NAWA Bazaar

Last Saturday, Hannah and I ventured to the NAWA Bazaar. NAWA is the North American Women's Association, which is a club in Ghana. The Bazaar was held at the New Horizon Special School which is walking distance from our houses. I didn't think much of the term "Special School" since many of the International schools here have weird names that imply they are better than the local school. I was pleased to see when we got there that it's actually a school for mentally handicapped children. They were walking around with some of their teachers enjoying the day and the offerings that had been brought by local craftsmen.

There were easily two dozen booths with all different crafts from clothing to art to art prints, drums, stationery, and more. Many of them had business cards so we did one lap checking out what was available and then went back afterwards for the items we really wanted. I found a handwoven trivet that I liked that was only 10 cedis. We only have one and it's pretty small so on nights when we have two warm dishes or one big pan, the existing one was not big enough. I figured for $2.50, it was worth bringing home.

Pop Quiz: When we moved here back in August there were two things we told family and friends that we were looking to find/purchase while living in Africa. The first was an incorrect sports championship shirt which we found already. What was the second?

Answer: a black Santa Claus. I was determined to find one ever since we came to Accra on our look-see visit back in January 2014. The hotel we were staying in still had all their Christmas decorations up and I commented that all their Santas were white. I thought that was interesting considering it probably makes for a difficult explanation to children. I understand that Santa is a Western European tradition thus the color of his skin makes geographical sense. But, given that Father Christmas is a childhood tradition, I imagined that kids here would have a hard time understanding why Santa looked different than they do, then again maybe they don't care because he brings presents. Regardless, being as Christmas-obsessed as I am, I was determined to find one.

I did find one a few months back at the Arts Market in Accra but the gentleman was unwilling to quote me a fair price. He said his best price was 200 cedis, which was about $60 at the time. Negotiating was getting nowhere and I envisioned the look on my husband's face and thought no, better not. Good thing I did because the NAWA Bazaar came through for me! So I got this little guy (maybe a foot tall) for 30 cedis, or $7.50.

All in all it was a successful day of browsing crafts and supporting a great cause!