This week I've covered more crazy kilometres on my moto than we did in the whole of moto training back in March! I've literally been here, there and everywhere, all in support of my colleagues who are working hard to ensure the Ghanaian flag of peace continues to fly high in the rural communities before during and after the national elections due to take place in just under a month's time.

I've really noticed the difference recently here in Zebilla and wherever I've travelled - things are really hotting up politics wise! Every day, and night (!), now we can hear the buzz of election fever all about town, drumming here and singing there, people dressed in their smartest gear, hair done, shoes polished, and all draped in the flags, hats, t-shirts and scarves of their chosen party. Rallies are being held in all kinds of random locations, and often under the tree outside the World Vision offices, and heated debates are taking place on the radios and the streets, in the hairdressers, at the bus stop, in the market, at the offices, in schools, on the tro-tros, on the sidelines of the local football matches, you get the idea! I've even seen children chanting 'NDC!' or 'NPP!' at each other across the dusty land separating their houses. On rally days, which is almost every day now, there are moto's revving their engines super loud and flying up and down the streets waving colourful party flags in a show of hot headed support for their party, moto kings are riding around stacked high with speakers, young guys swinging from the top hollering political messages to all passersby whilst Ghanaian music pumps from the speakers. Once the rallies are underway we can hear the main men booming their political messages out on super loud microphones, and people hollering and cheering in response, followed by huge parties, drinking and dancing, with music blaring into the night. It's all become part of the environment around here at the moment, and whilst it feels fairly natural, there is certainly more tension about town.

One thing I've heard from most people though, is not political propaganda, but their wish for Ghana to have peaceful elections. Peace is Ghana's flagship quality, it's part and parcel of Ghanaians identity, and something of which they are very very proud. Ever since I came here I've been approached by many Ghanaians who want to discuss how peaceful Ghana is and let me know how proud they are of that saying, 'it's just the way we are!'. Surrounded by countries that have suffered serious conflicts and unrest, it seems the people of Ghana are only too aware of how easy it would be to slip into a similar situation, especially as the country faces many similar challenges such as corruption, unequal wealth distribution, populations from so many different tribes and ethnic groups, and of course poverty. But it seems to be true that Ghanaians are peace loving people, and it's simply a part of who they are. And something they want to hang onto through the upcoming elections and into the future.

The peace building sensitizations are planned to support local communities at this time, to ensure the political wrangling taking place does not spill over into conflicts there. It's also a point of entry to do some general peace building work in very rural and poor communities that are vulnerable not only to natural disaster, but also to man-made conflict.

Riding out to some of the communities, I got a real feel for how poor some of these places really are. Younger children dressed in their underpants roaming after cattle in the fields or collecting water from the borehole, and older children hanging about in unused mud built market stall structures, wishing to go to Senior High School, but not sure if they'll ever get the fees. Some of the communities were an hour from Zebilla on the moto, which means their access to the nearest town, especially if they don't have moto's is really difficult. There are not lights or electricity in these communities, and boreholes for drinking, cooking and cleaning water are sparse. In one community we were told they are now drinking the river water and suffering major illnesses, because a small girl fell down the well and died, so they had to close it. In another, over two thirds of the children at the meeting where constantly coughing choking coughs, suffering from the dry desert-type land and harsh winds there.

The community meetings were a real insight, as the men women and children turned out in their hundreds to talk about peace and conflict. The discussions focused on what causes conflict in the communities, within families, and amongst children, and all kinds of common themes emerged. At the community level they cited mostly chieftaincy disputes, conflict over land and water, over food, and over adultery and cheating wives or husbands. At the family level the most common themes were conflicts between wives (many men here have more than one wife) and between parents and children as the parents try to instil discipline in their children and the children try to find their way of coping with, or their way out of, the challenging environments in which they live. And the children spoke of the biggest causes of conflict between them as food, hunger, teasing and bullying.

The ways people currently deal with conflict are apparently changing. Each community spoke of how they used to use traditional methods of conflict prevention and resolution, such as taking issues to the chief, or taking younger people to elders who would give them advice and guidance. However, it seems the traditional structures are breaking down as communities complained that young people no longer respect their elders in the same way, and that the elders are no longer as concerned about the wellbeing of their community members.

The meetings were thus a real opportunity for people to discuss the importance of ensuring peace in their communities, something everyone at the meetings was very passionate about, and ways in which they can do so. The discussions were lively, it's like lifting stone and having no idea what might crawl or jump out from underneath, but they were fruitful, and the outcomes were positive. Each community also decided that they wanted to set up a peace club, which World Vision have agreed to train and support, so I'm looking forward to hopefully being involved in that too.

It's been a really eye opening week, exploring issues that I have only heard about before. Here's just hoping that Ghana's love of peace will get them through the elections safe and sound!

With love from Ghana,

Em

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