Week One: Icebreaker

[Busi_Ngcebetsha]

Hello Raychelle

Hey, you are the first one to participate in the icebreaker activity. Thank you for sharing. It would have been nice to have a mind picture of what the bus park looks like, what is there etc. Because of the people you interviewed we know there is a fruit vendor and a motorbike driver. If you can describe to us, what is happening there, is it a noisy place? Are people relaxed or in a hurry? Are there a lot of people buying from the fruit vendor ? You can also add any other information you think might be relevant for us to have a mind picture of the area.

Thanks

[Sadiq]

Hi Everyone and nice to meet most of old friends and colleagues again. To the new ones I am meeting for the first time, My name is Sadiq, I am a broadcaster and I work for North Star Radio in the Northern region of Ghana. I love discussing issues dealing with rural life and especially agriculture which is the main occupation of over 60% of Ghana’s population.

[Sadiq]

May I suggest that my User name should be changed to Sadiq and not Natogmah. Natogmah is my family name which I don’t quite use in officialdom.

[Busi_Ngcebetsha]

Hello @Sadiq

It is done, username changed.

You can now contribute in the two activities for this week, the introduction and the icebreaker

Cheers

[smawerere]

Hi colleagues in the platform!

I have just been to Bugembe Market in Jinja district-located about 85 Kilometers from the capital Kampala in Uganda. It is indeed a very busy market operating along Jinja-Iganga-Malaba-Busia route in eastern Uganda. The market vendors deal in food stuffs, fruits and charcoal. There are so many people in this market.
Bugembe is about 4 kilometers from Jinja Municipal Town. I have asked three people here- two ladies and one man. I asked them one question in a VOX POP format.

Question: Why are you here particularly at this Bugembe market that is so congested with many people? The first lady said:Bugembe has majority of the people in Jinja district who come to this market to buy household items and food stuffs. She said she was waiting for a friend to join her and purchase some items. The second lady said: Many of the people are now leaving Jinja town opting to conduct businesses in Bugembe since it is an upcoming trading center and yet it accommodates very many people. So i am trying also locate some cheap stall to start some work in the market.The last man answered: Bugembe has been uplifted to a Town Council with a lot of activities, with administrative units and other developments taking place in a new setting of a Town Council. So i am moving around to spend time…i worked at night…He said.

[Busi_Ngcebetsha]

Hello Sarah

Thank you for the insight. Clearly the market is accessible and one can almost find anything they want even getting to a point of getting a stall for trading.

Great!

[Monica]

“I am here because i would like to buy some vegetables for my house. I am buying them in the morning so that I should prepare them in good time.”

“I am at the market because i am selling sweet potatoes for my income. I come here everyday to sell for our daily needs. This is also helping to pay school fees for my two children. I come to sell here because it sells fast that selling at home”.

[Busi_Ngcebetsha]

Hi @Monica

My assumption is that you went to a vegetable market and spoke with two people and what you posted were their responses. Lovely responses but I am going to ask you to tell us more about where you went so we can have a mind picture of the area.

Great start!

[izabreez]

My Name is Izack Boniface Mwacha From Dar es Salaam Tanzania,
I am a producer of Radio Programs at Radio Maria Tanzania, am very happy to join with you.

Two busy places in my Location is My work Place and in my Street

[Busi_Ngcebetsha]

Hello Izack @izabreez

Welcome, we are happy to have you here. Please tell us more about the busy places and if you have spoken to anyone about why they are in the busy area.

Cheers

[obolo]

This place has stalls, hawkers shouting on top of their voices to be heard by buyers, commercial drivers honking their horns to ward off some traders who have displayed their goods by the roadside, people going about their daily duties and porters on standby to help buyers carry their goods to various destinations.

This is the scene at the ‘Central Market’ in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.

Porter: I am here to make ends meet. At this place, there are many people who come to trade so I am assured of my daily bread.

Commercial Driver: I don’t like it when I use the road through this marketplace. The traders have almost blocked the road with their wares. The government should hurriedly finish the ‘Kejetia Market’ (near completion) and move them (traders) there.

Vegetable Vendor: I don’t like it here but where else can I go. I admit it is dangerous being here but due to the crowded nature of the makeshift market, people would rather buy from us along the road than go through the hustle.

[Busi_Ngcebetsha]

Hello @obolo

I can visualize the place you are talking about. Everyone trying to make a living by the roadside, distracting others as well. Thank you for sharing. I wonder if there are no regular road accidents as a result of this?

Cheers

[obolo]

I wonder how they are able to avoid that

[GuruneFm]

The fresh vegetables market;
Today is the biggest market of the capital town of the Upper East Region Bolgatanga. It comes on every three day in a week.
As usual the donkeys loaded with the sacks of fresh vegetables from the communities are on their way to off load at the market place.
The donkeys passes by my house to the market .I can see about six donkeys the one leading look like the oldest one .There no doubt in my mind that they know the way so well that when they even get to main busy vehicular street they stop at the edge to the road and waited for the vehicles to pass before the cross.
Nobody follows them and nobody dare mess with them because the all the communities along the road are aware of their delivery system . The donkeys have the support of all the road users on the market day .
Vegetables are mainly cultivated by women in our rural communities and the only and cheaper transport for their produce to the market are the donkeys
At b least the vegetables producers are always sure of market because the fresh vegetables are the main staples of every meal in the region.
Apart from onions, tomatoes and pepper the leafy vegetables are always in demand and no competition from the men .The men farmers produce more tomatoes, onions and pepper for commercial purposes but the women focus on the daily food in the house.
At vegetables market buyers are always there before the donkeys arrive by 6am to 7am and by 11am all produce are bought and they will be loaded with other items to return to the communities before its dark.
I hope and pray that this year the water at the big dam with not dry up soon to allow the women to continue the farming.

[obolo]

Since no one follows these donkeys, how are is the buying and selling done when they get to the market?

[Busi_Ngcebetsha]

Hi @GuruneFm

Wow, wonderful delivery system. I bet it took a lot to train those donkeys to do their job properly so they can be trusted on their own to deliver the vegetables. It also seems that the community can be trusted that no one can think of stealing from the donkeys.

So, have you been able to talk to any people at the market and ask a few questions?

[Blythe]

Every Wednesday evening my husband and I coach a spinning class (indoor biking on stationary bikes) for people that train for triathlons. A triathlon is an event that combines swimming, biking and running, in that order. In the winter time when it is cold, dark and icy or snowy outside people prefer to get exercise by riding on bikes inside. We coach the same group of people from January until end of August. To help motivate people to get a good workout we play music with a fast beat.

This week I asked people in the class why they choose to come each week to this particular place for their exercise and why not somewhere else. I got a range of answers. Some people like the location since it is close to their work or where they live. Other people like the class because it is fun. Several people said that they liked coming because of the feeling of community. A couple of people said that they come each week because it helps them train for races they do in the summer.

I have attached a photo I took of the class.