Time Capsule Letter

Dear Ghana COA 14 Session 3,

Ladies and Declan, look how far you’ve come!! We remember looking across our table at you lot by day 3 and thinking, “Look at them…these guys are so cool…they don’t need us to interact and have fun with each other!” We really appreciated that you all supported one another, had wonderfully deep interactions with each other, made new and hopefully lasting connections and overall had fun out here.

You had a wonderful attitude coming into the trip and kept it up even when it was difficult. You faced the challenges head on-the Boti Falls hike for instance, changes in the service needs when the primary school had exams, working with kids at the nursery and doing the hike up and down, primary school construction and on top of that always having energy for the park…you guys are legends!

Henry and his team remember you fondly and thank you for the appreciation you always gave to their efforts as well as the relationships you formed with them. The kids still ask us about you guys by the way… That should show you how deep of an impact your love, kindness and self-giving nature towards them made. Just like we discussed countless times, they are full of happiness and love, always remember that about them. For those who can, consider how you can keep giving back to this, and many other communities when you can.

Finally, you are strong. Pursuing self-growth was a goal for many. Please keep finding ways to do this. Coming in, some people had doubts about being able to make it through but the way you all were able to take care of each other-not letting age, background or other factors hinder your interactions was beautiful. Keep it up with your family, friends and people around you- we agreed that the world needs some Krobo-Love…spread it! Krobo is shinnninnnn !!!!

Your Group goal when we did OMG (One Meaningful Goal) was: To use our knowledge and personal experience to proactively educate and pass it on through:

-Giving presentations at schools, to family and friends.

-Using media as a healthy and honest platform to share our experiences and knowledge.

-Sharing pictures, videos and memories of the happy lives in Krobo

-Being active in school newspapers, art, writing and other different forms of expression to share our experiences.

-When asked about our trip, be honest about the knowledge we gained and the experiences we had.

-Changing the Single Story Narrative

From Liz, Breezy, Dee, Nana-Ama, Henry and Jazz- we love you all!

Go out there and be the change!

 

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Saturday July 13, 2019

After some people spent 9 hours at jfk and some who barely made the flight, all 16 of us made it to ACCRA! Liz and Henry, the best directors, took us to the party van, to go to home base. While we were driving up we got to see everyone in the village including the kids we waved to. We got to home base with a warm welcome of hugs and drums. We all introduced ourselves and saw our rooms and bathroom. We had a really good dinner of Vegetable rice with chicken curry (vegetable curry for our favorite vegetarians) and some fresh watermelon. Since we are all good kids we went to bed 2 hours before bedtime:))

Sunday July 14, 2019

Even though rest of the town was having a party throughout the night: including the animals, we still woke up early in time for church. We had a delicious breakfast of french toast, omelettes, and fruit. We also got introduced to plantain and cassava chips during breakfast which have changed all of our lives. There are constant arguments about which one is better and everyone is always snacking on them.

We then walked down to the church and joined their service. The service was so fun to see because everyone was dancing and singing and they were all so passionate. then we walked through the town and got a tour of the house. Then we had lunch and after we went to see the nursery and the primary school, where we’ll be helping. Then we played more group games then got to go to the park. All the little kids were the cutest things and made everyone so 😍😍😘😘😀😀😀😃😃😄😄😁😁😁😆😆😆😊😊😊😌😜😜😜😋😋

-by Krishna and Sam

Monday July 15, 2019

Hi there! Today was a day packed with smiles, new friends, and fun!! We started the morning off with a delicious breakfast made by our amazing chefs! (We personally love the french toast!) After breakfast we piled into the van and headed to Cedi Bead Factory! We spent the first half of our morning at Cedi Beads learning how they handmade their beads. After watching a “tutorial”, we had the opportunity to make our own beads! We also got to purchase some of the beautiful beads in their shop to bring back home to our family and friends!

After Cedi Beads, we came back to Homebase where the Seamstress was ready to fit us to make our individualized clothes! We got to pick from vibrant fabrics and different styles of clothing. After the seamstress left, we ate our lunch which was a special dish here in Ghana! It was called “Kontomire” and we ate it with yummy rice!

After lunch, we went back to Cedi Beads to pick up our final products! The beads all turned out amazing and we are super excited to have them to remind us of our time here! Cedi Beads Factory has a beautiful property that we got to do some activities in. We played games and eventually broke into our mentor groups to talk about the importance of different cultures!

We left Cedi Beads and headed to Homebase where we rested for a little and ate some Cassava Chips (the BEST!). We then planned the games we wanted to play with the kids at the park and headed down to meet the kids! Today we played duck duck goose, limbo, jump rope, and simon says with the kids! Soooo fun!!!

After our yummy dinner of chicken and veggie pasta, we were dressed and painted by GLA staff in traditional Ghanaian style! We had a presentation about “Dipo”, a ceremony that all girls in Krobo do! We finished off the night by receiving our Krobo names! (Callie = Koryo, Keely = Darley)

Today was such a fun day continuing to bond with our new friends in our new home!

Keeks & Cals send loads of love to Bevmo, Dave, Keara, Ross, and all the sissys!!! We LOVEE U!!!

Xoxo,
Darley & Koryo

Tuesday July 16, 2019

Today in the beautiful, warm village of Krobo, Ghana, the students of GLA traveled to Boti Falls to absorb the rich history of the land. We hiked on a trail and learned about the giant who left its footprint on the rock, the fertility rock beside the three headed palm tree that blesses you with twins or triples if you stand/sit on it (sorry Audrey’s mom, your daughter was accidentally blessed), and the cave that sheltered the hunter and preforms music if you cover the holes lining the wall. Some people became tired, but persevered and were rewarded with the stunning view from the top of the umbrella rock.

The rolling hills of the sanctuary were a green delight that will forever be valued in our impression of the falls. Afterwards, we hiked to the massive waterfalls, another stunning view. The entire ride back to base consisted of joyous singing taught to us by our welcoming host family. Sam and Aly were especially charmed and belted the lyrics they learned. The rest of the day was spent relaxing at home base, and some GLA students rallied up their energy and spent the evening playing with the children.

Finally, after stuffing our faces with delicious homemade fries, golden chicken, vegetables, and ripe mango, we gathered together to watch an incredibly powerful TedTalk, “The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda, and the prospective altering video, “How to Get More Likes on Social Media.” The discussion helped us challenge our biased view of the people of Africa, and how media and perspective influences our interpretation of countries far from us.

We learned about how dangerous it is to only acknowledge something through limited knowledge and perspective. Olivia, Meg, Callie, Hannah, and Lindsey brought up compelling ideas and helped truly elevate the conversation. We are entirely grateful for the amazing and jam packed day we received, and everyone felt satisfied. There’s more to see tomorrow, and we know it’ll exceed our expectations.

Sincerely,

Liv (hi mom and dad, love you)

And

Audrey (hi Mom, Dad, Ethan, Matthew, and everyone! Love you all so much!)

Wednesday July 17, 2019

It’s Wednesday my dudes! Today was an eventful day. We started out the morning with splitting the group in half and escaping from human knots. At breakfast we ate oatmeal, ring donuts, mangoes, and toast. Then we headed outside to make bricks with Sammy! We each got to give it a try. Then we came back, exhausted, to do a GLA activity discussing values and global issues- it was very interesting to see everyone’s positions and beliefs.

After a delicious lunch we rested and made friendships brackets in front of the fan as we waited for our next activity. Then we had a mini competition between the mentor groups (go Team Dee!). Then we met our host families and learned some Krobo words- we will be sure to be fluent by the time we get back! After that, we met at the park and played with the kids for an hour; they are always such a joy! We finished the day off with a cultural dance performed by Universal Music and Dance Group! Everyone joined in and danced their hearts out! It’s time for a big day of service work tomorrow!

Lots of love to our families back home!! ❤💛

~ Bailey (Tsaako) & Meredith (Terko)

Thursday July 18, 2019

Hello GLA blog!

This morning we woke up to our favorite breakfast of oats, bread, and the freshest pineapple you’ve ever tasted. The people working in the nursery had a very successful day today as they were able to get the hang of things after a challenging first day. They taught things such as shapes and numbers and had fun with the coloring books. Over at the primary school, the construction workers pushed through their sore muscles from lifting heavy pick axes. They finished crushing the old concrete and filled one corner of the classroom with fresh concrete (with help from the amazing Sammy).

After our service and lunch, we were introduced to the art of batik fabric dying. Each one of us got to stamp a cloth with a hot wax design. After stamping the fabric, we got to choose a color that a specialist dyed for us. We can’t wait to see how our fabrics turned out. After batik, we we went to play with the energetic kids, a highlight being the intense game of keep away. Aly and Sam stepped up to be amazing team leaders during the game. Park time ended with a beautiful sunset over the village of Krobo. Friday night dinner was a party with sing-alongs and dancing. Tomorrow we look forward to our weekend market trip, cooking class, and hawking lesson.

Hugs and kisses,
Lindsey & Olivia aka Ayongo & Koleki

P.S. Happy birthday Liv!!! We all love you so much.

Wednesday July 24, 2019

Hello lovely GLA blog readers! This is Meg reporting on 7-24-19. It’s crazy that there are only two more days left, what?!? Anyway…

Today we all got up and some of us weren’t feeling so great, but our amazing mentors and directors totally understood and were totally amazing. Before breakfast we played a quick game where we all shared one thing about each other that we didn’t know. It was a great way to start the morning and continue to build friendships through this experience.

We went to our service sites for our last day of service. The primary school finished up the floor that they made from nothing. With help from the infamous brick making genius Sammy of course. At the nursery we went to our classes and continued to form bonds with the kiddos. Who are ADORABLE!

We came back and played a fun game before eating lunch. The mentors & directors were so kind and gave us a few hours to decompress and relax after our last day of service.

They played The Lion King and Moana. After we went to the park and I was able to get pictures with everyone and the kiddos! We had a blast with them, although it was sad that today was our last ‘official’ day playing. Tomorrow we go and say our goodbyes. 😢

We had dinner and talked about the highlights and lowlights of our day. After dinner we had a guest speaker come in and talk with us! Monica who owns EdMon preschool (the nursery we go to) did a marvelous job. This extraordinary woman is a mother of 2, the owner/ founder of EdMon Preschool, Manager of Human Resources for one of the rather larger banks in Accra, AND has her own store that sells home appliances!!! #superwoman .
After listening to Monica we hung out, talked with each other, played games, and more. Today we had a blast! Yes it was sad being the last day of playing and teaching, we know we have made unbreakable bonds with each other and the kids. I hope you enjoy some pics from the park!

Ps. All pictures below were taken by Meg, and no filters were used.

Time Capsule Letter

Dear Ghana COA 14 Session 2,

Oh how time flies… doesn’t it seem like just yesterday you were opening your first water bag? Or taking in that view of Krobo Mountian from the rooftop for the first time. Just think back to that walk from the top of the hill down to Asitey park, screaming kids jumping to greet you and beaming with joy. These, I hope, are the vivid memories that have stuck with you over the last few weeks and will stay there as you go on.

Thanks to your hard work and commitment to this program, we were able to pack so much into just 14 days, from local market shopping to batik making and so much more. In our discussions, we tackled tough issues and put forth bold ideas.

We discovered more about leadership, pushed ourselves and expanded our perspectives. We put in work at our service sites and left behind real, sustainable impacts. The new classroom floor at the primary school was put to use almost immediately after finishing- they were very thankful.

The nursery kids are still singing your songs you taught them. You better believe the kids at the park have asked about all of you, by name, every single day since you left Asitey!

Alongside everything during our time in Ghana, we had so much fun. Who could forget everyone serving looks at the fashion show? We kept the rhythm going all program long, singing, dancing and absolutely crushing it in Battle of the Bands. Nana Ama’s tuck shop is overflowing with chocolates and ice cream without you guys.

“By July 9th 2020, we will have made a conscious effort to lead by example in order to foster/create/inspire the positive change we wish to see in our world” – One Meaningful Goal. After spending quite some time at the end of our program talking about knowledge we’d gained, we transformed that knowledge into real, SMART goals.

As quoted above, your group goal tackles leadership head on by striving to implement it into your daily lives. Having spent two full weeks with all of you, I am surely confident that you’ll achieve this goal and see incredible results.

We’ll be wishing you all the best of luck as you move along in the next big steps of your lives. With all sincerity, thank you for choosing to make GLA CoA14 with us one of those steps. It would not have been nearly the same without you.

Always remember… “A selfie a day keeps the haters away” – Sassy Jazz

Your mentors,

Brendan, Dee and Jazz

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Friday June 28, 2019

On this first full day in Ghana we celebrate Tori’s birthday and that we all got here safe. We spent a good part of the day getting oriented to the GLA way of doing things at Home Base and in Krobo. We also visited all the places we’d be doing service and got to choose between either the nursery school or primary school. It rained quite heavily in the afternoon but just as quickly as the rain came the sun broke out amongst the clouds and we we took that chance to go meet the kids at the park. We had a good day getting to know each other here and all feel its the start of something beautiful.

Sunday June 30, 2019

Yesterday we went to Cedi beads and learned how recycled glass beads are traditionaly made here in Ghana. We then got to make our own beads and while we waited for them to be completed, we did fun team building exercises with our felllow GLA students. We then had the opportunity to buy some of the beautiful beads from their shop.

In the afternoon we played with the local children in ther park and introduced some of the games we played when we were young. After that we had dinner, which was Kontomire, a traditional meal in Ghana (it was soo yummy!). We watched and participated in a dance demo shown to us by a group of prefessional Ghanaian dancers which was definitely a highlight of the day.

Today, we all attended a church service in the village and were warmingly welcomed by the locals. We took the long way home in order to see more of the village as we walked back to home base. It was super neat to see the traditional church clothes and all the bright colors.

When we returned home, we were taught how to do batik (the waxing and dying of cloth) and were able to make our own sample pieces. Additionally we played with the children again and today it was nice to see some of the older children join our games 🙂

We ended the night by participating in a Naming Ceremony and learned more about Dipo, a traditional right of passage for Krobo girls. Each GLA student was given a Krobo name and was welcomed into the family.

Two more incredible days have passed here in Ghana and we continue to be grateful for the kind and welcoming local community.

Lots of love from:
Djabakwor (Abby) and Terkwor (Yoko♧)

Monday July 1, 2019

Seamstress came this morning and fitted us all for custom clothes of our choice. So many beautiful and colorful fabric options for us to choose from. Our choices ranged from headbands to fashionable dresses and skirts (of course there were options for guys as well).

Boti falls was our next activity! One of the directors there told us the story of the settlers finding the waterfalls and the first building dating back hundreds of years. The hike was to some landmarks that Boti has much pride in having, consisting of umbrella rocks and a three headed palm tree. Getting home a little behind schedule left us with some time to rest and prepare for the big first day of school tomorrow!

-by Tori and Addie

Wednesday July 3, 2019

Today we had our first day of service. 6 out of 17 people in our group went to the daycare and the other half of us went to the local villages primary school which essentially holds grades k-12. Up until our service we have created lesson plans to teach to our assigned classes. At the primary school the GLA volunteers also began working on repairing a school floor. Our first step in doing so was to pick axe the broken concrete floor; which we completed in about 30 minutes. We all found peaks and pits in our first day of teaching and we all have ideas on how to improve.

Additionally, we all gained mutual respect for substitute teachers as that’s what we felt like as we took over the classroom for a part of the time. This teaching process is teaching us the power of education and the privilege it carries. After service we had a wonderful lunch and had a large break afterwards where most of us napped and recuperated from our first day of service. Our service will go through Monday and everyday we are given a different subject to teach to the kids. After our break we met with our host families.

The host families are various families in Krobo who have agreed to take us in groups and teach us some of the language and culture. After our host families we went and played at the park with the local village children and today it also included some more of the kids from our host families. As a group we are networking among the tiny part of Krobo that we have been exposed to. To end our day we watched a Ted Talk on the Dangers of a one sided story. This ted talk taught us that your perception of stereotyped can either build or break your mindset, as well as teach you new things as a global citizen.

Friday July 5, 2019

hello friends and families! welcome to today’s GLA ghana update. today began with another day of service for students at the primary and nursery schools. At the primary school, our service project of completing the classroom floor was accomplished! after lunch, a sample of market goods including paintings, statues, and musical instruments were laid out at home base for us to purchase some souvenirs to take home. then we spent another amazing afternoon with our friends at the park playing games and drawing! after dinner, we had Monica, the owner of the nursery school at which we have been volunteering, speak about her experience as a female entrepreneur and challenges she has overcome in her life. Hi Mom!

-By Ella and Isabella

Saturday July 6, 2019

We started the day with breakfast and then made our way to the market. We were given the challenge of shopping at one of the biggest markets in Krobo for ingredients which would be used for dinner. It was amazing to experience the diverse array of items being sold, which included everything from scarves to shoes to okra to mango (Grace’s favorite). It was very crowded but the bustling atmosphere and friendly locals made for a fun and enlightening experience.

Oh, did we mention that we got to practice some of our krobo? In order to get more from the venders, we learned the art of negotiating while also learning their names and getting to know them. After gathering all that we needed, we returned to home base for our hawking and cooking lessons. Hawking is the skill of balancing all kinds of items on your head without losing balance. She was the only one to walk a full circle while balancing a bucket of water. The kitchen staff taught us how to prepare dinner for that night using the market ingredients. After the lessons we all ate lunch, followed by a long, relaxing break.

Many of us napped and journaled during this time. We headed to the park after being rejuvenated by our rest. Spending time at the park with the kids was super fun (per usual). We returned to home base and ate the dinner that we prepared. GLA activities took up the rest of our evening. We discussed leadership, personality types and how to deal with personal triggers. After this we showered and headed to bed. We send love and well wishes to our family and friends at home!

Ellie and Grace

Sunday July 7, 2019

Today we had a very exciting day at Sajuna Resort. We started this fun day off with a nice late breakfast and started our journey. At the resort we made sure to put lots of sunscreen on before we swam, played beach volleyball, and played ping pong-WITS! Everyone had a lot of fun thanks to the good ice cream, music, and happy people. We also played a game of marco polo in the pool which was exciting. After lunch and the fun morning/afternoon activities we added on to a good day by having an awsome boat ride through the incredible Volta River where we passed a really cool bridge along with hotels and lots of beautiful scenery.

After the boat ride we headed over to a bead store where we were able to buy beautiful bracelets, anklets and necklaces. Then we had park time with the children which like always was so exciting and full of laughing, talking, and games. A delightful dinner was waiting and afterwards we prepared our last lesson plan for our classes tomorrow:( Then on top of an awesome day we had a movie night where we watched Free Solo which was a movie about a rock climber-the movie was very incredible and inspirational. We definitely recommend everyone should watch it. Overall the day was so much fun and the perfect balance of relaxation and fun!

By Emily and Felix

Monday July 8, 2019

Wow. Our time here is coming to an end. We’re in the final stretch ;((((.

Well, my day started at 5:30 in the morning. Jazz, D, (both mentors lol) and I ran with the kids from our host families- Abraham, Andrew, and Erica. Krobo’s mountainous landscape at 6am does NOT get old.

Breakfast today, as EVERY service day usual has it, was at 7am. We had french toast, oats, sausage, and watermelon. Nothing we eat for breakfast beats toast with TopChoco (a nutella-like spread). After breakfast, the kids who help out at the nursery headed on to their last day of service.

The rest of us teach primary students and work on building a classroom floor at the primary school. Since we finished the floor last Friday, we were planning to make mud bricks at the home base today before we left to teach the primary students. But, of couuuuuuurse, it started to downpour just as we finished breakfast.

We got to rest for two hours before we left to teach at the primary school. Teaching fourth grade, we have LOTS of fun today. The more fun we have, the more we realize how much we really are going to miss these kids when we leave ;(.

After we got home, we had ate up: roni rice with golden fried chicken and watermelon! It was the first time we had roni rice and it was amazing!! Never had one complaint about the food here- always a clean plate from me hehe. After lunch, got to watch the second half of Moana that the nursery kids started because they came home early!!!

We also got talk in our mentor groups about knowledge and how it can be utilized after lunch . Is knowledge truly power? Or is it a tool that can empower us? We spoke on how our experiences here have shaped our knowledge- and how if we utilize this knowledge in the right way, we can build power and use this power in the right way. We also created our own OMG goals: one meaningful goal. We wrote down things that we need to stop, continue, and start to act upon to achieve our goals. We even got to create a 12-month group goal that we can all aim for individually.

Today was also our last day at the park; we taught the kids how to play kickball had a blast running around our “bases”. The park is usually the highlight of all our days!!

Dinner today was just like all our other meals: amazing! We had vegetable noodles with chicken and mango today for dinner. The vegetable noodle are so similar to ramen. Thankfully, Tori brought sriracha sauce- NOTHING, and I repeat- NOTHING- tastes better sriracha with noodles.

After dinner, we sat in an “appreciation circle” where we faced outward and closed our eyes. 4 people were alternatively chosen to stand in the center and tap on people they appreciated for specific things (i.e. someone who “makes everything fun”, “is a good listener”, “thinks on their feet”).

Everyone also got to stand in the middle while everyone shared what they appreciated about that specific person. The activity in general boosted everyone’s self confidence and put everyone in a good mood before Felix and Jackson leave tomorrow for their second GLA Program: Building Healthy Villages in Ghana.

Goodbyes will be tough tomorrow. We’ve been having so much fun, busy with so many activities and our daily service, that homesickness has not had time to hit. It sounds so cliche that the trip went by in a blink of an eye, but it really did. We’ll cherish these last few days as much as we can.

Time Capsule Letter

Dear Ghana COA 14,

Oh how time flies… doesn’t it seem like just yesterday you were opening your first water bag? Or taking in that view of Krobo Mountian from the rooftop for the first time. Just think back to that walk from the top of the hill down to Asitey park, screaming kids jumping to greet you and beaming with joy. These, I hope, are the vivid memories that have stuck with you over the last few weeks and will stay there as you go on.

Thanks to your hard work and commitment to this program, we were able to pack so much into just 14 days, from hiking Boti Falls, to Cedi beads and so much more. In our discussions, we tackled tough issues and put forth bold ideas.

We discovered more about leadership, pushed ourselves and expanded our perspectives. We put in work at our service sites at the primary school and Edmon Preschool and left behind real, sustainable impacts. The primary classes picked up right where you left off and were excited to use your games with lessons to follow.

You could still hear “I said a Broom sweep-a-broom” and “Wheeeeeoooo” in the classes weeks after your departure! The nursery kids are still singing the songs you taught them too. You better believe the kids at the park have asked about all of you, by name, every single day since you left Asitey!

Alongside everything during our time in Ghana, we had so much fun. Who could forget everyone serving looks at the fashion show? We kept the rhythm going all program long, singing, dancing and absolutely crushing it in Battle of the Bands. Of course, Sassy Jazz lives on in all of us… keep it sassy folks.

As you all set your personal OMG – One Meaningful Goal – you guys also all found something in common to work towards after returning home from Ghana. After learning about the things that make Krobo unique, you discussed ways in which we can do such knowledge justice. By sharing what they have taught us as well as our own personal experiences from the time spent here, you can commit to a group OMG of telling the whole story and spreading positivity in the light of Asitey, Krobo, Eastern Region, Ghana.

I’ll be wishing you all the best of luck as you move along in the next big steps of your lives. With all sincerity, thank you for choosing to make GLA CoA14 with us one of those steps. It would not have been nearly the same without you.

Always remember… peel the banana, eat the banana, go bananas.

Your mentors,

Dee, Breezy and Jazz

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Tuesday June 11, 2019

Here is our first group photo from orientation day here in Ghana! Two students, Carter and Julia, are not pictured as they are arriving on Thursday, but we’re excited for them to join the group!

Wednesday June 12, 2019

Rain or shine, we must play!

We had a great day of orientation today but right about the time we were to meet the local children the rain started. That didn’t seem to stop the excited children from coming up to our gate to wait for us. They were so excited to meet us and so were we! We have a lot of great things planned for them over the next couple of days and can’t wait to interact both in class and on the field.

Friday June 14, 2019

The morning rain couldn’t stop us from our day! In true GLA fashion, we adapted to the situation with a rearrangement of plans! After breakfast we kicked off the day with some thought provoking activities and then we made our way to the Cedi Bead Factory! We made our very own beads from start to finish and got some great gifts for our friends back home!

After returning from our adventure, we went straight into planning activities for the children and made our way to the park. Their bright smiles brought out the sun long enough for us to play! As always, another great day!

Sunday June 16, 2019

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY

Today we honor our dear Local Director and host for our program Henry. He has done so much for us- from being one among the first faces to welcome us at the airport to teaching us so many amazing things about Krobo Culture. He is our resident Papa and we are thankful for his always smiling demeanor and positive attitude. To him and all our dads/ father figures…Thank you and Happy Father’s Day!

Monday June 17, 2019

Today started off bright and early with some of us going to the nursery and others to the primary school for service projects. The nursery team did everything from counting and abc’s to helping care for two year olds.

At the primary school we did some work re-cementing a floor before splitting into our grades and starting to tutor students in English lessons. To ensure that we kept the school standards we made sure to do lesson planning for the next day’ activities in class before we left the school.

Later in the afternoon, we went to our host families homes where we learned some of the Krobo language and learned to sing songs. We felt honored to be invited into these homes and learn more about the Krobo culture. We also went to the park and had a lot of fun with all of the kids which we look forward to everyday.

After dinner we had a leadership activity where we learned about personality traits and leadership styles by identifying a color that matched with our personalities. Overall, It was a hot and eventful day and by the time we got our well deserved rest, we were well tired but definitely thankful for all the above experiences.

-written by Leo & Grace

Wednesday June 19, 2019

We started off the morning with construction. Today we started to pour the cement to create a new floor for a classroom at the primary school. It was really exciting to see our project start to make great progress. Teaching today was more of a challenge because we came to the classroom with more difficult topics than the previous days. Everyone did well though and we have time to review tomorrow.
In the afternoon we had the opportunity to buy souvenirs from the craft market.

This was a great moment to disocver art made by Ghanian artist. Many of us took this moment and bought art pieces for family and friends back at home. After a long week we were given the opportunity to rest and regain our energy. Tonight and last night we had cultural sessions with yesterday being a storytelling bonfire followed by smores. We had a drumming and dance session this evening which got us pumped. During this trip there has been many laughs and chances to improve as leaders.

By Milayna and Nina

 

Thursday June 20, 2019

Hi everyone!

After breakfast we left early to go to the primary schools and nursery to ensure a productive day of service. The primary school group is officially 3/4 of the way done with the concrete floor we have been working on and the nursery group successfully taught simple addition today at school. With one more day of service left, both groups feel as if their impact has been strong and the lessons being taught have stuck with the students.

In the afternoon we split off and visited our host families for a few hours for one last time and were taught new words, dances, and songs. Each host family has their own lessons and information to share but no matter what we learned we all made sure to show it off at the park later by speaking in Krobo to our friends and singing with the kids. The park continued to be a fun time interacting with new kids and kids we already know. We teach them new games and activities everyday and they never fail to teach us just as much.

We ended the night on a high note with a GLA activity in which we learned how to accept change and displayed our leadership qualities we learned the nights before. Before going to bed we discussed our activity and decided that change is a constant in our world and in order to succeed and impact others, you must be able to adapt to change and understand multiple perspectives.
Enjoy your last few days of freedom, we will be home soon! Muahaha😈

-written by Sophia

Friday June 21, 2019

Hi everyone!

Julia and Jacy here, and welcome to our wonderful blog entry.

We started our day in the best way possible, by walking into a room with our adorable nursery children. As it was our farewell day, it was definitely one of the hardest mornings yet. Goodbyes are not our favorites but we sang songs that you guys might have sung to us as children. We fed, taught, and had so much fun with these kids this week as the rest of our GLA team was finishing up construction and teaching English at the primary school. We loved every minute of this week and our projects have been a big success.

We had lunch and rested back at homebase but quickly became energetic when time to go to Asitey park was nearing. By now, all of us have made very special friendships with members of the community and the children of Krobo village. We went to the park for the rest of the afternoon and soon it was time to go back to homebase as it was time to eat – and we certainly did that. Who knew spending all day with excited and eager children was a little bit exhausting?

You thought our day was over after dinner? Wrong! We had a wonderful guest speaker who owns and runs the Nursery School talking to us about her journey as a mother, business owner, banker and a member of Krobo village. After she talked to us, she became the judge of our spectacular runway modelling show. All of us modelled our hand made clothing that a talented local seamstress made for us. We finished the night with a dance party with Papa Henry.

As our final days come and go, we are all taking in every second in Krobo village trying to savor our time here. With all due respect, we are not ready to come home. See you all soon 🙂

J and J

Sunday June 23, 2019

Guess who? The cousin duo: Carter and Julia 🙂

We are here to write the final blog entry. It’s obviously a HUGE responsibility so we really hope you enjoy.

Today we had a sleep in because breakfast was at 8:30am instead of 7, and let me tell you, it was amazing. After our delicious meal, we split in half and did a cooking lesson, where we made a wide variety of Ghanian food, while the other half practiced hawking, the art of balancing items on your head. Sophia and Milayna deserve a special shoutout for being very very good at this, whereas Carter and I need some more practice.

After that busy morning, we spent time with Papa Henry, perfecting our negotiation skills for the market trip tomorrow– be ready for some lost arguments 😉 After this lesson we had our self-cooked lunch, and then most girls got their hair braided by local women… doing hair is definitely an art.

We ended our day at the park for the very last time. These kids have forever impacted us and saying goodbye was easily one of the hardest things we have done on this trip. Lots of tears were shed, but the love that those kids gave us was life-changing. And finally, we ended our night with appreciation activities and a slideshow… definitely not a dry eye in the house.

Thank you all for sending us on this trip. This was a once in a lifetime experience, and we are so lucky that we have had this opportunity. Y’all rock.

See you soon!!
Carter and Jules

Time Capsule Letter

My GLA Ghana was…

Inspiring
Impeccable
Phenomenal
Exhilarating
Insightful
Educational
Powerful

Two weeks of sweating in the sun, lifting bricks, and trying your hand at mastering plastering…what a great way to spend time in Ghana.

Your enthusiasm and hard work helped build two sexy toilets for the residents of Agbledomi. The time you spent building and the efforts made connecting with the kids of the community made a huge impact.

We hope you remember Justine’s amazing food, Elvis and Leon’s attentive service, and the hours spent getting to know Jasper and Balo on the work site.

Now that life is back to normal, don’t forget to continue to reflect on the many lessons you learned on program. From eliminating single use plastics in your life to remembering to be more compassionate and willing to engage with others, keep challenging yourself to step up as the everyday leaders you are.

Thanks for an amazing two weeks in Ghana, here are some of our favorite memories!

Pancake the turtle, Spot Dog, Jenny the goat, DJ Pherry, “is my hair blond or brown?”, big splash!, Trevorrr!, Are you sure?, Sports on me…sports on 3…one, two, three..SPORTS!

Miss you all!

-Brendan and Suzannah

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Saturday July 27, 2019

The whole crew is here!!! We are a full group of 9 and stoked to start our service project tomorrow.

Initial impressions of Ghana:
Inspiring
Diverse
Scenic
Interesting
Utilitarian
Multifaceted
Collectivistic
Nice
Sticky

-GLA Staff

Saturday July 27, 2019

After a long travel day, everyone arrived at homebase yesterday tired but excited to be in Ghana!
Our day started today with watching fishing nets being pulled in and getting to know each other through games and other activities.

This afternoon we are headed out into the community to get to know the area and get our first look at the compost toilets that we will be building this session.

We are waiting one final group member to arrive and we will be a full family.

Looking forward to exploring and working together!

Sunday July 28, 2019

Hi everyone! Today was our first day of service and it was a very packed and exciting day. We started off with a Ghanaian-American breakfast of hot dogs, beans, omelettes, and fresh fruit. Then we took a trip down to the lagoon because baby turtles hatched on the shore and they had to be brought back into the ocean. We waded through the water, scooping up the turtles as we went and giving them cute names. After we released them, we broke into our service groups and rode into the community to begin building.

The work was challenging but rewarding. We mixed cement, carried cinder blocks, and plastered the walls of the chamber pot. As an afternoon activity, a local Chief came to teach us about Ghanaian customs and ask us questions. Later, we had a delicious dinner of fish, French fries, and salad. Before bed, we got a lesson on Ewe, the local dialect, which is definitely hard to get the hang of.

Etsc mie do ge (Good night) from GLA Ghana!

-by Bella Smith

Monday July 29, 2019

Hey parents,

Today was a tiring day here in Ghana. We woke up early as the fishermen do to help pull in 1,800 feet worth of fishing net which took about 2 hours! Pulling the nets was tiring in the arms (good thing we did yoga before breakfast!) yet fulfilling to see the many fish and other sea creatures in the net.

When we came back from fishing we headed out to the sites to continue service. Today in service, we gathered water, mixed cement, and carried it to the toilet to be poured into the cement mold for the floor. We also communicated in Ewe to the kids on the site!

Upon returning to the home base we ate pasta with a spicy sauce with rice and beans and a cole slaw. After we had a community health talk with nurse Rose who taught us about Ghanaian public health.

For dinner tonight we ate yam balls with veggie stew and eggplant which was super yummy! Lastly we did a super duper epic life changing leadership activity and shared the love with each other!

The day is coming to an end and we are quite tired so we will head to bed soon. Now, a message from the kiddos to mom and dad: miss you,love you, we’re having a blast, see you in 10 days!

Goodnight!

-by Leah Farrell

Tuesday July 30, 2019

Hey friends and family!

Today was one of my favorite days so far, but the most tiring. After breakfast, Suzannah made us follow a squat workout video (Sally up, Sally down) to warm us for service. At service, we added four to five layers of bricks onto the latrine. That meant, mixing mortar, scraping bricks, and lots of brick carrying.

After service, Justine made us a delicious Ghanaian lunch and we played card games until it was time for…. SPORTS! We played with an abundance of local children on a swing set recently constructed by Dom (the on Dream Big intern). Their favorite things to do were the swing set, monkey bars, and playing with mud. We also taught them how to do handstands, which they quickly mastered.

Next was football (soccer), and we were all impressed by the children’s skills. Even though most of us have minimal football experience, we all got involved and loved to compete in the tournament. After soccer we went back to the playground and had “stick wars” and did more gymnastics.

We are now back to home-base and ate yet another delightful meal by Justine. Even though we miss you all we are having the time of our lives!

Wednesday July 31, 2019

Today was a long workday with a great reward towards the end. We began with a waking up and having plantain omelets, fruit, and toast for breakfast. Then the long work day began, layering another four levels of bricks and even getting to the roof of the toilet. After returning back to base with some rest and lunch, we headed to the market, first helping the kitchen staff with a scavenger hunt, picking up food.

After the scavenger hunt, we went choosing fabrics and headed to the seamstress/tailor, getting either dresses, pants, or shirts made from the fabrics we chose at the market. We will see how they turned out later in the week. After an amazing pasta dinner we are headed to learn about sustainability with Dom.

We are having a great time and are starting to see the toilet come together.

– by Trevor Chun

Thursday August 1, 2019

Today was a difficult yet rewarding day in Ghana! We took a break from building our compost toilets to help construct a children’s playground in Sahara Sports Park. It was hard work creating cement for the wall of the playground! An abundance of heavy lifting and shoveling was involved, and we kept having to push the wagon through the long, hot trek to get more sand and concrete. We are very proud that our efforts are going to such a great cause! The playground will offer many environmental, economic, and social benefits to the community.

After service, we were rewarded with a spectacular meal of avocado rolls, fries, and salad. Then we helped clean up the beach and had a contest to see who could collect the most plastic! Plastic waste is a grave issue in Ghana and the world and it was eye-opening for us to see how our own plastic consumption habits are damaging the environment.

We took some free time and then we sat down to a delectable dinner of rice with spinach stew and coleslaw. We topped off our evening with a captivating cultural performance of song, drum, and dance. The dancers took our hands and swept us into the performance with them! Everyone enjoyed letting loose and having fun together.

Although we miss you, we are excited for the second half of our adventure!

-by Sonal Aggarwal

Friday August 2, 2019

Reporting from Ghana, I`m here to tell you about our exciting day in this wonderful country. We started off the day bright and early at 7:30 for breakfast. Today, we had corn flakes and granola with a side of fruit and yogurt.

After we ate, we headed down to our sites for a fun-filled morning of plastering two walls of our lovely toilets and making the stairs. As a snack, we had yummy muffins from our beloved chef, Justine. Also, our hosts gave us fresh coconuts to try and we played with the sweet children on site.

We got back covered in mortar, but didn’t mind because we were proud of our good day’s work. Soon after, we enjoyed an authentic lunch prepared for us. We had the pleasure of trying brown nut soup with rice balls and salad. Then, we ventured off to the Prizenstein slave fort in Keta.It was an emotionally intense and thought provoking experience that made us reflect on our history and how we can learn from it.

Afterwards, we visited a lighthouse that was used by slave traders and is one of seven lighthouses in Ghana. The view gave us a glimpse of Ghana and all of its beauty. On the trip back, we stopped at a bead market filled with an assortment of colorful beads.

We headed back to home base for dinner where we had fried rice, chicken, and salad with vegan substitutes of course. Currently, we are waiting to start a surprise evening activity, and the suspense is killing us. Bye everyone, we will see you soon!

-Maya Khan

Sunday August 4, 2019

It’s been a busy last couple of days. On Saturday we began by mixing mortar and plastering the walls of our voluptuous restrooms. To reward our hard and messy work we went swimming in our nature gifted lagoon; the water was cool and clean. Afterwards we rinsed off and went to “sahara” for SPORTsss! After burning calories on the soccer field we restored our energy levels with a sumptuous dinner followed by a movie!!

After such a long day of fun and hard work we all crashed for the night. The next morning we woke up refreshed and headed back to “sahara” to help finish the construction of a barrier wall at the playground project. The work was tiring but we all pushed through in order to finish.

After that tiring work we enjoyed a delicious lunch and then headed out to a Batik workshop. Batik is the art of placing wax on a piece of fabric before dyeing it in order to produce a pattern on the fabric. Once the cloth dried we drove back to home base and enjoyed some down time before dinner. We concluded the day with an engaging discussion on the ethics of social media posts of our trip. We are extremely sad that the trip has begun to come to a close but we are all excited to see all of our friends, family, and PETS again.

-Michelle Ueltschi

Monday August 5, 2019

Hello friends and family,

Today has been a very eventful day in Ghana! We started off the day with a delicious breakfast consisting of plantain omelets, toast, avocados, and mixed fruit. After that, we all went to service. While we were there, we put the finishing touches on our toilets and coated the walls with paint. After service was over, everyone came back to the lodge and ate a nutritious lunch. When everyone was finished enjoying their meal, their was a little bit of free time and decided to cool off by going for a swim in the lagoon.

A few of us even took a nice ride around the lagoon in the canoe. When we were finished, we all freshened up for our drum, song, and dance lesson. All of us learned a lengthy rhythm pattern on the drums, and even went around the circle playing our own patterns we all made up. Next, we learned the traditional dance that people do everywhere. Places like parties, funerals, and even just for fun. It took some time, but we all had fun and laughed even though we weren’t doing it right.

For the final lesson, everyone participated in learning the song in Ewe. Needless to say, it took a lot of time repeating and learning the words and tune, but once everyone got it, it was difficult to get us to stop singing. Later on, we ate a delicious dinner, and right after we enjoyed each other’s company sitting around a bonfire at the beach. The drums were brought out and everyone was singing and dancing. So, after a long eventful day, we are finally heading to our rooms to get ready for bed. We love you and miss you, and can’t wait to see you very soon.
-by Mikala Hicks

Tuesday August 6, 2019

This morning we all got to venture to the community health clinic since we finished 99% of the toilets. At the clinic, we split into groups and shadowed nurses and doctors, all with different jobs.

After lunch, we had a presentation by the NGO, Days for Girls, and we all left feeling inspired. Then we went to the seamstress to pick up our items that we ordered/designed last week. Everyone got a beautiful piece of clothing and accessories. Then we went to our service site to put the finishing touches on our latrines. When we arrived back to home base, we changed into our new clothes, and had a fashion show/dance party before dinner.

Tonight, dinner was extra special since we had a big family feast with all the staff and guests at Meet Me There. To top off the evening we watched a TED Talk on leadership, and set goals for ourselves upon our return to our homes. To close off the blog, we will share our quote of the day- “Enjoy every last minute, cause when you leave you’re GHANA miss it!”

-by Bella and Gigi

Wednesday August 7, 2019

Our last full day in Ghana was surely one to remember! After sleeping in and filling up on a yummy breakfast, we eagerly headed out to a long-awaited opening ceremony for our newly constructed toilets. The community learned how to use and care for the toilets and the importance of sanitation, hygiene, and hand washing. Saying our final goodbye to all the children was a heartbreaking moment after all the days we had spent interacting with them and appreciating their company as we worked.

Next, we embarked on a boat trip down the Volta River with all of the staff! Everyone had a great time drumming and singing along in Ewe while watching the golden sunshine sparkled like crystals on the rippling teal water. Then we savored a memorable lunch of fried rice and chicken (the fried rice was vegan…don’t worry, Mom!) We relished a relaxing afternoon playing volleyball and chilling on the beach before sailing back for some free time before dinner.

Now we are awaiting dinner and our final evening activity.

Reflecting back upon our amazing adventure, we are grateful for the memories we made, friendships we formed, and experiences we encountered. Our favorite parts were surely:

Swimming in the lagoon

Hearing children joyously chant “yevu!” (white person) when they saw us

Justine’s Jolof rice

Becoming stronger from the rewarding service work

The opening ceremony

Saving sea turtles

Having a dance party on site and eating coconuts provided by our host

The clinic experience

-by Sonal Aggarwal and Maya Khan

Thursday August 8, 2019

What an amazing two weeks!!! Super energy and enthusiasm throughout the program made for an awesome session and a great way to finish the summer.

Thank you to all the students for choosing Ghana and to all the family and friends that helped make their participation possible.

We hope everyone arrives home safely and with new perspectives of Ghana (and the world)

Sincerely yours,
Brendan, Suzannah and the entire Dream Big and Meet Me There staff

Time Capsule Letter

My GLA Ghana was…
Liberating
New
Eye opening
Adventurous
Emotional
Unexplainable
Extraordinary
Exciting
Exploration
Discovery
Wow!

Two weeks of sweating in the sun, lifting bricks, and trying your hand at mastering plastering…what a great way to start the summer.

Your enthusiasm and hard work helped build two sexy toilets for the residents of Dtiza. The time you spent building and the efforts made connecting with the kids of the community made a huge impact.

We hope you remember Justine’s amazing food, Elvis and Leon’s attentive service, and the hours spent getting to know Jasper and Balo at the work site.

Now that life is back to normal, don’t forget to continue to reflect on the many lessons you learned on program. From eliminating single use plastics in your life to remembering to be more compassionate and willing to engage with others, keep challenging yourself to step up as the everyday leaders you are. And sometimes don’t forget to ask yourself “are your sure?”

Thanks for an amazing two weeks in Ghana!

-Abby and Suzannah

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Tuesday July 9, 2019

Everyone made it to the start of their two weeks on the Building Healthy Villages program in Ghana. Although tired, the group is excited for all the awaits them in the next few weeks.

After a tasty first dinner, we did a round of quick introductions and got to know the two GLA leaders a bit more. After a long day (or more) of travel everyone was in bed and lights out early hoping to start catching up on some much deserved sleep.

-Suzannah – GLA International Director

Day 2: Orientation and Village Tour

By: Emma Ramboer & Alyssa Utochkin

Wednesday July 10, 2019

Today was our first full day! We spent time playing ”get to know you” games, learning basic rules and touring the village.

In the morning, we started by creating a map in the sand and standing where we’re from, where we want to go, the origin country of our favorite food, and our favorite place we’ve view. To review health and safety on program, we played a game where we matched symptoms to illnesses, then decided how we would react in that situation to, for example, feeling dehydrated.

Then we met the staff! We were introduced to the people who work in the lodge and for the non-profit. We played a name game involved whacking each other with pool noodles if you didn’t think of a name fast enough. It was so much fun! They also taught us several cultural expectations, such as that it is considered rude to smell your food.

In the afternoon, we took a tour of the local village. Boots, one of our local directors, explained the different local crops, and showed us a variety of local plants, such as cassava. We met a local woman, who showed us an example of the type of composting toilet that we will start building tomorrow!

We also got to see the local school and it was interesting to learn that each grade has a separate room, and classes could be comprised of as many as 80 students. We waved with our right hands (another culturally appropriate observation) to a bunch of the kids there, because it is encouraged that you greet everybody in Ghana.

Thursday July 11, 2019

Today was the first day of service. We were split into work groups and each went to our building site and started working. We got to meet the family that would be using the toilets and we got to meet new people that lived in the same area. As we worked children would come play and chat to us. The goal today was to add a whole new layer of bricks to the toilets and do finishing work on the inside chambers of the toilets. We learned how to make mortar with cement with sand and water and then finished the day by plastering our work.

Later that afternoon the local chief came to talk to us and answer some questions. The chief oversees culturally significant happenings in the Keta region. He’s greatly respected by his people. He talked to us about Ghanian culture including, the importance of marriage, and how he became chief.

Later that night we had the opportunity to learn some of the local language, ewe. We now feel better prepared to greet and interact with the village.

-by Caroline Meeschaert and Ava Warga

Friday July 12, 2019

Today’s service included carrying water, mixing heavy cement by hand, and setting the floor for the toilet. We ended a bit early because we had to let the concrete dry overnight before laying bricks. As a result, we had a lot of free time to play with the local children and play volleyball with the staff. The children were more open to us and a less shy than the previous day.

We had the chance to use what we had learned from our Ewe lesson we got the night before. Though today’s workload was short, it was just as tiring. Carrying bricks and mixing cement was not only an handful (lol) but more difficult due to our sore muscles. We felt very accomplished.

After lunch, a local nurse named Rose came to talk to us. Rose answered all of our questions about Ghanas general health. We learned that women’s health tends to be more difficult here due to the traditional culture. As we delved deeper into this topic we found that Rose was extremely progressive.

Rose is studying to be a midwife and promotes sexual health education in schools and amongst her patients. She explained the hardships women here in Ghana face in terms of pregnancy and receiving medical attention.

Today was also Ellie’s (one of our group members) birthday. There was a big happy birthday banner and we all signed a card for her. Happy Birthday Ellie!

-by Jackson Popper and Lea Schneider

Saturday July 13, 2019

Today’s main focus at service was building the first layers of the toilet walls. We added four full layers of brick to the structure. The process was much harder than usual, as we had to carry a ton of bricks, lay them, and continuously mix mortar. The little local kids were very happy to see us today and tried to jump in and help with our work.

Another big part, and highlight of today, was participating in a beach clean up. We were all given big bags and gloves and headed to a beach spot just in front of our home-base. We noticed that the majority of the plastic was the small black plastic bags. They were mostly spread around in smaller pieces, and buried in the sand, which made it really difficult to pick up.

-by Sannah Javaheri and Anya Smit

Sunday July 14, 2019

Happy Birthday Emma! Today we celebrated another birthday on program. Last night we shared cake and sang happy birthday to both Ellie (birthday two days ago) and Emma.

Today we also participated in a Batik making workshop. We had leader named TT and his students at a nearby vocational school that guided us through the process of batik making. The batikking process started by using stamps and brushes to apply hot wax to a white fabric.

After the wax dried we were given a wide variety of colors to chose to dye our fabric. After 10 minutes of mixing the dye it fully absorbed into the fabric except where the wax was. The final step was to dip the fabric into boiling water and allow to dry. The final results were beautiful and artistic batik fabrics.

-by Clara Chapman & Ellie Voss

Monday July 15, 2019

After breakfast both groups headed to their service sites to finish plastering the outsides of the toilets and putting the steps in place. It was a particularly long day leading to a late lunch, but like always, very fulfilling.

Shortly after lunch, we got into the car for an afternoon outing and a tour of a slave fort. Learning about the fort and slave trade was a very intense, heart breaking experience. We also stopped to visit a historic lighthouse and got a very cool view. The light house stands 120 feet tall, made of metal, and is powered by solar energy. It was first built around the same time the fort was used and guided slave ships to the west African coast.

On the way back to home base we stopped at a local bead shop and bought handmade jewelry for our friends and family back home.

Dinner was ready by the time we returned. The entertainment continued after dinner as we sat down to watch a cultural performance of drumming and dancing. This performance concluded with everyone’s participation, as the dancers got everyone on their feet to join in and dance.

-by Avery Best and Felix Sorenson

Wednesday July 17, 2019

This morning, instead of doing service at the compost toilets as we usually do, we headed out to Sahara park (community soccer, volleyball, and netball field area) to help Dom, an intern with Dream Big Ghana, set up the workout section. The work was a bit more intense just because there was no shade and a lot of digging in wet clay. We put up a swing set, a balance beam and dug moat around the park where a wall will later be constructed.

In the afternoon, we went to a local market in a nearby community. There was a list given by the kitchen of items that we needed to buy. It was like a scavenger hunt; we even had to use our limited knowledge of Ewe. Watermelon were the hardest thing to find for some reason. There was a woman selling slices for a low price, but charging too much for the whole watermelon. We had to search the whole market for someone else selling it, but couldn’t find anyone!

In the end, we had to pay the higher price. Meanwhile, we were carrying five sticks of six-foot tall sugar cane on our shoulders. Once we completed our hunt, we went to a fabric stand and bought some of the coolest fabric to bring to local seamstresses, where they are going to make us the clothes we want. There were the cutest baby goats ever there!

By: Alyssa Utochkin and Emma Ramboer

Thursday July 18, 2019

Today the last group of four students went to the clinic in the morning. They followed the nurses around the local village and saw how they tended to the babies, giving vitamins and malaria vaccine shots.

The rest of the group went to service as usual. We finished plastering the walls and steps and are now ready to make the finishing touches in these last exciting couple days.

We had nice time to rest and swim in the lagoon after lunch before going to Sahara Park for another sports day.

We enjoyed our evening with the locals and kids playing soccer and just getting to know them.

Yet to come we will be attending a bonfire on the beach with the staff. It should be fun.

-by Lea Schneider and Jackson Popper

Saturday July 20, 2019

Today was the final day of service; the compost toilets are completed and ready to be used. There was a great sense of accomplishment to see our hard work come together and have the chance to put our names on display. We also went to Gershon’s (one of the carpenters with Dream Big Ghana) farm where he taught us how to plant tomatoes. It was interesting to experiences a new method of farming that doesn’t use the technology readily availed in the US.

This afternoon we had lesson in traditional drumming, dancing and singing. It was surprisingly difficult to match the rhythm of the drums with the beat of the bell. Despite the difficulties of drumming, we still gained a lot of information about the history of the local dance we’ve seen many times previously. After our lesson, the staff surprised us with a delicious going away dinner with the entire crew and staff. This was the first time we were able to eat a meal with the staff and it added a great sense of community to the dinner. Overall, it was a great day.

-by Ellie Voss & Clara Campbell

Sunday July 21, 2019

Sadly, it is our last official day on our two week service project. Today began with our “toilet ceremony”, where we introduced ourselves in the local ewe language and proudly showed off our newly built, composting toilet. During the ceremony the proper way to use the toilet was explained and demonstrated as well as the importance of sanitization (washing hands) afterwards. Following pictures we headed back to home base to prepare for our afternoon excursion.

To start our afternoon, we boarded a traditional fishing boat and started down the Volta river. We arrived at the beach and ate a very tasty lunch of coconut rice and chicken. Then, we got to relax, play volleyball, and enjoy the sun. This being our last day we took lots of group pictures and made our last impressions on the lovely staff. Thank you for this amazing experience Ghana and we will be back soon!

-by Felix Sorenson and Avery Best

Monday July 22, 2019

Two weeks, two compost toilets built, and countless smiles and hugs from the kids…

Thank you for your incredible contribution to the Dream Big Ghana sanitation project. We truly appreciate your hard work the past two weeks.

From all of us here on the ground, have a great rest of your summer.