We traveled for over 6 hours before finally reaching Hohoe. Our room was not yet ready and we were hungry so we ordered lunch at the Guesthouse. We stayed at Taste Lodge and right from when we walked through the gate we were greeted with big smiles. We were VERY impressed with the staff and their level of customer service and friendliness. By the time we got our food and ate (over an hour) it had started to rain. We decided to take it easy and relax for the evening.
Our wonderful staff at the Taste Lodge. Florence and Francis manage everything.
We went for a walk through through town. We found this guy who was selling artwork which was absolutely amazing. Initially we went in because of the name of the shop: “Akuna-Matata.” He was working on a large painting right when we came which was gorgeous. It was Africa and in the middle of the map were various animals. We each had him do a painting for us.
Farther into town I saw a shop called “Our Talking Hands.” They sell materials like we saw in Koforidua from the deaf school. A white guy named Scott was there as well as a deaf Ghanaian girl. Scott has been here three years with Peace Corps working with the deaf school.
Later, we met up with him at the deaf school and he showed us some of what the students do. They were so proud of the items they had made. I found out that most of them are illiterate and the guys ages 17-26 are doing middles school type work for the most part. I was able to talk to SO many deaf people I loved it!
Introductions
Vocational classroom where the students learn to make kente.
A group of the deaf students
These three are about ready to finish with their program and are the best at what they do. Each is holding a large kente cloth they made and were quite proud of.
Everyone else left to get dinner but I wanted to stay and check out the dorms. There are about 25-30 in a room of bunk beds. The guys were all very friendly and excited to see me there. I wish I could spend more time there. I would seriously consider coming back for a few days before I go home. Scott said he has a place for me to stay for free at his girlfriend’s family’s house. He and I talked quite a bit about what he is doing there. His goal is to use vocational skills to help with other learning (such as math). I am very impressed with what he has done. The students are also getting paid for their work. The shop in town is a spin off of what they are doing at the school. This is why Scot calls it “Our Talking Hands.” All the money raised from the products sold goes right back to the school and the students. It is a great program
One of the dorm rooms.
Unfortunately there was not a church in this entire area of the country so we were not able to go. The rest of Sunday was spent mainly traveling. I opted not to go to the waterfall with the rest of the group in the morning. They finished much earlier than anticipated so we took off. We split up for this portion of the trip.
I did not want the headache of all the tro tros and uncertainty of roads. I decided to head back to Accra and get a bus straight up to Bolgatanga/Paga (our next leg of the trip) and the other three went straight up the Volta Region. I got the last seat (front one at that) to Accra and the others found their tro tro and ended up waiting about an hour to head off. We both made it to our destinations safely, though the other three had quite the adventure, especially on a middle of the night motorcycle ride for three+ hours, of which they crashed and/or were thrown off many times. I couch surfed the night in a town east of Accra with a really fun family. They are very kind and have decided to adopt us all and want me to bring the others back to meet them. I showed them some of my Azonto moves and they cracked up. I spent a good amount of time chatting Fabian about business. He has done some stuff in the past with micro-finance. He is very well educated and it was a pleasure to talk with him. One last note about my accommodations: I called the same day so it was obviously short notice. They didn’t have a place in their own house so they found me a guest house next door. I am not sure if they know the owners or what but I did not need to pay. The room was decent though I had to stand in the shower to use the toilet. It made the experience that much more fun.
Auntie Joy and Uncle Executive “Boss”
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