The village people and the nurse

Any village in Ghana is about the people and the village of Liati Wote next to the Tagbo Falls Lodge was no exception.

As you can see people like nothing more at the end of the day than to hang out with friends and catch up with the days gossip. Hang out the washing.

Fetch water.

Prepare dinner.

Run errands.

Situated on the foothills of Mount Afadjato not far from the border with Togo a tour can be arranged by the lodge with the proceeds benefiting the village. As you would expect the village is based around agriculture.

The most interesting experience I had here was at the dispensary with the nurse.

So James (my guide to the cashew lodge) explained how that works in Ghana. His daughter was studying to become a nurse. When you graduate you cannot just apply for work wherever you want, the government will assign you a post. This will often be in a small rural village and you will be expected to stay at least 3-4 years.After this you can apply to work in bigger cities like Accra or even overseas. The nurse at Liati Wote had been assigned here.

Incidentally the same principle applies to teachers. I sat with the nurse for a good 20 minutes and he explained how everything works. For instance he said that he deals predominantly with Malaria (the biggest killer in Africa so no surprise there) which can be tested on a device much how you would check for blood sugar by a skin prick on the finger.

If a line appears on the device then you will need treatment. The number of pills you need will then depends on your weight.

My trip round the village ended abruptly when a down pour meant we had to take shelter. We ended right across the street from the rather intriguing Lovers Joy spot. Well maybe next time!

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