The Small and Simple Things

 

This is the story of a simple village. It's a story of faith; a story of courage; a story of hope.



These boys are at a farm
about two miles from home



These villagers have come to depend on each other like never before. Even the village elders can't remember a season so devastating. For the last 70 years (for that is how long anyone can remember), the town has flourished. People depend on their farms daily for food and money. Every morning, the people wake up and head to their farms; mothers, fathers and kids -when they are not in school. The women strap their babies on their backs, grab a machete (the only farm implement a farm here needs), and head to the farms. There they spend the day cutting fire wood for their cooking fires, planting or harvesting crops, then they load up their baskets or buckets or bundles of wood and head home for the day. The roads to and from Abomosu are packed with workers heading to or from their farms. Oh, by the way, the men work to, but seemingly no where near the amount as the women! 

The farmers grow cocoa, corn, cassava, yams, plantains, bananas, and oranges. The farms are frequently a couple of miles away. No one complains. Everyone is happy. Here people have the same aches and pains as people elsewhere--lots of arthritis and back problems; but this doesn't stop the daily journey to the farm.

Here, no one has kitchens (except the elders and one or two towns people). The bathrooms are...ok there are no bathrooms. A good home has a latrine out back that will get moved over when it fills up. A well to do villager may even have some sort of a drain field for his latrine. Homes are made with mud, or mud/cement blocks and covered with cement. Usually a cook house is out back.

Chickens and goats run free--free at least until someone needs a meal! They run free, but each one belongs to someone. People go to prison for life here for stealing a goat--so just be careful.

Not long ago, a flood hit and decimated many of the farms. People were left with nothing. The cocoa pods were all rotten. The cassava tubers were ruined. The pineapples were rotten. The corn was gone. The fields were completely ruined.

President Deho and beautiful family relies on their farm--God will provide

The village became an island. Isolated on each side, where the rivers reached up to a mile wide. The water carried with it disease, and death. On one occasion, a body washed up close to town. No one would report it, so it sat for a few days. Here, reporting a body is not necessarily a good thing, because he who reports it is responsible for it--meaning you pay for everything--the funeral, the burial, the mortuary and any other fees that come with taking care of a dead body. Thankfully one of the village elders made an anonymous tip to the police--something like: "is there someone that has been reported missing, because if you should go down by the river near so and so's place there seems to be a lot of activity."

The sanitation system is just wherever you can find a clear spot to go, you go. So you can imagine the problems this causes when a bunch of stagnant water comes in and mixes things up. Needless to say, there is a huge risk for disease.

This is a place where we could have easily seen the worst. An outbreak of cholera would have been devastating. Malaria and enteric fever could have easily taken their toll. But these people were taught to be diligent with hand washing and water cleanliness. They have obeyed with exactness, and they have done well. 

People who may be down to their last few days supply of food, often would try to give some to another. It was not uncommon to see cassava on your step in the morning, and nobody knew where it came from. People pulled together, and people survived. 

Now the water is gone and some of the crops have been re-planted. The crops will soon be plentiful, but for now they still need to pull together. Farmers who have lost everything rely now soley on their faith in God, and their neighbors charity.

what is left of one man's corn farm

We had the opportunity finally this week to visit this village. We were struck by the strength of their women and the wisdom and faith of their men. We were invited to speak at a fireside for the branch members, and were told to expect 15 or 20, but were surprised to find 90 people in attendance. What a daunting task. It was a bit impromptu as we didn't know about it save for a few hours before--and those few hours were busy with other things. Our instructions--let the spirit guide you. Hence, like in every other aspect of our mission we are coming to rely on that spirit to guide our way.

I think the fireside turned out well. We talked of many spiritual things. We talked of diligence mostly to the things they had already been taught (how to keep their hands and bodies clean), so they could avoid becoming sick.

Many of the members only spoke Twi, so we spoke through an interpreter. This went well--I think. It is a little disconcerting when the interpreter is speaking and the congregation laughs at something you had obviously (and obliviously not) said.

The strong women of Abomosu--heading to the river for wash

We spent the next morning visiting the health clinic and now have a nice list of service projects that I think we will be able to accomplish before we leave. There are many small and simple things that can make a huge difference  (Sister Fife's favorite scripture Alma 37:6:  ...by small and simple things are great things brought to pass), there at the Abomosu health clinic--like just finding them an otoscope so they can look in a painful ear, or fixing the Doppler machine so they can listen to a fetal heart-beat, or buying some much needed medication, or getting a glucometer to check a blood sugar.

Whats a blog without another cute kid picture
this is Dominic Deho
he smiles more than anyone, but ask him to smile for the picture
... and all he can do is show you his teeth

I leave this one here for Kelsey and Brooklyn
...get the hint?

We came away, grateful for meeting such wonderful people; humbled by such great faith, and more determined to make our contribution matter.

...Elder and Sister Fife

The Road To Abomosu
I love these K-pock trees!