Week 5 already!

Last week was a great week! The new volunteers have been really fun and I have enjoyed being around 7 other college-aged girls along with the other volunteers.

I really saw some results of my hygiene program at Happy Kids’ Orphanage and school on Wednesday. Last week I taught them about the importance of washing your hands and when I came back this week to talk about teeth brushing, they had a bucket with soap and a towel next to the “bathroom” which was so rewarding to see because it was not there the week prior! I even saw one of the little girls that was in my class use the hand washing technique I had showed them last week. I attached a picture J

I felt like I was really making a difference this week at placement. I was able to go into 4 different schools and saw 3 classes in each school to talk about the importance of brushing ones’ teeth. It has been interesting to see the difference of the schools and the public verse private. I would say that in Hohoe the public school is run more organized and structured than many of the private schools, but I have learned that generally, across Ghana, it is the reverse. I think that it is different here because the government has money than the private schools do in the rural areas, but as you get closer to Accra, the funds of the private schools increase and the government run schools do not.

Besides a wonderful week of teaching children, I also was able to visit the waterfalls again. This time it was raining so I saw them from a different perspective, but enjoyed the hike nonetheless.

Thursday I had the opportunity to go with one of our other volunteers, Deb, to her placement at a Microfinance business. We spent the day walking around the Muslim community with Vida a woman that collects money from her clients everyday. The basic system that they have starts with the community members signing up with the business. Once they have done that Vida collects the amount they have agreed on every weekday. Then, at the end of the month or the very beginning of the next, they will be reimbursed with all of the money that was collected, except for one day, which is the fee for working with them. It was really interesting to see and I enjoyed being able to walk deep into the city and into compounds that I would not be able to see otherwise. I would say that the majority of her cliental were females and more times than not they would not have informed their husband of what they were doing in order to save some money for themselves. 

Friday, the group traveled to the Cape Coast, which is the biggest tourist area in Ghana, outside of Mole National Park. It was a 7-hour van ride, but once we made it, we were greeted by a beautiful beach resort with a pool and all the amenities of any beautiful resort in the US. My room with literally feet from the ocean and I could hear the waves as I fell to sleep. Saturday we met up with a NGO called Global Mamas that helps women in Ghana establish a business of their trade. The woman we met, Elly, gave a cooking lesson of many of the traditional food eaten here. It is amazing to me that we have such a variety of food made from only a few ingredients. We made Red-Red, Palavo, Groundnut soup, rice, and chicken. I decided that I will be making this for my family when I arrive home! After we made it all, the best part happened, we got to eat it! It was so good!!!

Later, we traveled to the Cape Coast Castle, which was a complete 180 of emotions and was a very somber afternoon. I had studied the African Diaspora in one of my classes this semester so it was really humbling to see the actual place where most of the slave trade happened on the West Coast of Africa. I think the most profound moment for me was walking through The Door of No Return, which was the area that slaves would walk out of the castle and load the ships that would send them away from Africa forever. Two years ago, they added a sign on the other side of the door called The Door of Return, after two descendents of slaves had returned to the castle themselves.

After we finished the tour we headed back to our hotel where we met over 100 young people decked out in white and red. They were members of the People’s Progressive Party and were at some sort of rally in Elmina, the city we were staying in. We found out later that the owner of our hotel was one of 6 candidates for the upcoming presidential election in December. He was also the only other party in the restaurant that night. It was pretty awesome to think that I was sitting next to the potential future president of Ghana! We spent the rest of the evening enjoying the beach and the pool. The next morning, I felt the frustrations of being the tour guide for our group. Since I was the only volunteer that had been there longer than a week, I took the responsibility of planning and organizing the trip. Our drivers and myself had a few words as we were trying to leave our hotel and pick up the rest of our group who were at a different hotel. They simply refused to pick them up because they said they were too far out of our way, but after some strong words from myself and a few others we managed to make them see that there were no other options. Needless to say, the claws came out. Thankfully, everything ended up working out and we all made it to our next destination, the Canopy Walk. The Canopy Walk is 7 suspended bridges that are 40 meters in the air, above the canopy of the rainforest. This was a really beautiful experience and something I will fondly remember forever. It was such an amazing perspective to be above the tree line and be able to look out for miles.

We made it home safely last night, although it was a little unnerving as we past a huge car accident with bodies on the side of the road. Please pray for safety on the roads! The driving here is something without any organization or caution and it is common to see accidents.

Today. I was at the hospital and observed the rounds at the children’s ward. It was a little frustrating to see the disorganization they have when it comes to writing a patients medical history and procedures. They hand write everything and nothing seems very consistent because every doctor or nurse does it the way they want and many times don’t even sign what they have written. On the up side, I found out today that Prince, the little boy I posted about a few weeks ago, was able to pay his bill and was transferred to see a osteopathic physician! Hopefully now he will receive the care he needs!

I went for a run before dinner today and on the way back one of the little girls I play with often invited me to her house where I was able to meet her mother and little sister. It was such a kind gesture and although her mother did not speak English she was very friendly and welcoming.

I have had a wonderful day and tomorrow we will be hiking the Adajato Mountain again!

I will try to put of pictures soon but the internet is not cooperating… what’s new

Night!

Elizabeth