You are listening to Herzenssache, project whispers with Madamfo Ghana, the podcast that takes you to Ghana.
Christine and Bettina tell moving stories, chat about their personal experiences and share them.
Come with us on this special journey. Let's go!
Welcome! We are very happy that you are here again. I am Christine. I am Bettina.
Today in episode 4 we're talking about how it all started.
You didn't just come there and start building all sorts of things all over the country.
You started out small. And then we
right at the beginning, she was there in this small village of Apebu.
And then she saw what was wrong here. Something had to be done now.
And then we started with the fountain and a
toilet facility. But I don't think that was all that easy.
Maybe you could tell me how it was?
I like doing that. They are also nice memories. We
We talked earlier about what nice things we could tell you.
And we have such old memories . I am happy to share them with you.
Yes, the whole thing happened over 20 years ago now.
I was at the lake in the village of Apebu in the Ershante region and
I worked there as a nurse, I am a pediatric nurse.
And after I had fallen in love with it a little bit , it somehow became clear that it needed a water supply,
because the locals drank the water from the lake. And you simply couldn't consume it like that.
And yes, we spent nights in the Anwöl and I at the
lake and thought about how we can take action here.
In principle, that was the first, very concise, even if you don’t know
comes there, is not a local, that was the first project where I ...
It was so crystal clear, where you thought, my God, clean
Drinking water, because I also drank the water from the lake.
But I had an army filter with me, I told someone from
the Bundeswehr and he gave me a tip,
When I was looking for resources in 2000, like
Do you survive in the bush in Ghana, so to speak? I had no idea.
And he recommended a filter to me and I used it to filter the water from the lake and then drink it.
And of course I still got totally sick from it. But
It was totally obvious that a well had to be built there.
And my people wanted it, they were my people, as I
heard that my people from APU wanted to have a well.
And then you just went and so on. Now I'm going to take all my savings and now here I am and now
I have thousands of euros here and I am investing them with you right now.
Or what?
After my first stay here in the clinic, I
worked, I of course flew back to Germany.
I haven’t lived there yet, but I am still and
flew here and spent my vacation and free time there.
Yes, and then I went to my family, to my OP, who had a lot of very good friends, all of whom
very social streak and an open pocket bag, an open sports purse.
How do you say it? Yes, you could say open sports money.
And of course I did that after my first trip, it was so impressive when you talk about the place.
Today, somehow, it's not all that spectacular anymore because of social media and photos and videos and so on.
But you have to imagine, back then there was no internet, there were no telephone lines.
When I was there in the village, I would say, five weeks missing, in
positive sense, but I could n't send a WhatsApp every evening.
Oh, I'm fine, they did n't know where I was, what I was doing, what was going on
is, did something happen to me or not happen or what is going on.
And then of course I came home and there was a lot to talk about.
And then my grandpa, who unfortunately is no longer alive, and my grandma, I told him, and my other family,
I told my aunt, my uncle and everyone what was going on.
And that will have to provide a water supply and the locals want that.
And then my family stepped in and I with my
Savings and friends and everyone gave something and bought something.
And what amount are we talking about so that we can have an idea of ​​how
How much money did you need back then to make that happen?
I mean something around 5,000 euros.
So it is not so spectacular, yes, it is not like you say, but with the sick nurses salary,
All those listening here can understand that this is not something that was done off the cuff.
So that's clear.
Exactly, through the help of my family and
We simply collected money, especially for my grandparents .
My grandparents told me about it and of course they were proud, you could say, of what we had in
Ghana simply wanted to set up and this
Together with the locals, simply what we did together.
You already said that, you were missing for just five weeks.
So my husband and I were already there and you can really somehow, there is not so much infrastructure
and you can't just say, here we go, 15
Truck, just go there and do some work around the borehole and so on.
But that was a bit more difficult.
Well, of course, that makes the realization of such a project quite difficult, doesn't it?
Yes, that's right.
So I flew back with the money and talked to the locals and
especially with Emanuel, whom I met back then, should listen to episode 1.
Then you all know who Emanuel is.
My best friend, loyal companion, co-worker and everything also unfortunately passed away years ago.
We then searched with that, a so-called
Well drilling company that uses this drilling vehicle to drill wells.
This is a technical process.
We searched and searched and I had to admit, I can
I don't remember how we finally found them.
But we found a well drilling company that said they
would come to the region and now only for one well.
So this was not an attractive business for those who would have to travel to the middle of nowhere for a single well.
Today to start a well drilling company in northern Ghana
we have to drill at least between 15 and 20 wells,
so that they actually move there, so that it is worthwhile for them, because it is a huge drilling vehicle.
And there at the lake in APU, you have to look at Google Maps, I have
tagged, if you enter APU into Google Maps, you can find it.
There was no road there either, as you just mentioned.
And the owner of the well drilling company was infected by our enthusiasm.
So we were all so positive with the villagers that we
can do it, because nobody has dared to do it before,
It may be the wrong word, no one has tackled it yet , no one has thought that it can be done.
And of course everyone said, you can’t
do, that's 7, 8 kilometers of track along the lake shore.
Well, we would call it a tramp ride.
There can be such a giant drilling vehicle, so you have to
that are like one of these big trucks, these cement mixers.
Yes, like a concrete mixer.
Cement mixer, with a huge thing at the back, it's such a huge vehicle.
And then there are additional vehicles that then flush this borehole and so on.
To get there, everyone had their hands clasped together in their heads, so that
we all the villagers who live in the villages along the lake, along the lake,
Because German is a bit rusty, so we asked the villages on the lake to help us to
to widen the respective pieces of land belonging to their village to a width,
with machetes and axes and shovels so that this drilling vehicle can even drive long.
So we have basically with hands there 8 kilometers in
quotation marks road built, all together with combined forces.
And then the drilling vehicle came and that was an adventure because the driver, I can
I still remember very well, he is there, so he, they arrived there in the, in the,
In the area where they are supposed to go now, we said we won't be driving there for long.
On one side, it is very steep on the slope, so the Legbo Somschi lies in a crater.
The Legbo Somschi also has its own story, we can also make a podcast about it.
So this is Crater Lake, on the right it goes steeply up, on the left it goes steeply down, depending on which side you come from.
And then the driver said he wouldn’t drive there for long, because if he
slipped away, it wasn't a paved, decent road, we hacked it free.
He said that if he tipped over with his drilling vehicle, it would end up in the lake,
then that, that, that costs several hundred thousand euros for such a giant vehicle.
But they were all infected by our enthusiasm and that they
said of this positive, we can do it, they need water in APU.
And then we went along with it, the drilling crew, the whole
Employees from the company said, we'll do it, we can do it together.
And so we are really little by little along this lake,
then the vehicle almost tipped over at one point.
Then they tried to crash there with sticks and food.
I was always afraid that someone would end up under this vehicle, that someone would get really hurt, because that, that
like I do with tons of handheld power, a vehicle like that can't hold up.
But dear God, we had on our side, we are then there
arrived and then we put the vehicle in place and then he drilled this hole,
Brussels is wrong, what is it called?
So this rod, that was, right?
And, Bohrkern.
Yes, core drill, like the one at the front of a hand drill, where you
the wall is built, there is also a drill bit at the bottom,
set up and then the whole village and everyone stopped the car.
And then the top layers were very loose, sandy, clayey or something like that.
And then the vehicle slipped there too.
So it is a drilling vehicle, parks and drives, because the
The ground was actually too soft for such a massive intervention.
Yes, yes, to park such a heavy device stably.
We didn't cast a platform or anything like that, he was on the
stopped there during a normal journey and then it was also downhill.
And then the person around this drilling vehicle lowers these feet, these support feet, so that the vehicle stands stable.
And they just didn't find any support either.
So that was really, you can read about it in my book, where I
also a whole chapter is used for this because it really involves holding your breath.
First we got them there , then we built the road.
And then it finally parked.
Now it's time to drill.
Then it slipped again.
Well that was crazy.
This foreman of this vehicle, the one who operates it, the boss of the
Vehicle, but also did not say if it comes from Germany
and here in the middle of nowhere, everything works and the money
get together and everyone joins in and builds the road, then we'll do it now.
And then we actually drilled it.
So heaven has held its hands over it and then it is really,
It took forever and at some point he came across this water vein below.
And then all of a sudden it all comes out, what do you think happened there?
Like oil drilling.
Yes, like an oil drilling operation, only better.
What you see on TV now, like, uuh.
Exactly, just keep it simple.
Madness, then it came out of there and then it has to be rinsed and then
The rods have to go in and that really is one step at a time.
You have to keep all the children at a distance because they all wanted to watch and it was unbelievable.
And we did it.
The first wells were dug by the combined forces of the well drilling company from the villagers, from Emanuel and myself and
Thanks to everyone who took part, we were able to create our first well.
With gifts together, you can't even say donated, well, donated, but really given.
We didn't have any back then either, especially where you could issue a donation receipt.
So we have achieved this with free money and of course this is also the case in Germany for all those who
hit like a bomb, because the
simply, it was an experience and B, what it simply did.
Yes, yes, and because it was really one to one, nothing went away for
administration or anything else, the donation was 100% used for this project.
And.
That's also something where you say, great.
Just as.
And after a while you really saw that diarrheal diseases were decreasing.
Many illnesses simply go away; just use clean water and you can cook sensibly with it.
Also the time to get back to the well somewhere, two hours, and get water somewhere and so on.
Exactly, a water resource in the middle of the village, it was like Christmas and Easter.
Christmas and Easter, birthday, Kumpf, Kommo, Jo, Kumpf, Immation, wedding, 50th, all together.
That was totally crazy.
And through this project, the locals, the
People from APU, but also the surrounding villages simply trust,
in this case in me, there was no Madamfo Ghana yet,
calmly said, okay, they already have so much and you have to do that sometimes,
Of course, when they get a lot of promises made. Sure, things have gotten better in recent years,
because you can easily obtain a lot of information yourself.
But back then, back then you really have to say, it was over 20 years ago.
Of course, people of all kinds came by somewhere and of course said and saw,
wow, here is this and this in the agency or here you could really help concretely, then make promises, but of course,
then they fly back home, wherever that is, and then of course it all gets forgotten.
Then the reality of home catches up with you, your own
Commitment, your own family and everything else you have on your radar
and on the to-do list. Yes, and then the people are there
on site and hoped that someone would come and help,
because someone promised it and the spoken word promises us a lot.
The spoken word is simply important. Yes, and then I want
don't tell me that I 'm the best and the luckiest and so on,
but I just did it. I said I'm coming and when I tell you we'll do it, we'll do it.
My grandfather taught me that if you promise something you have to
You can’t just say, it might take a while
and also have reasons why it is not immediately in a next
month or in two months, but you have to be realistic
and say, what you do, we do and we have maintained that over the whole 20 years and still do,
like with the well. We don’t start a project if the financing isn’t there. So we just stay in Ghana,
I always want to say in Africa, but Africa is of course a huge continent, let's stay in Ghana.
You just keep coming across such ruins, so
often. So-called white elephants. Exactly, where you just think, wow,
what did they start there, something, school,
Kindergarten, hospital, bookstore, library or whatever.
Roba stopped or just the foundation stopped. Of course, Emmanuel always said back then,
they want to do something, but they are just doing something. They want to do something, but they are just doing something.
I don’t want to deny that anyone did not want and
that one does not, that this was not done on the bays conscience.
But you have to go from A to Z and ca n’t stop at K. And then everything is so wet,
that it wasn't lost for such a surprise. Correct.
Because there is a Roba that is decaying and we could have
continued, then this would now also be a school or even a kindergarten
or a well and would work. And who finished? Who finished.
So we have found this so painful that sometimes
is in some projects, for example the children's home in Hohe.
This is a huge project that cost several hundred thousand euros.
We didn't start this and then say, yes, we'll build it and see what happens.
It just has to be clear that such things, as you said, are completed from A to Z.
Because in the last episode we told you how it will be realized.
You also have to imagine that you are sitting there and you simply have great hopes.
Comparisons are always flawed. But if you are promised something and you are looking forward to something
and this joy is also something that is vital for you
or brings as great an improvement to your life as a fountain.
So clean drinking water, where you depend on your life.
Clean water is life in the truest sense of the word.
And then someone says, yes, we 'll do it, and then nothing happens.
And then they only do it halfway and you are left hanging and demanding but or of course,
wanted the locals to join in and use their resources,
invest their time and effort . But you don't finish it.
Yes, it's frustrating.
And then there is the other side, that I as a donor do not want
that the thing then stops in the middle and I put my money into it
and then I don't actually get what I wanted to invest in.
That's okay, you make a school there and then it stays in the Roba
and then I put my money in and then I think to myself, yes, so the organization,
I don't support them anymore because they don't get anything done.
Yes, you just have to be aware of all the adversities and obstacles.
Of course, as I said, we are not perfect either
and it's not that we are so perfect, that's why everything works perfectly.
But what I believe is a key from the beginning,
A, we do everything with a local, they know their hometown.
They knew there was no road, they knew we had no water, we had no electricity.
You just know, she knows her surroundings
and when you then ask and say, man, we want to do this and that, what do you think?
Where can the problems arise? That's one thing.
And then just to say, we simply have the resources to get everything done from A to Z,
is incredibly important.
And back then, but even more so today, you simply have an enormous price increase,
is also something where you can talk about it,
but simply in terms of, we do, we only start when we are finished,
Otherwise, when you get there, you might not have enough money,
because it has simply become much more expensive.
So there are all things that have to be taken into consideration.
And it only works if you know the area
and who knows the area, the people who live there.
And what must also be said , what they are also great at,
Because they do not have everything like we do, they can
From materials to tools, etc., they can improvise everything.
And it works perfectly . I really have to say that.
Yes, well yes.
Well that was, yes, that was quite a nice thing.
You have to take a look at our website , www.madamfo-ghana.de.
If you're looking for something, just go to the about us page.
There is a little bit about me, about the beginnings, also projects, videos, photos,
can be found there, check out Instagram and Facebook.
Exactly, or I can only highly recommend,
read the book by Bettina Landkaffe.
Her journey is also described a little bit there
and it is really very interesting and reads quite well.
Exactly, it's still available as an e-book on Amazon, White Nanna.
And we can also talk about what a Nanna is .
Exactly, and that's why we are now looking forward to our next podcast
and we hope you will join us again.
See you soon, take care. Bye.