PROGRAM PHOTO ALBUM
Thanks for the checking out the blog for this Global Leadership Adventures program!
Here are a few things to know and expect:
- Blog posts are written by onsite program staff and/or students and sent to our Headquarters team who will post the blog on this page.
- We typically receive 2-3 blog updates per week from each program, so please don’t be alarmed if you don’t see a blog post every day – that’s totally normal.
- Blog updates received late in the evening or overnight will be posted the following day.
- Blog updates received on weekends may not be posted until Monday.
- Due to many factors such as internet accessibility, program staff aren’t always able to send photos, so some blog posts may contain text only.
Thank you for your patience and understanding, and we hope you enjoy following along on these unforgettable adventures.
For frequently asked questions about the blogs, please visit our Program Blog FAQ page.
-The Global Leadership Adventures HQ Team
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BLOG POST FOR JULY 27
Dear GLA Ghana: Children of Africa Families,
Hello – After some flight delays, we are so glad all students have arrived!! Our morning arrivals had a nice day together and our late arrivals finally made it, and dressed in style!
We got settled into our beautiful hilltop homebase in Asitey, Odumase Krobo, Ghana. We will be busy over the next days with orientation, getting sized for Ghanaian clothes in the local style, touring the village and schools, meeting the students and teachers, and a bonfire welcome on day three.
Next we delve into teaching and construction work at several local schools. Over the next weeks we will also hike around the Boti Waterfall, make local cedi beads, make our own batik fabric, organize after school activities with the local schools every afternoon, and generally participate with local activities at homebase and in town. An exciting schedule!
Student leaders of the day will be writing a blog post every one to two days to keep you updated about all the great things they have been up to. Our schedule is packed so besides the blog we won’t be on our phones very often. We truly hope the students enjoy a break from their phones and fully immerse themselves into the life and culture of our Ghanaian village.
We have 6 staff directly with the students, plus the support of our very experienced homebase staff for cooking and cleaning, plus Aba (local administrator and chef) and Nana Ama, a local teacher and long time teaching and activities mentor to GLA, and of course the 24/7 support of the office staff. We look forward to a great program. Keep your eyes open for the first student blog!
Best,
Clint, Henry, Nana Ama, Jose Luis, Lartey, and Avi
BLOG POST FOR JULY 28
We started our day with a breakfast of pancakes, rice pudding and meat pies. Then we had a visit by a tailor and seamstress to get our measures for traditional Ghanaian clothes. When we get them back we’ll put on a fashion show with the locals!
Then we went outside for some group bonding exercises which included: Zip, Zap, Zop and a fun elimination game with a soccer ball. After those we had lunch, a Ghanaian dish called Red Red with rice and Plantains. During our break after we played card games like Uno. We met up in the common space to do “speed-friending” to get to know each other better. Then the leaders of the day, Noah and Maddy, planned games for the kids at the park for us to organize, which was Sharks and Minnows.
After games with the kids some of us got into an epic volleyball game with the local team. They were good! But we almost beat them in one game. Then we walked back to home base with the kids at sunset, and then ate dinner. Afterwards we did a fire welcoming ceremony and learned some local music.
We ended our day inside with some popcorn and picked out the fabric patterns for the Ghanaian clothing we were measured for in the morning.
Tomorrow we are off to explore Ghana some and go on a hike in a wilderness area! Then we start with our service work for the next days, teaching and construction.
– Maddy and Noah R
BLOG POST FOR JULY 29
Today we started the morning off with a tasty breakfast featuring a selection of cereals and freshly made togbee, which are a lot like doughnut holes! Afterwards, we headed out to the Boti Falls Hike featuring the Boti Waterfall. The falls are from the Ponmpon River in the Huhunya forest reserve. It was beautiful. To get there, we split off in our mentor groups on a bus ride, in which we were able to socialize and listen to music on a speaker, and also see some of the Ghanaian countryside and villages.
Upon arrival, we met a lovely tour guide who explained the history of the Boti Falls before beginning the walk. The walk was wonderful and we had many stops including mushroom Rock, Sound rock and the Boti waterfall. Oh, and we climbed a famous three headed palm nut tree too! 🌴
At the boti waterfall, we played a fun game where we tried to give each other a stick while not crossing a certain line.
We made it back to home base at 4pm where we rested and then headed out to the park.
There, we organized games of soccer and volleyball. We also played simple games with the kids.
After dinner we celebrated Aki’s birthday with a beautiful soccer field shaped cake. It was delicious. Lastly, to rest after our long hike, we watched a movie set in West Africa about a real tribe of women warriors, the Dahomey or Agojie. It is called The Woman King, set in Benin. It was interesting to see a film with locations that look like the things we are seeing here.
Tomorrow service begins! Construction and teaching for the next week.
– Alison and Alex G
BLOG POST FOR JULY 30
Today we had a breakfast of pancakes, oats and sausage. Then we went to our first day of service. We learned how to make cement blocks for the school walls. Afterwards we all went to Asitey Public School and had our first class with the kids, it went well! Then we all went to visit a school in a nearby village where some of us will also teach. From there walked home and stopped for some refreshing soda. It was nice because we got to see another part of this area also.
Then we had lunch, the famous spicy peanut butter soup with omotuo (rice balls).
After lunch we washed corn— we are preparing corn over the next few days to give as a gift to our host families! After starting that process we split into five small groups and each went to a different local house to learn Krobo and Krobo songs. We will try to all sing in Krobo in front of the local church on Sunday! We learned 2 Krobo songs, greetings and numbers. Shortly after, we went to the park and organized volleyball, kickball, jump rope, football, frisbee, and soccer games with the local children.
Then we went to dinner and had french fries, chicken, and salad. Our special activity was learning about the history of Krobo families and the famous Krobo Dipo ceremony- an initiation ceremony for teenage Krobo girls- and each student received a Krobo name based on their birth order, male and female siblings, twins, and other things.
Nyako and Angmorkwor
(Aki and Daisy! 🙂
BLOG POST FOR JULY 31
We woke up to some lovely strawberry and vanilla pancakes, eggs, and pineapple. Then, we got ready for a day of community service and bead making.
First we split into two groups. One group went off to the private school to work with a younger group of kids in a more posh part of Krobo. The other group participated in a bit of construction with one of the locals, where we mixed cement and turned it into bricks.
Next, the construction group headed to the public school, where we taught grades 2-6 in the same classes as the day before. Then, we walked home to a home cooked lunch of curry chicken and fried rice.
After, we drove to the Cedi Bead Factory, led by Mr. Cedi, whose beads are world-renowned, capped off by a gallery of pictures with him and European royalty. There, we learned about the deep culture of Cedi beads and the process behind making them. We each were able to make our own Cedi beads with different powders and glasses.
We then went to Asitey Park and played volleyball, and taught the kids how to play American football for the first time, organizing the best game of the summer so far.
We walked up the hill with the kids into a delicious pasta and corn beef and egg stew. We split up into mentor groups where we created a timeline about important events in each of our lives and got to really know each other.
We ended the night on a great note with Tuck Shop, where we were able to buy snacks, drinks, ice cream, and chocolate. Overall, we had a fun day of teaching, cultural crafting, and spending time with the local kids.
– KorKor and Madjitey
aka Lane and Jordan
BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 1
Today was our first day doing construction at the village school. Afterwards we taught summer school classes for 1st – 6th grade at the public school, and a few at another private school. We then arrived back at home base and ate waakye (hibiscus rice), beef, and noodles, some would say it’s our best meal. Eventually we went to our host families house and learned some Krobo vocabulary and songs in Krobo to sing to the local church on Sunday.
Following the host families house we went to Asitey park to organize the kids there. We started with soccer and then moved on to potato sack races where we divided into team Luis and team Avi. After the potato sack race we balanced limes on spoons and had races. Avi was the fastest!!
Then we all walked back to the house. We met on the roof to have our chow circle. We went straight to dinner after that and had fries, chicken, and oranges. Following dinner we briefly met in mentor groups to talk about how we were feeling at the halfway point in the trip. We then had a Ghanaian dance group come and preform/teach us to dance. It was definitely a highlight of the day.
– Daphne (Ayongo) and Rosa (Adjo-doe)
BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 2
Today we started the morning with community service—some of us mowed the lawn of Asitey park while others helped mix and pour concrete for a local school. After lunch, we headed to the second-largest market in the Krobo district where we split into four teams. Each group received a grocery list and 100 cedis, with just 25 minutes to find and bargain the best quality items at the lowest prices. Team Clint came out on top, but everyone did a great job, with Luis’s all-boys team finishing a close second. Later, we spent time at Asitey Park as usual, organizing games like shark and minnows, football, soccer, and volleyball with the local kids. After dinner, we rehearsed a group dance that we’ll be performing soon for the locals, and ended the night with a lecture by Papa Henry on Krobo history. Overall, it was a great day! Everyone was happy and Ghana is amazing!
Mateko and Tettey
(Alicia and Noah B)
BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 3
Hi everyone! Elena and Matthew here with today’s blog update.
We got a rare treat this morning: a little extra sleep! With no early alarm, we went into the day feeling refreshed and ready for a new adventure. Donuts for breakfast definitely helped too! The perfect start to a Sunday!
This morning we attended a church service at Assemblies of God Glorious Chapel in Asitey. It was nonstop music, dancing, clapping, singing, and an energy that fills the room. It was so joyful and absolutely unforgettable. After listening to part of the sermon, it was our turn to take the stage! We performed the two songs we had rehearsed with our host families. The crowd was so welcoming and encouraging! And as a surprise thank you, the pastor gifted each of us with a personalized mug with our English and Krobo names on it as a gift!
After lunch, we got creative with a batik fabric making workshop. Using wax stamps/templates, we designed our own fabric prints, each one completely unique. They’ll be dyed and returned to us soon, and we can’t wait to see how they turn out!
Later in the afternoon, we headed to Asitey Park, where we organized volleyball and football with the local kids!
After dinner, the night ended on a high energy note with Mind Games, a team based challenge with challenges, trivia, Heads Up, and more. Shoutout to Team Avi for taking the win!
That’s it for today! We’re feeling so grateful for the experiences we’re having here, and we’re excited for what tomorrow brings.
Sending love!
– Elena & Matthew
BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 4
Today we did construction at the village school and then taught at the public school and a few at the private school.
After lunch we talked about international development in Ghana. Then we split into groups to get ready for a debate this evening. Then we got back to choreographing a dance we will do with the locals during our farewell dance. A lot of work to choreograph 21 people!
Later in the evening we held our debate/discussion. We had 5 groups, representing the government of Ghana, 2 international companies who presented big proposals for our town, local community leaders, environmental and social groups, and local business owners. In the end the government decided to go ahead with the proposals but with a number of concessions.
PS- Here are a few more photos of our batik making as well! 🙂
BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 5
Today we started off with a delicious breakfast of togbee (sort of like doughnut holes) and fruit before starting our fifth day of service. At the worksite we mixed two bags of cement to pour as a floor for our little village school before heading to larger local public school to teach. We taught classes for two hours before heading back to home base for lunch.
After lunch we had mentor group meetings where we made playlists for each other. After that we went to our host families to learn new words such as animals, numbers (1-10), body parts and days of the week. We also gave the corn we’ve been preparing all week to the families as a token of appreciation for their help teaching us Krobo songs and words. After saying goodbye to our host families we headed to the park to organize games with the kids. At 6:00 pm we headed back to home base for dinner.
We ended the night with a guest speaker, Queen Mother, a local woman known for her contributions to the local education system, telling us her story and giving advice for our future.
Over all, we had a very eventful and joyous day and we can’t wait for tomorrow!
Alex (Awo-Doe) and Miles (Opata)
BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 6
Today we had our last day teaching and a nice farewell with the students at the schools. In the morning we created some teaching materials to leave behind in the schools, and then went to the schools.
During the afternoon we had a discussion about what we have seen and done here, and our goals for after the camp. After dinner we watched the locals perform local dances for us, then presented them with our dance and taught it to them. Then we all joined together and enjoyed dancing and a farewell evening together. Here are some photos from the day, and in the next post more photos from our last days together 🙂
BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 7
Some photos from our last days! We went to a swimming and volleyball area on the Volta river. We swam, had lunch, played volleyball, soccer and ping pong and went on a river cruise— a nice final day together and a chance to see another area of Ghana.
We stopped at a place where the locals specialized in beads, and then headed back to homebase. In the evening we had a fashion show- dressing up in our tailored local clothes for our students and locals, then had dinner and afterwards a very cultural music session, with a local group singing and playing music typical of 3 different traditions here, for local Krobo ceremonies as well as dance music from the neighboring Ewe people – a different style of dance.
It was a lot of fun! The rest of the evening was farewell activities between us, then packing for the early morning departures.
