Firsthand Research In Africa

Singer Bono and U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill chatted with women selling snails and smoked fish in the capital and donned traditional robes in a rural village in Ghana on Wednesday.

In a dusty schoolyard, under a scorching sun, Bono gave in to the shy smile of 12-year-old Felicia and sang a few lines of a U2 hit, "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For."

Bono and O'Neill were looking to understand what life is like for thousands of Ghanaians as part of their four-nation tour through Africa.

For Bono, the welcome dished out to the visitors as their police-flanked cortege sped through Accra, the capital, was a sign of the faith people have in the United States and its capacity to help improve their lives.

"They are not playing my records here. This welcome is for the U.S.," he said in Jamestown, a district of narrow streets and zinc-roofed low houses.

Surrounded by a phalanx of reporters, television cameras and photographers, the unlikely pair wound their way through the narrow aisles of Makola market, stepping over drains, and chatting with the women traders.

Among the textile stalls, women shouted "akwaba," or welcome, and waved. But most probably didn't know who the distinguished white men were.

"I think they are beautiful. They come to do something better for us," said 38-year-old chili trader Rosemary Sowah, before admitting: "I don't know where they are from."

O'Neill saw evidence of the potential of private enterprise - one of his main themes through this trip.

"If you look back there at some of those textiles, it looks like that could be a substantial business ... I thought the material was beautiful. You could give microloans to people like this, and they would be on their way," he said.

The 66-year-old Republican has said he is in Africa to learn how aid can get the best results. In the past, he has criticized anti-poverty programs, saying they wasted billions of dollars because they failed to generate real economic development.

"Believe me, I'm not rushing back to where we've been because that has not worked. One thing I've said again and again is results, results, results," he told reporters.

Bono wants to show that foreign aid can work, and that African countries need help to develop their infrastructure - like roads and clean water supplies - before they can begin to explore the possibilities of private enterprise.

"I feel part of my job is to arm wrestle the people who feel that aid can't be effective," the 42-year-old singer said.

Bono and O'Neill flew to the Tamale region in northern Ghana on Wednesday afternoon. There, they toured a district hospital, visiting a maternity ward and chatting with doctors and nurses.

In the nearby village of Wamili, the visitors were greeted by local chiefs and brightly dressed locals, who had gathered under a sprawling tree in the center of the village to welcome the men with songs and dance.

O'Neill and Bono were given traditional robes and caps which they put on to the great amusement of the local chiefs. O'Neill's outfit was a round cap and robe in blue, black and white, while Bono, whose real name is Paul Hewson, donned a similar robe and a long Smurf-like hat.

The trip through Ghana, South Africa, Uganda and Ethiopia comes just after a new U.S. commitment to boost aid by $10 billion in 2004-06. South Africa is the next stop for O'Neill and Bono, who arrive there Thursday.