Blog Action Day: The Power of We

Four years ago a certain someone mentioned to me that she'd like to set up a meeting to find out which other bloggers were around in Ghana. Perhaps this meeting could expand into a social network? It started with small intimate meetings of less than ten people, which with time expanded to include more and more bloggers of varying exciting backgrounds. First known as Ghanablogging, Blogging Ghana now has over 250 blogs registered. Blogging Ghana, or BloGh as it's known for short, has spearheaded the project of reporting the Ghana 2012 election in a non-partisan, openminded manner - Ghana Decides. If you want to know how Ghana decides? Follow the updates on Twitter, Facebook and the homepage. This is my simple example of a how one person's thought turned into a nationwide project. Because you see, the power of we, is limitless. This post was created for Blog Action Day.

Blog Action Day: Climate Change

Every year, and sometimes every season, we notice what is happening to the world, how global warming is changing the climate. Last year I wrote about the delayed Harmattan and this year, arriving in Ghana mid-September, I was surprised by the cool, rainy season-like, Julyish temperatures that were still around.

While the Western world and parts of the East adapt their lives to protect our environment, it seems in Africa we're still too busy talking about other issues: war, famine and corruption to name a few.

When are we too going to make the environment a priority? In our case, changes made for the environment are often beneficial to us in other ways too. Changing our toilets to the water-efficient Half-flush/Full-flush system means we can reduce our water use and as a result combat our severe water shortage. Switching to energy lightbulbs (which has already quite effectively been done), lightens the load of the Akosombo Dam, as does an increased use of solar panels for electricity.

During my stay in Sweden this year, my favourite program was the World's Greenest Homes, an inspiring Canadian program that saw the crew visit households across the globe that are using energy efficient means to run their homes. Ghana is a perfect candidate for adopting many of these energy efficient ideas, after all we have enough solar, wind and water energy to power most of our daily household appliances.

While Ghana is producing ethanol to provide Sweden with one third of its ethanol consumption, one must wonder, when will we produce for ourselves? When will we use more environmentally friendly means of transport to travel within the country, instead of flying from Accra to Kumasi or Tamale to Accra?

When, in a country where thanks to the humidity, my kitchen bin naturally turns its contents into compost after being left to stand for a week, will we sort and recycle our waste and use our compost to plant new trees instead of burning our rubbish in plastic bags at the roadside?

Let's pay it forward, to our children, their children and generations to come. Let's do what we can to prevent further climate changes in the future.

Poverty is a state of mind - View out of Ghana

"Poverty is a state of mind" is an expression I have always enjoyed and lived by. It has helped me through the days when I was dirt-broke but never poor. What is poverty? Is it having insufficient funds or is it simply an abstract phenomenon? Since moving to Ghana the abstract nature of poverty has been clearer to me and no time has shown that more than now.

As the credit crunch has hit, bashed and violated the Western world, turning national economies upside down, some nations are coming out on top. Previously wealthy nations are suffering to handle the state of their current economy. Iceland provides the perfect example, shocking the world by being on the brink of bankruptcy, when it was previously considered a rich nation. And just days ago Ghana was mentioned on international news as a nation whose economy was booming with a highly rated stock exchange, despite the global credit crunch.

So, a little (but great) nation in Africa is suddenly soaring economically while the rich world tumbles and falls. Who's poor now? The mindset we've been brainwashed with outside Africa for decades, of starving children with flies sitting on their faces, definitely does not represent the picture of Africa today, of Ghana, especially the Ghana to come in the next few years as we observe the economic boom that will come our way.

Does poverty only refer to pecuniary insufficiencies? From my first day in Ghana I had to re-think the idea of poverty. What we have materially in Sweden, England and other countries does not measure up to the value of warmth, humanity, kindness and generosity of mankind that we find in Ghana. I repeatedly tell people that in my three years here I have NEVER felt alone. Not for one second, ever. Whereas in my heyday in London, even at a dinner table full of friends I could feel completely lonely. Here, I am rich, there I was poor, not matter how many pound sterling were in my pocket. Although I am making less money than I have ever earned before (don't worry, I am working on sorting that out!), my life has never been richer before.

So whether we look at poverty as a matter of finance or as a word to describe any form of riches we may or may not hold, today we must reconsider which people, which countries and what other aspects of life that we regard as rich or poor.

What is poverty? Just a state of mind.