Field Notes, Day 12

Miss Taxi Ghana and Accra We Dey, Departure

On our final day, we met with Miss Taxi Ghana and representatives from Accra We Dey. Miss Taxi Ghana told us about how she created her service in lieu of her gender. She recognized that transportation services in Ghana were inadequate. Taxi drivers were unreliable, Tro-Tros did not always ensure quality (sometimes they smelled and were uncomfortable for passengers), and she not allowed to drive a truck because the drivers association would not allow a woman to join their ranks. Thus, she decided to buy a taxi of her own and offer a specialized service in which she would take good care of her drivers and even go so far as to provide tours of the city. She said that her service serves primarily to expatriates exploring the city for the first time, she is booked weeks ahead and she often stays in the same hotel as her client in order to ensure that they have rides. As a mother, she uses her work to take care of her sons. Miss Taxi Ghana told us that she has also used her experiences to facilitate research into the prevalence of gendered barriers in occupations in Ghana. She hopes to someday get a doctorate in anthropology and publish her findings, as well as gain admission into a Taxi Drivers association in the future. Dr. Hart recommended the La Taxi Drivers. Thereafter we met with representatives from Accra We Dey back at Tea Baa. While listening to their pitch we learned that Accra We Dey helps connect Ghanaians online to opportunities and the latests happenings in their city. They have facilitated engagement in the arts, urban development, projects, and kept their audience up-to-date on all of the cool things that are happening in Accra. The Accra We Dey representatives spoke about their city in a way that paralleled we see the comeback of Detroit. Accra was painted as a cultural and business epicenter that brings together young entrepreneurs and objects that henceforth collaborate on innovative projects, just like what is happening in Detroit today. This final meeting wrapped up our trip to Ghana and we left really feeling like, this city on the other side of the world, isn’t too different from the one that we live and learn in. From there, we returned to our hotel to finish packing and prepared to board our flight home.