Global Mamas and Animals

One of the first weeks that I was in Ghana, I visited a shop in Osu called Global Mamas. This past Thursday, Bailey and I visited the Global Mamas Fair Trade Shop in Akuse. We were able to learn more about the company and speak to some of the women working there as well. We also got to watch the women dye fabrics and sow blouses.

Global Mamas is full of beadmakers, seamstresses, weavers, and more, who make everything by hand. The company also works to pay the women a fair living wage for their work and ensure safe working conditions. The stores in Ghana and the online store sell a variety of items like blouses, jewelry, household items, purses, headbands, etc. They also started creating masks last year, and they are continuously doing so to help prevent COVID-19.

Here is a link to their shop online: https://www.globalmamas.org/

I wanted to also talk about the animals here in Ghana. First of all, I’m pretty sure that I see at least one chicken, one goat, and one dog every day lol. Chickens and goats are roaming just about everywhere in Ghana, on the streets, beside buildings, etc.

There are also a lot of herds of cattle that will be walking near the roads and cars. I normally notice the cattle out in the morning and the evening, when the workers are taking them to graze in the field.

The second day that we were in Ghana, we headed near Shai Hills. This area is more scenic, as opposed to the city that I work in. On the way to Lake Volta, you can see Baboons sitting and walking near the road. We have seen a few babies and some really big ones too!

In some areas of Accra, households keep dogs as pets. For example, in the neighborhood that I live in, a lot of the neighbors have dogs in their homes. However, in some parts of Accra, dogs are not so much as pets, but more as strays. They mainly move around on their own and mind their own business, normally looking for food.

My team and I visited this organization a few weeks ago, and a small dog was lying underneath the table, where we were having a meeting. The first day that I was at the organization, I just assumed the dog belonged to the agency. It mostly slept the whole time we were there. But the next time we visited, I found out that the dog was just a stray. However, I think he liked my company though because he continuously was coming back to sit by me after some of the workers kept trying to get him out to the road.

I have seen a few kittens and a few horses so far as well. Mostly, chickens and goats though!