Florence's Ghana Trips and NAFofA updates

Two Weeks, Two Months Is There A Difference?

2009-07-17T02:19:00.001-07:00

Ok, so last blog entry I said I would try to update my blog every 2 weeks. Well it has been at least two months and now I'm trying again. Of course a lot has happened and then again not enough has happened. I'll try to update some of the highlights. Remember the first lease agreement that was going to be amended? Well it was rewritten when we arrived to see the fixes it had already been sent to the typist. When it came back it had new mistakes. So, I typed out each fix needed, in the format Section 2.a states "xxxxxxxxx" it should be "yyyyyyyyyyy". It came back again and was still WRONG. Instead of retyping and making the corrections, the mistakes that could be easily fixed on the front page were done and the back page was skipped. I was furious; luckily no one was around when I was throwing a fit. We, Evans and I, met with the head of the family leasing the land and showed him the problem. We agreed to split the cost of having the lease retyped and re-registered with the courts. We all went to the district capital Ho, and made sure the typist understood the changes. Unfortunately, the computer was broken so the changes couldn't be made that day. Three days later we went back and picked up the document. It had some minor typos but it was correct in context. We signed the lease and wrote the family the check the next day. What should have taken two weeks after my arrival in Ghana took over 2.5 months. Such is life in Ghana. The story has a very happy ending though. Nyame Adom Foundation of America has 7.7 acres on the Volta River to be used for farming and/or fish farming purposes for the next 100 years! We have paid for the first 50 years and the next fifty years will be paid with farm profits. So you see my blog updates are running on Ghana time, what should be two weeks is actually 2 months.

The name of the farm is Cook's Fisheries. It is a limited liability company owned by NAFofA. The business license is supposed to be done this week. What the lease delay has done is delay the EPA report. The Ghana EPA will not look at any request that does not include proof of land ownership or land use rights. Of course this makes good sense, you don't want someone using an EPA approval to help further his case against rightful landowners. Unfortunately, it means that we are just now able to begin the process. I hope the EPA approval will come through before I leave Ghana but realistically, I doubt it.

There is more good news. I have been at the Water Research Institute (WRI) in Akosombo since June 2. I came at the same time as "attachment students". Attachment students are college kids going into their senior year. They work for 2 months at a business or government agency in their field of study to get actual experience. At WRI they also do a project or experiment that they must write up and present. The students live in a dormitory setting. I live in the lap of luxury. I have a bedroom, living room, dining room and kitchen. It also has indoor plumbing. Unfortunately, due to a pipe problem (the city's pipes not WRI's) it doesn't usually work. But, I have water in a container and buckets. The house is two bedroom so I occasionally also have a roommate. Most importantly, I have learned tons! On my first day I was handling fish, separating male from female and collecting eggs. I have also done sampling, counting, feeding and hatchery work. At first I was determined to work as hard or harder than the young people. Well, after missing 3 days of work with back pain, I accepted the fact that I am 49 years old and outrageously out of shape. Now, I watch the students and say, "I can't lift that. I'm too old to move that". I also bought a stool that I bring to the ponds so I can sit instead of bending over. Dr. Ofori, the officer in charge at WRI, and all of the WRI staff have been incredibly supportive and helpful. I am very grateful for all of their help.

WRI also produces fingerlings to sell to local fish farmers. One day I started talking to such a farmer and he invited me out to see his farm. He has also been helpful answering questions and offering to help when we start Cook's Fisheries. So, I have been able to see both a research facility and a working farm.

"Farm, farm, farm who cares? What about the children?" Ok, I hear you. We made 3 trips to Suhum for shopping and lunch excursions. The children bought hand held video games, clothes, books, and belts. What surprised me is that every one of them saved some of their money. Ok, not really saved, but they didn't spend it in Suhum. They brought it back home to spend. We all enjoyed going out to lunch. The children all ordered fried rice and chicken. After they finished their meal I asked them if anyone could eat more. Benjamin smiled and said, "If I loose my belt I can." After we all stopped laughing I asked if he wanted more and he said yes. When the extra fried rice arrived the other children also had some. When it was gone we ordered a second plate of fried rice. No one wanted a third. Two of the three groups ordered extra rice. The third group had 2 of the smallest children in it. The 2 bigger kids ate their leftovers and were satisfied. It was very fun taking the children out to a restaurant. It was also rather extravagant at 110 Ghana cedis or 79 US dollars. This took all 11 children once and Evans and I 3 times. Granted it was less than 5 USD per person for lunch, drinks and tip, but it won't be repeated often, especially with a farm to finance (oops sorry, I said farm again.)

Patricia and Father John were the top 2 students in the family based on their term 2 report cards of their best 8 grades. Father John just squeaked past Kelvin. No one was more surprised by this than Father John himself. He took his report card and Kelvin's and compared subject by subject and studied them thoroughly. If there was a mistake, he was going to find it before he got excited about being one of the top 2. There was no mistake; Father John and Patricia came to spend a 3-day weekend in Accra. We went to the bead store where they each chose a bracelet for themselves. We went to Akosombo where they got to go on a boat ride and see the farmland. We also walked across the suspension bride. When a large truck came past it shook! Ok, so no big deal to Californians but it was cool. It felt like an earthquake. After getting over her fear, which she vehemently denied, Patricia enjoyed it too. On the boat we traveled under the bridge so we saw it from all sides. We also went and spent a day at the beach. Working hard in school has some very nice perks! We showed everyone the pictures of our travels. I then told everyone that next year at the end of term 2 we would also have a trip. Next year everyone who averages 80% or above in his top 8 subjects will get to go. Benjamin wanted to be sure he (and I) understood. He asked, "If I get 80% and my two brothers get 90% who goes?" I answered, "All 3 of you will go. Next year I hope the whole family will go. If everyone gets 80% or more everyone will go." Of course all the children said they would be going next year. We'll see. By the way, we do the trip at the end of term 2 because at the end of term 3 the children travel to see their extended families.

The children are learning much more at the private school. Patience as a new student started term 1 in the B class (lower achieving). At the end of the first term she was moved up to the A class (higher achieving). I am very proud of her. She has 2 more years before taking the Junior Secondary School (equivalent to a US junior high or middle school) exit exams. With continued hard work she'll be able to attend a good Senior Secondary School (equivalent to a US high school). Unfortunately not all the children are doing as well. Four children are failing, Stephen, Benjamin, Justice and Prince. I was very surprised since the first 3 are considered some of our top students. They are all bright boys. The older children have had a harder time keeping pace at the new school. At the end of term 3 we'll follow the school's recommendation on retention or passing. Since we knew Patience was behind she has had a tutor this past year. After term 2 we hired a teacher for the primary students. Evans is looking for another primary teacher. We will then have a JSS teacher, an upper primary teacher and a lower primary teacher working with the kids in the evenings and on school breaks. All the children will be attending the private school next year. If they are still failing at the end of the second year we'll have to sit down and re-think their schooling options.

NAFofA has committed to provide extra classes to primary school students in the Zongo community also. The new school was almost completed and then further construction stopped. It is hoped the school will be opened for the 2009-2010 school year. When it does open, the community classes will start up again.

Prince, Prince, Prince, Prince, Prince. What can I say except he reminds me so much of my brother Bill that I call him Prince William in my mind. Prince is in class 4 for the third time. He is excellent in English and understands everything he reads. When he wants to, he can do well in any subject. However, he is as lazy as the day is long. He would rather be punished than do the work. One day in school since he wasn't working his teacher told him he would have to lie down on the floor. This was supposed to be a punishment since his white school shirt would get dirty and he would have to take the schoolwork home for homework. Prince took it in stride, lies down, fell asleep and took a nap. No problem, he didn't want to do it any way. You've got to love a kid who can make the world his own. However, his future will be very hard without schooling. He had the lowest average of the family. He asked and I said yes, his extended family will definitely be seeing his report card and the family averages. He is working harder this term. I hope he applies himself because he has so much potential he could be a university professor.

One final story about the kids and how children are children and families are families the world over. Stephen, the eldest boy, was supposed to do the dishes. He didn't want to so he offered Susana, the youngest girl, an ice cream if she would do them instead. He told her he would buy the ice cream for her tomorrow. Susana agreed and Kelvin also took up the offer and did the dishes. The next day came and lo and behold Stephen didn't want to buy the ice cream because all he had was a one cedi bill. He didn't want to break into it for only 0.05 peswas. Susana said, "But that's what you said last time and I never did get my ice cream." Visions of childhood raced through my brain. Replace Stephen with Norm and Susana with Florence and the same scenario can be replayed. Having been the younger sister I came to the rescue. I told Stephen he had 10 minutes to buy Kelvin and Susana an ice cream or he would have to buy one for Kelvin, Susana and me. After another ten minutes he would have to buy for Kelvin, Susana, Grandma and me. If he waited long enough he wouldn't have to worry about having a bunch of change because we would all have ice cream and all his money would be gone. He sat for about 5 minutes and then called Susana and Kelvin to come and get an ice cream. I tried to convince him to sit down for another 15 or 20 minutes but he wouldn't do it. That evening Stephen again didn't want to do the dishes and offered Susana another ice cream. She agreed and Kelvin got up to help. Stephen said, "You can help but I'm only buying one ice cream. You two can split it." Kelvin and Susana agreed, did the dishes and split an ice cream the next day. Everyone was happy. I can hear my brother Norm denying ever cheating or even trying to cheat his little sister out of her money for doing his work. But Norm can't say this with a straight face. He did, Stephen did and in time Kelvin will if he gets a little sister. Such is the way of large families.

There is no news on our updated paperwork for our home. The Ghanaian Department of Social Welfare has everything they need. I heard that they are working on the homes that need to be closed and working on placing the children from the closed homes. Our home has been inspected and is known to be a good placement for children so the paperwork will be done when time permits.

P.S. With the slow connection in Ghana, I won't be posting any pictures until I return home.

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Not Exactly weekly but . . .

2009-05-13T03:32:00.000-07:00

Hello! I’m back. I’ve been with the children where there is no internet café. Today after about an hour ride on a tro-tro I am in Kofuridua and trying to catch up. The kids all enjoyed their outing to Suhum. I told them they had to buy at least one “thing” with their money. It could be clothes, shoes, books, a game etc. I was thinking of a game as a board game where multiple people would play together. That just shows that I’m old. The kids found electronic games and bought them. I convinced them the batteries would last longer if the sound was muted so I didn’t have to hear too much of the beeps and such. They all wrote about their trips to Suhum but I don’t have them with me so that will have to come another time.

A few things that have happened that made me laugh follow:
*) Two little girls, 3-4 years old I’d guess, saw me and started asking me questions in Twi of course. I didn’t understand and shrugged my shoulders. They laughed and shrugged their shoulders back at me. We did this for a while. Then the girls spread their arms full out (I copied them) and clapped again I copied them. They then put their arms not quite all the way out and clapped. They kept this up until I was able to follow their lead and clap normally. They were very pleased with themselves for having been able to teach me to clap! I realized I was just like the monkeys in the zoo – very entertaining and teachable.
*) On a trip to Suhum after everyone had finished their meal I asked if anyone could eat more. Benjamin replied, “I can if I loosen my belt.”
*) Kwaku was talking to Evans one morning and asked, “Have you brushed your teeth?” Evans replied no. Kwaku said, “Ah, then why are you just standing there?” Evans burst out laughing and I said do you think he may have heard that a time or two himself?
*) Another day Kwaku asked me if I liked bread. I said yes I do. He smiled and replied, “There’s bread in the mother’s room”. He was disappointed with my reply. Instead of going to get us both some bread, I said that it would taste very good tomorrow with our breakfast.
*) Evans was talking to the children and asked them if they missed anything about their previous home. Most replied they missed their friends. Father John said, “I miss my shoe.” When he was packing he left one shoe and he is still missing it!

The children have just finished their break from term two and have returned to school. They will get their report cards at the end of this week and I’ll let you know how they are doing. For now I have to brag about Patience. As a new student starting JHS she was put into the B (lower) class. At the end of the first term she was moved to the A (upper) class. She is doing well overall but does not have the background in science. Sir George, is tutoring her on the weekends so she can catch up.

There is a little news on the fish farm. Mostly things are moving slooooooooowly.
*) The survey is complete and the farm size is 7.7 acres.
*) The EPA report is in progress but not ready to submit for their approval.
*) I will be going to the Ghana Water Resource Institute, WRI, on Monday. We will be discussing my doing an internship with them. I hope to be able to work/study at WRI for 3 months.
*) The WRI has boarding facilities and is setup for students to learn practical applications of farming as well as for grad students and professors to do research studies.
*) I had hoped to also spend time on a working farm. That is not going to be possible. No one wants to train their competition. How strange!

I don’t have my own computer with me so no pictures this time. Hopefully, sometime next week I’ll be in Accra and able to upload pictures. Until then, take care and God Bless you.

Ghana Government Orphanage Reforms

2009-04-24T03:46:00.000-07:00

Just a little update about orphanages in general in Ghana. The Ghanaian government, specifically the Department of Social Welfare (DSW) is doing some major reviews of orphanages in Ghana. There are some orphanages that will be closed. If an orphanage is closed the children will be in one of 3 situations:

Where the children have living parents, they will be placed back with their parents.
If their parents are deceased, the children will be placed with extended family members.
When the family cannot take the children they will be placed in a government-approved orphanage.

All orphanages must update their paperwork and re-apply for certification. This includes inspections and reports written by a social welfare employee. The DSW has issued a set of requirements and guidelines for orphanages. We feel confident that My Mother's Home will not be closed. We have seen the guidelines and are complying already with at least 95% of them. Examples of areas where we are already in compliance are: 3 meals a day; beds with mosquito nets; school attendance; shoes; clothes; ratio of workers to children; health care etc. The guidelines make good sense and are in the children's best interest. Where we are not in compliance is being fixed. There are two things we are fixing.

We have always provided good health care and brought the children to doctors as needed. However, the guidelines require a visit by a physician to the home once every 3 months. We have found a local doctor who will be doing these home health care visits.
There are paperwork requirements documenting total number of children in the home etc. that must be completed annually. There is a new form and format that we'll be filling in and submitting.

Also, the director of DSW in our region has visited and inspected our home with both announced and surprise visits. She has also spoken with local leaders and is happy with our home. She is working with us to ensure we have all our paperwork and processes at the highest level. We are very grateful for her help. So, there is no need to worry but prayers and good thoughts for our home are always welcome!

Onto a new subject. Yesterday I saw the land survey. We will have 7.7 acres of land with 800 feet of water frontage and 420 feet into the shore. This is great! We'll have plenty of space for cages and water flow between cages. We'll also have plenty of room for storage of feed, equipment storage, hatcheries and ponds. I also saw the land lease agreement. The person who drew it up made a couple of mistakes. Instead of rewriting the entire lease, an amendment (or addendum, I don't know what is the correct term) is being written that will be recorded with the courts and with the lease agreement. The lease term is 100 years. We'll pay for the first 50 years now and at the end of the term, the rent will be paid and the lease renewed for the remaining 50 years. The mistake made was that there was no rent increase at the end of the first 50 years. That is not what we had agreed upon, so we are getting it fixed before meeting with the landowners. We want to be sure everyone is satisfied and the written agreement matches the verbal agreement. When the updates to the paperwork are complete, we will be signing the lease. YEAH!!! I hope to post a picture of the signing when it is done.

Order Schmorder

2009-04-20T10:40:00.000-07:00

Ok, so the pictures and the words are out of order. Start by reading the Back to Ghana 2009 posting and then looking at the Christmas pictures. This is much easier than my trying to re-do this. The pictures didn't come in with the text the first time so . . . . . .

Christmas 2008 Picture

2009-04-20T10:38:00.001-07:00

Christmas 2007 Picture

2009-04-20T10:37:00.001-07:00

Picture Christmas 2006

2009-04-20T10:36:00.001-07:00

Back To Ghana 2009

2009-04-20T10:26:00.000-07:00

I'm in Ghana for the 4th time. I arrived on 14 April after traveling about 30 hours. All my luggage arrived with me too! The flights were fine just loooonnnggg! I'm planning on staying here until mid-September. Five full months. When Evans said, "Wow, that's almost half a year." I told him to never say that again. It was too long to be without my husband, Mark. Five months or better yet 150 days sounds much smaller.

I went to see the children on Wednesday. They're all doing well. They're also HUGE!!! When I tell them this they laugh at me. This time I brought proof. I have pictures from Christmas 2006, 2007 and 2008 in 8x10 size and framed. They all had a good time laughing at the changes over the years. I've (hopefully) attached the pictures here for you all to see. Stephen is very tall these days. Regina was teasing him that next Christmas he'll be so tall his head will be off the page.

Everyone loves the books! Thank-you Kevin E manager at Bookman's on Speedway! I'll try to get a picture of the books and the kids next time. They especially enjoy the book about the Dangerous Animals. It has a fold out page showing a huge snake. They try to scare each other with that picture. The spiders, sharks and Komodo Dragon are also big hits. I'm going to try to pdate this blog more frequently this trip. In 2006, I did weekly updates, in 2007 monthly updates and in 2008 I didn't do any updates. I'm going to try to go back to the weekly updates.

I'm in Accra this week working on the paperwork for the fish farm. Next week the kids will be on school break for 3 weeks and I'll be spending the time with them. I'm going to ask them to write my blog updates so stay tuned. They are now taking their end of term exams. I've promised that the two who get the highest scores will get a trip to Akosombo to see the bridge and the fish farm land. Everyone is trying and hoping to win. During their vacation, I will take ALL the children into Suhum for a shopping trip. They'll get to choose a new article of clothes and go out to a restaurant for a lunch. The idea of a restaurant and ordering whatever they want is very exciting for all of us. I plan to do this in 3-4 groups of kids to be sure everyone has time to their own shopping. Look for pictures in the future.

After the children go back to school, I hope to be working on an existing fish farm or at the Water Resource Institute, WRI. Either way, I plan on going to see the kids every other weekend. If all goes well, I'll be able to spend time at both WRI and a working farm. By the way did I mention Ghana is HOT, HOT, HOT, HOT, HOT, HOT?? No, well it is! As soon as I finish my bath and get dried off, I'm hot and sweating. I decided it is so hot because with as beautiful as it is, if needs something to keep the whole world from wanting to be here. The internet cafe is one place where it isn't hot so maybe that will be a good incentive to update my blog more often.

Bye for now. If you have any questions make a comment entry and I'll try to answer.

12 September 2007

2007-09-12T08:35:00.000-07:00

I’m still here and all is well. I’ll try to answer some of the questions I have been asked.
1. Where is the village? Answer: In Ghana in the rain forest region. I don’t want any bad person to have any info about my kids.
2. Can I visit the home? Answer: YES, go to the website http://www.nafofa.org/ for more information.
3. Are you out of your mind? Answer: YES!
4. Did I get the rest of my luggage? Answer: YES!
5. Did you get my emails? Answer: Yes to Beth, Marsha, Joy, Pegge, Kathryn, Kristin, Betty and Karen. I rarely reply directly but rather through the blog because it is easier. But, I do love hearing from everyone so please feel free to send more.
6. How can I help? Answer: Come to Ghana or donate to NAFofA.
7. Can I send you books for the library? Answer: Yes, but the shipping costs are outrageous! Right now we’re looking to the community to provide some fiction books. The Asanse (spelling?) spider books are stories the children will have heard from their grandma’s in Twi. We’re hoping the wealthy people from the community will purchase some of these books for the children to read. We’ve had a very favorable response from all the community leaders we have spoken with about the library. Before spending any more on funding the library, we need to see that the children will frequent it and that the community will continue the project. But, thank-you so much for the thought. Feel free to start collecting non-fiction books anywhere you can find them. I can bring them next time or you can donate them to a school near you!
8. Did the NAFofA board approve the funding for a library? (OK, this question I just made myself but I’m sure the board members are asking themselves this!) Answer: No, I never told them about it. BUT, this is NOT a NAFofA project. It is another one of those Florence got a wild hair and started something things. The good news is we’ve told the community that we are just starting and planting the seed for the community library. It will be up to the community to continue it or not. I’m providing the rented room for 3 years, the bookshelves, books, and reading benches. We really hope the community will fill it with books and then provide a larger spot. NAFofA will not be providing any future funding for the library without the board approval. I truly believe that we (NAFofA) have other more pressing needs that must be met first.
9. Have you solved the problem of the children misbehaving? Answer: We’re a work in progress! The kids were visiting their hometowns and returned on Saturday. This Sunday we had a big family discussion on “Ghanaian children” and “Family Rules”. Of course it is starting out well with a few adjustments needed here and there. The mothers are actually relieved and happy that I am the one making the changes. The children were told the mothers will be sacked (fired, dismissed, canned, let go) if the mothers do not discipline the children. The mothers will also go and get them from school if they do not do the following before leaving for school: 1) Do their morning chores 2) Bathe and 3) Eat their breakfast. No child wants to hear their classmates laugh at them if this should happen. But, you know kids one of them will test this rule also.
10. How in the world does Mark put up with you? Answer: Quit asking this damn question!!!!

A little piece of info to help you appreciate this next story, 9,000 cedis equals 1 US dollar.

Somehow, even before I speak people can tell that I am obviously not a Ghanaian. The other day when traveling alone a taxi driver quoted me a price of 100,000 cedis. I knew it should not be more than 30,000. I told him so and offered 35,000. Since other people were watching our negotiations he drove off. A second taxi driver said he’d take me for 80,000. I said no thanks, I’ll walk. (I’m carrying 2 heavy bags and it is at least 10 miles away.) He drove away, made a U-turn and said he’d take me to where I could catch a shared taxi for 7,000 cedis. No thanks, I’ll walk. Ok, 5,000 cedis. Now I get in. I’ve just argued with the man for less than 25 cents US. But, in Ghana I don’t think in terms of US money, I think in terms of Ghana money. I later learned that 5,000 cedis was the correct price for where I was going. I then got to where the shared taxi stand was. A shared taxi waits for 4 people who are going to the same location. The cost was 8,000 cedis per seat so my offer of 35,000 was very correct.

A few days later I was doing some marketing in the same town. I was wearing my last pair of clean pants. The only problem was that I had lost the drawstring that holds them up! So, I tucked them into my underwear and went to the market. About half way through the day, they started falling down as I was walking past a dress makers shop (OK, so maybe it wasn’t the first time they started to fall down.) I asked the seamstress if she would fix the pants for me. She said yes she had some elastic and I said a drawstring or elastic or whatever she had would be fine with me. She gave me a cloth to wrap in while she fixed the pants. After I had my pants back on I asked her what was the charge and she replied no charge just take the pants.

One last bit of information about the above pants story mostly for Mark but also for Pegge who is laughing hysterically while visualizing the pants around my ankles. I am wearing an East Indian man’s outfit at the time. The tunic comes down to my knees and I can tuck my pants into my underwear from the pocket in the tunic. At no time do the pants ever actually fall down. It makes the story less interesting but more accurate. I don’t want Mark to think his wife is wandering around Ghana without her pants on!!!!

P.S. I have decided to stop sending out emails to tell you that I have updated the blog. They take forever and a day. So, please just check in every couple of weeks. Thanks!

More Updates

2007-09-07T08:30:00.000-07:00

Here's Kelvin's smile. You can see the missing teeth.

Kweku has lately decided he's too big to nap. Unfortunately, his 3 year old body doesn't believe this. In this little chair he looked just like an old man who fell asleep in the middle of the afternoon.

This is a picture of the living room aka the sitting room.

The following entries contain pictures that will tell more than I ever could describe. When we get into the forest area I feel like I'm really in Africa. When I say this to Ghanaians they laugh. Accra and the coastal savannah regions are also really Africa. But, this is the Africa of National Geographic specials. It is also where the children live.

Two quick funny stores about the boys. Kelvin and a friend were entertaining me by singing songs they knew. These were the songs they had learned in church all about God and Jesus. In the middle of one Kelvin stopped and said, "Oh, shit! I forgot the words." It still cracks me up when I remember this.

I'll skip the parts that Kelvin had to interpret and write this as if Kweku and I were actually speaking to each other. It'll be easier to write and easier to follow. I saw Kweku using the bread knife to cut the table and told him to put it down. Instead he used the table as if he was sharpening the knife. I said, "Kweku, put that knife down!" Kweku in his biggest 3 year old voice said, "I am a MAN!" I burst out laughing and couldn't stop for a good 5 minutes. I told Grandma Emelia who also laughed and laughed.

Well that's all for now, enjoy the pictures.

Surrounding Forest Area

2007-09-07T08:26:00.000-07:00

A really HUGE tree. It is amazingly beautiful.
This is the area with the above tree.

This is the last house on the right on the path to the water. (In the other post that was the last house on the left.) We are 3 houses up from here. The above pictures were taken from the balcony you see here.

Our neighborhood

2007-09-07T08:18:00.000-07:00

This is the back of our house.

This is behind the bath house looking left.

This is a neighbor's house.

This is the forest just past the above neighbor's house. The kids follow this path to collect the water we use for taking our baths.

More Pictures

2007-09-07T08:14:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures of our kitchen and the outside area that is used when the propane gas runs out. Many times there is no gas in the local area so the mothers end up cooking over charcoal quite a bit.

Only one of the refrigerators actually works. The other just is.

PICTURES!!!

2007-09-07T08:05:00.000-07:00

Above are the boys helping to unload. I was handing the books to the kids from the box and they would put them on whichever bed I told them. When I handed books to Kweku, he would bend down for the books to go on his head. Only an obruni wouldn't know the proper way to carry things! Kweku saw the camera and turned around to smile.

To the left are the after school supplies and the books from Carolynn.

Below are the n0n-fiction children's books for a library. I had originally intended on giving them to my children but realized all the children in the community need books. So, a library has been born!

On the top left is Kelvin very carefully sorting the library books into piles. It was very fun watching him decide which spot to place all the books. Sometimes, he couldn't help himself, he just had to open the books and look for a little while before continuing the sorting process.

On the right is Kelvin and some of his friends looking at books.

Two Weeks Already?

2007-08-25T10:22:00.000-07:00

I've been here for two weeks and 3 days already. It seems like I just arrived and it seems like I've been here forever. All is still going well. The kids that traveled to visit their extended families are all fine. Kelvin and Kweku are also doing well. Kelvin's English is very, very good. He translates for me. Kweku's English is getting better every day.

The other day when I was going to leave to come to Accra, I asked Kelvin for a hug and he gave me a nice hug. Kweku was playing under the table at the time. I don't know if he saw the hug or heard the word, but he was crawling out as fast as he could. He reached his arms up so I could pick him up and get a nice hug too.

Kelvin's reading is very good. We ready for about 1/2 hour a day when I'm in the village. Whenever the neighborhood kids see, they come over too. They are learning English from Kelvin and trying to teach me Twi. They get alot of laughs at my pronunciation.

Today I met Sean, a missionary working in the Accra area. He works with handicapped people. He is also a photographer. So, he has agreed to come to the home and take pictures for me of the kids going about their daily routine and doing their daily things. With his work he usually has some free time the first week of the month. Hopefully, he will get to our home the first week of October. I did take pictures of the items I brought as well as my "helpers" helping me unpack them all. The pictures are doing fine inside the camera! One of these days they will make it to the internet cafe so they can make it to the blog.

Oh well, that's all for now. I'll write more later.

Arriving In Ghana

2007-08-14T04:41:00.000-07:00

AKWAABA, You are welcome! This is the greeting I have heard many times since arriving in Ghana. It is a very warm, friendly greeting. When I reply thank-you all is good. When I reply medase (spelling?), everyone laughs. Medase is Twi for thank-you.

I’ll try to tell you what has been happening. I left Tucson for Phoenix Monday afternoon 6 August around 1:00. I arrived in London with time to catch my flight to Ghana. However, after the plane sat on the tarmac for over an hour, I missed my connection. I then waited 7 hours and flew to Nairobi, Kenya. Then another 2 hour wait and I flew to Ghana arriving 8 August Wednesday around 1:00 in the afternoon. YEAH! I made it to Ghana. Big Bummer, 3 of my 4 bags did not. I had 3 checked bags and 2 carry on bags. In Nairobi one of my carry ons went into the storage area. It was the only one I got back. On 12 August Sunday one of my bags arrived. Today is 14 August Tuesday and still the other two have not come. They will turn up it’s just a matter of time. So, the promised picture of the items in Ghana will have to come another time.

There are some important things I have learned in this my first week back that follow:
1) Carryon luggage MUST have wheels! 7 hours in London lugging around two heavy bags was more than I could do. Since they didn’t have any luggage carts around, I found an unused wheelchair and used that for my bags.
2) Nairobi is in Kenya. Kenya is on the other side of Africa from Ghana. It is not the best way to get to Accra from London.
3) Ensure at least 3 hours between planes in London. Otherwise you may end up traveling for another 20 hours and going through Nairobi.
4) Never, Never, Never turn down a bath. They feel so very wonderful and if you try to go to bed without one you’ll wish you hadn’t!
5) The smallest amount of milk with my malaria pills makes me puke. Yes, I learned this the hard way a second time now. Hopefully, next time I come to Ghana I’ll remember.
6) You can wear an outfit for 2 days but on day 3 Ma Jane will tell you to change your clothes. It’s bad enough she has to train the children now she has to train me too.
7) Even in a village in the rain forest in Ghana you will hear electronic game noises. A volunteer gave the children a game that does all the beepy annoying things electronic games do.
8) Doing laundry in a rain forest is not an easy task. The washing by hand is the same. Three big bowls are used one for the first wash, another the second wash and finally for the rinse. When the rinse gets too soapy or the first wash too dirty, the first wash water is thrown out, the second wash becomes the first wash, the rinse becomes the second wash and fresh water is now used to rinse. That is no problem (especially since I sit and watch the mothers and the children do it!) The difficulty comes in getting the clothes dry. It will rain in the afternoon for sure. You leave the wash out for a small sprinkle and if a large rain comes you run out and take it all down. During the evening you bring in all the laundry. In the morning you put everything back out on the line and hope it will dry before the rains comes.
9) In Ghana to honor a welcomed guest extra oil is used in cooking their food. Ma Jane gave me about a cup of oil in my beans. I drained as much off as I could. She asked me if the oil was “spoiled” (gone bad or rotten). I told her it was very good but much more than I can have. I am still working on convincing her that I don’t need as much oil in my food as she keeps providing. This trip I may come back with 50 more pounds if I don’t get this quickly changed!
10) Almonds grow on trees and some are planted by the Junior Secondary School (JSS). The pod that is around the almond is huge. The pod is at least 10 times larger than the yellow shell I am used to seeing. Regina and Patricia found the pods, used rocks to pound off the outside pod portion and then finally cracked the final almond shell. All of that work for one small almond which would then be shared with everyone sitting there (5 of us). It was delicious. Don’t worry, there is plenty of food in the home. Finding an almond on the playground is a treat to be enjoyed and shared.

When I arrived the children sang me a song and presented me with flowers. It was very nice.

Kweku is our youngest. He is 2.5 years old and is fluent in Twi. Anything that is not Twi he will nod his head and answer yes. Luckily, he is not afraid of white people. He sat on my lap the very first day. When he gets tired he goes and lies down in the boys’ room. He puts himself down for a nap when he is tired usually in the morning but sometimes in the afternoon too. One day I thought he was asleep in the boys’ room. I looked on all the beds and didn’t see him. I started to panic until I saw he was sleeping on a mat on the floor between the beds. He can sleep through anything. The roof is corrugated metal. There was a huge storm so you had to shout to hear each other. He slept through it just fine. However, one day when his grandmother came to visit he immediately awoke. She just said hello and was talking to the Ma Jane and Grandma Emelia in a normal voice. It is Kweku’s favorite voice so he jumped up to see her. It was very cute. She visited for about an hour. He didn’t cry when she left, he just said bye-bye. He knows she’ll be back for anther visit.

One day a little girl came walking into the yard. Kweku ran over and greeted her with a hug. They were so cute. We were all going to the school yard to play. The little girl held Kweku’s hand and was coming along. I said, “Wait, wait, who is her mother? We can’t take her with us without permission.” “Don’t worry Madam Florence, it is OK. She is Grandma’s daughter’s child,” replied Patience. Emelia smiled and said that it was fine for her to go with us. Thus started our trip to the school where the almonds were found, football (soccer) was played and two young children made me laugh.

Kweku and Mami were like kids anywhere. They saw all the open grass and ran, fell down and laughed. Mami called me Obruni (white person), she’d run and fall. I thought it was hysterical to hear such a small girl call me Obruni that I laughed. Big mistake. Now both Mami and Kweku would say Obruni and I’d watch them run and fall or roll around or jump and do all the things 2.5 year old children do. The mistake was in encouraging them to call me Obruni. That is fine for people who don’t know me but when you know me I should be either Madam Florence or Ma or Auntie (to someone of my same generation I would be sister). So I told the kids to call me Ma and when they said Obruni I wouldn’t look. When they said Ma I would. Kweku and Mami kept calling Obruni, Obruni, Obruni and I kept ignoring them. Finally Mami said, “Ma Twi Twi Twi Twi” and I responded. Patience was laughing. She told me what Mami said was “Ma we’ve been calling you.” It was hysterical. This little girl getting frustrated because I am too stupid to realize that I am the only Obruni around.

The older children have now gone to visit their extended families in their hometowns. Kelvin who is 6.5 (not 5.5) started crying. He was upset that his brothers and sisters were going away and that he had to stay. Evans told him that they would return in time for school and that Kelvin would get a trip to Accra. This made things a little better, not a lot better but a little.

Kelvin speaks English very, very well. He is a very sweet young boy with a big smile. His whole face lights up with his smile. The only thing missing is his two front teeth. I’ll get a picture posted one of these days. I have invited him to sit on my lap and he has shyly declined. But, when hugs are being given out he is ready for his also. When Anne-Christien had visited Kelvin was still adjusting to his new environment. He now is doing very well. He laughs and plays and acts like any other happy child.

That is all for this time around. It’s mostly about Kweku and Kelvin because these are the 2 I have just met. Also, the other kids were only with me for 2 days before they traveled to their hometowns. I have a whole list of pictures that I plan to take that I will place on this blog later.

Thanks for reading. Love to all my family and friends.

Start of Trip 2! Ghana 2007

2007-07-11T18:45:00.000-07:00

Nyame Adom Foundation of America (NAFofA) is up and running thanks to many generous supporters. Please click on the link at the side to read more about this organization or click on the url here http://www.nafofa.org/

I'm once again "unemployed". I can't say retired any more because with 10 children to feed, I'll be working for quite a while. Luckily, I am out of work for my trip to Ghana. This time I will be there for 3.5 months. My plans are to live with the children and encourage them in their reading and writing. When I get everything together, I'll post a picture of all the books and school supplies I'll be bringing. Thanks to everyone who donated used books and an extra big thanks to Carolynn for donating all her teaching supplies!

I am the third NAFofA board member to go visit and inspect our orphanage, tiny (2.5 acre) farm and after school program in Ghana. Just like all the rest, I must pay for the trip myself. When people donate to NAFofA, all funds are spent for the Ghanaian programs. Hopefully, we'll get a grant from a larger organization and include the airline travel for inspections. Until then, we'll keep paying our own way. (If anybody out there knows of a grant giving organization that we should apply to, please let me know.) ( Also, if Oprah, Bill, Melinda, Warren, Jimmy, Sting or any of their close personal friends should happen to be reading, drop me a line. Have I got a great program for you!)

My plans for this trip are as follows:

to inspect the Nyame Adom Foundation
to meet with the teachers of our kids to see how their studies are progressing
to talk with the school headmaster and the teachers in the after school program to see what else is needed
to live with the children again!!!! (Note: I will call them "the children", "our children", "the kids", "our kids", "my kids" and "my children". In my heart they're MY children.)
to spend some time at other orphanages I'd like to see how other programs are run to see what ideas we should incorporate.
to find a way to help the orphanage become self-sustaining
to determine what it would take to open a high school / vocational school and to see whether this is feasible
to investigate what high schools / vocational schools are available for our kids to attend
to meet the people of the community where our kids live
to visit with old friends that I haven't seen in over a year
to spend time staring at the ocean!

Thanks for reading this and if you have any questions, please drop me a line.

Nyame Adom Foundation of America (NAFofA)

2006-09-25T02:03:00.000-07:00

A quick update. You may recall that while in Ghana I helped start Nyame Adom Foundation a non-governmental organization (NGO) charity. Now that I'm home I've helped start Nyame Adom Foundation of America (NAFofA). This is a non-profit charity registered in Arizona. We already have 8 children in our home. These are 8 of the children that I was with while in Ghana! The other two children are doing fine. Kofi is with his mother Beatrice back in her hometown. Susana is back with her older brothers and sisters in her hometown. Her eldest brother is now able to support her and is happy to have his family back together.

Please click on the link to go to the website. You'll see pictures of the children and read about what is happening now. Please tell all your friends and family members about us. We need everyone's help. Our website address is:
http://www.nafofa.org

Lake Volta Trip Pictures 2

2006-05-23T15:40:00.000-07:00

Me, Evans, Anne-Christien and Rico on the lake.
Evans with Rico and Anne-Christien. I really like this picture everyone is laughing.

This is how huge the barge is. That is a big truck full of lumber. You can also see people sleeping on top of the big crates of yams. These crates were loaded by women carrying yams on their heads, thru the water then up the ramps. After carrying 10 loads they made 5,000 cedis about 60 cents US.

Lake Volta Trip Pictures 1

2006-05-23T15:34:00.000-07:00

This is the presidential yacht. I'm sure the president wanted me to go for a trip on it but no one would let me get near it. Rico and Anne-Christien were being spoiled sports.

Pictures of Erik and Johanna

2006-05-21T14:07:00.000-07:00

This is the last picture in the series so start at the bottom and move up. Here's Erik at the end of his speech when he's removed his suit and put on his old work boots.
Erik giving his speech sitting on the stairs. Then waiting while his speech was translated into Twi so everyone could understand it.

Erik and Johanna in front of the school they built.

An Amazing Young Man

2006-05-21T13:38:00.000-07:00

I met a young man named Erik Van Der Ven. He was from the Netherlands and was volunteering through a different organization. He got money by working and fund raising to come to Ghana to help children. He wanted to build a school so that orphans would have a chance for a better life through education. The bishop of the orphanage where he was placed gave him the bid for the school. The bishop insisted he use the bishops suppliers and workers. Included in the bid was one Mercedes Benz color gray. Yes, everyone knows you can not build a school without first buying a car. Needless to say Erik was beside himself. He hadn't worked or raised funds for a Mercedes. Luckily he met Johanna a woman working as the director of the vocational school at the Liberian Refugee Camp. Johanna is a lay missionary from a Catholic relief agency. Johanna told Erik to buy the materials and her students would do all the building for free. They would build the school as practical experience for their own education. First Johanna and Erik had to convince the bishop this was the way to go. When the bishop was informed the only way Erik would build the school was this way, he agreed. The vocational school ends at 12:00 but none of the workers left the job site until sundown. Many other Liberians also volunteered to work as laborers as a way to show their appreciation to the Ghanaian people for allowing the refugees into their country. Since the vocational workers now had no time earn money for themselves, Erik paid them 10,000 cedis a day for their work. This is about $1.20 US. This is also about 50 percent less than they would have made elsewhere. The workers wanted to help the orphanage and Erik. Not one speaker before Erik mentioned the Liberian workers but all were very grateful to Erik. The following is the speech Erik gave at the opening ceremonies of the school. You can also click on the link to see pictures of the school in progress.

Speech Opening School 03-04-06.
Hello everybody. Thank you all for coming to this opening day. For those of you who see me for the first time today, I'm Erik. Some call me the leader of this project, some call me the head or the founder, but I tell you all right now, I'm not. I don't know anything about building, I'm no engineer, I'm just a Dutch boy who wanted to do something good.In fact, I didn't come to this orphanage to build at all. I just came here as a volunteer to take care for the children, and put up a fund called Support Fund Ghana to help me buy the stuff they needed. But when I came here, it soon became very clear to me that the most important thing they needed, was good education. And when I saw the school I knew that there was a lot of work to do. And that's how this project started. A project that really soon turned out to be much more special than I ever thought it would be. A project that broke some cultural boundaries. A project where you could see people growing. A project that would change old habits, and challenged us all. A project where different people from different cultures try to work together. And sometimes two cultures met each other, and stood face to face. I come from a culture much different than here. In my culture respect is something you have to earn. Respect is in things you achieved, you say, and you stand for, and you have to prove it day after day again not to lose it. In my culture, it takes a long time to reach the point of respect, and with one mistake, most of the time your at base one again. It's not something that comes with a name, or with the way you are dressed. It's not in the position you have in society or the status you have. It's all in what you say and do. A housewife can have more respect than a minister. In my culture, a mouse can always fight an elephant, and teach him a lesson.So is this Erik a mouse that came into another culture, trying to beat an elephant? No, I'm not. I'm always willing to listen to any elephant, but as long as you can't convince me, I'll stay on my own path. And that's why this project happened the way it happened. For the first time in the history of Ghana, refugees did a project for the Ghanaian society, on Ghanaian ground. Why? Is it because I like refugees more? Don't I trust Ghanaian people? Can't Ghanaian people do the job? No, all wrong. I did it, just because it felt good. And I am Erik, a Dutch boy, who just wanted to do something good. I did it, because I wanted to help people. And by doing it this way, I got the most out of this project. Students worked on this project. Each day they learned new skills which they can use again if they have the chance to go home and rebuild their own country. Children will be learning in this school, and so will have a better chance for a brighter future. We have helped the Bishop to expand his orphanage however the bishop in this project didn't have to pay for a single thing for what happened on this ground. For me the Liberians did it the fastest they could, with hardly any breaks, 7 days a week, so me and my sponsors could see it finished before I go home. This was a win win project. How could this be wrong? This could only be good. And that's why I did it. Just because I wanted to do something good. Not a single Liberian ever made me doubt my decision. How could I, when every time I walked up to the building site, I saw people working really hard, but all with a big smile on their face. Some were tired, some were sick, some soaked of sweat because the sun was on their head too much, some even had accidents. But everybody kept working, no time for complaining, and all stayed smiling. These people are a true example for me, and I look up to them.Although I brought in the money for building this school, I'm not a rich person. I don't like it when people think I am, and see a lot of chances through me. When I go back home the day after tomorrow, I step in a plane with no money in my pockets at all. Everything is left here, and is in the school building right now. Wow, so Erik bought the whole school building? No, not at all. At home there's been a lot of work done to gather money. A lot of people who trusted me sponsored my fund to do 'something good' out here. I'm not a rich person. Although I may look right now as a well dressed head of the project. I'm not, and I'll never feel that way. To be honest, I still wear my free Areeba T-shirt which I got when I bought my phone card. I still wear my shorts, and I still like wearing my old sports shoes. Just because they fit me well and I feel comfortable in them. And I've done this for the past three months no different. It didn't matter which meeting I had, it didn't matter which bank manager I had to speak to, I wore my shorts, and T-shirt. I did this for the past three months, and I'll still do it now. It's not about how you look. It's about what you have to say. (Florence's addition ---- At this point Erik took off the suit he was given and had on his shorts and t-shirt. He also changed into his work boots and at the end of the speech donned his dirty old ball cap.)
I'm no more than anybody else. When I'm home again I'll have to go to school myself too. Just like all the children here who we built this school for. When I'm home again I'll have to work hard to buy my own clothes, to eat my own food, and to have my own place to stay. I'm a student, not a rich person. I won't be able to send over money. I won't be able to buy tickets for people to come over. I won't be able to send second hand cars, sponsor more projects or take care for someone's career. I'm not a messiah that will improve everybody's lives. I'm Erik, a Dutch boy, who just wanted to do something good.If I look back on this project, I don't feel like a leader at all. We have had no leader. We have had no head. We had no boss. And we didn't need one. We did everything together. All of us. In fact, I even don't like it at all to be standing here, seen as the main person of the project. I didn't build this school. I did not even touched one stone of it. And therefore, I'm not the one that should be thanked and the one who gets all the gratitude. The ones I want to thank and the ones who I really respect are the Liberians who did the job. Most of them who have really traumatic backgrounds, that came here, and showed everybody what they were capable of. I have a lot of respect for Eric, who co-ordinated everybody and every material. I'm proud of him, although I know that sometimes he thinks different. He really impressed me about the kind of work he did. Wisé, who was always there instructing workers. I really want to thank all of the workers, which showed up everyday, wasting no time, took their tools, and started, with that same smile again, over and over, 7 days a week. We are looking at time brothers, was the main thing your heard everybody say. And how is it possible that people stayed working so hard? Who thought of thanking the cooks? They were there everyday. They made sure there was enough energy for them in their meals, everybody enjoyed the food so much that they all kept going. Really, we couldn't have done it without them! Bernardt, who secured the whole place, sometimes slept on the building site, and made sure nothing would be missing when the next morning the job started again. It's always in the little things that makes the big things happen. I really respect the whole of the SMA staff about their honestly and how open they where throughout the whole project. They trusted me and helped me out in different times. I respect the way Johannah took care of me, the project, and her people. She's too much the same like me, so I know that she doesn't like me naming her now. But then I might say this is only to get her back because she also mentioned me in her speech last week. Johannah, thank you. Really I have learnt and still learn a lot from you. You are the kind of person I look up to. Holland misses people like you, but you are needed here. You really made my trip. I need to mention that we all couldn't have done this without the help of my home. A lot of work has been done behind the scenes. The website that really made me able to do this project and made people interested. The money transfers, the sponsors that made Support Fund Ghana, the articles in the newspapers. It wasn't me who did this. This project relies on a lot of people other than myself who deserve the same amount of recognition. There's another person, which I have to say that I really respect. I've got a roommate, which chose to join the project half way. By doing this, he chose to never have as much recognition as I got. He chose to always stay in the background. People tell me, God blesses you Erik, you built a school. Guy put as much personal money in this as I did. Guy is a student as well. Guy will have to go to school himself too when he's back home. But who thanked him for this project? Without him, the third room would be missing right now. Thank you Guy, really.For me, he is one of the examples what I stand for in life. Recognition shouldn't satisfy the job. It's the job itself that needs to satisfy you. For the past 5,5 weeks I've been proud and satisfied. The past 5,5 weeks were full of recognition and fulfilment. And to be honest now, you don't satisfy me by making big celebrations, a lot of good words, or official ceremonies. What would satisfy me, is keeping up the good work. And that all lies in your hands right now Pierre.A proper school building Pierre, doesn't make good education. It is like what i was trying to say with taking off my clothes. A nice suit doesn't make you a project leader, or a respected recognised person. A proper school building doesn't make well educated children. It is all about what's inside.A proper school building changes only one thing. It give's you more possibilities. So make use of those possibilities. Use this building to improve the education of the children. You have got an office right know, a library, and three big rooms with furniture. Get the right motivated teachers. No sleeping during the lessons anymore. Use the office to make the right decisions, to make tight schedules, and to organise everything well. Use the library to store books, papers and pencils for the children to teach them how to read and write, and keep up the discipline not to lose any of these materials. You've got enough benches now for every child to sit and work on. So now let them work. They need it. They deserve it. I challenge you Pierre, to make the Good Shepherd International School a school which the whole of Ghana can be proud of.As proud as I am about this project and how it went. We did almost the impossible. But proved once again, that if you really want to do something, nothing is impossible. I have really learnt and experienced a lot in my three months here. A lot of positive things, but also I have learnt a lot from my negative experiences here too. SQL didn't contribute anything to this project, but did teach me a lot. I have also had the same experiences with my time at the orphanage as well. However I have learnt that negative experiences can be quite educational, therefore I look at them in a positive way right now because they have taught me a lot. This project taught everybody a lot.Somebody special here experienced that age doesn't matter, you are never to old to learn. And that's where I hope this school will be the start of. Young people will have their start in the world of learning... and this process will never stop. I might be the one who started this project, but I'm not the leader. I will go home, but this project.... will never stop.I'm no leader, no head, and I'm not the one who should be thanked. I did something that I thought was right. However I am missing something that I've always worn in my three months here. Ah, there it is. I'm Erik, a Dutch boy, who just wanted to do something good.

Pictures of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Trip 2

2006-05-21T13:33:00.000-07:00

Pictures of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Trip 1

2006-05-21T13:06:00.000-07:00

Starting out almost at trail.
My Favorite Tree. A branch is the size of most other trees. See last picture where we are standing by it to get a hint of its size.
Listening to our tour guide.

Pictures of First Board Meeting of Nyame Adom Foundation

2006-05-18T12:00:00.000-07:00

From left to right Peter, Me, Evans and Tina.

Pictures Kitchen and Bath Completed

2006-05-18T11:44:00.000-07:00

Window on back wall of kitchen.
Patience showing where top of original kitchen was.
Painted inside of the kitchen with new table for food preparation also.

Front view of the toilet on right and bath on left.
Completed toilet in painted room.

Pictures Water Stands and School Uniforms

2006-05-18T11:32:00.000-07:00

Here is the completed platform ready for a polytank.

Finished product. Tables with water containers, soap, cups, bowls --- everything you need for clean hands.

The children in their new school uniforms purchased by Anne-Christien's family. Back Row left to right are Patricia, Regina, Stephen, Benjamin and Prince. Middle row are Patricia, Father John and Justice. Front row is Kofi

More Things

2006-05-15T11:16:00.000-07:00

More Ghana fun in geek style bullets.

*) I went to see a palm oil farm. It was in the rain forest. First we did some four wheel driving to get there. Then I walked around on a path seeing all the amazing plants. When we got thirsty, my friends found a coconut tree and we had coconut water. It wasn't that far from a small village but I still felt like I was in Africa in the middle of nowhere surrounded by plants and animals. Ok so I didn't see any animals but they had to be there somehwere. It was mind blowing! At one point I said who planted that pineapple I'd like to eat it. My friends just laughed and said that it was a wild -- no one planted it and it wouldn't be ripe for another 3 months.

*) I also went tooling around the back roads in Steve's truck while Steve was back in the states. Johanna was driving on the dirt roads and it was amazingly green and beautiful. We saw acres and acres of pineapple farms.

*) In the "What a Small World" category Steve is an American working in Ghana. He is with Catholic missionaries in the Liberian Refugee camp. When we met he said he was coming back to the states to be the best man in his brother's wedding. His brother is getting married in Tucson, AZ!!!! So, on May 26th I will be attending a wedding as the date of the best man. I am old enough to be his mother and already married but when you're in Ghana looking for a date in Tucson who will buy her own ticket you can't be too damn choosy!! OK, so he wasn't looking for a date but we did meet and he did invite me and I am going to the wedding.

*) I went shopping with Brother Evans because Sylvia wasn't feeling well. I walked around with him instead of just sitting. When people see an Obruni, it's not unusual for them to ask for something. After all if you are an Obruni in Ghana you are very wealthy by Ghanaian standards and sometimes people will give something. There's no harm in asking. At first I ignored it, then it started to get on my nerves and piss me off a little. Luckily I got over that and I just had fun with it. Whenever anyone would ask me for some money I would multiply the amount by 10 and ask them for that instead. They were always shocked because Obrunis don't ask Ghanaians for money! I loved to see the looks on their faces followed by the laughter. Alot of time also the people ask for money as an opening to a conversation. The following is a discussion between me and a young woman while I was shopping with Evans.
Her: I need some money.
Me: I do too will you give me some? (I hold out my hand waiting for my money and she laughs).
Her: Will you give me 2,000 cedis (less than 25 cents US)?
Me: Will you give me 20,000 cedis to pay for my fish? (Evans is buying some small smoked fish that the children eat)
Her: How about if you give some fish to eat? (She is smiling enjoying the game and eating something as we speak)
Me: I can't this is for the children, what do you have for me to eat? (I can't help but laugh. Big old fat Obruni asking for food!)

She bursts out laughing and I laugh and we say good-bye time to go buy something else for the kids. The looks on our faces as well as the people around who could understand English was alot of fun. She was as big a ham as I was when it came to being watched and making everyone laugh.

*) Lucy and Wendie sent me money for material shopping and I had a blast looking and picking cloth. Two or three people I asked said they did not sell less than 6 yards of material (6 yards is the amount for a traditional Ghanaian ladies outfit and a wrap). Luckily, I found a woman who would cut in 1 yard lenghts. I couldn't decide what colors so I just said one yard of all that were made by Akosombo Textile Ltd. The man next to her had a few samples that she didn't have so I bought from him also. A woman asked what I was going to do with the material and offered to sew whatever I wanted. The idea that my friends were going to cut the material into small pieces to sew them back together for fun was a truly strange thought!

*) Kids are kids the world over. Beautiful, funny, smart, sweet, loving you name it the children are it. BUT one amazing difference about my Ghanaian children is how incredibly, incredibly strong they are! Susana, who is 6 years old, asked me to help her lift a pan up onto her head. The thing must have weighed 25 pounds. I said, "You can't carry that." She said, "Yes, I can." "Are you sure? It's really heavy." She just laughed and walked away carrying this on her head. It must have weighed at least half of her total body weight and she is only 6 years old!!! I was watching the children and saw Regina and Patricia lift a load but it was too heavy to get high enough up for Pat's head. So, they set it down. Together they lifted and put the biggest part on Patricia's head. She then squatted down. She did a deep knee squat with a load of weight on her head. Regina then placed the second part of the load on top and Patricia stood up balancing so nothing fell. This is just normal Saturday cleaning. Truly, truly amazing.

*) The kitchen is completed and painted! The bathroom has also been painted. They both look very nice. The kitchen also has a new table for working and shelves in progress.

*) The tables for the wash stands are done and painted purple. They look great. The water containers, the cups, the bowls, the soap have all been purchased. The platform is done and ready for the poly tank. As soon as the funds clear the bank, Evans will buy a poly tank and the school will have water!

*) Did I tell you about our trip to Dr. Kwame Nkrumah Memorial? If yes just skip the repeat. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was the first president of Ghana. He declared independence from Britain in 1957. His statue is on the spot where he declared Ghana's independence. To get there we all walked from the village to the road (Kofi was on his mother's back). We then took a tro-tro into Accra. The kids were really excited about traveling to the capital! From Keneshie market (the tro-tro stop), we took 2 cabs to the memorial. We had lunch (a picnic the mothers had packed for everyone) and then started our tour. It was very interesting and educational also. We all enjoyed ourselves. I was the only one in our group who had ever been there before! Evans and Asari said most Ghanaians think of the memorial as a place for the tourists and don't go to it. But, they both enjoyed it. I was teasing them that as the only non-Ghanaian I had been here twice and none of the Ghanaians had been here at all.

*) I left the village on May 2nd. It was sad but not as bad as it could have been. I have hired a tutor to come and teach the children reading and writing. When I told them they were going to have more school after regular school in the afternoon they all CHEERED! I told them that we would write each other letters and that I would be coming back to Ghana. We all still cried but it wasn't the heart breaker that I was fearing. I will go back in 3-4 years when I get some money. I have written them my first letter.

*) I left Ghana on May 8th and am now at home. What I hadn't told the blog world until now is that I have started the Nyame Adom Foundation in Ghana. I would never have been able to do this without Evans, Tina and Peter. There are 5 people on the Board of Trustees Evans, Tina, Peter, Mark and Me. Mark may soon be replaced but is on the board for now because we needed to identify all 5 board members to get our certification. The purpose of this foundation is to create a self-sustaining orphanage. We will have an orphanage, a farm, and a vocational school. With the farm and the vocational school providing food, building maintenance, clothes and income from the items sold, the orphanage will be self-sufficient. Hopefully there will be enough money to support multiple orphanages. Nyame Adom Foundation (NAF) is a non-government organization (NGO) that is a non-profit. My job in the states is to develop the website for NAF and find the funding to get everything started. The big difference in NAF and the orphanage I was at in Nkwantanan is that every penny given to NAF will be spent on NAF and NAF alone. All donations, all records, all bank accounts, all meeting minutes everything will be made public for anyone to inspect at any time. When I have the website up, I'll email everyone so you can look at it and know how to help. If you want to help put together the website or offer any other assistance please let me know. If you're not sure if I have your email address, please post your email address to this blog. Don't worry I will not publish your address so I'll be the only one who will see it.

Accra Life

2006-04-18T12:03:00.000-07:00

Street vendors are the people who walk up and down the streets selling whatever they can. Many are carrying heavy, heavy loads. While I was sitting at a sidewalk stand sipping a Coke I saw the following street vendors.
*) 3 different people selling bananas and peanuts
*) 2 people selling sugar cane
*) 3 people selling onions
There was one vendor of all the following.
*) popcorn and peanuts
*) cabbage, tomatoes and carrots
*) ironing boards (yes one man was carrying two ironing boards to sell)
*) Nescafe coffee cart
*) Bird cages with birds inside
*) Pictures in frames
*) Watches and watch batteries
*) Belts
*) Socks

By the way I did not go to church on Easter. The pastors were away at a big Easter Convention so there was no church for the children. I did wear my red dress all day though. There is no Easter Bunny in Ghana but the kids did ask me for an Easter present. I gave them each a bag of Snappy peanuts and they were very happy. Snappy peanuts are like honey-roasted peanuts at home, extra sugar extra good.

Long Time No Write

2006-04-12T17:37:00.000-07:00

CONSTRUCTION
Hello again. No I have not fallen off of Ghana into the sea. I am still alive and doing well. First with the construction updates, the kitchen holes are filled and window is done. It is now a completed structure! There is a table and shelf on order from the carpentry class/shop at the refugee camp. I plan on buying some peach paint so the kitchen will be beautiful! The children will help me paint it. I’m sure there will be plenty of paint on the floor but such is life.

The platform for the water tank is also completed. The top is done with a whole bunch of iron inside for strength. After 21 days, the forms will be removed and the whole thing will be plastered. I heard from Pegge, that it takes 28 days for concrete to reach its full strength (even in Tucson). Who knew? Pegge and Monolo that’s who. Right now school is on break until May. So, after the plastering and the 28 days I’ll purchase the polytank. The carpentry class at the refugee camp is making the tables for the individual water cans and soap to sit upon. The children and I will paint these also.

ECLIPSE
The big news from here is the eclipse on March 29th. It was amazing, awesome, wonderful, glorious, incredible and so much more. It got dark in the morning for about 3-4 minutes. The children were in the school with all the other children in 2 classrooms. When it started to get dark I saw about 3 students run home. The teachers then stood at the doors yelling at them to stay in their seats. Anne-Christien went and got our kids out of school so they could see the eclipse on TV. I had shown the teachers how to view the eclipse with the pin hole in a piece of paper but they knew the students would look at the sun and damage their eyes. So, they kept all the children inside until it was past the zenith. They then went outside and our kids were showing them how to see the eclipse through their papers. We also viewed it by looking at the sun’s reflection in a bucket of water. It was amazing. During the full dark, Susanna came outside and was crying. She was mostly whimpering but she was truly frightened. It was not suppose to be dark in the middle of the morning and not that fast. Anne-Christien and I talked to her to calm her down. She was still scared but not too badly. When the sun came back all was well again.

The eclipse was on Wednesday. The first rain after the eclipse was on Saturday. A man from the village came to say that the radio had announced not to use the “bad rain”. The first rain after the eclipse was carrying diseases like chicken pox. So, none of the children should go out in the rain and no one should collect or use any of that water. Patience had to go and get some wet laundry from the line. She wrung out the clothes and asked me would she get chicken pox on her hands or face (she had touched her face). I assured her that she wouldn’t. I also said that there was nothing on the news about the rain being bad. She insisted that it was on the radio so it had to be true. I doubt that it was ever on the radio. But when the village has very few radios if someone says they heard something it is only polite to spread the news, especially news about something harmful. As far as I know not a single case of chicken pox has been discovered in the village so everyone must have been careful enough.

FATHER JOHN
Father John was sick and had to go to the clinic. He was given an antibiotic for the sore throat, a pain killer and a sleeping pill. I gave him one dose of the pain pill and threw the sleeping pills away. He was given the sleeping pills because he said he couldn’t sleep well the night before. Of course he couldn’t. He had a fever, sore throat and an ear ache. How could he get to sleep? I don’t know if he would have gotten anything besides the antibiotic if he hadn’t been with an Obruni. I know at home the antibiotic is all he would get. Since he was sick I made him stay home from school all week (except eclipse Wednesday). He cried because he couldn’t go to school. Anne-Christien and I agreed we never cried because we stayed home only when we had to go back. She played with him and let him eat cookies to make staying home more bearable. He even enjoyed it. All school day and all Anne-Christien’s attention for only him? He was in heaven.

MY VACATION
Ok, I know you think that I am on vacation just being in Ghana and you would be right. But, this last week I went on a real vacation away from the orphanage home. Anne-Christien and I went to Kumasi. It is a very beautiful city with a wonderful cultural center. We were scheduled to go to Yeji for a boat trip on Tuesday night. However, the boat was sailing a day early because of Easter. Evans called with this information and Anne-Christien and I had no problem making the change. However, Rico was also planning on going with us. She got to the STC (bus) station at 10:00am and bought a ticket for the 10:30 bus. When the bus arrived at 11:00 the people from the scheduled 9:30 trip took all the seats. She then called about 1:30 saying she didn’t think she would be in Kumasi in time. The STC wouldn’t refund her ticket price because the bus would run later or much later that day so no refunds. I told her to call Brother Evans to see what he can do. She called back to say that she was on board and would hopefully make it to Kumasi on time. If it was too late we should just leave without her. Brother Evans arrived and said let’s go to the taxi that’s waiting. We got to the tro-tro station to find that the last tro to Yeji was full. There was a tro to a place only 47 miles away from Yeji that we could take. “But what about Rico,” I asked. She hadn’t contacted Evans since her tro did arrive so he didn’t know she wasn’t yet in Kumasi. The tro-tro was almost full and had a big load of lumber to transport also. I said let’s buy tickets for 5 seats so we have a place for our luggage. The station manager said if we purchased 5 tickets the tro would be full and would need to leave. He agreed to wait 15 minutes for the STC but that’s the best he could do since all the other passengers in the tro-tro wanted to get home. So, I asked if I could hire another tro and pay for the whole van provided it would wait for Rico. The manager then talked to a driver and said if I purchased 14 seats the driver would wait for the STC. So it cost me 390,000 cedis or $44 US to charter the van. Evans called and told Rico we had a ride and were waiting for her. When her bus was close, the driver took us to the STC station. Rico was not on the bus that arrived from Accra. Luckily only 10-20 minutes later a second bus arrived from Accra and Rico was there. We then had a 3 hour ride to Yeji. Yes, boys and girls you heard me correctly, it was only $44 US for a 3 hour ride that started at 10:00 pm and was 147 miles. On the road Rico said that Tuesday was her birthday. She was glad she didn’t spend it waiting for a tro-tro back to Accra, then 6 hours on a bus after missing her trip. I spent the money thinking a volunteer should not miss this trip. After hearing it was her birthday I was really glad I had!

The boat was docked and waiting until dawn to start off. We got to bed and slept. When I woke up the morning was beautiful. The sun was up and the water was sparkling. I stayed awake all day staring at the lake and the passing vegetation. I tried to stay awake that night but was too tired. I went to bed at 7:30 pm just like at the orphanage home at bedtime. I woke up to another beautiful morning. There were a lot more people on board. I decided that I’d watch the water from lying down in the top bunk bed. I got in and out of the bed 2 or 3 times and then when I tried to get up I slipped and fell and bruised my side and my foot. I’m not seriously hurt just bruised. I was mad and got up on the bed. I looked out the window and enjoyed the sights. With the boat rocking and my relaxing, next thing I knew I was sound asleep. I woke up in time for lunch though. I didn’t get back on the bunk, no I wasn’t afraid I’d biff it again, I didn’t want to fall back asleep. I sat up talking with Rico, Anne-Christien and Evans. The last leg of the journey was beautiful and enjoyable. Right before we got off the boat we took pictures. Anne-Christien, Rico and I do not like having our pictures taken. I laughed and said I’m the only one who didn’t bring a camera. I wanted a picture to prove to everyone that I was on Lake Volta and so were they. You’ll see from the picture that we had a wonderful time.

The extra good news was not one baby cried when seeing me this whole vacation. Most babies stared, I’m sure I’m the first Obruni many had ever seen, but not one cried!!

NEXT UP
I am planning on shopping on Thursday for more material for dresses and pants outfits. (Anne-Christien thinks I’m really funny buying work clothes for a job I don’t have.) After this, I’ll go back to the home. I better buy some paint while I’m still in Accra. I’ll be at the home for Easter. In Ghana Easter Monday is a big family day. Families go on picnics and to the beach etc.. A friend’s church is having a big party and I’m going to that. It will be my first Easter Monday event. In Ghana both Friday and Monday are national holidays. I’m going to church on Easter Sunday also. The children’s church is so loud that I can hear it from the home. Since it is not only loud but also in Twi, I stay home. On Easter I’m going to wear my one dress from home and go to church.

During the 2 week break from school, I want to bring the children and mothers to Accra to see the memorial of the first president of Ghana. I need to talk and ask “Madame” first for her permission. I’m sure she’ll agree since school is on vacation and the trip will be a good educational experience. We’ll see the monument, the museum, the fountains and the garden. I was there with SYTO during my orientation week. It is very beautiful. We’ll also have a picnic. I told Patience this secret, so I expect all the children have heard by now. I wanted them to know that I was planning something fun and special for just them.

Week 8

2006-03-21T07:26:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone

What’s been happening this week? The toilet has been completed!!! Yeah!!! The inside of the hole was plastered and the toilet bowl attached. We then waited for 9 full days for everything to dry. The seat was installed and all was ready to go. The children needed to be instructed to put the used paper in the trash can to not fill the hole too fast. One boy called me to check and make sure what I meant. He lifted the lid and the seat and was sitting on the bowl directly. He then was asking me about what is a trash can. It was a rather silly word. He understood the term rubber container so all was well in the end. I did not laugh about him sitting on the bowl directly without a seat. But as small as he was it was a funny sight. Later that evening we had a toilet usage discussion. I demonstrated how to lift just the lid as well as what a trash can is. Everyone already knew that every time they go to the toilet they must wash their hands, thanks to Mother Sylvia. The toilet is a huge success.

The platform for the school’s water tank is about half built. The top needs to be put on it. The kitchen work is also about half done. The ceiling has been raised, the window opening cut and the holes filled in with blocks. However, the window screen is missing and the inside ceiling has not been done. One of these days these things will be completed and then I will pay the contractor the second half of the bill.

I gave the sewing machine to the Vocational Education School in the Liberian Camp. The camp has approximately 45,000 Liberian refugees. The vocational school is run by JoAnna. She is from Holland and a friend of the orphanage. She also looks out for all the Dutch volunteers in the area. She will be in Ghana for a total of 6 years. There was a young man from Holland who raised funds to build a school for the orphanage in Kasoa. The Vocational School construction students did all the work for free. Other Liberian refugees who heard about the project showed up and volunteered as a thank-you to the Ghanaian people. It is awesome! The school is almost done now.

As thanks for the machine, the sewing teacher is making new school uniforms for the children. Anne-Christien’s grandparents paid for all the material, buttons, zippers etc.. We’ll get pictures when the new uniforms are done sometime next week. So, that means you’ll see them in 2-3 weeks if you’re lucky. The same woman is making a dress, 2 tops and 2 pants for me for less than $20 US (again I got a cut rate). I purchased some beautiful fabric for about $2.50 US a yard.

To my quilting friends, the all cotton material here is gorgeous! There is tie-dye and African prints in beautiful, bold, bright colors. If you want me to buy some for you, it will be about $3.00 a yard to cover the dollar to cedi conversion and my travel. If you are interested, send me an email with your color scheme and quantities desired. I don’t think they sell less than one yard increments though.

Last night the children were writing thank-you notes to Anne-Christien’s grandparents’ who financed our trip to the beach. Kofi had to do his letter also. He scribbled in both pen and pencil a very nice thank-you letter and picture. He was so tired that he put his chin down on the table and fell asleep! His butt was on the bench and his chin was on the table and he was sound asleep. He didn’t put his cheek down just his chin and he was out like a light. It was very funny.

Rebecca, Justin, Beth, Derrick and Lexi thank-you for the emails! I miss and love you all.

Questions Answered

2006-03-15T02:03:00.000-08:00

First to Antoine you sent me a comment but I don't have your email address to reply. Please post another comment with your email address. I won't publish it but I will be able to respond. Thanks.

What happened to my hat? I left it on a tro-tro. Tro-tros are always full. If they are not full you sit and wait until they are full before starting. One day a mother with a new born baby and a 3 year old were on the same tro-tro as Sylvia and me. Sylvia told the mother I would hold her daughter for her so she could feed her baby. The little girl just looked at me then relaxed. She was use to sitting on the laps of strangers. After a while she fell asleep. I spent the ride being sure that if there was a quick direction change or an accident I would be able to protect her. Luckily, I didn't need to use any of my plans. Later when her mother got off I was worried she would leave me her daughter. Again luckily, this did not happen. She just needed a minute to adjust her packages and her baby before collecting her daughter. The next stop was where I exited. I got off the tro-tro and my hat didn't. So I have since purchased a new hat for 15,000 cedis or just under two dollars.

What do I do all day? That's an easy one. I mostly sit. I always eat 3 meals a day and I always take two baths a day. I sometimes go to Accra to get more money from the bank. I sometimes go to the internet cafe. I occassionally help the children fetch the water for their evening bath. I've gotten much better at "My Grandmother" and "Mr. Bobo" two hand clapping games. Now that Isaiah has come to live with us, I watch him occassionally while his mother works or does school work. I was the first white person he ever met but now we're best buddies. He is 16 months old and talks in baby rap. We have our own special hello. We look at each other and laugh and toss our heads back. He'll run up to me and Anne Christien for hugs. We can hold him for about 15 minutes. Then he has to get down to check and make sure his mama doesn't miss him. All the children are very good with him. The three oldest girls almost fight to see who gets to hold him. Regina is very smart though. When she gets Isaiah she puts him on her back and walks away from everyone else so he doesn't ask for somebody else! Yesterday little Kofi was eating beans. Isaiah wanted the spoon so Kofi gave it to him (every child knows beans can be eaten just as well with fingers as with a spoon so no problem). Instead of eating the beans, Isaiah used the spoon to feed Kofi. It was so funny and so cute. He didn't always reach Kofi's mouth so Kofi would help him and then just pick up and eat any beans that fell on the table or more likely fell on Kofi's belly.

I miss everyone and wish you were here. I also wish I was at home. As Mark said as soon as I get home I'll wish I was back in Ghana. Don't tell him, but he's probably right.

Myrte arrived before sunset at her final destination, Nkoranza, last Saturday. She sent both Evans and Anne-Christien text messages to let us know she was fine. I think she was afraid I would show up looking for her! She likes her new position working with disabled people. They work making necklaces and bracelets to sell. Myrte works with them. So all of her friends will be getting jewelry for presents.

Once again I'm out of time and ready for lunch. Oh my goodness the salad place was heavenly. I got a huge salad that tasted wonderful. It was the first time in two months that I had eaten fresh vegetables. All of the vegetables we eat are fresh but thoroughly cooked to ensure Obruni stomaches don't get "runny". This restaurant is a true find. They know how to treat the veggies or they buy only from certain vendors or whatever. I don't care. I get a deliscious salad and do not get sick. Life is wonderful.

Love to all. Adios (Tucson ending), Caio (Pegge ending), Bye-bye (Ghana ending).

Miscellaneous

2006-03-11T05:17:00.000-08:00

Week 7
Anne Christien said we have been in Ghana for 8 weeks now. This means we have been at the home for 7 weeks. Really? That seems like a really long time but it feels like we arrived yesterday. I have lost any and all sense of time so I am turning into a Ghanaian. There is the present and the past and the future will take care of itself when it arrives.

Sleepless Nights
What do you do when you wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep? Read? No books? Watch TV? No way, you'll wake up Mother Sylvia who works way too hard in the day to be awakened in the middle of the night! So you stare at the walls. It was while doing this I realized one reason why I feel so comfortable here. The rooms are just like in Old Bisbee. The floor is bare; nothing is square; the wiring is on the outside of the wall; and there are no closets. Just like my old house! Bisbee was one of my past experiences training me for Ghana. By the way don't feel too sorry for my sleepless night. I had slept too much for two nights running so on the third night I couldn't stay asleep. Oh poor me!

TV watching Family
The other night night I was watching everyone watching TV (Myrte and Anne-Christien excluded, they were in Accra to pick up Theo and Sanders. So, this stuff was written on paper just didn't make it to the internet until today). The show was in Twi so I wasn't distracted from watching the family. There were children in chairs, on the sofa, lying on the floor and each other. When someone on a chair left to get a drink, another person nabbed the chair. The older children could understand the jokes and would laugh followed by the younger kids laughing a few beats behind. There were also times when everyone was talking and no one could posssibly hear the television. Tis continued until Mother Sylvia sent the children to bed. It was a repeat of TV watchin in my house as a child just with different children in Ghana.

Water Filter
As you saw in a picture the ceramic water filter has been purchased. The box says the ceramic part is a 0.2 micron filter. There is also a second filter made up of carbon, sand and stones. The brand name is Safia and it is made in Korea. The salesman said you need to replace both filters every 7 months. The box itself does not specify length of time or number of litres of water that can be filtered. The ceramic filter box says it can be cleaned if it is clogged. Mother Sylvia is cleaning it once a week to keep it from clogging. Pamala or Kevin will you see if you can find out anything on the internet about this water filter and how often the filters need replacing? There is no part number on the box. It has a 12 litre capacity and that's everything I know. If you can't find anythng, I'll just ask Sister Sylvia to replace both filters every 3 months for me.

Funnies
*) The other day I say a chicken sitting in the yard that looked so peaceful and relaxed. I thought to myself, "Oh, I wonder if she is laying an egg". The fowl stood up and lo and behold she was a he. I knew it was a rooster because of his bad leg. When he was sitting and had the rooster's crown I thought it was a chicken.
*) While walking back from the internet near the Liberian Camp I got a little lost. There was a man sitting on his porch who called out, "Hello my wife, when will you come and visit me?" I answered "Hello, I'll visit when my first husband gives me permission." Mark gave me permission but as long as husband number two doesn't see this he'll never know.
*) I am always a walking sweat machine. I had lost my hat so the hankie I use was tied around my head to prevent sunburn. When I was loking for a tro-tro a man was following me wiping his forehead with his arms teasing me. But, I looked back in time to catch him. So, I took my hankie off and wiped my face with it instead of my sleeves. His friends totally enjoyed the show and the fact that he was caught and we all laughed.
*) At the same place one of the guys insisted he would help me get a ride to where I needed to go. He walked me to where the taxi to Camp was. I thanked him and then he asked, "Don't you want to help me." I was tired so I just told the truth, "No, I don't not at all." He was shocked at such a straight forward answer and so I told him that I'm already giving all my money to the orphanage. He then laughed and said, "Oh so you are already helping many Africans. Good, good." He then gave me a small hug and went on his way. The look on his face when I said no, not at all was priceless. People in Ghana do not talk like that. The proper response is to take their address, or say oh I'm sorry I really have no money today maybe tomorrow. But I was just too tired to be proper and he really didn't even care. He was very nice about the whole thing.

Kakum National Park
Rico and Alice from SYTO came for a visit. Like everyone they love our placement. We 3 went to Kakum National Park (Myrte and Anne Christien had already been). First we stayed the night at a hotel. I was in heaven. I had my own FLUSH toilet and RUNNING WATER shower. I was in a room by myself so I could also wake up and walk to the bathroom in the nude. It was incredible. On top of all this there was a swimming pool with shade. I took a shower in my clothes and sat in the pool for a couple of hours. When the sun went down I got COLD!!!
The next day we went to the park. It is a tropical rain forest with a canopy walkway. Don't tell Mark but I was walking on the top of the trees. It was amazing and beautiful and scary all at the same time. It is the only canopy walk way in all of Africa and one of only 4 in the world. It is right outside Cape Coast so we did the whole thing in two days. The travel time was about 3 1/2 hours by tro-tro. It was absolutely spectacular!

Myrte's Gone
We came back from the Park on Friday night. When I was in bed Myrte came and we had the following conversation:
M: "I'm leaving tomorrow."
F: "I know and you'll be back on Wednesday."
M: "No, I won't I'm not coming back."
F: "Oh yes you are!"
Myrte then laughed and explained that she really isn't coming back. Last I knew she was going to check out her two options on her next placement, come back and think it over. Instead, she decided to take her things, go to the one that interests her most and only if that doesn't work out go check on the second. So, instead of 3 more weeks she was leaving the next morning at 6:00 am. I said ok well then you have to wake me up so I can cry with everybody else when you leave. I then was wide awake thinking about where will she be?, will she be ok?, what if something should happen? I then thanked God that I am not a real mother or I would be a wreck. I was able to calm down by deciding what motherly advice and instructions I would give to her before she left. When I woke up the next morning, I couldn't help myself I kept following her around. I told her she had to memorize Evans phone number. If she needs any help or has any problems she must call Evans immediately. He has a motorcycle and will come to wherever she is to rescue her. (I'll be a few hours or days behind on buses). She laughed and said she would. I also told her to send Brother Evans, JoAnna's and my phone numbers to her parents so they can call us if they don't hear from her. So, Myrte's real mom be sure to ask for the phone numbers and if she has memorized Brother Evans number yet.
This morning when it was time for her to go there was not a dry eye in the house. I will see Myrte again before she leaves when she is traveling and relaxing on the beach. The children won't though, so we all cried and were sad. I then went back to bed. The children are better now and so am I.

Refrigerator
Mark, what is in your refrigerator? Ask Mari to clean it out and buy some food to eat! Also, my phone died in the middle of my talk with my mom so that's why you couldn't reach me on Thursday. It should be fixed and ready for me to pick up today so I'll be able to be reached again.

End
This is the longest post and has been possible because Anne Christien and I are in Accra at a place called Busy Internet. It is the busies place in town because it has the fastest speeds. Using the intenet here is the same as the DSL line at my house. I can read my email, type and actually get things done. It is nice. Best fo all, when we leave here we are going to an Obruni restaurant that is a salad bar! We don't eat anything that is not cooked but this salad bar has Obruni belly fresh vegetables. So, I'll leave now and write more after lunch if we get back here. Thanks for all your support, thoughts and prayers.

Hello Everyone

2006-03-08T08:37:00.000-08:00

I have lost track of what week this is but I’m still here! Last Sunday 5 of March we all went to the beach. It was wonderful. The kids loved it as much as I did. When we got there everyone wanted to hit the water so we each were responsible for one child. I took Kofi expecting him to stay close to shore since he isn’t very high (being two years old and all). We got to the water about Kofi’s thigh high and I let go and said let’s run back. I ran towards shore and he ran towards the sea. I grabbed him in time so he wasn’t knocked down. Next time I let him get knocked over trying to convince him the ocean should be respected. HA!! When I picked him up he shook off the water and laughed. This kept up until my back had enough and I gave him to Anne Christien to watch. I took a much more sensible 6 year old (Susana), who knew not to go out too far. Kofi has no fear whatsoever of the water. Frogs however are very scary creatures, go figure! Extra thanks to Anne Christien’s grandparents who sponsored our trip to the beach.

Here’s an update on the school. The Director of Education for this district visited the school. She asked a class one boy if he could spell his name no, or write his name again no. I then her assistant about class 2 and their problems caused by the lack of teacher’s. Based upon enrollment numbers there is not a lack of teachers. The problem is that the teachers are supposed to combine the smaller classes and have enough teachers for all classes. Instead they have been leaving class 1 and class 2 to volunteers to teach. Not a good practice for anyone. With the associate knowing the situation, it is now up to the director to let the new head master do his job. On a happier note, Anne Christien’s father, Theo, brought some books from an international school in Holland. The headmaster liked them and Theo will be sending the rest of the books for the school to use.

Rico, one of my SYTO daughters from Norway, is visiting us this week for a couple of days. While she is here I will go with her and her friend Alice to Cape Coast and to a National Park. I’ll tell you about it next week after we return. It is the same place Myrte, Anne Christien, Theo and Sanders (Anne Christien’s beau) went last week. They said it was very beautiful but there were no wild animals.

Mother Sylvia’s daughter, Jacklyn, and her grandson, Isaiah are now living at the home. Jacklyn will be going to school in September so Isaiah will be staying with Sylvia. Jacklyn is a big help to her mother and Isaiah is as cute as can be. When he first met me he kept staring and staring. I’m the first obruni he’s ever seen. We now see each other and laugh at how funny I look! He let’s me hold him but like all babies prefers mama to anyone. This morning he rubbed my skin and looked at his hand to see if the strange white stuff would come off. Luckily for me it didn’t. Kofi has been very good with him. Kofi has always been the baby who gets everything. Now Isaiah grabs things away from Kofi. But amazingly Kofi lets him! Kofi also comes to watch when Isaiah is getting his bath because Isaiah cries. Kofi watches to make sure Jacklyn is not hurting his little friend. It is very cute!

When Theo and Sanders left, some of the children cried. The first one was Justice. I asked him, “Are you going to hug Mr. Theo good-by?” He answered, “Yes, but I have something in my eye.” He was trying his best to not cry but those darn tears showed up any way. Father John gave Theo a hug around the legs trying to hide his face because he had also started to cry. By the time Theo left, at least half the children were crying. Luckily for me, it only lasted a little while. Then life was back to normal. When it is my turn to leave, I know I’ll be a blubbering fool! At least I won’t be alone!

Nate, I saw your post. So your baby is Conner and Austin finally gets a brother. Congratulations to all! Send my love to Carrie. Tell her to wait until after May 12th to deliver so I can be home for Conner’s arrival.

Oh by the way for as little as 3,000 US dollars you can be a 40% owner in a gold mine in Liberia. No really, I met a guy who is a Liberian refugee and he told me he is now an orphan but luckily he still holds the title to his dead father’s gold mine. So since I don’t have the money to help him get his gold, I’m giving all of you this wonderful opportunity. It is sometimes amazing how stupid and gullible everyone here thinks I am. Oh well, you can’t blame a guy for trying!

Thanks Wayne and Carol! And Clark Roushey too!

Soo-Hyun, what are you doing reading this? You should be studying! Get back to work.

Water Filter Picture

2006-03-03T03:36:00.000-08:00

Here's the new water filter and the children enjoying the taste!

Week 4

2006-02-25T07:43:00.000-08:00

Word to the wise, saying to a Ghanaian man, "You're full of shit. Yes, s-h-i-t, shit." is not the best way to make friends or influence people. Yes, I did it. No, it did no good. I told it to the teachers. These teachers are teachers only in title not in reality. The school day begins at 8:00 and teaching should start by 8:20 after assembly and attendance. The bums rarely start before 8:45. The 1/2 hour break
at 10:00 is usually 45 minutes. The 1/2 hour break at noon lasts until 1:30 when the school day is over. I was in the second grade class where 25% of the students
could not write their name. In this same class 100% of the students do not recognize the lower case letters of the alphabet. But still telling the teachers who keep asking me to "motivate" them (give them money), that they are full of shit was not the best move. I would love to motivate them the way my dad always said, "with a good swift kick in the arse". So, I'm probably not welcome back at the school. Oh well, I've been kicked out of school before!

On the bright side, the work on the bathroom has started. It was scheduled to be done this weekend but the contractor got sick. Also the students have all been given 4 exercise books. I'm so glad Rose wasn't there when the children got their books. I practically cried and Rose would have been balling her eyes out. Then, I wouldn't have been able to hold back the tears. The children were so excited and so happy to get their books for writing their lessons. First the whole school clapped for me, then they said, "God Bless you" three times and finally each student thanked me individually when they got their books. But the biggest impact was the look on their faces and the joy they showed at having received their exercise books. These are the books they will write their lessons into --- math, English, writing not something good. Luckily, this happened before my proving to the bums that I know how to spell. There is a picture coming of the students and the exercise books to come at a future date, hopefully before I get home!

It has taken 40 minutes and I'm still not logged into the blogspot, so I don't know if you will get to see any of this. I hope so. I walked to the internet cafe, got to talk to Mark for a little bit when my phone crapped out. I haven't been able to check
my email so don't be angry if you are waiting for a reply. I'll try my email again next week. The response right now is so slow, I'm going to try this and then head back home. Today is not my day for electronic gadgets.

Picture - Myrte

2006-02-18T10:13:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture of Myrte for her mom and grandmother.

Picture - Me doing Laundry!

2006-02-18T10:09:00.000-08:00

Oh no, it happened. I had to do my laundry. Since I'm not allowed to pay Sylvia, I had to do my own laundry. Luckily, Myrte, Patience and Suzanna are all helping.

Picture -- Children's Bathroom

2006-02-18T10:01:00.000-08:00

Here is the outside of the building. If you look closely, you'll see there are gaps between the outside walls and the roof. These are now going to be completed.

The second picture is of the toilet. As you can see there is a hole without a toilet. This will soon be completed also.

The bathside of the building is complete except for the roof section. Windows and screening will be added so it is not too hot inside.

Picture - Our Home

2006-02-18T09:58:00.000-08:00

This is the orphanage home. My room is the window to the left of the door with the three plants under it. I have a second window on the patio on the left for a nice cross breeze.

Picture - First Aid Items

2006-02-18T09:54:00.000-08:00

Here are the first aid items and malaria medicines purchased.

Pictures --- New Bath Stuff

2006-02-18T09:42:00.000-08:00

Here's everyone with their new buckets, sponges, soap and containers.

Week 4

2006-02-18T04:23:00.000-08:00

Well I can’t believe I’ve been here a month already. At times I think I got here yesterday and at other times I thin I’ve been here forever. As always, pictures are once again promised and not delivered.

Here are some funny things that have happened:

*) Yesterday Anne-Christien and Myrte did not go to school because the students had a field day and the teachers were in a meeting. A child about 4 years old came to school because there were no white people around. She then saw me, got huge eyes and ran home. I was told that is afraid of the white people and only came to school because my daughters weren’t there. So instead of two young small people a big huge one shows up! Luckily, she didn’t cry she just ran for the hills!

*) When the children play soccer, the goalie takes off his shoes and uses them for gloves. Hey everyone knows the goalie is allowed to catch the ball and to do so a person needs gloves. What else are flip-flops for?

*) When I go to Accra I take a tro-tro to Kanechie market. When looking for the tro-tro I asked the mate is the tro-tro to Kimchi market? Kimchi is spicy cabbage eaten by my Korean kids David and Soo-Hyun.

*) Today I saw a white person and yelled, “Hey Obruni!” He didn’t turn around but I still laughed.

*) Fufu is a staple in the Ghanaian diet. It can be made out of yams, cassava and mixed with plantain. First the vegetables are boiled until done. Then they are pounded with a big stick. When I tried to do the pounding, all the children from the orphanage and their 20 or so friends that were visiting from the village stopped to watch. They have never seen an obruni pounding fufu. So ever the ham, I started dancing and singing “fufu dancing, fufu dancing, fufu dancing” in time with my pounding. Everyone laughed hysterically including the mothers. When I turned over the job, Prince did a little fufu dancing and we all laughed. Helen, beware when next I see Frank I will teach him the fufu dance.

Valentines Day

2006-02-14T12:47:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone. Village life is wonderful. Going into Accra is quite a journey! First you walk the 40 minute trail to the highway. You wait until a tro-tro has room to pick you up. You pay 2500 cedis (about 0.30 USD) for the trip to Kasoa. In Kasoa you change to another tro-tro to Kamiche market in Accra. This one costs about 5000 cedis and takes about 40 minutes.

A tro-tro is an independently owned and run public transportation like a bus. It has a driver and a mate. The mate collects the money and talks to the driver. He also yells out the location the tro-tro is headed so you know which tro-tro to get into. I’ll try to describe the typical tro-tro. You take a mini-van that is about 10 years old. You weld a new door mount that is held onto the new door runner in the ceiling. You then add an extra seat across. You now have a mini-van that seats 4 people across. You sit on this and wait until it is full. Of course there is no air conditioning and everyone has been walking just as you have so we are all hot and sweaty and sitting as close as possible. Children ride free when on their parents’ laps so sometimes there are 6 people in one aisle. It gets better when we drive because you have open windows. However, now your knees are hitting the seat in front of you at every bump in the road of which there are thousands. The ride ends at your destination and you have just traveled from the village to Accra in 1 ¾ hours for less than $1.00!

Last weekend Myrte, Anne-Christien and I went to see the small village where Brother Evans grew up. We had the above ride into Accra followed by another 2 tro-tros for another 1 ½ hours of travel time. Twice I was lucky enough to share my foot space with the spare tire. Brother Evans’ childhood home is in the Eastern Region of Ghana. It is very tropical, green and beautiful. We met his mother and step-father. We saw the home he grew up in; the river where he fetched water as a boy; and the primary and JSS schools he attended. He kept saying how much closer the river is now then when he was a child fetching water. Most people still use the river for both their drinking and bathing water.

The soil there is incredibly rich and everything grows. We saw cocoa trees and the inside of the pod. You can eat the membrane around the cocoa seed. It tastes very good. We also saw a cassava plant harvested. When the cassava tree is about 9 feet tall, it is cut down. At this age it is about 3 or 4 fingers in circumference. It is the root that is harvested and eaten. The farmer then just cuts a 2 foot length of the fallen tree and plants it. Then it takes root and grows. We even saw some cassava wood that was intended to be fire wood in a pile that was sprouting. Amazing for a desert rat like me!

The difference between where we are which is coastal savannah and Evans’ home town which is tropical forest is comparable to the difference between Tucson and Flagstaff HUGE!!! It is amazing that we changed environments so completely in such a small amount of time and distance.

I found out that Stephen and Benjamin are biological brothers so no wonder I was so confused earlier! I sometimes do as my mother did when we were growing up; I look at one child and have to go through the list of names to get to the right one. The kids just laugh at me. (Sound familiar mom?)

Happy Valentines Day to one and all. Myrte and Anne-Christien made valentines cards for all the children last night. Today they will give the cards to the kids after school.

Week 3

2006-02-09T15:05:00.000-08:00

First to catch up on the two children I couldn't describe:

Benjamin – He is very much like Stephen so I use to get them confused. Benjamin will sit for hours working on a word seek puzzle. He likes to study and learn everything he can.

Justice – He speaks English just fine. He is aptly named. Whenever there is an injustice you will find him ready to fight. The other day he came charging across the compound chasing a group of village children. I asked him what was going on and he said, “They are trying to sneak around and watch us bathing.” I agreed that was a terrible offense but told him not to throw rocks. So, he waited until he was on the other side of the bushes to throw the rock at the “bad kids”.

I’m turning into a Ghanaian or at least I’m trying. I was at Busy Internet in Accra a few days ago. I had change of 500 cedis coming and the man was hemming and hawing because he didn’t have my change so I said, “Then give me 1,000 cedis.” I had noticed that I had already paid more than the locals for printing so requesting the extra nickel in change really wasn’t such a big thing.

Here is a list of things we have done already since being here. By we, I mean everyone who has given me money before I left, Mark, who will never get over giving me money, and me.

PURCHASED TO DATE
*) Buckets, bowls, sponges and soap for each child
*) 6 bicycles for the school teachers
*) First Aid kit
*) House shoes for all the children
*) Water for one month
*) Nutritious food (fruits, vegetables, fish, eggs, peanuts) for the children
*) Motorcycle for Brother Evans
*) Motorcycle insurance and personal accident insurance for medical expenses in case of an accident
*) Phone minutes for Brother Evans and Sister Sylvia
*) Screens at the home have been replaced
*) New Big bowls for doing laundry
*) Digital Camera (to be mailed)
*) Used lap top (to be mailed)

STILL TO BE DONE

*) Dining table and benches for eating and after school homework
*) Remodel outside kitchen to have windows with screens, tables, shelves, higher ceiling
*) Complete the children’s toilet
*) Provide funds so chief’s house can have one room and one meeting room completed
*) Hand pumps instead of buckets to get water from tanks
*) Installation of above hand pumps
*) Ceramic Water Filter
*) Material for school uniforms for next year
*) Trip to the beach on March 4 or 5 for whole family

Thanks to all for your help. If you haven't looked at it yet, click on the Donations Request link on the side. If you need more information contact Mark.

Week 2

2006-02-07T12:58:00.000-08:00

I am at the internet café across from the Liberian refugee camp. Sister Sylvia thinks I should take a taxi from the village to here but it costs 60,000 cedis which is way too much money to waste. My daughters think I should walk the whole way from the village and back home again. I did walk the whole way here. It took about 75-90 minutes. (In case you can’t hear it, Mark is cheering right now.) I will take a taxi back home though for 30,000 cedis. By the end of my stay I may be walking both directions but not now.

Week 2 at the home has ended and all is wonderful! The children are great. This Sunday a photographer came and took a family photo when everyone was dressed in their church clothes. It looks great! I’ll get this picture uploaded when I can with the names of all. For now, I’ll try to capture a little of the children’s personalities for you.

T H E B O Y S

Kofi – is the son of Mother Beatrice. He is a typical 2 year old. It’s his way or you are wrong! He wants to do everything himself and everything that all his older brother and sisters can do. When they go to school, he’ll walk into a class, sit quietly and listen. After that is too boring he’ll get up and walk back home. The school to the home is very close and the mother’s can see where he is going and when he is coming back. When he goes to school he will be very prepared. He is learning both Fante (spelling?), the native language of this village, and English from all the volunteers.

Justice – He is very quiet so I don’t really know him as well as the others. Writing this has made me realize that I need to spend more time with Justice and Benjamin. He is very polite and always “minds his manners” (that was for you Rose!). The children are supposed to offer their food to us before beginning to eat. We are then to thank them and tell them to eat it. Justice rarely forgets to do this. Father John rarely does this.

Father John – Yes, his name is Father John. He was named after a Catholic priest hence the name. When I was first here it was very hard not to laugh when I heard a little short mischievous 8 year old boy being called Father John. Now it is as normal a name as Florence. This is a typical Father John story. One day after school an older girl from grade 6 came over to the house asking for her money. Mother Sylvia asked what money she was talking about. The girl said she had given Father John some candy to sell and she wanted her money. The girl thought Father John would sell the candy to the Obrunis, the white people. Of course he didn’t. He ate the candy and had no money. Mother Sylvia told the girl she should have better sense than to give that boy candy.

Benjamin – He and Justice are buddies and hang out together most of the time. I’m not sure how much English he knows versus how shy he is. I’m going to spend more time with these two boys this week.

Prince – He is a very good little artist. His drawings are very detailed and good for his age. He is also a master manipulator!!! He has a beautiful face with expressive eyes that he knows how to use. He can get teary eyed if that will serve his purposes to get the volunteers worried about him. He can also get his sister Patricia to do his work for him. So, it’s not just Obrunis that are charmed. He also likes to test the limits set by his mother knowing that the volunteers will be upset if he is spanked. He’ll steal your heart before you even realize it’s gone!

Stephen – He is the oldest boy. He speaks English very well so he can interact with all of us easily. He is very smart and wants to learn. That is when he is not playing soccer. A boy has to have priorities you know. He is the natural leader and organizer of family games. He taught us the Ghanaian version of musical chairs. There is one less chair than there are people. Every 3 people are named a fruit (banana, pineapple, orange, mango, etc.). The person in the middle, who does not have a seat, will name one to all of the fruits. The people whose fruits are called must get up and change chairs. The one left without a chair is now in the middle and calls the next group. It was very fun for all ages.

T H E G I R L S

Suzanna – She is a little 6 year old sweetheart. When we were walking from the village up to the main road, she kept trying to carry my purse for me. She is 6 years old and is a small girl but she would gladly have carried my purse on the whole 40 minute walk. She was walking with me because she had just helped with my laundry. Her mother does her laundry but she helped me do mine!

Regina – She has a laugh that lights up her whole body with joy. It’s infectious. I start smiling even though I have no idea what was just said. She has the same body type as my niece Lexi. She’s tall, thin and muscular. She’s absolutely gorgeous. She is also kind to her baby sister. At bath time she helps Suzanna carry her bucket from the water tank around to the back of the house for bathing.

Patricia – She will do her brothers’ work for them before finishing her own whenever they ask. The other day I had to stop and tell her she was being too nice. She had to let Prince do his own chores. She is the quietest of the girls but still a little treasure.

Patience – She is the oldest child, she just turned 12 last week. She is tall and maturing into a young woman. From a picture you might think she is older, but talking to her and seeing her interacting with her siblings she is still a child. As the oldest girl she has a lot of responsibilities around the house. However, she must go to school and do well at that also. At the end of the day you can find her playing singing and hand clapping games with Patricia. The intricacies and changes in the patterns amaze me. They’ve tried teaching me some songs to peals of laughter all around. I almost have the most basic one that Suzanna mastered years ago.

Footpath from Village to Main Road

2006-01-28T12:29:00.000-08:00

More School Pictures

2006-01-28T12:27:00.000-08:00

More School Pictures

2006-01-28T12:19:00.000-08:00

Pictures of School, Pupils, Teachers and Playground

2006-01-28T12:14:00.000-08:00

Pictures of Children's Kitchen and Bathroom

2006-01-28T12:08:00.000-08:00

More Pictures

2006-01-28T11:54:00.000-08:00

The Madame who started the foundation and a better picture of my daughters.

Pictures

2006-01-28T11:40:00.000-08:00

Here are two pictures of some of the houses in the village.

Here is the school currently being used for the primary students. When the new school is completed this will become a vocational school.

Here are my two African "daughters" Myrte and Anne Kristen.

Week 1 at the Home

2006-01-28T08:57:00.000-08:00

I have been at the orphanage home for one week now. It is HOT, HOT, HOT and HUMID, HUMID, HUMID and did I mention HOT? So, what I've been doing is sweating and sitting and talking and talking and talking. I will try to upload some pictures from Brother Evans. In Ghana, people of your own generation are referred to as Brother or Sister, the generation of your parents are your Aunties and Uncles. Brother Evans is also the papa to the children since he is the male who provides the financial support for the children. His degree is in social work. He has decided to volunteer 10 years to help the children and then go get a job where he can make money and start his own family.

I'm not the best writer but I'll try my best to describe what I've seen and life here.

First the small village is between Accra and Cape Coast close to Kasoa. You can try to find these I don't know where they are myself. The village is also about 15 miles in from the sea so we get all the dust and humidity without the beach. We are planning a trip to the beach one day though. After you pass through Kasoa you turn onto a dirt road that would be unpassable during or right after a rain. It is rough and rutted. Since we are driving in cars, not trucks, we scrape the bottom every so often. After about 45 minutes on this road we arrive at the orphanage.

The orphanage compound is on the outskirts of the village. The village itself has the traditional mud huts with thatched roofs. There are approximately 1200 people in the village and surrounding area. The children from the village and the home go to the primary school that is in the compound. The school was built by the same foundation that has the home. There is a new school being built that will be the primary school. The building currently used for the primary school will become a vocational school for older children from the villages to learn carpentry, sewing, masonry etc.

I am living at the home with two young women (18 and 19 years old) from Holland named Myrte and Anne Kristen. (Sorry for the spelling.) I have my own room and bed. My two "daughters" share a room and each have their own beds. There is a bathroom inside the home for the two orphanage mothers Sylvia and Beatrice and the volunteers to use. It has a toilet that you flush with a bucket of water. It has a shower stall where you take your bucket bath. It is the most luxurious bathroom in the village. (In reality the mothers do not use this bathroom it is only used by the volunteers.) Sylvia is the hardest working person I have ever met in my life. This includes both my workaholic husband and eldest sister! She is on the go from 5 am until 8 pm every day. Cooking, cleaning, washing clothes, looking after the children, going to the market, etc. You name it, Sylvia does it. Beatrice is also non-stop busy. Sylvia cooks inside the house for the volunteers on a gas stove with a cylinder for fuel. Beatrice cooks for the children over a fire outside. I've suggested that when we are eating the same items only one of them cook in one spot but that is not the way it is done. They must do things as they are told and as they know so . . . . .

The children in the home are wonderful. They range from age 6 to age 12 with a 2 year old son of Beatrice also staying here. They are happy, healthy and oh so eager to learn. There were two previous volunteers from Holland who have left. We were writing them letters. The typical letter went as follows:

Dear Kim and Pieter,
How are you? How are your parents? I am fine. I want a reading book. God Bless you. Are you coming back to Ghana? When you get alot of money please buy me something. Love From, name of child

The children have photos of Kim and Pieter and enjoy showing them to us and telling us about Kim and Pieter. I am constantly amazed at how strong the children are. I look at their little bodies and am amazed by their muscles! When you read about their day you will understand why they are so muscular.

Typical weekday in the life of the orphanage children:
*) Wake up at 5 am. Do their morning chores. All children (except the two year old who follows his brothers around trying to help) have a job. They sweep the inside of the house, the patio where we eat and the compound itself. They must sweep the compound to not get a layer of leaves where insects or snakes could hide.
*) After their morning chores are complete, they go to the water tank ( a big under ground cement tank) and using a bucket draw up the water they need for their bath. Six year old Suzanna stands on her tippy toes and bends over at the waist to reach down in and get the water. She amazes me. Once they have enough water in their bucket, they go around to the back of the home for some privacy and take their bucket bath. They they hang their towels and wash cloths on the line to dry. They now dress in their school uniforms.
*) Once they are dressed for school they eat their breakfast. They give their dirty dishes to one child to do the clean up. (Jobs change weekly so everyone learns how to do everything. (I'm sure Suzanna does not do dishes because she is not tall enough to reach!)
*) The school day is from 8:00-1:30 with two breaks. During the breaks the children play and go home to eat or drink. There is no water and no bathroom at the school. Children who live far from the school must just wait until they get home to get a drink of water.
*) After school the children come home and change into their home clothes. They hang their school uniforms on the line to air out and be fresh for the next school day. They eat their lunch and then play until 4:00.
*) At 4:00 they can start reading and writing with the volunteers. Unlike the children, after being at school all morning we need a break! Myrte and Anne Kristen thought they were going to be working at an orphanage. They are but they are also teaching Class 1 (same as our first grade). However in with class 1 is the nursery age children. Try teaching first grade students when you don't know their language and their younger brothers and sisters are also in the class moving around or crying.
*) Back to the orphanage children. They read and write with us. They then have their evening meal. After eating they do their night time chores. Again the sweeping, dusting and dishes.
*) Lastly, they draw their water and have their evening baths. They play and relax until 7:30 when their mothers send them to bed for the night.

Yes, the children bathe twice a day and draw their bath water into their buckets to do so. The morning bath is because everyone knows it is important to be clean and neat for school. The evening bath is to wash off the dirt from playing all day and be nice and cool for the night's rest. Kofi, the two year old, also bathes twice but his mother helps him both times. Suzanna, the next youngest at age 6, takes one bath by herself and her mother helps her with the other one. This way the mothers are sure she is nice and clean and knows how to wash herself.

On Saturday the day begins the same but instead of going to school the weekly laundry is done. The children draw the water for their laundry and hand wash their own clothes. They wash their house clothes, their bedding, their towels and school uniforms. Sylvia washes for herself and the volunteers. We will learn how to be of some help soon. Beatrice washes the kitchen towels etc., as well as her clothes and her son's clothes. In addition to laundry the weekly cleaning is also done, the floors are washed, the windows wiped down, any extra cleaning that needs doing is done on Saturday. After the chores are complete Saturday is a day of playing.

On Sunday the day begins the same with chores and a bath followed by dressing for church. A previous volunteer sent money for new church clothes and all the children look so very cute and smart in their Sunday best. My daughters have pictures from last Sunday so I'll upload a picture later since they are not with me at this internet cafe. Last Sunday Kofi was the last one dressed and looked so funny and cute marching ahead to lead the way taking Myrte and Anne Kristen to church. His mothers and I laughed and laughed. I will attend church this Sunday. Last Sunday I was busy talking with the mothers about things they need for the home.

After church the children change into their home clothes, read, write and play. They run around and don't even know I am burning up just watching them!

I am going to have another blog of items needed by the village, school and home. Basically it is cash money. Everything can be purchased here in Ghana. The prices on everything I have seen is less in Ghana than in the US with the exception of electronics. Cell phones, digital cameras and computers cost more here. Everything else costs less. For example, I can buy a toothbrush for about ¢3,000 approximately 0.35 US Dollars. It costs $245 USD to ship 70 pounds to Ghana through the US mail. Using any other shipping method is more expensive. So, unless it is something free and light, money into my account is best. I'll point to my new blog from this blog as soon as it is up. In the meantime, start saving your money for me.

Change in Plans

2006-01-18T10:35:00.000-08:00

Guess what? I'm not going to Kumasi, I am going to Gomoa Nkwantanag. I have no idea how to pronounce it. Tina, the SYTO coordinator, asked me if I would go here when she saw my face when she said that the orphans did not always get enough to eat. She knows a Big Mama will feed the children. There are 2 of my babies going here also. They will keep the kids bellies full. Tina asked me to go to work at the school. The elementary school has 3 teachers instead of 6 and almost no supplies. So my girls will be working at the orphanage and I will be at the school.

Here's what I know about Gomoa.
*) It is somewhere between Accra and Tema.
*) It is a small village of about 150-200 people.
*) The only electricity is in the orphanage and it is solar powered. Hopefully, there is sufficient lighting etc. but??
*) The water is taken from a pump in the village.
*) Twice a week we walk to the market to purchase food. It is about 3 miles round trip and you are carrying groceries on the return journey.
*) To get to the internet you walk to the small town also.
*) The only people who speak English are the teachers who come from another town. I know much less Twi than either David or Soo-Hyun knew English when them came to Tucson. I will be living with a woman who speaks no English. So, this will be my chance to feel what my ex-change students have gone through coming to Tucson.
*) The children are suppose to learn English from their teachers. So they will have some Engligh but very few if any go to school beyond grade 6.
*) There is no shower only a bucket for washing.

So, instead of the big city with all the conveniences I will be in a small village with no modern anything. It is exciting and crazy and stupid all at the same time. I told Tina she could just send the junk I brought and I would still go to Kumasi, but she said they really needed teachers here and the place in Kumasi has alot of support already. Soooo I'm off to Gomoa. Until today, I did not even know what the name of the place was.

On Friday we leave for our placements. Tina said that the first week is the worst. The poverty is incredible where we're going. There may be only one book for the whole class to use for reading or math or whatever the subject is. She said we should just copy the assignment or reading material onto the board so all the kids can see it.

Anybody want to guess what I'm going to be requesting?? Not yet, my plan is to give the teachers everything I currently have from home to use. Then I will wait at least two weeks seeing how the teachers work before doing anything else. I have heard some horror stories about some teachers in remote areas. We'll see what I encounter.

Orientation at SYTO

2006-01-18T10:23:00.000-08:00

Today is day 3 of the orientation so I'll give you the highlights so far:
*) I'm the oldest person of the group by enough to be the mother of all. Many of the volunteers are right out of high school and having a year off before starting college. They're so young to be so far away from home.
*) We had health and safety tips. Eat only cooked food, drink only bottled water, use sunscreen and mosquito repellent, sleep under a mosquito net.
*) We had a day going through the main market in Accra. The isles are small as can be at times only wide enough for one person to go around a corner and there were 16 of us staying together. All the Ghanaians were yelling hello, welcome, where are you from. I was give the name "Big Mama" by one vendor. I loved it. Whenever anyone would ask me my name from then on I answered Big Mama.
*) We went to the art center and saw drumming and dancing. The dancer would do a pelvic thrust at the end of his dance in front of the woman who he was dancing in front of. When he got to the end of his dance in front of one of "my babies" I put my hat in front of her eyes so she did not see. Everyone laughed. He then came to dance for me. When he thrust his "manhood" I thrust back my "womanhood" (my chest since I was seated). Again alot of hooting and laughing by all. The dancer would get different people to dance with him, I declined only because it was too hot. When he was dancing with one of "my babies" when he did his thrust I stood up and spanked his butt with my hat not my hand. (With as cute as his dancer butt was that was showing real restraint.) He asked me didn't I want him to dance with my daughters and I said not that way with my babies only my older girls. Of course the men watching loved the fact that he was reprimanded by Big Mama for his actions. Many of the men of course want to date and marry these beautiful rich white women and go home with them to Holland, Norway, Belgium, etc.. I told all the men to have their mother's call and talk to me and we would discuss whether or not they were allowed to date my daughters. No mothers called but one man did show up that evening wishing to talk to me. I was too tired so he didn't get the chance.
*) Today we had orientation in the language Twi. I am oh so not a linguist and oh so very lost! We then had a lesson in drumming and native dancing. There were no pelvic thrusts in this dance. I believe the other dance was meant to be a man's dance to prove his manlihood or to try to find a love. SYTO would certainly not have that taught to the volunteers!
*) The orientation is going very well overall. It is fun. I like everyone here.

I'm Here

2006-01-15T07:47:00.000-08:00

I arrived in Ghana Saturday morning about 1:00am for a total of 30 hours of travel time. All went well but I was exhausted. I am in a dormitory setting with 3 other young women. Two are from Norway and one is from the Netherlands. They are very young and sweet and kind.

Here are a few funny things I have seen or heard:

*) "Excuse me, I don't mean to be rude or anything but doesn't SYTO . . . ." and I started laughing. Rico, my roommate, was referring to the fact that I am now only 35 years old because that is the oldest age for the SYTO program. Yes, I am old enough to be the mother of all my roommates. I have told them what I can but remind them that I have only been in the country for 24 hours longer than they have so I really don't know anything.

*) Sitting on the terrace at the Pink Hostel I heard a vehicle with speaking coming out of the megaphones mounted to the top. I assumed it was a political message of some kind. When I saw the van it had the words in English about some medicine that cures "Worms, seizures, stomach problems, asthmas as well as a good laxative". This is the modern day equivalent of the charlatan on the carriage selling miracle cures.

*) A little girl, aged 5-7 I guess, was proudly walking down the street wearing her mother's high heel shoes.

I have also seen many interesting sights from the patio.
*) Ladies walking down the street carrying their loads on their heads (bananas, onions and things in bags that I couldn't see)

*) Beautiful, colorful clothing on many people.

*) Boring, western clothing on many people also.

*) Taxis especially, but almost all cars, beep when they see people on the street. (No, not me I am sitting on the patio, native people). I've decided the beep means a car is coming step out of the way. Taxi beeps also mean do you want a ride?

Tomorrow starts the SYTO orientation, I'll fill you in on that later.

P.S.
*) Yes, I realize I really am a geek because I have to use bullets to write notes.

*) I can definitely get pictures developed and placed onto a CD so I will have pictures LATER. I'm saving the two disponsable cameras I have until I find more or until I get to the orphanage, whichevert comes first.

Thanks Friends

2006-01-10T21:27:00.000-08:00

If you ever want to be treated like a queen, let everyone know you're leaving the country. In this last week I've been given books, flowers, candy, money, lunches, hugs and kisses. It has been wonderful! Thanks for these is sent out to Sunny, Pamala, Mari, Rose, Joy and Linda.

Also thanks for listening to everyone I ran into who listened to me freaking out about going away and being gone for 4 months. I can't put down all your names because there are so many of you and some of you were too scared to tell me your name. Just a hint, don't chase after people asking them their names, most scared people can run super fast. Thanks any way.

Two Days to Lift-Off

2006-01-09T21:58:00.000-08:00

I'm out of here in two days. Yes, I'm scared and freaked out and anxious and excited and thrilled all at the same time.

Thanks to Pamala I'm all packed. At one point Pamala said to me, "If you just leave these pencils behind, I have everything else packed." I replied, "But what about this?" We both started laughing because two suitcases were full and we hadn't packed any of MY things (like clothes) yet. So, I'm heading out with 3 suitcases to check, one carry on and one full purse.

Luckily, I'm being met at the airport in Accra and then at the bus station in Kumasi so I won't have to lug this stuff by myself.

I have nothing else to write because I've lost my brain. I hope to find it in Accra. If you should find it, please return since it may be old but its been rarely used. One of my favorite sayings goes "Of all the things I've ever lost, I miss my mind the most."

Collected Items

2006-01-04T23:58:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture of items I've collected.
Now all I have to do is get them
packed!

Going to Africa

2005-12-29T16:23:00.000-08:00

Welcome Friends, Family and anyone who just stumbled onto this blog. I am using this blog to let everyone know about my trip to Ghana. Soooo, I'll start from the beginning. For many years now I have toyed with the idea of going to Africa to work with children in need. This has come up so often that Mark has told me to go if I need to go. That comment was made at least a year ago. I have had many mixed feelings about going. Will I be able to help? Will I be able to handle the poverty? the heartache of seeing children in need? What if a child should die? These were all reasons to not go but I keep coming back to the fact that I truly want to go to Africa and try to help. I want to hug and hold and love the children who need this. So, while talking to my friend Phyllis I heard about her friends Monica and Bosco who are in Kenya. Here is their blog http://livingourpurpose.blogspot.com/ I started looking at different organizations and finally decided on the same one used by Monica and Bosco, Experiential Learning International, ELI. For more info go to their website at http://www.eliabroad.com/index.html

I chose ELI because
1) Monica and Bosco had been happy with them.
2) They were the least expensive organization I found. Yes, you have to pay to volunteer. Why? If you had limited funds who would you choose to support A) a child in need or B) a volunteer from abroad? That's a no brainer.
3) They were a non-government organization. I don't want to be responsible for representing or defending my country.
4) They are not run or based upon a religion. I do not want to have to be part of a particular belief to be able to help. And I do not want the children to have to have a particular belief to receive help. (Rather ironic that the orphanage I was assigned is definitely a religious organization, but more on the orphanage later).
5) I got a very good feeling when talking to Kevin and Raissa from ELI.
6) I could choose the length of time of the program. I think Peace Corps is a wonderful organization but I wouldn't want to be away from Mark for that long.

After choosing ELI, I chose Ghana as the country for the following reasons:
1) Ghanaians are known as the nicest people in Africa just as the Canadians are known as the nicest people in North America.
2) Ghana is a very stable country with no violent coups or warfare.
3) The official language is English. Anyone who has heard my attempts at Spanish will attest to the fact that I am not a linguist! Since I will be in Africa for only 4 months I needed an English speaking country.
4) Everyone I spoke to said the Ghanaian people are wonderful and that Ghana is the country to visit.

I filled out the ELI application and the application from the Ghanaian organization, SYTO. While waiting for my assignment I went wild buying school supplies for the children (pens, pencils, books etc.) and clothes for myself. Mark has said that ebay will now go through a slump since I have stopped making purchases. I was also collecting used clothing to bring with me. Thanks to TES and everyone else who donated clothing items. Finally, the worst thing I did was I had all the recommended vaccinations and waited. I'm not sure which was worse the shots or the waiting.

Four weeks later, I heard that I will be going to Kumasi to the King Jesus Charity Home orphanage. There are 60 children from under a year up to age 20. Kumasi is the second largest city in Ghana so my accomodations will be much nicer than I had thought. I will be sharing a room in the house of the oldest students. There is electricity, running water and indoor plumbing. I could have been stationed in a remote village with none of these amenities. I have also learned that just about anything can be purchased in Kumasi and much of it at a far better price than in the states. All the things I have been acquiring can be purchased in Kumasi! Oh well, I plan on bringing the items I have. What exactly I will be doing I will find out when I arrive. I suspect I will be helping out in the classrooms, helping with homework, helping with meals, playing games etc.. When I am there I will give you an update along with pictures.

Many people have asked me how they can help. Thank you all so very much. After I am at the Home I will know how to answer that question. I am sure there are items that can be purchased in the states and shipped more economically than they can be purchased in Kumasi. Likewise, I'm sure there are items that are most economically purchased in Kumasi. Since I do not know what is needed and where to purchase I do not want to ask for donations yet.

I have my tickets in hand. I'm leaving on 12 January 2006 from Tucson through London arriving in Accra, Ghana on 13 January. I'll be in Accra (the capital of Ghana) for a week of orientation and then I'll be off to Kumasi. I'm returning on 9 May 2006. I'll try to update this blog weekly in one of the cyber cafes in Kumasi.