Beyond the Return

Grace Rhoomes 24/03/2023

‘Long time gal mi never see you’……….' Jamaican folk song sings in my ears of

childhood memories. Over a period of 6 weeks , as Practitioner Development

Officer, I travel across Greater Accra, to the Volta and Ashanti regions , to meet

graduates of a Diploma in Homeopathy, run by the Ghana Homeopathy Project ,

UK. I set off across familiar terrain, on various modes of transport, trotros,

okadas, big buses and good old shanks pony!

First stop - Greater Accra

In Greater Accra I reconnect with ‘old friends’/ practitioners, Emmanuel, Gideon

and Dr Phillips ,in their respective clinics in Ashaiman, Ningo and Kasoa, along

with new graduates, from the Greater Accra hubs. After hugs and handshakes, I

listen to their impression of their training, post graduate practice, and

aspirations for providing homeopathic treatment in their own communities.

Together we take few consultations as clients drop-in , which provides an

opportunity for case analysis and remedy selection together. Great start!

I also visit a graduate at home , as is more convenient for her. She intends to

move back to her home town in the North, to set up practice there.

Ghana has 16 regions , the potential for GHP to provide homeopathic treatment

across Ghana is a real one, the more we can train people , the further the

homeopathic reach.

Next stop the Volta Region . Long journeys , rush hour traffic on motorways,

allow for helpful moments of reflection.

Volta Region – Mafi Kumase

A deep exhalation of peace in my soul, each time I visit the Volta region. Been a

while since I was here. The embracing welcome from Emperor, ever-present, as

he directs me to ‘my chair’ in readiness for case-taking!

More introductions with Volta graduates who recount tales of study and current

needs, core needs similar to Greater Accra hub.

Cases taken, some on-site, some via home visits.

 A young man’s adverse reaction to toxicity from harvesting medicinal

plants ,on a large scale farm.

 Many cases of sudden paralysis in men and women of varying ages,

aetiologies: work related stress, extreme domestic violence, grief from

loss of children decades before.

Outreach clinics invaluable not only in reaching rural communities, but for

local people who are housebound.

Last stop (but not the end!) – Ashanti Region , Kumasi

Similar feedback from Kumasi graduates. Then a healthy discussion about the

case-taking process, therapeutic relationship, and remedy reaction. Importance

of using supervision highlighted, as graduates discuss cases they would like to

take.

I head home, having now met all the graduates. Sketch of plans in my head, for

outreach clinics, to support graduates gentle transition back into practice!

Reflection

We can return to the past with nostalgia, of warm places, familiar faces,

homelands, a balancing act with soul searching, as we decide to revisit the past .

Perhaps the spiritual pull to heal others (and ourselves) is far greater and

beyond any return!

'……..come mek mi hol’ your hand gal,..come mek mi hol your han!'

Blog artist: Ebo Bright Mensah

News about new developments at GHP

One of the most important things in developing educational programmes is having the support of organizations that have important experience in the field. It helps to bring a level of objective reflection and validation of the work being done. Establishing a professional training programme is not easy and in African countries can bring another level of challenge in accommodating homeopathy to different cultural norms and also in navigating the educational and political hurdles one can find. Fortunately, the previous co-ordinator of the project, Lyn Clarke, had done an amazing job in obtaining accreditation from the Society of Homeopaths in the UK for the professional curriculum she had established, along with a dedicated team of homeopathic educators. This accreditation adds great value to the programmes that have been offered and also gives validation and trust in the quality of the programme, in and out of Africa.

On becoming Co-ordinator of the project again, I felt, along with the Board of Trustees, that this important milestone in our work needs to be consolidated and built upon. Therefore, we had further discussions with the Society of Homeopaths to inform them of our progress and our future plans. We chose to focus on first offering Continuing Professional Development (CPD) training programmes with the graduates, to consolidate their academic training and to facilitate necessary skills for professional practice. We are also in the process of getting the school we established formally recognized with the Traditional Medicine Practitioners Council (TMPC) under the name, International College of Homeopathy (Ghana). Our goal is to continue to develop the professional training programme in the future, adjusting it to the needs of practice in an African context and also to explore the possibilities of distant learning models.

We are now establishing a CPD programme, and have created a team of volunteer homeopaths to be on our educational committee, some of whom have been working with our new graduates for some years. This gives an important continuity for the graduates and further supports their movement into practice.

We also reached out to a UK based school, the Welsh School of Homeopathy, seeking to create another partnership with a professional programme based in the UK. The Welsh school is one of the longest running professional programmes in the UK and one of its founders, Bill Rumble, has a lot of experience in various African countries, including Ghana. They have been happy to come aboard as a partner and to support our CPD work, amongst other programmes, as we move forward.

Therefore, the original vision of the project that began 17 years ago continues to blossom and we are excited at this new stage in the project's evolution.

Richard Pitt

Project Coordinator.