Second Post from Ghana

Sent: Monday, June 13, 2005 2:04 PM

Subject: Second post:

Hello everyone,
Thanks for your replies. I am unable to read or reply to them at this cyber cafe because of the impossibly slow connection--25 minutes to get to this screen! Yesterday's email was from a very fast connection--no different than at home--today I am in a different neighborhood near my hotel.

Good meetings today... We met with a wonderful NGO (nonprofit) called the Ant Foundation doing some fantastic work just north of Accra with very poor. I think E-quip Africa can help with a few computers and those of you who know about resources in the mid-wife field perhaps can help with a few connections. They are a most impressive organization--little but with hearts of lions.

Our second meeting was with the Ghana Environmental Protection Agency where E-quip Africa entered into a verbal agreement to collaboratively develop guidelines for the safe and proper disposal of e-waste for the nation of Ghana. It was a bit humbling, but they are very eager to develop these guides and standards. E-quip Africa's responsibility will be to secure information, knowhow and trainers who can come to Accra to do in-services for the staff at the Ghana EPA. A second area of collaboration will be in helping develop a recycling industry here, so there will be an economic advantage from this as well as an environmental one. What we are attempting to do is to help the Ghana EPA develop national policy so you can see why this meeting was both exciting and humbling. (Photo above is at the EPA)

One of the goals of writing these updates is to let all this ferment in the rich minds of you who read them. When I return I hope you will share any ideas you might have about any of this. Please feel free to forward this to anyone you think may be interested or could be of potential help.

The third visit did not pan out today, but we will try before the flight home in July. The USAID office in Accra has been difficult to reach. We got as far as the director of education activities who was in a meeting all afternoon. I was given his e-mail address instead of voicemail with the instructions to describe our program and set up a meeting in July. I will do that after finishing this.

Tomorrow I will take the State Bus to Cape Coast where Fr. Ignatius Oyinlolah will pick me. We will back-track up the Accra-Takoradi highway to visit Francis Abiadoo and his family in Mankesiin. Then we will visit St. Teresa's Minor Seminary to assess their computer needs. Wednesday it is on to Takoradi and several meetings there.

Rotarians: I was not able to find a Rotary Club in Accra, but will meet with an officer of a club or the district when I return in July. I see Rotaract signs all over the place in the schools I have visited, so there is activity. The BP monitors arrived in fine shape--we were able to purchase 6 with your generous gift from Willmar. Have a great meeting on Wednesday!

All for now...

Doug

Doug Wilkowske

E-quip Africa