In two weeks we will be leaving our beautiful country to spend eighteen months in Ghana West Africa. We will be living in Techiman which is about a two hour drive from Kumasi. For most of the year the temperature in Techiman ranges from 32 degrees celsius to 46. We are in for heat like we have never known. 😢 Our life as we have known it is in for a huge change. Are we ready for this adventure? Watch this space.
African Woods in Techiman Ghana
G
Aove map of Ghana and a typical street scene in Techiman.
Techiman is what is considered a market town. It is above Sunyani on the map heading north and has a population of about 100,000. Basically it is in the centre of Ghana. We arrived on Friday 24. My original thoughts…. shock and surprise at the size of our apartment. It’s no apartment more like the Taj Mahal. It’s possibly square footage is the same size as our home in NZ. All tiled, covered in red dust and grime from tradesman who had been working in it before we arrived. Upset that I would still have a big place to clean. Very grateful when I looked around me at the homes people were living in and overwhelmed when I knew that this was it for eighteen months. BUT we’re here and beginning to enjoy the difference but not the heat and red dust.
Ghanaian people have many challenges but they always are willing to smile when you smile or acknowledged them. They are an incredibly resilient people who work extremely hard to just survive. 
A scene inside the Techiman market. Taxis vying for position, and people trying to avoid them. Most taxis are tiny cars like Daewoo and Hyundai Getz. Most of them look like cars we would have in our wreckers yards. They carry HUGE loads like up to six people, no one wears set belts and the boot will be laiden with bags of potatoes, rice, builders supplies. Many taxis have religious signs on the rear windows: Heaven gate no bribe, Jesus, Jesus cares, Glory be to God, Quick money quick trouble. Vote for Allah.
Typical strret scene. A young girl trying to sell her wares. Often they weave in and out of the traffic when the cars slow down trying to sell to the motorists. They have, water sachets, soft drinks, prepared food, mangoes, stationery, eggs, pineapples, vegetables all on their heads. A doctor told me that as they get older they have bad arthritis in their neck and back bones.
africanwoods.wordpress.com 