Kumasi Mall Day
Today we went to the Kumasi Mall and did eye screening, exams and eye-drop/glasses dispensing at a booth at a fair outside the mall. There were vendors selling various goods and music playing so loud people had to shout to be heard at times. It was definitely a unique set-up. Then, the local news station arrived and started filming. They came to the “Friends Eye Clinic” tent where we were, and on live t.v. interviewed the optometrist, Josiah and filmed me perform 2 visual acuity tests on patients. After this, I was walking around the different tents and looking at the things being sold. This was when I met Kasina. She had bright red hair on one side of her head and the other side was shaved. She had this vibrant and welcoming presence from the moment I met her. I walked by her table out of curiosity — and proximity because she was next to us— and we started talking about the Baobab oil she was selling. I was impressed that there were no other ingredients added and that they pressed the seeds themselves. I then noticed some fabric on the table and asked what it was. She answered, “this is how we support our non-profit work. We work with orphans and widows, and these are the widows' sewn outfits.”
I was blown away.
We got into more discussion about what her organization does and I learned that her mother had started the organization, “Atarrah Ghana Limited.” Her father passed away when she was young and now she was running the organization. I loved their mission and was interested in their products, so I supported them. When I asked her if they did any work with people with disabilities, the question seemed to catch her off-guard and she stopped in her tracks for a minute. She told me that they didn’t do a ton of work with those with special needs, but some of the widows were disabled. After I mentioned my passion for helping those with special needs gain access to healthcare, she pulled out a pen and paper and told me to contact her so we could discuss more. I am really excited to connect with her and see where this could go.
1st pic:
The woman who made me a dress at the fair!
4th pic:
Natalie, Christian and I posing in our assigned polo shirts!
5th and 6th pics:
Kasina explaining her products to me.