August 31 2005

Wechiau Hippo Sanctuary

Ghana, Africa

Dear Supporters;

This morning we said farewell to our most recent group of significant visitors. The small team of eight departed on a wave of energy and left behind minestrone soup - yes, we have already eaten it - (no discipline!), iced tea, Dijon mustard, mango pickle, and a host of gifts to be distributed among the staff and residents of the Hippo Sanctuary. Thanks to the group’s generosity, I have just finished restocking my tropical first aid kit, and feel confident once again in my ability to handle any unexpected illnesses that find their way to Wechiau.

We had mini-launching ceremonies for the various Calgary-funded initiatives including the borehole project, the Wechiau lighting initiative and the partial completion of the primary school building. At each ceremony, plaques were unveiled and ribbons were cut. We wanted to be sure to give our guests a chance to celebrate in each project’s achievement. Brian gave most of the speeches and he was able to provide the local audience with an idea of the activities, thoughts and feelings from Calgary’s side of the ocean concerning each of the development schemes.

John Keating, CEO of Canadian Hydro, was also among the group. Canadian Hydro is our sponsor for the lighting up Wechiau initiative, and so we enjoyed displaying to John and his family completed solar installations at various local housing complexes. The crowning glory came on the last afternoon when a specially planned durbar celebration saw John Keating en-skinned as an honourary chief. Some people are just destined to be royalty! He looked regal in his robes, tall hat and walking stick, and appeared to withstand the high temperatures and heavy garments with relative ease.

The month of August included another proposal-writing trip to Accra for me. At the Nature Conservation Research Centre (NCRC), we are generating funding proposals for replicate community reserves modeled after the innovative Hippo Sanctuary approach. These community sanctuaries will include various keystone species such as the West African manatee, the Western sitatunga, and the white-necked rockfowl. A great deal of interest has been expressed by a number of potential partners and we look forward to seeing what the future will bring.

Until now Accra stints have required hotel accommodation. By late September however, this should be a thing of the past. By that time, I should be able to move into a rented house just 30 minutes walk from the NCRC office. But until then, I will amuse myself with laundry. Everyone knows that when you get behind in laundry, there is just no catching up. And since it is difficult to wash clothes from a hotel room, on my return to Wechiau, I tend to have a bag full of clothes to wash. We wash clothes by hand here and that means there is a finite daily quota prior to the hands becoming prunes, and the washing lines filling up. You can look for me under the clothing mountain!

Education materials continue to be produced as part of our overall mission here at Wechiau. This includes the latest edition of our Sanctuary Newsletter hot off the press by mid-August, as well as the completion of our second environmental education booklet for community members entitled Farming and Fishing Facts. Both of these education materials come to the Sanctuary thanks to financial support from the Calgary Zoo.