It’s almost like I won “A New Car!” on The Price is Right. But, it didn’t seem like it would happen.
The first plan was for Michael to pick me up at 9 AM and take me Akropong. I would drive Calvin’s car back to Legon. But, Michael didn’t show.
The next plan was for my student Addottey and I to drive to Akropong. But, he could get to the flat only at Noon, too late to guarantee a return to Accra by 3 PM to fetch Catherine.
I was at the point of saying we’ll try again tomorrow.
Thankfully, Stephanie was coming to Accra for some business, anyway. She was to be driven by someone else. But, Tracy figured out that Stephanie could drive the Calvin car to Accra. In the end, the car (finally) arrived to our flat at about 1 PM.
Over the past week, we’ve gained an appreciation for the daily struggles faced by (too many) people all over the world who walk several miles or are dependent on others for transport to obtain water, buy food, or attend school. It isn’t pleasant. It isn’t secure. And, at times, it isn’t safe.
My Zimbabwean friend, Dominic, once explained to me that poverty is not lack of money but lack of choices. Indeed, we were “poor” in terms of transportation this week. And, as the saying goes, “being poor is expensive.”
With limited mobility, I found that we overpaid for transportation often, being at the mercy of taxi drivers. And, food choices were few. From our location, the Night Market and All Needs store are the only options within walking distance until residence hall cafeterias open. The Night Market has great fruit, but we have been warned to stay away from the meat. And, All Needs lacks beef and chicken; its milk is expensive. Thus, protien was hard to come by. Long term, that’s not good for either child or adult nutrition. And, we had limited choices for entertainment, fun, and self expression. For example, I’m sure the kids would have enjoyed the pool again. But we didn’t have enough time to both swim and walk both ways. And taking yet another taxi ride to reach the pool? We were content to stay at the flat.
None of this was ideal, but we made it through.
My first trip after collecting Catherine from school? The supermarket.
—Matt
