Poems by Patience of Orphan Aid Africa

Poem Africa by Patience E. Sabah
I am African
and I am proud of Africa.
Especially my country, Ghana.
O God please bless my mother land.
Ahh Ghana! You are so great.
No matter how poor or rich you are
I will still remain an African as well as a Ghanian.
Rich or poor, I will do anything
to make Africa as well as Ghana
great.
All the help I need is from God.
Ghana! Ghana! Ghana!

Poverty Poem by Patience E. Sabah

"Where is the man who brought poverty?"

We will always ask ourselves.

"Is he mad?" We ask our friends.

"Doesn't he know how tired we are?"

We will ask again to our friends.
Well my sisters and brothers

This is my advice.

No man brought poverty.

It is our doing. If we don't work hard,

then we will become poor.

I understand that when you are working hard

people become jealous

and let the manager throw you out. But you must

challenge it if you want to be successful.

But, if you get success do not abandon your friends.

Help them too and food shall bless you.

Interesting Store Names in Ghana

In Ghana, store names are reflective of their mostly Christian tradition, as indicated in photos below. The following list of store names are real as well:

"God Will Provide Enterprises"
"Thank You Jesus Beauty Salon"
"Everything by God Snack Shop"
"Prosperity Haircut"
"By His Grace Tailoring"
"Don't Mind Your Wife Bar"
"There is No Problem Jesus Can't Solve Company"
"Rejoice in the Lord Design Center"
"Clap for Jesus Business Center"
"Holy Cross Fashion Home"
"In God We Trust Healthcare"

Updated Fufu Video

Fufu and Banku are the 2 most ubiquitous foods in Ghana. You just cannot escape them. We've documented a detailed recipe for banku that was posted earlier. Fufu is made out of pounded cassava and plantains. It is a very physical - and somewhat dangerous - process, as you will see in the attached video where Joseph taught us how to make this traditional dish.

Togo and Benin

With Ghana becoming comfortable as a home base, we decided to take a trip to neighboring Togo and Benin. Both countries have recently emerged from military dictatorships and difficult post-colonial histories, yet the people in both countries were sophisticated and worldly. We found ourselves challenged by the language barriers but Ryan's high school French classes unexpectedly did pay high dividends during this part of our trip.

While in Lome, Togo, Denise picked out fabric from a local vendor , designed a dress, and had it tailored. Below is the final product.



Togo and Benin are the birthplace of Fetishism, now known in the New World as Voodoo. In both countries, we went out of our way to hunt out the most authentic Voodoo markets.

While in French Africa, it quickly became clear that Moumar Kaddafi was on a power-grabbing tour. His picture was posted everywhere.
Then, we were stopped by a police barricade placed to protect Kadaffi as his entourage drove by us at over 100 MPH in Lome, Togo.
Benin, while being less developed than Togo is incredibly beautiful.
Denise found time to challenge Che Guevarra to a gave of foosball.

Here is a genuine Beninois petrol station . . . with gas sold by the liter.

Women's Group Graduation

In a past entry, we described one of Mama Lisa's (pictured above) projects to get the women of Ayenyah Village involved in bead production. While half of the women in the village are embarking on this new project, the other half have already fully engaged themselves in the production of Batik cloth. This is an important development in a local economy where most families live off of under $100 a year. Empowering local women is proven as the most effective development strategy and it was exciting to participate in this celebration of the local women's accomplishments.

Boti Falls

Our fieldtrip to Boti Falls with the older kids of OrphanAid Africa is one of the most memorable experiences of our time in Ghana. Although there was an age limit set for the children who could join us, Seriatu was allowed to join us because of her recent good behavior at school and church. As you will see in the video below, she stole the show.

Volta River Weekend

After three weeks at OrphanAid Africa, we decided to take our first vacation. We went two hours north to the Volta River and enjoyed some fine food and wine. The highlight was a canoe trip up the river.