently that i would only buy chop for lunch, for at least two weeks.i eat ghanaian once a day, but mostly from restaraunts, not the chop bars surrounding akai house. if it hasn't been explained before, chop bars are small outdoor eating stands, where a vendor will sell you ghanaian food to eat there or to take away, usually in 1000, 2000, or 3000 cedi denominations, with a starch for 500 cedis. more... by kmahoney

When in Rome...OR, The African Hairdo 24 October 2001

I've been fascinated by the hair salons here. For one thing, there are so many of them. Practically every corner has a shack with a brightly-painted sign outside, of a vaguely Melanie Griffith-looking black woman with a gorgeous braided roll on top of her head. I was intrigued. And the parade of hairdos I see every day at work (more on work later) only piqued my interest in this very basic African institution, the hair salon. The clincher was last weekend's trip to Boti Falls, when Geekcorps secretary Gladys appeared at Geekhalla ready for the tro-tro ride with long hair, about a foot longer than the hair I had seen on her the day before. As I admired her style, I realized that THAT COULD BE ME.

more... by skarasic

Learning from Ghanaians: Pidgin English 23 October 2001

I knew before I came here that I would learn a great deal from Ghanaians. I have. One joy of working at Genisys on the Parliament website (more on that later) is the everyday interaction with my co-workers. I was worried the first few days when it seemed like no one was talking to me. I needn't have feared.

Gradually I realized what I was hearing around me was often not Twi or Ga or Ewe, it was a variant of English! And people in the office began to get used to the American stranger figuring out how to best eat her kenkey lunch in the kitchen, and even be amused by my weird habits, such as pronouncing "t" as "d" and saying the "r" at the end of words. They even started to teach me a few words of pidgin English, so I could actually understand some of the ubiquitous banter.

more... by skarasic

The geeks of Geekhalla welcome you to Geekhalla.org

©2001 the respective authors



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This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Special Interests - An Electronic Peace Corps

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