A lot of people have asked me the story behind my move to Accra, what I’m doing here, and did I really just pack up on a whim and leave?

Well, basically, yeah.

I’m sort of affiliated with an NGO as an intern, which means they sponsored my visa and gave me a place to stay on my first night in Ghana, but that’s pretty much the extent of our relationship. The aim of this (very small) organization is global awareness. So they want to call in journalists from around the world and throw them into the wild to find their own stories and do their own independent research. They want media to cover issues they’ve been working with and stories that go under-reported. If I so desire, they’ll let me sit in on their meetings and seminars and give me access to some of their research.

They’re very new, so they don’t particularly know how international media works, and so far, don’t have much new research either.

Which in simple terms means that yes, I’m still fully freelance, traveling on my own dime, have full creative control, don’t have to produce a single story if I don’t want to, and am pretty much on my own. In fact, I don’t have to report to them, I don’t have to meet with them, and I’m still answerable only to my own editors back in India and America.

I’ve arrived in Accra with one assignment in hand– a small travel piece. I’m still getting to know Ghana a bit before I dive into my stories. I don’t know how long I’m here. I intended to keep renewing my visa until I ran out of energy, money, or both, but new developments have taken place which may have me moving again in a couple of months, though not back to India. Updates as and when they happen.