Diary of Help Age Week

As promised, here is a detailed account of Help Age Week (emphasis on detailed and for that I apologize).

Wednesday, September 26^th, 2007 - ENT Screening (Osu Day Centre)

Specialists from the ENT department of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra came to the Day Centre in Osu to give a free ENT screening to older persons. The team consisted of three doctors and four nurses and saw around 75 older people in the span of two hours. Seven people with suspected ENT problems were chosen to attend the screening from Help Age Ghana’s zones. My official role at this event, and what became my official role for the entire week was that of photographer. For those that know me, I always enjoy taking on this role and was more than happy to flutter about the program with two cameras (or should I call them beauties) strapped to my back. However, on that day I learned about one of the many complexities of being a photographer. I was asked to take pictures for Help Age Ghana that would tell a story and as much as I could have taken dear pictures of older people as they waited that’s not where the story was. The story was in the examination room where the doctors were meeting with the older people. Therefore I was forced to strike a balance between doctor-patient confidentiality and capturing the real significance of the day. A photograph can be something very invasive and personal for the subject and I am learning to respect that of the people I want to photograph.
Although the screening itself was free, one of the doctor’s made a remark that day that also resonated with me. I was inside the examination room after carefully asking an older person whether it was okay to take his picture while he was talking to the doctor. One of the doctor’s, after filling out a prescription form, was asking whether the older people were having to pay for their own prescriptions or whether the NGO was covering these expenses. Seeing as I was the only member of the NGO present at the time, the question fell on me to answer and I had to reply with the very hard answer of “no”. I knew there was no money for Help Age Ghana to pay such expenses but it had me thinking about how free the screening actually was and if the older people would even bother with the prescription if they couldn’t even pay for it.

Saturday, September 29^th, 2007 - Sponsored Walk (Osu Neighbourhood)

I woke up this morning at 5 am. In Canada I would never have scheduled an event, let alone a walk to begin at such an ungodly hour but with heat and busy roads as an obstacle this hour seemed to be our safest bet. The walk began at the day centre where we arrived around 7:30 after picking things from the office. Already some older people, were waiting in their Help Age Ghana t-shirts and traditional batik cloth.
People started to slowly file in as the Help Age staff started flitting about making last minute preparations, installing a mic on the van, prepping Jody to make announcements from the road, stocking the van with water and first aid supplies, etc. The participants for the walk included older people and their families from Help Age zones in the city, members of the Sankofa Leo’s Club, staff from Help Age, and social work students from the University of Ghana. The latter were the most eager and energetic of all. When they arrived as a bus load, my worries that there wouldn’t be enough numbers or noise for our walk were lessened. As soon as they stepped off the bus, they started mingling with the older people, some of the girls taking compacts from their purses and applying make-up to the women. The president of the Social Work Students Association, Seth, came to greet me and I expressed how pleased we were for them to join us and he looked at me reassuringly and said they were here to help us out.
The walk got under way shortly after 9 am and we began marching through the streets of Osu with the Help Age Van as our leader. People carried placards displaying messages about ageing. Many began dancing rather than walking and the dearest was the students that took the hand of an older person to help them along. My role as official photographer meant I was walking up and down the walk shooting and mingling with people. I also had to get to the van to fill my back pack with water so I could hand that out to the participants as we went along. With Jody talking about ageing from the loudspeaker on the van, music playing, people singing, and students handing out pamphlets with information on ageing issues we were making noise and hopefully getting a message across to the local community.

Sunday, September 30^th, 2007 - Thanksgiving Service (Legon Anglican Church)

This morning we loaded the Help Age van with older people and headed to Legon Anglican Church on the campus of the University of Ghana. The service started at 7:30 so we were up early again in order to make the trek across the city. If the church wasn’t so far from my new place I would be frequenting it every week, not only because the atmosphere is welcoming but because the view of the Akwapim Hills from the church is breathtaking. I was at this church the week before but arrived rather late, from not knowing which time the service started. This time we were still tardy but with good reason, it’s not easy to mobilize a large group of older people into vans after feeding them a breakfast of bitter cocoa and pastries.
The readings for the week which included the parable of Lazarus and the Rich man were fitting to remind us that God requires us to care for those less fortunate than ourselves. The Reverend Stephen Adjei gave a sermon drawing parallels between the parable and the need to care for older people, especially those marginalized and impoverished in society. A basic message that somehow gets lost among believers.
The Mother’s Union graciously served the older people refreshments and catered snacks after service. If any group of women can get people inspired and fired up about something, it’s the Anglican Church’s Mother’s Union. My experience with these exceptional women in Canada and abroad has always been positive. I applaud them for bringing to light the situations of marginalized people in their communities and encouraging, if not prodding, their congregations to take action. I am currently writing an article for an Anglican newspaper in Ontario, called the Dialogue and I promise to post it when it’s published.

Monday, October 1^st, 2007 - UN Day for Older Persons (Accra Psychiatric Hospital)

The week culminated with a social program at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital. This event was a mixture of official dignitary business to commemorate the day along with a social celebration for older people from the communities and from the geriatric wards of the hospital. One of the highlights of the day was seeing the Minister of Manpower, Youth & Employment dance with some of the older ladies to high-life. I never quite understood why the Minister of Manpower & Youth is responsible for policy on older persons, seeing as neither older persons are youth nor working. However, the department of social welfare somehow falls under this ministry and older people most definitely are a matter of social welfare. Anyway, the Minister Mr. Nana Akomeah, before breaking out the dance move, gave the keynote address for the day. He addressed the lack of a national policy on ageing and promised those in attendance that he would make the push to put the policy before cabinet once more for consideration.
The location of the celebration was strategic on the part of Help Age Ghana, because we wanted to highlight the plight of forgotten older people, in this case, those suffering from mental illness and abandoned by their families as well as society. Older people from the community were asked to bring oranges to share with the patients from the geriatric wards and during the day, we went to the wards so that the older people could share the cooked meal, refreshments, oranges and other gifts with the elderly. This was another difficult photo taking opportunity. I would have liked nothing more than to expose the conditions inside these wards so that the public could realize what living conditions those suffering from mental illness are subjected to but I was torn by how far I could go. Unlike the other events, where I could simply ask the subject for permission, I would never know how genuine the response of these men and women would be or whether they would even make sense. It’s an interesting debate for non-governmental work, because organizations want to account for their work with a form of photographic representation but how far is too far? Photography can say too much or too little, it can expose what’s hidden or hide what needs to be exposed depending on the angle taken. I think NGOs can never be too careful with who they photograph at the cost of exploiting who they are photographing. My dream job has always been to be a professional photographer for National Geographic but I don’t think I could live with this inner struggle every time my finger went to the shutter release.

All in all the week's events were a success, despite the fact that many of the preparations were started too late and the coordinator of the week's events was none other than yours truly who has little knowledge of how to seek sponsorship or book venues, etc in a foreign country. I even had to swallow my pride and seek sponsorship from Coca Cola for one of our events. I think I was ultimately amazed at how the week did unfold and the staff have definitely taken things into consideration to improve next year's Help Age Week.