The organization
How did "Meet Africa" start?
"Meet Africa" was founded by Lianne van Rijssel (Dutch) and Namaawu Ibrahim Taimako (Ghanaian). We met in Ghana in 1999. At the time, Lianne was researching traditional healthcare. She met Namaawu through the latter's mother, who is a herbalist. Our friendship developed very quickly and has never diminished since. In 2003 we decided together to found the organisation "Meet Africa". We shall introduce ourselves in on the pages Ghana and The Netherlands.
The idea of starting this organisation didn't occur to us overnight. After Lianne's period of practical training in Ghana, she fulfilled several interesting functions, but she didn't find work where she could make use of her love, experiences and knowledge of Ghana. She regretted this. During her visit to Namaawu in 2003, the idea arose to combine our knowledge, experience and social networks, and to share these with other people who may want to use these.
Lianne's period of practical training
As part of my studies "Nutrition and Health" at the University of Wageningen, I did eight months' practical training in 1999. I researched traditional healing in the Northern Region of Ghana. Soon after my arrival in Ghana, I met Namaawu and through her and her family I ended up in the village of Katariga where I did the main part of my field work. Here I lived with the village chief and had my own hut in her compound. With the assistance of a translator I interviewed many traditional healers, midwives, soothsayers and patients. In addition, I joined in the daily activities of the village. Most of the time I felt like a child, who walks after her elder brothers and sisters to learn how to do the simplest things, such as doing the laundry and fetching water. Because I didn't speak the local language, I communicated with the people around me through gestures, smiles, songs and by copying their activities. Owing to their endless patience, hospitality and the ability to accept me for whom I was, I was enabled to participate in the daily life of a family in a traditional village in the heart of Africa. I remember I was filled with gratitude and happiness because my childhood dream had finally come true.
Thereafter...
Of course I wanted to stay in touch with my friends in Ghana after my period of practical training. This was possible through phone calls, letters and email, but that wasn't enough for me. So, since my practical training, I have visited Ghana on several occasions. Once we had decided to found "Meet Africa" in 2003, we started preparations, Namaawu in Ghana and I here in Holland. Our idea appealed to many people: in 2004 fourty voluntary workers and from 2005 onwards around seventy voluntary workers a year left for Ghana through our organisation. The "Meet Africa" team now consists of 6 persons and we continue to improve ourselves to optimise the quality of the organisation and to realise new ideas. During the Spring of 2006, Namaawu visited Holland for 10 weeks and for the first time she was part of our Western culture. With everything she learned and experienced here, she can function even better as an intermediary between two cultures.