The Ripple Effect

I'm sitting in the Amsterdam airport waiting for my flight to Atlanta with lingering thoughts of Ghana.  There are a few additional things I would like to share before totally shifting my energy to home and the new adventures that await me there.

Here we are with the headmistress and a teacher at EP Ho Primary School.  This computer lab was opened by CIH in partnership with another NGO (name escapes me at the moment -will add later).

We showed up the Friday before this last to the entire school gathered outside.  Come to find out the Ghanaian dept. of education surprised the school by awarding them 24 new laptops.   When they were done with the ceremony of awarding them, the kids went crazy cheering.  It was a very exciting moment and I am sure this happened because of the computer lab that is already in place (which REALLY needed more computers in order to accommodate more of a full class).  Thanks so CIH efforts we witnessed the ripple effect and I'm sure there will be lots more!!

And as a result of the computer lab and Kelvin's efforts to get the internet back up and running, the teachers and headmistress were able to skype with Amy this past Wed. and see her baby.  It was a joyous sort of reunion- Amy has had a relationship with this school for 6 years and they all love her.  Everyone was so expressive and excited to connect with Amy- it really was a moving and emotional experience.

Home Away From Home

So I've been back in Accra with my brother's family since Thursday night and Im getting ready to go to the airport back to the states in a couple of hours.  SO here are the last few experiences in pictures. Enjoy

Friday morning waiting for the Embassy bus to take my neices and nephew to Lincoln International School.

Saturday was International Day at their school- over 60 countries represented by students that attend there.  After a presentation in the auditorium there was a parade out to the field where tents were set up where you could sample food from all the different countries.  The US Ambassador to Ghana is the guy in with the white hair in the red t-shirt.

School kids attending the festival.

There are several Ghanaian kids that also go to the school and they were represented not only by the food but the music and dance of the culture.

Here we are on the school grounds- very different from what I have been used to in Ghana so far!

Me at a concert my brother took me to of a Ghanaian artist.  I eventually got up and danced- the music was had alot of reggae influence- a party vibe for sure.

Here is the lead singer playing something called a Callabas (?)

Today we celebrated Thanksgiving!!  And now I'm off to get ready to go to the airport

Leaving Ho so soon!

Our house during our stay in Ho.  No central air but lots of fans!  Occasionally had power outages and one brief loss of water but otherwise, the stay was great!!!

Kelvin doing some work on the Land Rover before we leave for Accra 

The awesome fall 2012 CIH team!!!

One last time driving from the house to the main road onto Accra.  A successful mission accomplished but the time flew by too fast!

School is letting out on our way out of town and Christie waves back at the waving children.   It's been really wonderful working with children in the schools!

Greater Ghana

The ocean at Keta

On the way from Ho to Accra. .lots of corn being grown in Ghana

This was taken on the way from Keta to Ho.

Ditto

Overlooking a rice field

A little bit of Ho

The first time I took a taxi in HO, I didn't realize that the taxi driver would pick up as many people on the way as he could possibly pack into the car.  At one point it was me, another women and two kids in the back seat.  This picture was taken when Christie and I caught a taxi to the market and it started smoking inside on the way there.  The driver got out- manipulated some wires, got a stone from the side of the road, opened the hood and did a little banging around and then off we were again.  On the way home from the market, we caught a ride with a taxi driver who picked us up even though he didn't understand where we needed to go.  We had to help him figure it out even though we didn't know the city that well ourselves- we definitely took a longer route back.  When he found out we were from the states he started talking about how much he wanted to go there in his very broken English.  When we arrived at the hotel down the street from our house and got out, he told me he would give me his number so that I could call him and we could go out if I wanted!  I, of course, politely said "no thanks!"  So glad he didn't really know where we were staying.

This is the street that EP (Evangelical Presbyterian) Ho Primary School is on- this is the main school we worked with.

Some street in Ho, Volta Region, Ghana!

Valentine's shop-  she makes the colorful handbag that CIH orders a bunch of to sell in the US as a fundraiser.

This is the hotel down the street, Chances Hotel, and this is our friend who works there, Cosmos.  When you are at this hotel, you almost forget you are in Ho, Ghana, Africa. . .it's like a tropical resort, beautifully landscaped with lots of palm trees, swimming pool, outdoor patio (notice the peacock in the background- there were several of these wandering around).  Cosmos was a is a great friend and BIG help.  He did everything he could to make sure our internet was up and running!

Hallelujah and Amen!

The headmistress of EP (Evangelical Presbyterian) Ho Primary School, Angelica, invited us to her hometown church service where she is treasurer.   We sat up in the stand for the church service.  Beforehand we noticed all these people in what looked like graduation outfits and asked if there was some sort of graduation going on that day, but lo and behold this is what the choir wears!  Here they are coming in at the onset of church singing followed by a percussion section of native drums and shakers that is accompanying them.

Church started 1/2 hour late and last 4 1/2!!!  It was mostly in Ewe (the native language) but at least there was lots of singing and dancing!!!  Also what helped keep me entertained is that the junior pastor's 1 year old daughter was up on the stand with us and kept toddling around- letting.  She got just as bored as we did but had permission to walk around the stand and sit in peoples (including ours etc)- was almost wishing I could have done the same!  At one point, she obsessed over my tattoo and kept trying to wipe it off- so funny.  Thank goodness she was there to entertain us!

The offering part of the ceremony went on for some time- they seemed to be collecting for different things.  They would put the bowl(s) up front and people would parade up to them row by row to music provided by a brass and percussive band at the back of the church.  After the money collections (I did parade  myself up down there for a couple different offerings actually!), they took plantains and yams that people brought as offerings and auctioned them off for money for the church- this was entertaining as well.  Yes, this woman is holding a LARGE yam.  Yams are really big in here and they even have a big holiday called the Yam Festival- sort of equivalent to our Thanksgiving,

Finally church was over after ALOT of closing songs!!!  Everyone then formed a procession out of the church and back into the village accompanied by this band.  Hallalujah!!!

Godfrey and Angel

After the 4 1/2 hour! church service last Sunday, we took the 30 minute drive back to Ho and then went to visit some of the families who have kids in school on CIH scholarships.  The schools we work with only cost $50-$100 per year and some still cannot afford this.  This is a picture of Godfrey and Angel, two scholarship recipients with their sister.  In the background, you see the shacks where they live.  Their family is what they call squaters- they have no land or home just permission from the person who owns this land to have a shack on it. 

Here are their parents, and as you can see one more child with another on the way!  Kelvin tried to talk to the father, Glover, about contraception a year ago.  Apparently, it didn't do any good!  Glover smashes old concrete blocks and sells the powder to contractors for mortar.   He also grows corn and other vegetables on the land as well.  He is obviously a hard worker despite everything.

Camera Crazy Kids

During recess the little kids are especially curious about us, we don't work in their classrooms- only 2nd grade and above and they don't really speak English.  They would initially address me as "white" (in their native Ewe) and I would tell them my name.  In this moment they were noticing my blue eyes and I would say "blue" and they would repeat after me.  Then I would point at their eyes and say "brown" and of course they would say "brown.  Christy thought this was a cute moment and pulled out her camera.   The next picture is what happened when they noticed the camera!!!

Entertaining kids during recess simply by taking their picture and showing it to them- they would get so excited to see themselves!

This is actually a relatively calm group until. . . 

I put on the flash and started holding the camera above them and counting. .when the flash went off they cheered and then started counting with me. .they did this over and over- they were laughing and cheering every time the flash went off- it was so contagious that I started laughing.  Every few pictures I would show them the results to additional exclamations.  I tried to quit a few times and when I would start to put my camera away they would start counting and keep counting until I brought it out to take a picture again.  I just kept laughing-the energy was contagious!!!  

 I can't believe it!!! Tomorrow will mark two weeks in the Volta Region, Ho, Ghana with Children Inspiring Hope- working on exchange projects with the kids in the schools here!  Today was our last day in the classroom and tomorrow afternoon we head back to Accra.  I feel like I've just really scratched the surface of experiencing Ghana and it's people. . .leaving feels a little premature in some ways and there is part of me that is sad.  The time here has been very full and has passed too quickly.  These past two few days I have really consciously been just taking it ALL in as much as I can.  I have enjoyed the kids even more and they have made me laugh so hard a few times with their antics.  Here are just a few more pictures of me at school.  Enjoy!

I am helping with spelling. . . although English is the official language it is the kids second language.  The main native language in this area is Ewe.

I am videotaping the kids singing an Ewe song for the kids in the US.  There were several classes that sang for us- one of my favorite experiences was with the second grade.  They sang for almost 10 minutes in a row, super enthusiastically with movements that sometimes had them throwing themselves on the floor to their delight and mine!!  I really wanted to stop videotaping and join them!!

This is one powerhouse of a headmistress, Angelica!!! She does an amazing job and WOW what a charismatic leader!  She invited us to her home town just outside Ho this past Sunday for church which lasted 4 hours (this is typical for Ghana!).  She had us up on the stand with her in front of a congregation of at least 300. . lots of singing and dancing of course!  And then she fed us at her home.  She has been an amazing host to our program in her school as well.

Tree of Life

One of the projects we worked on today was inspired by one of the students drawings which was part of a project he did that included a written piece which I'm sharing here because it really moved me.

"The Tree of Life"

by Dickson Agborgbor Age 11, Class 5B, E.P. Ho Primary School, Ghana

The tree in the drawing represents life, so I named it Tree of Life.  This symbolic tree carries the whole Mother earth on its branches.  This means all livelihood on our dear Mother Earth depends largely on this symbolic tree.  One can conclude that the survival of our dear Mother Earth depends on the survival of the Tree.

Unfortunately, our attitude, represented in the drawing by someone cutting the tree of life is threatening the very existence of the Tree of Life and by the extension of life of humans and other creations including aquatic life

This drawing actually aims at presenting the important roles trees and other green vegetations play in rainfall, cooling of our Mother Earth, fixing of oxygen into the atmosphere, shelter and even food.

Indeed, the day the last tree dies, the last humankind will also die.  So let us protect trees and Mother Earth and life will be safe for all of us.

Long live Mother Earth.  Long live creation.

Original drawing that we based our mural on. (yes, those are spoons holding the corners down because we had no tape!)

Working on the Tree of Life mural or in Ewe: Agbe (life) fe (of) Ati (tree).

Our tree has leaves that each student made with words of things that they celebrate in life

Traditional song and dance- the cool thing about this dance is you could tell it actually told a story and it moved to different parts of the field.  I video taped it for the kids in the US.

Everyone was in their traditional garb depending on their village/tribe.  So many varied looks- one thing in common is that there was alot of color!  These women were sitting in front of me under the one of the tents that outlined the field where everything was happening.  There were rows of people in front of us- we were in the back of the tent- standing room only and had a hard time really witnessing anything.  I soon took care of that situation though!

Here I am capturing video of the traditional dancing and drumming having made it to the middle of the field with the rest of the press!  Previously, when I was in the back of the tents I noticed a couple other white people on the field taking pictures - with the press - for all I know they were also press- but I decided if I just acted like I was suppose to be there, they would let me come onto the field.  I walked straight through the guarded entrance and got one of the best seats in the house for the rest of the event.  Truth is I know that a big part of why I was able to pull it off is because I was obviously a foreigner and white. .yes, this is still the world we live in.  The theme for CIH this fall is Celebrations and Traditions and I am now taking back some amazing footage of one of the big festivals in this part of Ghana to the kids in the US.