Well, hello world!
I have been traveling in Eastern/Volta Region for the past week or so doing some community development planning in Toh-Kpalime, the village of the birth of my name: Esenam! The beginning of all my heart's attachments in Ghana....
I traveled with Afiyoo's culture dance and drumming group where they were to perform at a Festival at Labo-Labo, for the Queen Mother. The group was planning to stay at Sarah's uncle Cudjoe's Farm at Dodi, a major hike from Boso, a few villages away from Toh-Kpalime.
The farm is truly a miracle of nature. Situated right on the Great Volta Lake, you can get up in the morning and swim out into the lake and catch a wonderful glimpse of the lush vegetation around you.
The farm is an "eco-village". An operation aimed at empowering the local youth to come together and recognize that they are stewards of the nature around them. What's ironic is that the Volta Dam, created in the 70s was made to generate hydroelectricity, yet the irony is that the communities around the lake live in the darkness and are suffering the most. Because there is no hydroelectricity, it is difficult to get teachers, doctors and other vital people out there. The area is isolated, no lights, no city, no closeby market... no health clinic.
I experienced the devastation this reality creates when I had a surprising little encounter with a scorpion this past Friday morning.
We arrived on Thursday afternoon, so I had only slept there in the tent, near the water's side for one night, apparently not long enough to know the dangerous little creatures lurking around waiting for me to do something stupid.
So somehow! Only God knows how, this thing got into a cloth I use to bath. So while I was dressing after bathing on Friday morning, I shook out my cloth to put it away and BAMM-WINGITY-WAM right on my hand, on the very palm of my hand, it was like a little pin-jab.
Let me tell you, if that was more painful than labour, I'm waiting for my award!!!
See, when scorpions sting you, they inject a poison into you, which if not taken care of before it spreads too far, can make its way into your blood system and pose very serious threats to your ability to live!!
So as I watched the poison creeping up my arm from my palm, my friends were crowding around trying to figure out how to calm me as I was hysterical from the ever-increasing pain. Some were saying they should perform traditional medicine and cut my flesh to let the poison seep out, others were rubbing juice from plants on my palm, I popped 4 paracitimol tablets, but nothing was seeming to subside the pain!
We called a taxi, but no taxi wanted to come and venture out on the rain-washed road, which is terrible on their cars so they like to charge a wafty fee.
I was there for one hour, hoarse from crying. So weak I could barely walk. They were going to take my by boat to the nearest community when finally the taxi came. I went to the hospital, was given an injection to neutralize the poison in my hand and after I collapsed, I was given 2 IV sessions, which were not very pleasurable at all.
But I'm alive. I have lived to tell the tale of the scorpion bite. A little Africa-welcome, as my local peeps like to say with a laugh.
So I'm really meant to be out here.
Give thanks.