Monday - Week 2

Monday, January 18, 2010
Ed Collins
Yes, we started the day with breakfast and had a pleasant walk through the village. The children know many of us by name now and we can’t wait for their smiles and waves. The Ghanaian children certainly seize the day and it has become infectious.
Our aspiring nurses asked for the opportunity to visit South Senchi Ferry today and reported that it is somewhat different there. There are streams leading to the river and a lot of waterfowl, banana trees, and more traditional houses. They conducted home visits to talk to new mothers and provide medical advice. Then it was to the clinic, which is smaller than the Senchi Ferry clinic and seems to also function as a community meeting place. They shared that the day’s medical tests sadly identified a young mother as HIV positive.
Our teachers were joined by Haley, who later informed us that being with the KG class is more exhausting than spending the day at doing hard labor at the library. Pam and Haley worked together as a team in the classroom of very sleepy children. It seems the village had a false alarm about a possible earthquake the night before. Families gathered in the village at 2AM, which sounded like an adventure for the children, resulting in many kids asleep at their desks at 11AM. Jane is now the Global Volunteers Drug Education Expert – Kennedy says she has been invited back anytime to join the same class. Ellie will win the award for the teacher who knew the most children songs. No wonder her students are so well behaved.
The building of the library is moving along rapidly now. Esther has brought focus to the construction foreman and our team of volunteer workers. The walls are being skim coated, door frames are being installed, and window frames painted.
In the short time we have been here the village of Senchi Ferry has opened their hearts to us. It is a warm feeling that is difficult to describe but we all feel it as we work side by side with the local people.