Monday, Oct 31st

Today I went to four different internet cafes before finally finding one that worked. Finding one that has both working internet and a floppy drive is pretty tough at times! I also had lunch with Martin to plan out our trip, which I’m pretty excited for. I had freedom fries too. We had a productive meeting with the editor of a weekly newspaper here about our Twi newspaper. The afternoon was a bit slow, just working in the office. There has been a cholera outbreak in the region. Close to 700 cases. It is pretty alarming but I’ve been assured that it is nothing to worry about, as long as I am very careful about what I eat. The problem here is that the sewers are open and people cook right by them. Basic health is not taught properly at all. Tonight on the news, they showed footage of kids playing in a garbage-filled river. The most important thing is the sewers though. It’s ridiculous. They create standing water, attracting flies that spread cholera, and mosquitos that spread malaria. Cholera can only be caught through contaminated food, so as long as you eat in a clean place and your food is really hot, you’re fine. I know it sounds really bad, and it is, but the threat to me is essentially non-existent. Knock on wood. But seriously, I’m fine, cause we don’t eat anything from the street. The open sewer issue is ridiculous. They’re building a lot of new roads here and they are still keeping the gutters open. An organization like CIDA or another governmental development agency has to get on top of this. The problem (I think) is that covering sewers isn’t as glamorous as building roads or wells or schools, so development agencies don’t tackle it although if they were to, it would make a huge difference. It was shocking to see on the news how many people here take no heed of basic hygiene. Women sitting beside overflowing dumpsters, including one breast-feeding. Kids playing in a garbage dump. These are the things we see in commercials for charities and find it hard to believe. How could anyone not know that playing in a garbage dump is dangerous? It seems instinctive to us, but it’s not. It has to be taught and it isn’t here. It was pretty depressing. I’ll leave you with that happy thought!