Lekpongunor - Day 6, part 1

 Today our group was split in 2 - most went up north to Tamale to check out the sites we couldn’t see a couple days ago when our flight was cancelled.  Meanwhile me and Tebogo head back to Lekpongunor with Prashant, our photographer for the trip who arrived yesterday.  Prashant is a very well-known photographer in India and has done several projects for the foundation.  He also has a book on Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/India-Definitive-Images-Prashant-Panjiar/dp/0670049654/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1204147074&sr=1-1

 We returned to the clinic first to meet up with Nurse Elizabeth.  She had just one patient in at that time, so after snapping a few photos, we then wandered into the village along with Genevieve, one of the clinic workers.  First stop was this school church across the street, where they have a daycare.  While we were talking at the clinic, all the kids had gathered at the doorway to madly wave at us, so how could not wander over?  The woman who runs it, Rita, says she sometimes has up to 70 kids at a time.  I handed out gummy vitamins to all the kids while Prashant snapped away.

Walking through this area was such an amazing opportunity.  Everyone in the community was so gracious and welcoming, (and also very excited to have their photo taken).   It turned out the backside of this village was actually right on the water which was an exciting discovery, especially as we came upon these amazing fishing boats and the groups working on the nets.

 

We were also invited inside the home of of an Elder and his family.  The woman below in red,  was fascinated by my pasty white skin.  She gently grabbed my arm and was stroking it, then a couple other women joined in as well.  Prashant snapped a couple photos as I tried to explain I needed more sun to the women.  He then added his arm to the mix to compare all our shades, a virtual Bennetton ad. 

 

 

We saw their “flour mill” and oil station, a group of market women meeting, kids playing, and adults thatching roofs.  There are approxiametly 4,000 members of this community so we only saw a small sample, but what a great morning.