That's Using Your Head

In Ghana one of the main ways of transporting their goods is to carry them on their heads.  They start at a very young age to develop this skill.  We see it all the time, every day, all day long so it has become commonplace to us, but not to those who view our blog.  So we would like to show you some of the ingenious ways they have of using their head.

 

  She has solved the problem of how to fill 2 water buckets at the same time.

You don't have to own a store or pay rent.  You just take your shop with you where ever you go.

 

 These are 2 men who sell reading and sunglasses engaged in a conversation about how to expand their business.  We're pretty sure that's what they're talking about.

 

 Clothing items on the go.

 A bakery.  Bread anyone?

 Plantains a plenty.

 If anyone has need of a cleaning or scrubbing cloth, I'm the person to see.

 FTD florist delivery.

Man Power

 A bag of cement that has to weigh close to 100 lbs.

 I repaired your television, where would you like it delivered?

 Would you, could you, carry the wood?

 Plywood delivery man.

 We like to call these "walking trees"... when you see them at a distance, that's how they look.

 You do not want to turn your head around to look when doing this.

Women at Work

 She looks happy bringing home wood for the cooking fires.

 This caught our eye because she has it perfectly balanced, not centered, on her head.

 Seamstress on the go.

 We see women everywhere, carrying lots of different items, as they go about their day.

They Learn Early

 Transporting a rock, why, or to where, we have no idea.

 He's ready to play football (soccer) after his work is done.

At least she'll have something to sit on when she reaches her destination.

 They learn at a very early age how to market provisions.

Working Together

 Many hands make light work.

 We had these benches made for the missionaries to sit on while they do their washing, by hand.  These are the children of the man who made them carrying them to our truck.

 No item is too big, or too small to transport on their head.  Family togetherness, including the baby the mother is carrying on her back.

 Heading to their farm to do some harvesting.

This is a community working together.  As we saw them walking down the street, they were all singing a beautiful song.  They were carrying water for a kitchen to prepare food for a funeral.

We have seen all kinds of items being carried on their heads.  There are even some we saw that we couldn't get the camera out in time for a photo.  They don't stop what they're doing to pose.  We have seen them carrying a refrigerator, a long table and lots of other things to numerous to mention.  But the funniest one was a mother who had a baby on her back while she was carrying water on her head.  Every once in awhile, the water would spill out onto the baby.  I guess she was bringing water and giving her baby a shower at the same time.  

We will continue to be amazed at the way they use their heads.