Razak's House

One of the most challenging aspects of coming to Tamale has been finding a housing situation that works for me. I don't want to live in a hotel. The guest houses (which are sort of like motels) are nice, but I don't intend to stay in one of those too long. I have been brought around to see different options and many of them were not sitting well in my heart. The first two places that I saw were very big, completely empty, without water and electricity, on the outskirts of the city with no one that I know nearby, partially falling apart with the promise that, 'we'll fix it up and make it nice'. I don't plan on waiting on the fufillment of that promise.

While that is about where I plan to stay, I will share with you where I stayed for the bulk of my first week in Tamale.

This is Razak's house, where he made me welcome and to feel like his brother. He refused to allow me to stay on his couch, and insisted that I take his bed. The room was large enough for the two of us to chill in the evenings, eat on a small side table, and watch his TV, before going to sleep. I bathed here, brushed my teeth outside, pressed my clothes, etc...it is where I began and ended my days.

The pictures below are of the grounds.


















This is the row of rooms that Razak's family compund is made of. His room is through the door to the right of the fabric and left of the goat.















These are the bathroom facilties. The first door is to 'pass water', the second door is for bucket bathing, and the third has a hole in the floor and bricks to stand on to 'ease yourself'. The two children are his niece and nephew. They are quite sweet, and I was surprised by how mature the young girl is in the way she goes about her choirs and responsibilities.
















This is the centre of the compound where laundry is hung, where those rocks are surounded by coal and wood for cooking, and the structures in the back are home to some goats and chickens.
















These two rooms are used for cooking and other domestic choirs.
















This is the street outisde of his house.
















This is a shot of the view down the street.

This was the first place I considered home in Ghana (though it was a short stay). It was sad to go, but I know I needed the space to adjust and to grow.