You have never been shopping like this before. Black Friday has nothing on Ghanaian shopping trips. Martha and I set out before dawn this morning to reach Accra (the capital city) before the worst of the traffic hit. It still took us about 2.5 hours to reach the Makola market. This market can be summarized in one word: insanity. The streets are FULL of cars, people, carts, and goods, and the shops are more crammed in than sardines. I must say that I demonstrated my best parking skills in maneuvering through the only parking lot in the market where you have only inches to pass between cars.
Martha and I set out with all the money that we have raised so far in order to purchase all the supplies needed for the first three month session. We spent hours checking prices and navigating the crammed sidewalks, dodging the loads all the sellers carried on their heads. We were able to find all of the materials needed to make soap, pomade, and the batik fabrics. We bought dyes, caustic salt, liquid paraffin, cloth, oil, water buckets, perfume, petroleum jelly, bottles, stamps, a white board, notebooks, etc. By the time we finished shopping we had not stopped to eat or drink for more than 8 hours (we were ready to drop)! The car was full to the brim with all the supplies. After a 4 hour trip back to Martha's place, we inventoried and stored all the items just before dark. A crowd of children gathered around the table in awe of all the new materials. It was thrilling to see the fabric dying table overflowing with the materials that will change 10 women's lives over the course of the next three months. Tomorrow I get to meet those women!-Chelsea
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