Cell phones but no lights?

Hey all,

So almost everyone in Ghana it seems has a cell phone. There are about four major companies competing and service is pretty much available everywhere, even in remote little villages like Sirigu. It is all pay as you go, that is, you buy units and add them to your phone, then as you make calls the units get used up. The prices are pretty good and there are lots of different kinds of phones around, some very fancy. Mine isn't fancy, but it has an excellent feature: It has a flashlight built into it. This is particularly useful for me because my house doesn't have electricity. In small villages like mine, most people do not have electricity in their houses. Also to note: roads are not paved, no piped water, outdoor toilets only (mine is actually inside, but with no water, I have to use a bucket to flush), and overall poverty compared with the standard of living you are probably used to.

So why this apparent paradox? Ladies selling food off their heads in the market have cell phones? It's just an example of the success of private enterprise, I guess. The cell phone companies are all private and competing, so the quality and availability of the service is pretty good. There are cell towers all over Ghana, there's one in Sirigu and one in Kandiga (where Shauna lives, 20 min bike away). Advertising campaigns have convinced people that they should have a mobile phone, so some eat poorly or little and wear broken flipflops in order to buy phone units. It's just the way it goes. Of course to charge your phone, you take it to your friend who has lights. Electricity and water are controlled by the National Government, and seem much slower to develope and extend service, although it is coming. We may get water and power to the school by next year if we are lucky. The students would like that...

I suppose cell phones are getting more and more common now in the US. How about it? Does every junior high school kid have his own cell? My students can't bring theirs to school, and if they do they get confiscated. I'm always looking for a new phone, I tell them.

One other note. The technology is here, but the culture and ethics of mobile phones is a bit different here. It is not uncommon for someone to answer their phone during a meeting, or interrupt you to talk on the phone. Ghanaians listen to music on their phones a lot, many have mp3 or radios in them. Also, because there is no voice mail, someone may call you repeatedly when you don't answer, like 15 times in a row. That's not an exaggeration. It's usually just better to answer since they probably only want to greet you and talk for a minute or two about your dog. oh well.

And the dog: sorry to let you all know that Kraman Baa has died. It happened a little while ago, and I was avoiding telling everyone at home. I was sad, but now I'm okay. She had been sick, and then one day she went up to the big kennel in the sky. I asked Robert and he said that dogs can't go to Heaven because animals have no souls. I'm not worried. I decided to give Kraman Baa a traditional Ghanaian dog funeral. Ask if you really want to know what that means.

Love to all,
-Toby