Pictures and Kotoso

I'll just cut to the chase- here is this week's "What is this?"  Just remember you need to guess in complete sentences!

Picture 1: What is this?

Picture 2: What is this?

Picture 3: What is this?

Going back to one of last week's pictures, the boats give us a bit of insight into what life on Lake Volta is like.  The town of Kotoso (some of it pictured right) does not show up on any map- not even Google!  The town popped up as a result of Ghana's growing population and the opportunities for income close-by.  Kotoso is the send off point for many of southern Lake Volta's fishermen as well as ours.  Below we are packing all of our suitcases, food, water, and supplies into the AAF boat.  Made entirely out of wood, this boat can carry upwards of 5 tons!  Seemed like a lot to me...

Really the only way to reach the people on the other side is by boat (or drive 4 hours around the south-eastern tip).  The boats are also the main source of income for many of the villages that sit on the lake (right).  Most of the boats (or canoes?) head out early in the morning filled with a couple men and fishing nets.  They run the nets through the water hoping to pull out Tilapia or other fish to sell (below right).  They typically smoke the fish so as to preserve them until market day.  Market day is every Tuesday and Friday in Kotoso.  I will definitely be going sometime in the next week!  We walked through market day two weeks ago on our way back to Accra.  I had to turn down every, "Here Ububini!  Here!"  Ububini means white man.


As we cross the lake to get to the farm, we pass hundreds of stationary nets, traps, floating plastic bottle markers, discarded waste, and dried up trees.  These pieces speak to a practice of overfishing, pollution, and lack of resources.  People are so focused on making money, they lose sight on how their fishing is hurting the fish population.  Since there is no waste removal system in place trash is either burned or forgotten about as soon as it leaves your hand, much of it eventually landing in the lake.  And the lack of resources on all levels keeps boating on the lake a hazardous endeavor.  If you can dodge the fish nets and debris, you have to sense where the ancient trees still stand beneath you.  The long forgotten valley that is now Lake Volta was not removed of its trees before the damn was built.  With no funds available or ability to remove the trees, they merely stand firm, waiting to tear the bottom of boat apart and send people overboard.  The majority of the people around the lake do not know how to swim and life preservers are for people with disposable income.


And all we can do right now is look at all of this, smile, take a picture, and build a strong community with the people we are quickly learning to care deeply and passionately for.  So thumbs up!  Everything is OK for now, we'll keep encouraging development and you keep praying!

I must sidebar and say that I had this entire post written this morning and ready to hit "Publish" but I wanted to upload this last picture.  Running on battery since the generator was off, the upload bar hit 99% while my battery hit 1% and right in synch the picture uploaded and my computer shut off.  I had to wait until now to finish!