We are beyond excited! We finally have the land papers! The Land’s Commission called on Friday and said that the papers were finished; we wanted to be sure that we had them in our hands and that all the information was correct before we started jubilating! Visiting the Land’s Commission was one of the things on our “To Do List” while we were in Tamale today. We were pleasantly surprised when we were able to pick up the papers and did not have to pay any additional money. We had already paid out plenty of money but there usually are hidden fees. In Ghana no one really owns land; all the land is leased. Ghanaians can lease land for 99 years and expatriates can lease land for 50 years; after the time is up the land will revert back to the original land owner. After the lease is up a new lease can be applied for. The lease helps secure the land. It has taken almost 5 years to get the lease! We started this process in March of 2018.
After 4 trips to the Social Welfare office we were able to get the documents turned in for the renewal of the Child Center’s license. We bought a couple boxes of ink pens to give the office for their help.
It was also time for us to pay the “stool” tax on the land. This tax goes to the chief that actually owns the land. The tax is to be paid each year but they graciously let us pay it for 3 years so we did not have to come back so often to pay it. An older gentleman figured the tax for us. He had 2 calculators; both of which were on their last leg. One of them was so retched that parts of it were falling off and he could not get the other one to work so he tossed it down on his desk in disgust. While we were at the office supply store buying the pens we bought a calculator and took it back to the Stool tax office. The man was so surprised when we returned with a new calculator for his office. He was all smiles when we left. It is hard to do your work with defective equipment.
The masons came to work this morning even though we were in Tamale. Mr. Iddrisu called when he realized that the shovels and head pans were locked in the storage shed and we had taken the key with us. Steve told him to rent what he needed and we would pay for it when we got back. Dawda the mason actually had both shovels and head pans that he was willing to rent to us. It was a good deal all the way around.
We found out that the teenage girl who has had 3 surgeries to correct the Osteomyelitis in her leg is not doing well. Her leg has opened again and this time she has a large amount of skin/tissue loss. After all is said and done she may still lose her leg. The case has become so serious because she hid the sore from her parents. She wore long pants to cover it. This is the biggest and deepest that the sore has ever been. She said that she was fetching water with her friend and the bucket slipped and fell on her leg and it opened; she was afraid to tell her parents. She probably dreads the idea of another surgery.
Have a good day.
In His Service,
Steve and Kandie
