Day One - From Accra to Obuasi

As capital cities go, Accra was fairly quiet for a mid-day Monday. Milling through the traffic, street vendors offered goodies of all kinds, from chewing gum to cell phone adapters. Ads for Canon, Microsoft and Nissan vied for attention alongside local businesses like the "Jesus Never Fails Communication Center." And, beneath the shade of a Mercedes-Benz billboard, three boys sold a delicacy: snails as big as a fist.

Photographer Tim Zielenbach, driver Seth Ofosu Asamani and I headed out of town, 125 miles and four hours inland to the Wassa West district. Wassa West is home to Kumasi, the country's second largest city and the ancient capital of the Ashanti empire, the matrilineal Akan people who migrated to the region before the 13th century and now constitute one of Ghana's major ethnic groups. Rich in historical significance, the region is also the heart of Ghana's gold mining industry.

Women gather cassava, an edible starchy root, and firewood. © 2000 Tim Zielenbach/Contact Press Images

With windows rolled down to catch the coastal breeze, we took in the smell of dried fish and grilled meat, and burning trash in the fields. Cocoa trees blurred by, mingling with campaign signs for the upcoming presidential election, and houses of mud and thatch.

In the front seat, Samuel Oduro Sarpong, coordinator for CARE's office in Tarkwa, pored through a stack of the country's daily and weekly newspapers. The day's lead story was the United Nations Millenium Summit, chaired by Ghanaian Kofi Annan. An article with the headline, "Help Protect Mankind - Kofi Annan Urges World Leaders," quoted the U.N. secretary general as saying that, with the current level of development in the world, no mother could understand why her child should be left to die of malnutrition or preventable disease.

Against the backdrop of palm trees and lush greenery, a woman with a baby tied to her back followed her daughter, a basket of cassava on her head. A man emerged from the brush with a machete and armfuls of vegetation. Three women walked in a row balancing bundles of wood. A schoolboy palmed his rolled-up notebook.

Working in Ghana since 1994, CARE operates education, health, economic development and environmental programs. As we drove, Sarpong described his team's approach, using as an example the SCORE (School and Community-Oriented Education) project, which helps community groups identify problems and potential solutions, and then develop an action plan.

CARE's education programs give young people more opportunities. © 2000 Tim Zielenbach/Contact Press Images

"We teach them all these skills and then they diagnose the problem," Sarpong said. "They are coming up with a lot of resources. They never thought the resources were in them. It's just a matter of opening their eyes and tapping into what they have. We are especially proud of that particular project, because the communities have gone beyond what we set out to do."

One team of community members devised a way to bring electrical power to their village. Another established a system to supply safe drinking water. One community applied for, and got, an American grant to build a new school.

We approached the town of Obuasi (oh-bwa-see) shortly before 6 p.m., hitting the first of many potholes to come. As dark fell, people walked along the red dirt road, going about their end-of-day routines. Some headed home to dinner, teenagers strolled, children were called inside. Women sold oranges and grilled corn at stands lit with kerosene candles. In the light of a naked bulb, a mother bathed her daughter, rinsing suds off her body.

Anticipating an early start the next day, we grabbed a quick bite to eat and, like the residents of Obuasi, called it a day.