We all know the pitfalls of Nigerian scam artists who prey via email.  But now we know that there are other methods as well. We learned the hard way.

Yesterday, while riding in the car, I received a call on my Nigerian cell phone with a connection that wasn’t very good.  The speaker was clearly in a panic.  I probed, “Is this Majek?” … (the name of one of my Nigerian clients). The voice said: “Yes. I am in a terrible situation. I’ve been in a car accident and I need to make a payment to the police.  You’re the only one who can help me out.”

“Can you purchase a MTN (Phone) scratch off card for 3,000 Nigerian Naira (NGN)  and send the scratch off number to me?”  (This scratch off number can be turned into untraceable cash though MTN money.)  This sounded like a legitimate request, and I couldn’t really distinguish Majek’s voice over the scratchy mobile phone line, so, I had the driver stop and I purchased 3,000 NGN worth of credit. Ed quickly scratch off to reveal the code and I texted it to the number I had for Majek.  The caller called back and said that his other phone was in his car that had had been locked by the police.  So, he requested that I read the scratch-off numbers over the phone to him.  I obliged. Total so far: 3,000 NGN ($19).  One part of me felt glad that I could help out my client, and was flattered that he would come to me when he was in trouble.

Then he called back, stating that 3,000 wasn’t enough – he needed 3,000 more, since the police was requesting an additional “fee” to release him.  So, I had the driver stop at a different MTN card seller and purchased more cards.  In five minutes he called back to get the scratch-off numbers.  Once again, I obliged.  Ed waved the cash outside of the car window, purchased the cards, and quickly scratched off the numbers. Total so far: 6,000 NGN ($38).

Was this enough?  Alas, no.  He called back again to say the police was requesting an additional 3,000 NGN and I was the only one who could help him.  We found another vendor, purchased the cards, scratched off the numbers and read him the numbers. Total so far: 9,000 NGN ($57).

Iteration Four.  We did it again!  This time the accident victim was going to die if he didn’t pay for the hospital. Total so far: 12,000 NGN ($75).

Then, he called back and requested more funds for more hospital bills for the person in the accident. “I am afraid he might die….”, he said.  Finally fed up, I said “That’s all I can do.  Why don’t you call someone else.  I am going to the hotel. And I won’t be near any scratch off card salespeople.  Bye!”  I left the car and went in to the hotel.

All this time, I never suspected a thing.  Then, the next morning, the phone rang again.  I assumed it was Majek who wanted to make a plan to repay me.  But, no … he had a request for an additional 4,500 NGN  saying “the person will definitely die if you don’t loan me the money. I can’t call anyone else about this.”   I said, “Sorry Majek, I have no way of getting  any cards right now.  Please call someone else. “ After three more calls, he finally stopped calling.

Then, I began to feel a bit stupid.  If the person in the accident hadn’t died yesterday, why was he about to die today?  Was this really Majek?  Had I been duped?

After breakfast, I emailed Majek to ask him whether he had been asking him for money.  Of course, he said “no”, and was appalled that a fellow Nigerian had been scamming me this way.  He wrote, “It’s really unfortunate. How could I have been asking you to send recharge cards to bail me out of police or hospital? It’s very bad. I never knew anything about it. Sorry that’s Naija for you”. (He also later confirmed that if he needed money, he could ask other people, and he would never ask me!)

Writing this account makes me sound very gullible and stupid.  But at the time, neither Ed nor I suspected a thing!  The driver didn’t say anything either.  The voice on the phone was very convincing when he was conveying his panic and desperation.  Now thinking back, I should have been more wary …. But now I know!

So, if you ever need money from me, you’ll have to ask in person so I can verify the request!  TIA.

We spent a delightful weekend in the North of Ghana, touring Mole National Park, the largest wildlife preserve in Ghana, and nearby villages. We traveled with our fellow coach, Bill Scull.

Our morning started very early as we had a 6 am flight to Tamale. At the Accra airport, men and women in long white robes, headscarves and dresses surrounded us. We learned these were pious Muslims, returning from the Hajj in Mecca.  They filled about half of the plane. The Imam prayed thanks to Allah when we landed and throngs from the community who were welcoming them home met the passengers. They were treated like VIPs – even riding in a motorcade to their mosque or village.

500 Ghanaians make the Hajj pilgrimage each year. After returning, they are known by new names – either “Alhaja” for men, or “Hajia” for women. This signifies “Been to Mecca” and is a lifelong honorarium!

Moses, our driver and guide for the weekend, met us at the airport. He is a delightful 26-year-old who grew up as the son of a park ranger. So, he is beloved by the community and is a local as they come!

In the park, we rode on the top of his 35-year-old Nissan Patrol, named “Struggle Continuously”. The car performed very well over the rough roads and rutted paths.

Ed posed as “King of the World” (but he didn’t ride like this when we were moving!)

Bill found the perch on the roof invaluable for photography.

We saw lots of animals, including the kob, waterbuck, bushbuck, baboon, and warthog, among others.

We were expertly guided by Kamale, a wise ranger who identified many species of birds during our rides and safari walks.

We tried to find an elephant, since we heard there are 400 living in the park, but apparently they were feeling shy. The closest we got to an elephant was a sighting of day-old poop and footprints.

We also visited several Gonja villages and were amazed how hard the women were working. They were cooking, caring for children, and grinding flour.

This chief’s wife was drying cassava on the roof of their home, accessed by a narrow ladder.

The Gonja villages are built with traditional mud architecture. Each family has their own compound and some men have multiple wives.

The Chief in each village welcomed us and we expressed our appreciation for the chance to visit by offering a small contribution to their village fund.

We also visited the Larabanga mosque – the oldest mosque in West Africa – dating from 1421.

On the way back to the airport, we had a flat tire, which was promptly fixed by a “vulcanizer” for $1.00!

Most of the locals in the Northern Region live on $1 – $1.50 per day. In the UN Millennial report , they would fall into the category “BOP” – Bottom of the Pyramid.

The people of this area were very gracious and welcoming and we were very glad to experience this slice of Ghanaian life, which is completely different from our urban life in Accra. For more photos, check out Ed’s gallery.

When we mentioned to Clinton, our fellow coach and apartment-mate, that we were hiking to a village on top of a mountain for an overnight stay, he asked, “Oh, are you staying a Guest Lodge up there?  The answer was, “Not exactly”….

Wli Todzi (pronounced “Blee Toadghee” ) is a village on a 3,300 foot mountain.  No road. No cars. No running water or sanitation. No cell phone or Internet. No health care center. And, no Guest Lodge!

Wli Todzi is a traditional community of family compounds constructed with mud blocks and thatched roofs.  The main access is by a grueling footpath that ascends the mountain (shown above). There are 1,000 residents in the “city limits”–300 men, 200 women, and 500 children.

We visited this village with our new friend, Jeremy Kirshbaum, an enterprising 23-year-old Californian.  In 2010 he was an exchange student from UC Santa Cruz, studying at the University of Ghana in Accra.   He visited Wli Todzi after meeting Yaw Nutsugah, an Accra-based drumming and dance instructor from this village.

During Jeremy’s initial visit, Jeremy and Yaw met a local woman, who said, “You visitors…. You see us poor.  You leave us poor.  It makes us feel like zoo animals.”

This comment affected Jeremy and Yaw deeply. They put their heads together and made a plan to make a difference.  Yaw knew that the European Union Development Fund had built a foundation for a Village Health Care Center between 2001 and 2007, but abandoned the project. The community desperately needed this center, because in the last ten months, twelve people had died including seven children.  It was sobering to learn that women in labor often die when they have a medical emergency and need to be transported down the mountain on someone’s back to seek care.

This experience led Jeremy, Yaw, and other volunteers to found a nonprofit, Rise Up Development Cooperative, to finish building the Health Care Center for the community.  To raise awareness, they started a tourism program to bring visitors to Wli Todzi.

Needless to say, we were much older than the normal college-age tourists who trek up to Wli Todzi for a weekend visit.  It took us four hours to ascend on Saturday and two hours to descend on Sunday. We started Saturday’s hike in a downpour. We got completely drenched, but it didn’t matter because we were sweating so much due to the climb and the exertion. The rain stopped and we continued to climb.

Luckily, we met two local boys along the path who had been hired to transport our packs. This most certainly took a weight off our backs (ugh!).

The trail became quite steep and slippery in parts.  There was even a rebar line to hold on to along the parts that seemed to go straight up.

We arrived at the village shortly after dark and were greeted by enthusiastic residents.

After a dinner of fufu and pepper soup, we went to bed early in a small room with a mattress.

In the morning, the local “queen mother”, Sarah, fed us a hearty breakfast of rice with red sauce.

We played with the children, who loved mugging for the camera and looking at the shots.

We learned that Sarah’s family had adopted many of the children when their mothers died in childbirth. Her uncle, Mr. John, worked extra hard in the fields to provide for this enormous household which includes 15 children.

Each child had his or her own job, which they performed with no complaints.

Famous and Dixon found time for a game of hide-and-go-seek around the traditional stone vessel where the men had pounded the cassava into fufu with wooden pestles the previous evening.

Famous also was quite adept at whittling.

Famous also enjoyed mugging for the camera with his brother Amos. (You can’t make this stuff up!) The village claims no knowledge of their namesake cookie brand.

Also, in the courtyard, all of the animals coexisted peacefully with the residents.  Two small dogs, numerous chicken and chicks, ducks, and goats roamed the facility in harmony.

A young girl swept the courtyard on a regular basis, so it was very clean.

Community members passed around the babies who were cared for with love.

We attended the Sunday church service at Global Evangelical church.

The women changed into their beautiful outfits for the services.  The drumming and dancing in the service added to its  spiritual nature, and even though it was in Ewe, the local language, we could follow the general flow.

After the service, the congregation posed for a photo with the guests.

On the way down, we were sure that Saturday’s rain had given the plants along the path a growth spurt, so now the path was overgrown and hard to find.

We made it down and were glad to find our driver, Tony, waiting at the bottom.

Jan was initially concerned that she was spending the entire weekend “without” a comb or brush.  But, this was insignificant when compared to the items that the residents lived “without” – e.g. without health care, sanitation, or roads.  But, the villagers are happy and at peace.  They follow the traditions that have been in place for over 400 years.  Subsistence farming on the plateau produces prolific harvests and an abundance of fresh produce.  The villagers work together to improve their community and together they adopt the children who are orphaned by maternal mortality. The children attend the local school (primary and middle school), and those who can afford it, attend boarding school for high school, either in Accra or Hohoe, the closest city.  (This is called, “studying abroad.”)  A Health Care Center will improve their quality of life dramatically.

We have great respect for the community of young volunteers who are doing grass roots fundraising to build the Health Care Center.  They have raised $19,000 of their $25,000 goal.  Yaw and the locals are building of the Center and are almost ready to install the windows and doors. An additional $25,000 will be needed to receive surplus equipment from the US.

The cooperation between the US grass roots effort and the local community is working well.  The hope is that once the Center is competed, the district government will staff the facility. Each dollar donated here will truly make a difference. There is no substantial overhead or bureaucracy behind the effort.  We encourage you to take a look at their website and join us in contributing if you can.

When we returned to our apartment (and our plumbing and AC), we felt blessed to have experienced this side of rural Ghana. We’ve been forever touched by Wli Todzi and its residents and look forward to staying in touch with the efforts to build and staff the Health Care Center.  You can view more photos of our weekend in a gallery.