The Long and Winding Road to Functioning A/C

 

I came back to Lawra at the wrong time of the year...it is the HOT season! The temperatures get around 109 degrees F. The a/c I had didn't do well in the land of unstable electricity. So, I decided to purchase one that would work, the kind that is in all of the offices up here...the kind that makes me want to stay in the Volta River Authority office long after I have paid my bill.

 

So, I contacted Donatus, THE electrician. He installs all the a/c units for the hospital & offices around here. He made arrangements for the purchase of the a/c unit. It was to be installed two weeks ago. It didn't happen. The car that was bringing the a/c unit from where it was bought to Lawra, somehow forgot to drop it off in Lawra. It was MIA for six days! Donatus even came here with the driver. No one knew for sure where the unit was. So, on "Meet Me There" Day, the day after Easter, Donatus tracked it down. It was in Hamile, at the border of Ghana and Burkina Faso. Evidently, someone who was driving that vehicle, had picked up a load of timber but did not pick up the documents that went with it. So, the border patrol seized the vehicle and locked it up in a holding spot. Donatus had to beg the official to let him have the a/c unit because "his nasapog" (his English speaking woman) could not sleep well because of the heat! Eventually, the a/c unit was released!

 

Donatus come Tuesday after Easter to begin the installation process...making a hole in the cement wall. Problem - he didn't check the directions, the hole was in the wrong place & the metal plate that he attached to the wall was upside down! So, another hole had to be made in the cement wall. As he continued to work, it was getting later & later. So, the holes were stuffed for the night and work was to resume the next day. Also, the outlet he was going to use because it was wired with stronger wires did not work. And, the larger stabilizer for the electricity was burnt out!

 

Work did resume on Wednesday, though, with wires and hoses and even a welder to measure the unit so a "cage" could be made to protect the unit from people and animals wishing to do it harm. When Donatus left, the a/c was working! Ahhh.... a stablizer for the electricity still needed to be installed, but things were working! Until the electricity went out in the whole town. So, I couldn't use the a/c that night. The following night I did and it was WONDERFUL! I actually slept under the covers.

 

Friday, it was getting hot, so I turned on the a/c. The temperature in my room went up 5 degrees. This was not good. I called Donatus. "I'm on the way coming." No sign of him. Did it work Friday night? No, it only blew warm air. Same thing happened whenever I tried to use the a/c.  I FINALLY got a hold of him today, Sunday. The freon was leaking/was low. Hmmmm...I even asked him to check it on Wednesday because I could hear some of it escape while he was working. But, "It's OK. There is plenty." Wrong! So, tomorrow (theoretically) it will be fixed. I am looking forward to the days that I can turn the a/c on and it will work each time. It is a dream of mine. It can happen!