Greetings from Odumase-Krobo Children of Africa program!!
Just a quick note to let you know that all GLA students arrived safely from Canada, Brazil, Spain and the USA.
One of our students missed a connecting flight and arrived today at 4am – to be greeted by Henry, our Local Director. Yea!!
We are a full compliment of 17 youth ready and excited to meet the challenges of our 2 week program!!
Students have chosen Leadership Roles to participate in over the next 2 weeks – so, this will be the only blog I write!
The following students will be our ‘bloggers’: Gabby and Ava.
Other leadership duties are the following –
Time Keepers: Paige and Kyra
Game Leaders: Claire and Sabrina
Agenda Writers: Caroline and Marcella
Site Leads: Jed and Leah
Head Counters: Alex and Jen
Clean Space Reminders: Isabelle and Izzy
Health Reminders: Christian and Setah
Thank You’s: Amy
Stay tuned for an update from our student bloggers in the next few days.

July 5, 2017
Saturday July 8 – Monday July 10
This past weekend we covered a lot of Ghana’s territory. Starting Saturday, we thought what was going to be a relaxing sight-seeing excursion turned into a very sweaty long hike. That being said, the views were absolutely incredible. We climbed close to 300 stairs to what was called the Boti Falls. We also hiked up to Umbrella Rock which was worth it, as we got panoramic views of Ghana’s beautiful greenery. Afterwards we were all so tired, we came back to home base and napped. Then we went to Asitey park to do our service. After dinner we watched a Tedtalk which explained the concept of a “Single Story” and engaged in a rich discussion afterward. It was interesting to realize how we can form an opinion or perspective about things such as race, culture etc but be naïve towards the actual facts. As an example, in this Tedtalk the women spoke about how her American roommate thought that just since she was from Nigeria, she grew up in poverty.
On Sunday we put on our best clothes (whatever outfit wasn’t dirty) and walked to a local church. When we got there we danced and sang to live Ghanaian music which was followed by a sermon. Two hours later before we left, the whole church called our group to the front and they all said a prayer for us which was very special. After lunch, we attempted (strong emphasis on the attempted) Batik. We used hot wax to print Ghanaian symbols on white fabric. We each had the chance to make our own and then dye them. We had another wonderful afternoon at the park, followed by dinner and then we prepped for an early morning of teaching. For those volunteering at the nursery, parents in the community were eager to meet them therefore we started an hour earlier on Monday. And the students working at the elementary school had a two hour lesson to prep for. We had our hands full with building bricks and then teaching the rambunctious grade 4, 5, 6’s.
This afternoon we had the pleasure of souvenir shopping at our home base. A man by the name Rasheed who has a booth at a local market, brought his items to us. So you can all get excited for some gifts! We also just finished a group discussion with a women named Monica who is the owner of the nursery but who is also extremely ambitious and successful as an entrepreneur, mother and wife in the Krobo community. We had the chance to ask her questions about her life and how she has managed to be where she is today given the circumstances of Ghanaian society.
Now we are taking bucket showers, playing spoons and prepping for our lessons tomorrow morning. Goodnight!!!
-Gabby and Ava
Hike to Umbrella Rock
Hanging on for dear life!!
Don’t worry family and friends – the students are actually standing on the earth!!
The entire student group at Umbrella Rock
Boti Falls
Church
Heading home after church
GLA students teaching the awesome kids at Asitey Elementary School.
Hanging and playing games with the elementary kids after class!
Chillin’ at Asitey Park after many active games with the kids of the village.
Hello family and friends!
Sadly, this will be our last blog post but that means we are close to talking about our adventures in person rather than over the web. On Wednesday we taught at the nursery and elementary school. We had a cultured afternoon as we helped prepare with our lovely kitchen staff, a traditional meal for dinner called ‘Red Red’. Then we learned the skills behind hawking (carrying heavy objects on our heads). This proved to be just as hard as it looks. Big shout out to Sabrina and Seta for being champs and Jen for being the biggest sport about it despite her clumsiness. Afterwards as usual we went to the park for a couple of hours and enjoyed a beautiful sunset. In the evening we took a short drive over to another neighborhood where we were greeted by live music using traditional bamboo instruments. Many locals were there, singing and dancing along with us while we learnt new Ghanaian music and dance moves. We will have to show you when we’re back!
Today was a treat as we got to go to a special place called Sajuna beach. GLA had rented out the entire area just for us which was awesome. We spent the day swimming, kayaking, playing beach volleyball, eating and most importantly having a nice chance to relax after the hard work we have been putting in. It was a lot of fun, except for those who tried to get their tan on but are now a little (a lot) red. On our way back to going to the park we stopped at a market bead shop. There was lots of variety and all for a great bargain! The park today was a little bitter sweet as we know that tomorrow will be our last day with the kids. It truly will be heartbreaking to say goodbye to all the locals and the friends we’ve made this trip. As cheesy as this sounds, we’ve all made friends that will last a lifetime. This group has bonded more than we ever anticipated and the locals have been so so friendly. There will be many tears tomorrow, we are looking forward to our last day and a special goodbye dinner to follow.
Saturday morning is going to be an early one for those on the JFK flight, which has ended up being 1/2 of those here. They will be setting their alarms for 4:00 A.M L . Those flying through Europe will spend the day doing more souvenier shopping at some markets. Easy to say it will be a long and emotional day for all but we are all very excited to see our families and share with you our experiences face to face. Love you!!!
P.S Thanks to all who have read these posts and commented. It’s been great to read what you guys have said. Extra special shout out to our second parents on this trip; Wendy, Kaye and Henry. You have all been very good at your jobs and have made us feel at home since the minute we walked out of the airport. Another shout out to our fabulous kitchen crew for the delicious meals. Also to Nanama and Francis for being the best.
See you soon!
Gabby and Ava
Preparing the ingredients for ‘Red-Red’, a traditional Ghanian dish
Learning the fine art of ‘Hawking’. Beginning with a piece of wood balanced on the head, and working our way up to plastic containers used for carting water and then bundles of firewood.
7/14/17
Photo’s of GLA students at service at Edmon Nursery Odomase Krobo.