I never expected you could see so many gorgeous bundles of babies all in one place! Beautiful little round faces, shiny cheeky cheeks, big wide overwhelmed brown eyes, some snugggled deep under layers of thickly knitted wool jumpers and bonnets, other strapped tightly to their mothers backs, eyes peeping over the top of the wrap, little feet sticking out on on either side of mummys tummy. Round bumps of babies bottoms everywhere, cute little toes wiggling abbout in the sun, gurgling gigling and goo-goo-ing noises from all directions... welcome to the community baby show!

It's been week like no other, with all the excitement of Hannah beng here, topped with being tasked to handle the community baby shows all week. Its been a rush of jobs in preparation, and mad dashing about to source and buy the prizes, layered with the challenges of building relationships with key peoeple in a completely different culture (no less than 10 visits to the director to get these things off the ground!).

But it has all been worth it! It has been followed with bursts of bright and colourful African dancing and singing, genuinely kindhearted welcomes from the hundreds of people that turned out at each community, 'ken ken's and 'zanne''s all over, and of course bundles and bundles of babies! A melee of them everywhere, from big and round to small and chubbby, all shades of African brown from caramel to deep black, serious and curious to giglling and blowing bubbles or trying to crawl away and catch the little baby chicks that keeps tittering by in the sand. Beautiful!

The aim of the event was to raise awareness in the communities of good motherhood practices - things that can make a difference to the chances of survival of a newborn such as whether they have been to ante-natal care, whether the baby is delivered in hospital as opposed to via 'traditional birth's in the communities, and whether they get vaccinations for their babies at the right times and so on. We came to the communities to advocate for all of these things, and to recognise, reward and celebrate those mothers who are setting a fantastic example and being wonderful role models for other mothers in their communities. The mobilisation was really impressive, with literally hundreds of men, women, children and young people turning out in each community, building an atmosphere of true community interest and action.

Each event was a new insight into each community, as the vibe, what peoeple wear, the way they act and interact with each other really can say a lot about the culture and community there. We were welcomed at each one by dances and performances by womens groups, who kicked up clouds of orange dust around us as they jumped and clapped and danced to their beautiful rythms and drum beats, making loud hollering African noises (I have no idea how to describe them at all - think very tribal with lots of high pitched shouts and that noise it makes when you wobble your tongue around at the same time!) and singing in a language I could never understand. Each song had a theme related to the event and they sang about things like how their communities have a collective love, care and resposibility for their children, how they don't want any more children to die because of unsafe cultural practices, and how we (the nasara's) are welcome in their communities. So lovely!

The Ghana Health Service provided information on new vaccines available for the newborns, and encouraged parents to not be afraid of them but to see them as a life support system for their children. The chiefs spke, and the assemblyment, and mothers from the mothers groups too, all reiterating the same key messages and discussing the challenges that each community faces (I'm contantly reminded of the relative poverty in many of these communities during these discussion).

And then the winning mothers were awarded with their prizes and invited to stand up (showin off their beautiful babies of course) and talk to the other mothers ad fathers to inspire them to follow good practices too.

The events were exhausting but inspiring and a real insight into the challenging world of motherhood here in rural Ghana. The one things that has struck me, no mater where in Ghana you are, you always see babies crawling around, wandering in the grass or on the dust streets, sitting by their mothers feet whilst they serve customers in the maret, or wrapped onto their backs whilst they pound the fufu or the banku in huge hot silver pots by the roadside. The babies play everywhere and anywhere, without any toys from Toys R Us, but totally happy with those they find around them or can create with the bits and bobs about, such as a box or a piece of string, the feathers of a guneafowl or a bug they find wandering along in the grass! They all just look so happy! Yes, there are poorly babies, and upset babies, skrieking babies, and lots of runny noses, but most of them still have a happiness about them, a bolshyness, something that says that deep down they have a sense of happiness about their existence in the world!

So from the babies taking their wobling early steps, and those sucking thumbs, from those with eyes wide from the shock of seeing a 'nasara', and those hiding behind their mothers flowing skirts, and from those in brightly coloured bobble hats, and those in layered and super frilly African party frocks...

With love from Ghana!

Xx