"Wa A Place in My Heart" Upper West Region by StanMacleod

I have visited Wa 10 times over a number of years. A friend was head of Workers College in Wa. Workers College is part of outreach programme of Institute of Adult Education of University of Ghana Legon. Wa is a long way from Accra and is a difficult journey to make by STC (State Transport Corporation)On more than one occassion the bus broke down and hours were added on to the journey. The road is not smooth so they are not luxury coaches that make the trip rather they are workhorses used to the conditions

on my first visit I asked in a local drinking spot about something to eat and was told they only had lice soup. Oh!!!!!!!!!!well I never took it and it was a long time later before I realised that it was LIGHT soup. Neverthe less the connotation was there so I never did take any light soup. Food in general was a problem for me as I never got to like fufu or TZ and as for Banku---well I guess it is an acquired taste--and one that I am not likely to acquire

Ambrose was my friends driver and with him I visited many of the surrounding villages. I loved getting out of the vehicle and seeing all the children. Well not quite all as some would do a runner when they saw me. They were not uwsed to seeing a big white man with a big black beard. People in the villages were very kind and food was always offerred even though they might not really have had any to spare. On my first night in Wa I in good Scottish style cleaned my plate only to learn that I had suggested to my hostess that I had not been given enough food--remember customs differ from country to country

• Pros:the leisurely pace of life
• Cons:the poor infrastructure
• In a nutshell:why would I have gone there 10 times