As I wrote before, my commute is tough because it takes me through an area called "Circle", which is where the four main roads of Accra meet at a rotary. (They are preparing to build an overpass.) It is the beginning and end of many routes for shared taxis and two-tros which are the equivalent of public transportation in the city and it is where the buses that go from city to city end up. The area might be as big as a square mile and it is always full of people walking through, sidewalk and street sellers, preachers, herbalists, food boiling in oil or being grilled, beggars and so on. The traffic is generally at a crawl throughout the day and doesn't let up till at least 8pm.
This is a photo of the one of the major thoroughfares as it enters circle. I have to cross it daily and I use a pedestrian over-pass. The photo is from the overpass. If you enlarge it you will see the big inter-city buses and the vans that are called "tro-tros". These are privately owned and they run along set routes with known stops and pack people into the front seat and 4 rows behind that. They have been cleverly modified with folding seats to allow movement in and out of a packed tro. They have a "mate" who hangs out the side door yelling out the destination and you pay him to get on. If I want to go to Circle, I look for the guy yelling "cir, cir, cir, cir . . . . circle". It is competitive among the drivers so they sometimes try to beat each other to the stops. You will also notice how people walk on street and sidewalk due to sellers filling the sidewalk. In this particular area, at least a hundred men sell phones and they like to grab your arm. It is never an easy stroll through Circle.
Above is a view of the lorry park where I go to get my shared taxi from Circle to the street where I live. This photo is also taken from the pedestrian over pass. You need to enlarge these photos to see things. The corrugated roofs in front are the tops of the market stalls that fill any available space. The picture only shows tro-tros and some buses but the taxis are somewhere in there.
This photo was taken from middle of street because traffic had stopped for an oncoming train. This is how I enter Circle from my home. Some of those guys on motorcycles are waiting for customers to whisk through the traffic. As you can see, even the railroad tracks are a thoroughfare for people and sellers, and the train is coming from that side.
Above is the other side of the street from where the last shot was taken. You'll notice that street construction projects are wide open. This is a rather typical sidewalk. The woman in front of me in a business outfit is carrying a baby on her back. I hear this is very comfortable for mother and child.
This is my last picture of Circle. It's a like an off ramp and clogged traffic sometimes keeps cars from going down. It is less congested because this off ramp from Circle leads to an area of downtown that is not that busy.
These two picture were taken in Old Fadama Slum where I have been focusing my work. I could take this picture because no one else is in it. On the left was a woman in the door of room sewing a dress using a singer sewing machine that looked 100 years old and she powered it by spinning the wheel on the side of the machine,which then makes a few stitches for about a second or two. Then she spins it again. It was clearly designed for use without electricity. It was black with a painted floral design. There is a stall outside the slum where I see this lined up on the street for sale. I asked the woman if I could take her picture and she said no.
To the right is a community center that my group help raise funds for and then build last year. It is a simple 2 room structure, cinder block covered with plaster and painted. This was taken yesterday and I did two mediations. Greatly simplifying the disputes I heard, one was a woman who was arguing with her husband (not really married) because he wanted to send their 2 kids to his mother in the country and told the woman that she would not be allowed to visit the kids. The fight ended with the man throwing the woman and her things onto the street that morning. As we talked, the mother also said it was a good idea to have the kids grow up outside the slum. I was assisted by someone who translated and other people connected with the center sat around and listened. Remarkably, we then got the man to come in and respond within a matter of 30 minutes. He was contrite and agreed the wife can see the children any time she wanted while at his mother's and that she could stay in the room and that right now he was out of the room. He said he wanted to move back in with her. The wife said no because he had been abusing and hitting her. The two never looked at each other during this whole session. The other men listening then stepped in to make the resolution, saying we will come back a week later to finish and he agreed to pay her daily for child support (about $3.50). Afterward, the men told me that they were concerned that the husband was just saying what he felt we wanted to hear and they were not sure he would uphold the agreement about letting the mother see the kids. The woman sells all day in the markets and the man said he was concerned that she was not able to take care of the children. It was hoped that the woman would do a better job during the week and the dispute may change. The man spoke in a way that if he had to step in to do anything that he expected the woman to do than she was a deficient mother. The one thing he said he did was pick up his child from school on some particular day because she was unable. I have not told all that went on in the session, as it lasted about 2 to 3 hours.
The other matter was a man who left his job in January and then never got paid for January. We will call the employer and look into it.
The plan right now is for me to go the community center in the slum 2 times a week to train people to mediate and write up agreements. This way they will have a core group of mediators who can then train others and the center will become a place for people to come and resolve their disputes. These people cannot use the police or the courts because everything costs money to grease the wheels.
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