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June 5, 2014 by Brett Scuiletti 6 Comments

GHANA – Children of Africa – June 17 – June 30, 2014

Headed Home

All students have checked through security and are ready to depart for home!

Saying Goodbye

It’s hard to believe that our time in Ghana is nearly coming to an end. As a result, I don’t think that it’s possible to have a day more packed with activity than we did today. We started the day with some friendly competition of soccer against the local high school. This was no easy task, as soccer is very big over here. We did put up a good fight however (and by “we”, I mean Isaiah) and the ending score was 4-5 Ghana.

After a much needed ice cream and lunch break as well as a speech on Ghanaian history from a local chief, we headed off to Meet Me There Lodge, homebase to the GLA Building Healthy Villages program. Their director, Tigo, talked to us about his NGO called Dream Big Ghana, which helps provide compost toilets to rural villages. Between Tigo’s inspirational speech, swimming in the lagoon, and falling in love with newborn puppies at the lodge, we said goodbye to Meet Me There with heavy hearts.
We then rushed off to visit our host families for the last time. The host family experience really drove in just how friendly and welcoming the people here are. Strangers greet you with warm smiles and “wezo”, meaning “you are welcome”. We thanked them for their hospitality and with even heavier hearts than with the newborn puppies, we said our goodbyes.

Dinner was much appreciated as always, and anticipation for our bonfire built as we students sat in the lounge and enjoyed some summer pump up jams. We walked to the beach with bundles of firewood and suddenly we found ourselves surrounding a pile of sticks ablaze. Symbolically, we threw the letters of hopes and fears of the program that we wrote on the very first night here into the blaze. I can’t speak for everyone, but I know that I feel like a much different person than when we started the program.
A talent show followed the bonfire, displaying skills such as storytelling, poetry, and even some Ghanaian dancing. Then it was off to bed as the weight of our second to last day sunk in. I can’t wait to see what our last day holds. Very bittersweet.

-Lila and Aimee

Final Day of Teaching

Breakfast was delicious. Now I can’t remember exactly what it was, but any food is delicious. The loud chatter and laughter of my peer filled the room. We’re friends now…the all of us. There isn’t one person on this trip who I just cannot stand. Which is great because usually there is at least one. And now there’s none. I love the friendship part of this trip. I mean this trip is an amazing once-in-a-lifetime experience…but I’m saying I love how much we all get along. And maybe that sounds cheesy, but then so be it.

Anyhow. Breakfast was amazing. Incredible. Super duper yummy. And then we applied sunscreen and bug repellant and all that good stuff. Our bags packed, we piled into vans and were on our way. Our final day of teaching. It saddened me to realize that I would most likely never see these children again. These children, who I’ve grown to love and admire, would disappear from my life. To fall in love with these children and then lose everything you loved in a heartbeat is torture. You can’t do that to me. Or anybody.

In talking to some of my peers, I learned that they too were just as sad if not more. Goodbyes are the hardest. In my class, we played games and handed out candies and our students taught us how to dance. Just like, I later learned, every class. And then it was time for a goodbye. I was afraid I’d break, saying goodbye to the students I’ve fallen in love with. But I kept my cool, as I’ve learned to do, and gave my goodbyes, waving and backing out of the classroom. It took my everything not to look back into the classroom. I knew that would only make the sadness of goodbye worse.

I just realized I skipped the brick making part our day. It was uneventful and we were all tired. I feel as if I’m making this blog more about my group and me then about everybody as one whole group. But, as we are in three different groups and I am not a mind-reader, I cannot speak for the others. Let them share their days and I will share mine. So I will focus on my group. Anyhow. Back to making bricks. “Two bags or four?” “Four!” “Two. Four.” We will make what we make. 121 bricks today. Four bags. But we pulled it off.

Okay…So. We’re back at home base. We got to relax for…approximately an hour? More? Less? I don’t know. But we got to relax for enough time to write a journal entry or five. And then we were back in the vans and on our way to our activities. My group was going to The Island.

And then we were home again which was quite relieving! We were hanging out in the lounge and drinking from coconuts and playing with little children and just relaxing. Then dinner. I was starving. So maybe that’s a bit of an over exaggeration… but when you are that hungry everything tastes like the best food you’ve ever eaten. The time I wasn’t eating was spent writing. It was quite satisfying. And then dinner was over and we were relaxing some more and then a meeting. Alec lead it and, in my opinion, he did a very good job. We were asked questions like “what was the most difficult decision you ever made?”. Questions that made us think. I think it was a very productive meeting.

-Nicole

Group Photo!

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Diary for the Day

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Dear GLA Community,

Today we had a relaxing day. In the morning after breakfast, we went to our community service site as usual and made bricks and taught our assigned classes. Tomorrow is the last day of brick building and teaching. Despite missing all of the muscle toning and sweating while brick building, I think we will miss our students more.

After a successful morning of community service, we returned back to home base for a hearty lunch, and started on prep for a relaxing afternoon at Keta Beach. A motorized river boat was our method of transportation to the beautiful shore. We got to spend a lot of time in the sun and the water and have some good snacks with our toes in the sand! Afterwards, we heard an educationist by the name of Cyrial speak to us about his passion for teaching and his views on education in Ghana. By this time we were all hungering for a dinner of chicken and vegetables and oh, how could I forget… a taste of Shene’s wonderful guacamole.

It’s now time to wind down for bed with some journaling, reading, and music appreciation with our fabulous mentor, Kate. Cheers to a wonderful day and a Happy Happy 15th Birthday to Abby!

XOXO,

Morgan and Amanda

Another Beautiful Day

Class Circle

Dear GLA Parents,The students started out another beautiful day with community service. They continued to work on making bricks and teaching in their Ghanaian school. Following brick building and teaching, the students enjoyed a nice lunch. Then, the students split into two groups, one going to the Keta Slave Fort and the other group to the Angola market.At the Keta fort, students experienced a life changing tour of an 18th coast. Wandering through the dungeons and halls allowed the students to connect with the tragedies and inhumane justice that occurred there.“The slave fort brought a new light to the reality of slavery and the relevance of it in our world today.” – Alec McNiffThe students at the market were given a list of objects to buy, and objects to find out the price of. This activity involving bargaining, asking questions and interaction allowed the students the opportunity of experiencing one of the many aspects Ghanaian culture.Following the two activities, each group met back at Home Base to reenergize and relax to prepare for the evening activities. During this time, the seamstresses that the students had ordered from came to deliver their purchases. Students were very excited for their new custom made pants, shirts, dresses, skirts and bags. After a fashion show of the beautiful garments, the whole group congregated in the dining hall to eat a delicious meal. The evening activity consisted of The Story of Yourself. Led by International Director, Alec, the group sat in a circle and shared stories and a piece of themselves. Constant laughter and the sounds of drums rang out into the halls during this fun filled activity. Overall it was a day packed to the brim with constant learning and tons of teamwork.

Dodo nayu (Goodnight),

-Kate K. & Theresa N.​

A Satisfying Day

Dear GLA community,Today we started off the day with our normal routine; we traveled to our service sites where we continued our successful brick making. We enjoyed more spent teaching our curious students who are showing great improvement in their knowledge of each topic that is presented. After our service work we returned to home base where we were served a delicious meal. We then gathered to share our most memorable moments from the trip as a whole group. Time was then allowed for us GLA students to perform the talent of our choice such as singing, dancing, or reading poetry. Next we transitioned into dance lessons from two of our local staff members. After our entertaining dance lessons we given time to relax at home base or adventure to the beach. We then visited a nearby high school where we met interesting students our own age. We took time to discuss five issues we as teenagers think are important to making the world the best place is can possible be. For example, many students agreed that providing education to everyone, obtaining equality, solving conflicts peacefully, giving adequate health care to those in need, and taking of environmental issues were significant. The local students exchanged their names and information with us so that we can keep in touch. After returning to home base for spaghetti night we began an Ewe language lesson. We reviewed common terms which have been very helpful in allowing us to communicate with the locals here in Ghana. We concluded the night with the inspirational movie Emmanuel’s Gift. The movie told the story of a determined man from Ghana who greatly bettered the lives of disabled citizens such as himself. It was very moving and well like by all of us. We look back on today with satisfaction because of the amazing activities from the day and we excitedly anticipate the adventures of tomorrow.-Stephanie Dewald and Megan Galt

A Few Adventures…

We started off the day bright and early with a delicious breakfast made by our wonderful cook, Mercy. Next we headed off top the service site where the groups made bricks for a couple hours then taught their assigned grade. We headed back to home base to enjoy another meal which was chicken. The three groups separated. One group went to Father’s House and played with the kid that were rescued from child slavery, one group had a cooking lesson at home base, and the other group had a tour of a cultural village on the island. After these adventures, we had a little free time in which some caught up on sleep and some played with the village kids. Later on in the evening we had dinner, which was rice and beef and other varieties of things. At 7 we had a guest speaker who told us about story telling and how it affects their culture, then went on to tell us stories that they tell their children. After this, it was kind of late and we all just lounged around in our GLA community. This experience in Ghana has opened my eyes to how close you can become with people so quickly. I have never felt so welcomed not only by the other GLA students, but by the community we are in. Experiencing this different culture has given me perspective, and helped me to appreciate my own even more. I can take away what I like in a community versus what I see that I don’t like. 

Reflections on the Community

​​Greetings to the GLA community!We concluded our fifth day here in Ghana, one filled with new and exciting experiences. We started off the day with a relaxing beach yoga session and invigorating run, for those who were willing to wake up as the sun rose at 5:30. We then moved on to a photo scavenger hunt, in which we interacted with members of the local community. We split up into four groups that competed to take pictures of Ghanaian people and items for points. From there we revisited our school sites and continued building bricks to complete new additions to the schools we are volunteering at. While we were disappointed to not be able to teach the kids who were gone for the weekend, we worked hard building; one group even made 99 bricks in 2 hours! After volunteering we returned to home base to enjoy a delicious lunch.After lunch we switched things up with different groups; one group went to the local market to shop and to take in the vibrant atmosphere, while the other visited a slave fort from the 1700s. At the market, the students were provided with a list from the kitchen staff and had to undergo the challenge of purchasing specific items that were cooked later. The market was a different and more energized environment from our local malls, and was a good example of Ghanaian culture. The slave fort was an experience which will not be forgotten by the students who visited and learned about Ghana’s history. European colonies came to Ghana in the 1700s and enslaved many of the country’s people, forcing them to work for free and treating them like they were worth little-to-nothing. After seeing the way in which the slaves lived and were brutally beaten and treated, the students discussed how we can make a change and each brought up a current issue in our society which we are passionate about. Did you know that there is still human trafficking happening all over the world!? We consider this to be a form of slavery and hope to make a difference, even just by making people more aware of this issue.We finished the day with an outdoor viewing of the Ghana vs. German World Cup soccer game, which ended in a 2-2 draw. We watched the game with close to 50 people of the Anloga community, and each goal by the Ghanaian team created an eruption of joy from the viewers unlike any sports reaction we had experienced in America.Day 5 was a day filled with old and new, work and fun, adventure and learning. We continue to be amazed by both our interaction in the community and by the personal and collective growth we immerse ourselves in.​

– Katherine Bogart

Greetings from  Ghana!

This morning when the rooster yelled, some of the students started off their day doing yoga and running on the beautiful beach. Later in the morning, when we reached the school, the kids were staring with us in joy.This is where we began our four-hour experience at school. We first started making bricks, which took a lot of effort to put together. After the two hours of building bricks, we had a thirty minute break, which was absolute chaos because we played soccer. After break, we taught many subjects, ranging from Science to English – from graphing to enzymes and from brains to adjectives. We taught many subjects that made for a compelling class experience.

After our service opportunity, we returned to home base, where we had lunch and took a break, followed by “host families.” In this activity we visited the families that we were assigned to. Our host families were very kind and welcoming, and some students even got to play games! After our departure and on our arrival back to home base, many of us felt like rock stars, being surrounded by so many incredible children.

After that, we ate dinner, and we had many discussions about human rights, which was really fun and fascinating.

Fie na me!

An Extraordinary Experience

Fie na me!

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After a night of a rattling storm, we woke up to a delicious African breakfast. Then we packed our bags and headed off to our assigned schools where we would be volunteering for the day. One of the locals taught us how to build bricks in the same way you would bake a cake. We then tried making the bricks ourselves and successfully completed about 20.  Once we finished, we were ambushed by a swarm of adorable children who were fascinated by our hands, hair, and cameras.

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We then played a variety of games such as duck-duck goose, ring around the rosie, tag, and piggy back rides. When the kids settled down, we followed them back to class to observe and learn from the teachers in preparation for the next day. After saying our goodbyes, we piled into the van and headed back to the base. After lunch, we went to the seamstress to be fitted for a piece of clothing of our choice. Back at the home base, we were greeted by the smiles of the multiple children from the surrounding village. Feeling tired and sweaty, but still humbled by the day, we gathered to watch a TED talk and then ended the day by preparing our lessons for the kids tomorrow. We look forward to continuing this extraordinary experience!


Global Leadership Adventures


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Filed Under: Programs

About Brett Scuiletti

Brett Scuiletti is the Editor of The Young Leader. He is passionate about young people having meaningful travel experiences and enjoys sharing their stories. Brett resides in San Diego but always has his passport handy!

Comments

  1. Nancy Lynn says

    June 20, 2014 at 9:25 pm

    Hi, I was so hoping to see my daughter, Jessica Lynn, in the photo. She is at the trip June 17-30 in Ghana and I’ve only received one call from her telling me she had arrived. Is there any more pictures or a way for her to email/text/call me sometime? I just want to hear that all is well. thank you! Nancy

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  2. Val Shrewsbury says

    June 23, 2014 at 3:45 am

    Hi there! I was hoping to see a picture of my daughter, Amanda Shrewsbury, teaching yoga or building bricks. It looks like all is going well, and the group is having fun. Thank you for the updates too!

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  3. Nigel Galt says

    June 23, 2014 at 12:02 pm

    Like Nancy Lynn, I was also hoping to see pictures of my daughter Megan Galt who is on the June 17th to 30th trip.

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  4. Michelle Gleason says

    June 23, 2014 at 4:24 pm

    Thanks for writing these wonderful journals/blogs. It is a treasure to hear what you all are up to and to read the detailed, enthusiatic updates. Keep learning & sharing with us. Helps us all the grow a bit AND participate by absorbing the news. Hi Maggie!!! Hope you are having an amazing time. Charlie scored a goal in his game yesterday!

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  5. Jay Christenson says

    June 23, 2014 at 8:23 pm

    Would really like to see a picture of Cole Christenson posted

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  6. Nancy Lynn says

    June 28, 2014 at 6:10 pm

    I was SO happy to see the whole group in such a great picture! It looks amazing and of course it’s extra nice to see my daughter looking well. Although I miss her I am thankful that she has had this experience and am sure the memories will last a life time. thank you!! Nancy

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