August 31, 2010

Prepared by Gary

Quote for the day: “Whom have I served during my waking hours of this day.” Fr. Dave Kohner

The younger volunteers from the east coast continued the hard concrete work. No key available to get water so they pumped water out of the new septic tank. YUK, but creative. Of course it hadn’t been used yet. Another day at the library covering books for the village and its children. The children enjoyed cutting and handing over the tape to us. One girl about 11 years old would watch me so close and hand me the tape before I asked for it, I told Tim that she will be a great nurse or dental assistant because she would give the doctors their instruments before they would ask for them, and everything done with a beautiful smile. We finished up at 4pm and went over to the queens’ palace where she served us some ice cream. The children were in the door way so I motioned them in and proceeded to feed six children my ice cream. Their mouths were open like little chicks in a nest waiting their turn. They said they loved the ice cream but not near as much as I loved feeding it to them.

As I looked around at the village elders and the children’s parents, I could see the enjoyment in their faces as we worked with and played with the children. The children were having so much fun and we were working at their future library. We have been in other developing countries but I felt so much safer and more loved from the people of Ghana and especial the people of Senchi-Ferry. I could also see first hand that the Global Volunteer staff from Ghana, Esther and Amo, Katie from St. Paul and Kathleen, from Boston, truly enjoy this project, the people, the volunteers and the communities they serve.

August 30, 2010

Prepared by Carol

Quote for the day: “Accept the things to which fate binds you. And love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart. “ -Marcus Aurelius

We begin our day with a good breakfast. This is our first day of work and we are excited to begin. We arrive at the library after a walk through part of the village. The children yell “Obruni”, as we pass. Samuel is in charge of the library and shows us how to wrap books. Several people begin sanding shelves and they sand all the shelves. Samuel’s dedication to the library and the children is amazing. Kevin, Girard and Tim worked very hard on the apron and made great progress. They plan to complete it this trip!

The book wrappers are surrounded by children in a short time. They are so anxious to help and didn’t get bored handing us tape. We return to the Guesthouse for a delicious lunch of rice, Red-Red and plantain with a dessert of Oreos. Amo, Esther’s assistant, has his first Oreo; he said it made him sweat.

Then the seamstress came and people ordered dresses, shirts and bags. We return to the library to wrap books and reluctantly stop so we can go for a boat ride on the Volta River. We travel by tro-tro to the Continental Hotel to board the boat. The boat stops running at 5 pm, we are too late, maybe another day. We tour the grounds and see the crocodiles, cranes, peacocks, and monkeys. We stay and have something to drink; a very nice time and a break from our work. We return by tro-tro to the Guest house for dinner. Good food again with popcorn for dessert. We say goodnight, feeling accomplishment and ready to begin tomorrow.

August 29, 2010

Prepared by Pat

Quote for the day: “I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.” Albert Schweitzer

After a long night for Esther, waiting and picking up people from the airport at all hours, we all leave for Senchi-Ferry. It’s our first day we’re meeting the children. It’s what I’ve been waiting most to see! The drive from Accra was an eyeful and hard to look at, similar to other developing countries. But there were still smiles, warm welcomes and a sense of community. One thing that struck me was how nice and well-dressed the people looked, walking home from church: clean and polished, very nice outfits and happy. They probably walked a long distance too. There were lots of people (maybe families), gathered together. We could certainly learn from that: the respect of dressing up for church and the community time. It seemed odd to me to see so many farm animals roaming loose everywhere: lots of goats, chickens, and skinny cows. I wondered what Africa was like, or what Ghana was like 100, or 50 years ago?? How much has changed for the people who live here?

Today was about team-building. What a beautiful group of people we have on our team! We have the young, (the ages of our children), and the old, us! I think we’re going to make a great team. We’re already planning how we would like to attack the work at hand, and what kind of free time activities to do together. The exercises Esther had for us to do today were very insightful and a great way to get us all on the same page.

Our walk to the village was interesting and fun. We met lots of children along the way who came out to greet us want their picture. We were all very happy to be so welcomed! The cameras couldn’t stop clicking. I can speak for the team when I say how honored and humbled we felt to be welcomed so warmly by the chiefs, Queen Mother, the mayor and all the other dignitaries, as well as the children. I loved it!

We also got to see the library, our work site. There is a lot to do!!! But we’re determined to get it done: for the awesome community and most of all for the children!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

After a long hot night due to no power, which meant no air conditioning or fan, we had our usual breakfast with a new twist – avocado! We all love avocado so it was a welcome addition.

On the way to the work site, Kathleen and I dropped Robb at the Methodist Junior High school so he could teach his much anticipated computer lesson. During the setup, we discovered the community extension cord that we brought with us wasn’t working in the power outlet, so I went back to the guest house to get a converter. Kathleen continued on to the library and got a head start on the painting. By the time I arrived at the library, she was well on her way to completing the first coat in the foyer. After a morning of hard work the foyer as finished and we had the walls prepared in the adult library room to begin painting on Friday.

After our work projects we had a nice lunch and relaxed for an hour before going back to the Methodist school for our last day of tutorials. We had 20 kids show up and many who were showing off their computer skills after a week of practice. Some were first timers so we put them on the typing tutor program. Kathleen and Rob did reading tutorials while the kids waited for their turn on the computer. We ended the afternoon with a group photo. I was sad to see the end of this part of our volunteer mission as teaching the kids is my true passion.

Back at the guest house, we played solitaire and enjoyed teaching Amo the rules of the game so he could play on his own using his computer. We enjoyed dinner and ended the evening with a movie that Robb brought.

Quote: He who demands little gets it.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Prepared by Kathleen



Up for breakfast at 7 a.m. and today we had yummy mango added to our regular breakfast. Patty and Robb tested Kathleen’s sense of direction by having her lead the back way through the village to the library. P & K got right to work doing more filling in preparation for painting. The goal is to have the foyer all painted and clean before the next team arrives. We had a number of teenagers assist today which did help the filling and sanding go faster. Robb helped the carpenters finish the covering of the soffits with ceiling board. A good day for Robb as he was promoted to a sawing position!





In the afternoon we headed back to the school to continue with lessons. Patty worked with the kids on furthering their keyboard and mouse skills, while Kathleen had them writing a description about themselves without using their names. This was a challenge for them but it resulted in some really endearing submissions. Once the children were finished their computer practice the teachers bombarded Patty with requests for program demonstrations. They are impatient to see all that can be done with the computers.





During this time Kathleen was involved in a strenuous game of “volleyball” with the globe beach balls in the schoolyard in what seemed like 200 degree F. temperatures. During all this time Robb was over at the Methodist Junior High overseeing the exciting installation of electricity which was done at the very top of a ladder during a thunderstorm… wiring with no glove on!! It was a very proud moment when the power was turned on for the first time at the Junior High. Power was out for a short time when we go back to the guest house but we had a relaxing evening reading and chatting.





Quote: “Nobody ever drowned in their own sweat.” – Ann Landers

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Prepared by Robb

The breakfast was not the usual! Instead of the tomatoes and peppers being the eggs, it was on the outside like a happy face. We also got wheat bread. On the way to the library, we stopped at the Queen Mother’s Palace to say hello and ask for Mayor Sam. He had gone to Accra for the day but promised to stop by the guest house later.

We were extremely productive and finished priming the last room in the library. We had a lot of help from a brother and sister who worked very hard. Music was being played and they dance while upon the wooded tables. We started putting filler in the cracks. It must noted it was a very hot day and even with the windows open, no air was stirring.

The afternoon computer class brought out 14 students of various ages from 5 to 16. As soon as we got out of the taxi, the children descended upon us and carried our bags to the classroom. In setting up the computers, we must always wait for what must the only extension cord in town. Kathleen and I read and did computers.

The Mayor Senchi – Ferry stopped by to see us at the Guest House. He shared news of exciting coming events in the village.

These include:

A Circuit Court will be built in Senci Ferry.

The Chiefs are going to Accra in two weeks to meet with the Minister of Roads as well as the Minister of Lands

They are asking for the main road through the village to be paved.

They are also asking for compensation for the land taken from them in 1957

And they want funding for a new Pontoon Service to replace the canoe service.

It was great to hear about community affairs from the Mayor. After the Mayor left, the three of us had dinner with Amo. There was much discussion about the US and Canadian government and politics. It was another good day in Ghana.

“Nobody who is somebody looks down on anybody” – Margaret Deland

Monday, May 3, 2010

Prepared by Patty

Off to the worksite by taxi because of all the wet trails from the rain yesterday. Kathleen politely asked me to pass the crank to open her window. We had another productive work day of painting primer. Today the kids got a little too involved with the extra brushes we brought; they had paint from head to toe, on the wood trim, the floor, etc. so Sam decided he should put a halt to that. About mid morning I had the pleasant experience of reaching for my water in my backpack to be greeted by surprise by a large toad that was nesting in my backpack. I very appropriately screamed very loud and that had all the kids and Sam laughing. By the end of the morning, there were only 2 rooms remaining to paint.

After lunch, we prepared for our afternoon tutorials. Our plan for the week was to give the kids more practice on the computers and those waiting for their turn could join in on another activity. Today we read the book ‘One Hen’ with them which tells a story of a successful Ghanaian man who started a large business with a small loan from his mother that allowed him to buy one hen. On the way back from tutorials, Patty took a walk with Sam to visit Nursery School site that her daughter, Kelly, worked on last June to see the efforts of her labor and take pictures to send home. We finished the day with evening of dinner, conversation, and reading.

Quote: A well spent day brings happy sleep.