Creating Sustainable Homeopathic Education in Ghana: Reflections and lessons learnt from the Ghana Homeopathy Project and sharing knowledge across cultures and continents
By Linda Shannon and Jane Parkin
One unexpected and enriching opening that emerged from the decision to become a homeopath has been the opportunity to travel across continents and share the love and passion for our healing art with friends and colleagues from other lands.
First stop: India 1986
My first journey, shortly after qualifying, was to India. I organized, together with Dr Subrata Banerjea of Kolkata (Dr Banerjea now runs the Bengal Allen College, UK) and Carole Boyce (Homeopath and filmmaker, USA), a course for five UK based homeopaths to study in Kolkata.
During this course Dr Banerjea proudly introduced us to some of India's great homeopaths and he himself lived and breathed the homeopathic tradition as had his father and grandfather. During those 2 weeks our homeopathic horizons deepened and widened dramatically. Whilst in the UK we felt we were very much a small progressive minority, in India homeopathy was everywhere, and there was a joke in Kolkata - 'Throw a stone and you probably will hit a homeopath'!
Before becoming involved with homeopathy I had studied sociology and now I found myself looking at this mind-blowing experience from a sociological perspective. Here in India, before the advent of email, mobile phones and online journals, and communication was still by letter (letters which often did not reach their destination) homeopathy had been growing in its own way and forging its own identity, very differently to Europe.
Here was different soil in which Samuel Hahnemann's system of medicine could flourish and flourish it did! Without the western worldʼs materialistic concerns about the minimum dose, there was no intellectual resistance to the possible efficacy of a potentised remedy. Homeopathy thrived because of its empirical results, and, of course, it was cheap - 'the poor person's medicine'. Many people who did not have access to any other form of health care gratefully came for homeopathic treatment in the villages, but homeopathy was popular with all sections of Indian society.
In India homeopathy was able to steadily thrive from the time of its introduction in 1835 (when the Romanian Dr John Honigberger cured Maharaja Ranjiit Singh of Lahore with Dulcamara and became his chief physician) to today with over 100,000 homeopathic doctors and over 100 4-5 year homeopathic medical colleges.
In Kolkata at that time there were several elderly homeopaths that had decades of experience treating well over 100 clients per week. They were famous within India: Dr S.P. Dey, Dr Harimohan Choudhuri, Dr S K Dubey etc. Each of these 'stalwarts', as our hosts called them, was revered for their knowledge and experience and respected as a guru. We happily 'sat at their feet' and lapped up all the homeopathic teaching that we could. Kolkata, in particular, was a centre of Classical Homeopathy.
In the Indian teachings we encountered remedies that were widely used and yet had not been taught to us in our UK and USA training. Some of these remedies had been proved by Hahnemann himself: Guaiacum, Mezerium, Lyssin, X ray, Thyroidinum, Pituitrin, to name just a few. We had heard of these remedies but in India they were prescribed frequently and were well understood clinically.
Some books were held in high regard for their clinical merits, such as the little volume 'Clinical Experience with Some Rare Nosodes' by S K Ghosh. Then there were the famous Indian 'Clinical Tips' - 'Phosphoric Ac works well in 18C' etc. Completely new to us were the LM potencies. Dr Harimohan Choudhuri, then a dignified man in his 80's, was one of our teachers. He prescribed only LMs and had a pharmacy that made them.
We had a trip to Hahnemann Publishing Company, still one of India's best pharmacies. Entering that large building, with thousands of remedies behind glass cupboard doors, was like stepping back in time for us. In their factory white robed men sat quietly and intently succussing the remedies by hand. The ease of communication and respect between orthodox doctors and homeopaths made us feel like newly qualified medical students. We were taken to visit hospitals, sit in on clinics and observe surgical operations. Homeopathic pharmacies seemed to be on every street. The most important learning was how effective homeopathy could be in treating chronic disease over decades of the client's life.
At the same time, what had developed in the UK and the western world, post- Freud and Jung, was the psychological understanding of disease, the awareness of women's issues, etc. I was surprised that not a single woman client presented with PMT (PMS) at that time in India and no homeopath asked about it, or indeed had heard the term. Where was PMT in India in 1980?
My colleagues and I returned to the UK with new confidence and wanted to share our newly found knowledge. Rob Barker from the Homeopathic Supply Company collected essays on the LM potencies, the remedy pictures we had learned about, and published them in the UK. Helios pharmacy started to make LM potencies and that cross fertilisation of homeopathic knowledge has deepened over the decades. That was over 30 years ago and how different things are now that the exchange of knowledge can take place in seconds.
Ghana 2005
Over 20 years later, the experience in India was the inspiration to travel to Ghana and find out more about homeopathy in Africa. Actually it was a calling, in meditation; I literally felt the longing within the minds of those who were ready to become homeopaths. Africa and India were not so different - perhaps homeopathic knowledge would find a fertile ground there.
In Ghana I found that homeopathy did exist in the big cities. There were homeopathic clinics advertised on the streets but there were few opportunities for homeopathic training. The charity Homeopaths Without Borders (HWB) had run a 3-year course several years previously but had not been able to continue funding their visits. The company Reckeweg had conducted some training in Ghana in the use of their complex remedies for specific conditions and most homeopaths were giving compound or complex remedies and/or using radionics machines without much knowledge of individual remedy pictures or homeopathic philosophy. There was an organization called the Ghana Homeopathic Association representing homeopaths in Ghana and one or two quite well known homeopaths using complex homeopathy. There were no homeopathic books or medicines for sale in Ghana and one of the homeopaths we met, who had trained years before with HWB, had only a Kent and a Boericke. However, what was overwhelmingly clear was that, as had been the case in India, people in Ghana were longing to learn more about this healing modality. We could offer what was not easily found in Ghana, training, mentorship, books and remedies.
Mafi Seva Village: Apprenticeship model of training
An interesting series of coincidences followed the initial vision of working with homeopathy in Ghana. I discovered that some friends had started a community project in Mafi Seva village, in the Volta region of Ghana. Together with local villagers they had created a reservoir and built a filtration system to provide clean water for 25 villages, an impressive feat of engineering. The project includeds a Primary Health Care Centre and a community health education program.
The project directors, having lived in India, were keen supporters of homeopathy and I was invited to visit the project, treat some local people and hold homeopathic first aid classes in Mafi Seva and Accra. My translator was Emperor Tsamenyi, the clinic director. What could not have been predicted was that over the next months Emperor would fall in love with homeopathy. He had a homeopathic first aid kit and initially gave Rhus Tox to everyone with joint pains, Sulphur to all who presented with skin complaints, and Ruta to everyone with eye problems. Nevertheless, he was amazed with the results. Homeopathy had landed on fertile African ground.
Indeed, it is Emperor's thirst for homeopathic knowledge, sorely needed in an African village where there are few ʻsafety netsʼ in terms of health care, that has drawn many homeopaths from the UK, USA, South Africa and India to teach and practice homeopathy in Mafi Seva. Today homeopathy is well known in the area and the news of its efficacy has spread by word of mouth, often the only form of communication available in such a rural area.
Contrary to popular views, there was not a shortage of pharmaceutical drugs in the village. However, there was a shortage of skilled medical practitioners, and villagers would take painkillers or anti-inflammatory drugs or anti-malarial preparations for years with no formal diagnosis or investigations into their condition. Using homeopathic remedies, Emperor was often able to reduce or end this dependency.
The Premier institute of Homeopathy and Alternative Medicine, Kasoa, Accra (PISHAM)
As in Mafi Seva, it was one personʼs passion for homeopathy that resulted in the founding of PISHAM. Dr Julius Berdie, originally a pharmacist, was trained by Homeopaths Without Borders and then worked as a classical homeopath for 10 years in Ghana. Julius had been isolated from the wider homeopathic community, but his dream has always been to establish a school for homeopathy in Ghana.
USA based homeopath Richard Pitt spent a year working with us in Ghana and began training a group of health care practitioners in homeopathy. When he left, his group wanted to continue their training, and so, working with Julius, and Grace Narty (our UK-trained Course Leader) we have now trained these 10 students to certificate level. We have a new first year of 9 students and a group beginning the four- year Diploma course. We are working with the Ghana National Accreditation Board on a 10-year accreditation process, after which PISHAM will be self-sustaining within Ghana. The process involves 10 years of mentoring from The Contemporary College of Homeopathy, UK, site accreditation and program accreditation, where we will present and discuss the curriculum with educationalists within Ghana.
The training is clinic based and our outreach clinic offers homeopathic treatment to the local community. In the future homeopathy may be offered, along with traditional herbalism (now taught at degree level) on the national insurance scheme. We would like to see Ghana become a model for the integration of homeopathy within the health care system. To achieve this we need to train our students to the highest professional standard.
The Indian Connection
From the beginning of the Ghana Homeopathy Project, experienced Indian homeopaths have supported our work. Our Ghana partners have been able to travel to Kolkata to study. Drs Kalyan and Kalishankar Bhattacharyea are about to visit Ghana for the third time, teaching our students and running outreach clinics in the village areas around Mafi Seva where large numbers of people come for treatment. (Some places are available to join them - see link below) The depth of their homeopathic experience and understanding and their skills as diagnosticians have enriched the quality of homeopathic treatment and training we offer.
Reflections on the GHP experience: how to transfer knowledge in a respectful and sustainable way
One central issue has surfaced repeatedly is how to make our contribution to the development of homeopathy in Ghana sustainable So much time, effort, and financial and emotional energy has been invested in this work in Ghana. Without a doubt we homeopaths love our work and gladly share what we can for the benefit of humanity, as well as to make a living. But what are the ingredients that make possible a sustainable exchange of knowledge so that, in the future in Ghana, anyone can access excellent homeopathic treatment and education will become widely available, as in India.
So many projects exist and do good work whilst the initiators are present but are not sustainable when they leave. Good work has taken place, people have been helped, but change on a greater scale has not been achieved. It is a bit like treating a series of acute episodes without addressing the fundamental issue that gives rise to these in the first place. One has to look at the very big picture within which homeopathy can flourish, and a key component in this is the involvement of local people at all levels of homeopathic education and delivery.
We still cannot be sure, after 8 years of work, that the Ghana Homeopathy Project, with a dedicated team in place both in Ghana and internationally, will be sustainable. Guiding our decision-making and strategy, though, is to do what we can to create the possibility of this desirable outcome.
Education
Initially we were quite idealistic: run classes, find volunteers to teach, get as many books and remedies to Ghana as possible. The classes on first aid homeopathy were well attended and lively. We handed out first aid kits. We returned to continue the training and many of the initial students came for the next course. Some students expressed a sincere desire to study homeopathy in more depth, and we were able to get two bursaries for a correspondence course for them. In the end, with these particular students, this didn't work. They did not find it easy to do the assignments, communication with mentors was difficult because our students did not have easy internet access, and we learnt how important it was to think carefully before offering any more bursaries. Without local support it seemed that motivation was lacking; we thus learned that this was not a sustainable system.
Finding local partners
This is a key component in building a sustainable infrastructure. It was only when we began working with Dr Julius Berdie, now the Principle of PISHAM, that we were realistically able to start a school. This meant that individual students could join a learning community. We were no longer simply a group of homeopathic teachers but had become part of a larger team within Ghana. As the project matures we support our Ghana partners in taking the initiative that reflects best practice in Ghana, whilst the Ghana Homeopathy Project plays more of an enabling role.
Working with government criteria
One of the issues with working in a development context is that the goal posts may well change. The Health Ministry in Ghana has a dedicated branch (The Traditional and Alternative Medicine Directorate) whose role is to support the responsible integration and development of Herbalism, Acupuncture, Homeopathy, etc. into the healthcare system. One of the reasons for setting up this institution was to safeguard the rich tradition of African herbalism within Ghana and also to protect unsuspecting villagers from fake powders sold in the market.
Regulation is being introduced and this all takes time. One way to ensure professional standards is to create training programmes and one can now do a degree in herbalism in Ghana. According to Ghana common law, anyone can practice, as is the case in the UK. So this does not exclude the herbal elders, whose knowledge has been passed down the generations, even though they will never study for a degree. We agreed that it would be a good thing for homeopathy to follow this track. This meant following the demanding protocols of the Education Ministry's National Accreditation Board, which requires 10 years of mentoring from an existing homeopathic institution. When we started out it was 4 years! Going down the path of national accreditation means a lot of work for us and the costs are considerable - the process in total over 10 years will cost about $12,000.
Expansion vs Consolidation
This is another area that needs a lot of thought in project development. We have learnt, to our cost, that it is not always wise to go for every option that comes our way. It is easy to take on too much. Offering interesting courses, building new premises and having additional volunteers can stretch the people managing all this, both in Ghana and the UK, to the limit. Becoming overwhelmed and burnt out has affected all the key people involved at various times. One by one people have needed to step back and take a more clearly defined role that is personally sustainable. We still depend on too few key people both in Ghana and the UK. Of course, we are hoping that the students being trained will step up and become the future practitioners and teachers. We have noted that most of us in the team are in our 50's and 60's and we are keen for younger people to become involved now and take things forward.
Gifting vs paying
Because we want to enable people to become homeopaths in Ghana it is tempting to give what we have - books, treatment, remedies, classes - for free. We are a charity after all. However, if, for example, students do not pay to study at PISHAM, how will they be able to pay staff and continue as a viable Ghana based institution in the longer term? And yet many students genuinely cannot afford even reasonable fees.
The same applies to payment for treatment - homoeopaths will need to make a living in the longer term. It is a delicate balance that we have not always got right. As a goal we feel that every student should be a paying student, whether from personal financing or via mentors and sponsorship from within Ghana or abroad. Then the tutors there can also be properly paid for their work. At the moment they are also virtually volunteers. This is an aspect we would like to develop and we would welcome help from those who feel they can sponsor a Ghanaian student.
Conclusions
To create a sustainable homeopathic project in Africa it takes time and patience. I have only scratched the surface here regarding the many issues that come up. Sometimes the expectations from all sides can be unrealistically high. Our approach is to slowly increase our pool of 'project wisdom' through learning and reflecting on each experience: what works and what doesn't. There are now several wonderful projects developing across Africa and all of them have found that same fertile soil for homeopathy to slowly grow, as in India. Each one has developed in its own unique way and encountered its own challenges along that path.
What is different now, 30 years on from the first contact with homeopathy in India, is that we no longer rely on airmailed letters that possibly never arrive. We can, potentially, communicate electronically; our students in Ghana can learn homeopathy in the digital age. But the reality is that for much of the time in Ghana the electricity is down - so it's not so different yet. Our older partners are not yet familiar with the digital age and are not able to send emails, so there are challenges on all sides.
We have come a long way and have a long way to go. Recently tribal chiefs have donated 25 acres of community land for our use to build our own school campus, in exchange for homeopathic clinics and the possibility for local students to study. Itʼs another big step that potentially opens up all kinds of possibilities. And yet to realise that potential more work is involved, funds need to be raised. Are we expanding too rapidly for our resources? Do we have the energy? Will we find the funding? We decided to go for it.
As Goethe wrote, “ “when one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favour all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.”
So far this has been our experience!
If you would like to help in any way please contact Linda Shannon at linda.m.shannon@gmail.com or leave a message via our website. If you would like to find out more about the Ghana Homeopathy Project do visit our website http://ghanahomeopathy.org/
For an inspiring speech given by Kalyan Bhattacharyya Saturday 5 November 2011 to the PISHAM students and visiting dignitaries, follow this link.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVNdYqyE2IQ
We are offering a 2 week training course with the Indian homeopaths in Ghana this September 13-23rd 2013. If you are interested please follow this linkhttp://ghanahomeopathy.org/in-ghana-september-a-course-for-homeopaths- with-drs-bhattacharyea/
If you would like to attend a 2 week clinical training in a village close to Kolkata with Dr Kalyan Bhattacharyea in Feb 2014 please contact Linda Shannon.
