Camp- Part II

Day 3 was our chickens and trees day.  In the morning we talked about housing for animals and the the design of the coop that was actually built was introduced.  We got off to a late start this particular morning and then once we arrived at the farm we had to wait for a long while for the carpenter to come with the saw.  I mostly sat around chatting with other volunteers, snapping photos, and holding babies while the students did the work.  The coop wasn’t finished before it was time for us to return to the school for lunch so Sonia will be working with the farmer to complete it later.  The vehicle taking us back to the school wouldn’t start so it had to be given a push to start so most of the students and volunteers pitched in to run and push.  It was quite a sight to see…

After lunch, Sonia did a soap making demonstration with the students which I think they really enjoyed.  During the time we spent outside during this, we noticed some storm clouds approaching.  But thankfully they went to the tree nursery near the school that the NGO Sonia works with has started before the rain came.  During the debrief of the tree nursery visit, they talked about record keeping and then the rain started.  It’s getting toward the end of the rainy season so each time it rains now I keep wondering if it’ll be the last until dry season is over in May.  Six months without rain and you start to miss it big time.  We took a little break because of the rain while the students watched the beginning of Monsters Inc.  Then we did our last session on HIV/AIDS where we showed a few films written by young Africans and announced an upcoming story writing contest to create more films.  The real fun began when Liv started the condom demonstration which in retrospect wasn’t the best to do at the end of the day.  But we made it through and answered some good and some silly questions but it’s always important to give correct information.  We ended with a condom game where the students played hot potato with an inflated condom and popped it once the music stopped to answer a question inside.  I plan to use the game again next month for a program I’m planning with some of my students. 

Our night activity the third day was a talent show and we were really surprised how many kids signed up when we posted the sheet the night before.  Usually only a few people sign up but then at the last minute everyone wants to perform.  We had so many acts that we couldn’t allow additions because of time constraints.  All the volunteers opened the talent show by singing our national anthem.  We achieved goal #2 of Peace Corps: Educate host country nationals (Ghanaians) for us about America.  The acts included singing, storytelling, puzzles (riddles), preaching and dancing. 

Last day!  The camp flew by.  On the last day in the morning, there were sessions on climate change, desertification, and adaption including a cool experiment.  Then we held final sessions on sustainable agriculture and organic maize farming, which included a compost demonstration.  During the morning, farmers from groups that Sonia works with began trickling in for the afternoon session.   Using the three groups, each group was assigned a topic to present to the farmers as the capstone of the camp.  Before and during lunch, the volunteers helped the students prep for their presentations.  The food utilization group taught about nutrition and moringa which is one of the sessions I did so I helped them along with two other volunteers.  During their presentation, Sonia had a student translate from Fra-fra for us so we could hear what the students were telling the farmers.  They did a great job and it was rewarding to see them pass along the information I taught them.  The food availability group was assigned sustainable agriculture as their topic and the food access group talked about animal rearing.  Once we wrapped up with the farmers, we took a group photo of the students and then the students and volunteers.  And then more photos of each volunteer with the students they brought.  My students Linda and Michael did such a great a job during the camp- I’m so proud of them!  During the day, two volunteers Vince and Lauren worked on compiling a slideshow of photos from the camp to show to the students during our closing ceremony.  After our last dinner together of delicious TZ again, we held the closing ceremony where each volunteer gave their students a certificate, candy and a t-shirt (random Dutch shirts not camp shirts).  Then we watched the wonderful slideshow before leaving the students to go hang out back at SWOPA on our last night.  Back at school this week, Michael talked to the form 3s about what he learned at camp and Linda to the form 2s.  Our next step will be to start an agriculture club and begin meeting at least monthly.

I’ll end with two new experiences I had during camp.  On the first night when some volunteers arrived they brought ‘street meat’ as we call it with them….of the dog variety.  Yes Ghanaians eat dog and though I hadn’t tried eating dog and had pretty vowed I wouldn’t I decided why not give it a shot.  And I must say it was better than I thought it would be but I don’t plan on eating a lot of dog mostly on principal.  At the guesthouse, I made friends with two of the women working there who loved saying my name ‘Steph---a-nieee’ (broken up just like that).  On second morning at breakfast one of them had a baby boy Edwin (good name) on her back and I proceeded to make him smile at me instead of cry as babies normally do when they see me.  She handed him to me and the other volunteers decided it was my opportunity to ‘back’ a baby.  With help I strapped him on my back and got the coveted ‘baby on my back’ photo which I will try to post soon.  So in summary I ate dog and backed a baby. 

Camp- Part I

Let’s start at the very beginning….a very good place to start…  My students and I were a little late getting out to the road to wait for a vehicle so we missed the early morning lorry. I got pretty worried that we weren’t going to find means to get out of the village especially after we’d been waiting for a couple of hours.  Thankfully using my skin I was able to beg a ride for us from water distributors but they could only take us to the next village.  I then called a contact I have from that village who works for MOFA (Ministry of Forestry and Agriculture) and he was able to come pick us and even took us all the way to Navrongo.  From there we were able to catch a free ride with my friend Vince’s high school bus which was awesome.  Funny story...while we were waiting in Navrongo I bought us some chop (rice for lunch) and then we sat at a spot where the students had minerals as a treat.  At the spot some Ghanaian music was playing at first but then it switched to American and Beyonce’s ‘All the Single Ladies’ came on.  When I asked my students if they could understand what was being said they told me they had no idea and even thought it wasn’t in English.  So I explained the song to them and they laughed- especially to the part ‘if you like it then you better put a ring on it.’ 

On the bus ride to Sirigu it was 3 volunteers and 6 students so each of us had our own seat.  My girl student Linda moved to sit next to another girl named Vanessa (nicknamed Happy- a tiny form 1 student) and soon declared to me that they were friends.  It was super cute and made me excited to see her quickly getting into the camp spirit.  We arrived super early so played games with the students including volleyball with a beach ball, American football, Frisbee, and badminton.  Another volunteer and I also helped Sonia, who did most of the organizing of the camp, with some last minute preparations at the school.  It was a little crazy because the school’s new and Sonia had been telling me that she was worried about where the students would bathe.  In typical Ghanaian fashion, her counterpart waited until the day camp started to help convert what basically was a construction zone to separate boy/girl bathing areas.  Definitely not ideal but we made it work and students didn’t seem to mind.  The women who cooked for us arrived late the so dinner was a couple hours late but the rest of the time it was better.  And the food was delicious!  The first night was just for eating dinner and setting basic ground rules then the volunteers except the two who were chaperoning for the night headed to the guesthouse we were staying at.  Sirigu Women’s Organization for Pottery and Arts (SWOPA) has a traditional arts center where women make and sell pottery, baskets, and canvas paintings.  They also run a guesthouse and do architecture tours of traditional painted houses.  It’s a cool place and it was nice staying there.

On the first day of camp we did an official welcome and went over a few more camp rules.  Then we played a couple of name games to get to know each other and also an icebreaker before we started the sessions.  The first session was on Food Security- whether people have enough nutritious food year round to maintain a healthy lifestyle.  Sonia had a brilliant idea to break the students into groups of three based on the pillars of food security: availability, access and utilization to use for discussion groups the first day and then work and later presentation groups the remaining days.  In the morning there was also a session on different activities clubs can do which we then expanded up in the rest of the camp.  In the afternoon, we had sessions on 4-H clubs in America and Ghana (they do have a few clubs here) and then talked about the elements that make a successful meeting.  I did the basics of nutrition using a toolkit we have available here and the students already knew much of the information from school.  Here’s they use body building instead of protein, energy instead of carbs, and protection instead of fruits & veggies as the food group names.  Then I gave a presentation I found on the nutritional benefits of moringa, a drought resistant ‘miracle’ tree that produces leaves year round that contain an amazing amount of nutrients.  Our lesson session of the first day was an introduction to school gardens since the next morning we helped plant one.  Then we built in time for sports- mostly football- so the students could blow off some steam after a classroom heavy day.  The first day went amazingly smoothly especially considering it was 1. at the beginning and 2. the least hands on day.  After dinner, we showed the students the Shallow Seas episode of the BBC’s Planet Earth before it was bedtime. 

The second day was our gardening and animals day.  First thing after breakfast we headed to the JHS where Sonia’s been doing a science club.  Students from the science club came for the morning to first tell us about the incinerator project they did and then to also plant the school garden.  We learned about waste management and they demonstrated the incinerator (oil drum for burning rubbish) and we talked about the benefits over the normal pit of burning trash.  Next the students worked on various tasks for the garden broken into their three groups: ground prep and planting, fencing, and seedlings.  An experienced gardening volunteer Jen came from the Northern region to help with this part of the camp and she did an awesome job especially since it was a bit chaotic with more students.  It was funny during these hands on sessions there were a bunch of us volunteers and we spent a lot of time shunning the sun by standing under trees.   I helped some with showing the kids how to plant vegetable seeds in a water sachet to nurse them.  We had green pepper, cabbage and cauliflower seeds which was fun because we taught the students what cauliflower is.  The garden looks great and we snapped the big group photo shot at the end.

After lunch and a debrief about the school gardens, the animal portion of the camp began.  Another volunteer Dawn set up two Ghanaian resource people to come which worked out really well.  A woman named Lucy came from MOFA to talk about animal diseases and the students were asking her tons of questions.  The students were really engaged the whole time and it was impressive how interactive they were.  A lot of times I would be up and down, in and out during sessions to see how I could help out, check on stuff, or just to take pictures but I tried my best to sit throughout the next session on beekeeping.  It was really interesting and I think the kids were amazed because usually folks here just kill the bees to get the local honey.  Before dinner my neighbor Alex and our health volunteer Liv did a neem cream (local mosquito repellent) and malaria education session.  Our fun night activity was a team trivia game with questions coming from the first two days of camp.  Students are super competitive here so got really into it.  One team even did a tight huddle while discussing the answers.  Whew this was a long post and I’m only halfway through camp so I’ll break here and finish another day.   Part II coming soon wrapping up Day 3 and 4 of camp!

Harvest Time

Sometimes I forget I live in Africa. Honestly I do. I think it’s because I get so into my routine here that it doesn’t always strike me as being very different. But then other times it hits me like a ton of bricks. I took this photo at one of my student’s houses recently and it was a very ‘Yes I’m living on another continent’ moment for me. With the mud huts, drying maize, and big baobab tree in the background, it’s not something that you see in America. Speaking of maize, I was riding my bike through a maize field recently and it dawned on me that it’s somewhat comparable to a corn maze back home (I guess I could call it a maize maze if I did one here). Sometimes I get caught up in what I’m missing at home and forget to enjoy what I have here. I wish I enjoyed eating roasted maize like a Ghanaian but it’s one of the few foods I really don’t enjoy. It’s too crunchy and chewy instead of soft like corn on the cob. Besides some of the maize being ready, it’s also groundnut harvest time! This is great because I do love groundnuts. And people have literally been giving me bags of groundnuts. I like them boiled best so have been chopping (eating) them a lot recently which has helped my protein intake. A couple of times I’ve been out for bike rides and have run across students with their groundnuts with the plant still attached on a donkey cart. They then have proceeded to give me a bunch (not sure if that’s the right word) of ground nuts including the plant.

Last Wednesday was an unusual day for me. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are my busier teaching days but this day was particularly busy. First I decided to torture myself last week and give ICT tests in all forms (1, 2, and 3). Basically what happened was that I planned for each class individually and didn’t really plan for my marking workload holistically- oops. Back to hump day, besides teaching my regular 3 classes, I also taught Maths to the form 3s after ICT since the teacher who was supposed to be in their class wasn’t around. I also had an extra class with the form 1s after school. This means that I taught 5 classes which is 6 hours of teaching. You may be thinking to yourself that this is a normal teaching day in America. I also know this to be true so I had this realization that I might be in big trouble when I come back to America and try to work. But for the here and now I’ll feel super productive on days like this and worry about getting my work ethic back in shape later.

On Thursday I’m travelling with two of my students to my friend Sonia’s village for the Upper East Food Security Youth Camp! I’ve been helping plan some of the logistics for the camp and think it’s going to be awesome. 12 volunteers are helping out with the camp, 9 of whom are bringing students. I’m taking our boys senior prefect Michael (the one who wrote me the letter I posted for World Teacher’s Day) and one of my favorites from form 2, a girl named Linda. I’ve been telling my students it’s an agriculture camp since they don’t know what food security is- but they’ll soon learn. The goal at the end of the camp is for us to go back to our schools and start 4-H type clubs to do activities with. We’ll be learning about club formation, nutrition, school gardens, animal rearing, tree nurseries, sustainable farming, and more. The best part is it won’t only just be learning about how to do all this but it’ll actually be hands on. One day we’ll actually help plan a garden and another day we’ll help build a chicken coop to give us ideas of projects we can do. We’re also throwing in some HIV/AIDS health education and, after full day of learning, lots fun at night - games, films, a talent show and a bonfire the last night. We’re all super excited about the camp! I’m sure I’ll be exhausted after it though and a little behind at school so my post next week might be a bit late.

Painted House

During my Saturday evening bike ride, I randomly decided to go on an ‘adventure’ and chose a side path to take that I’d never been on and didn’t know where it went.  It was getting time for me to turn around when I stumbled about on a compound with a painted traditional house.  I’d met some painters from Bolga months ago who were in town to do.  I knew the village was in the next village over Jiningsa but wasn’t sure exactly where.  I greeted a few people outside the house before I turned around and decided then I’d have to come back soon to take photos of it.  YesterdayI did just that and got some nice shots.  I also conversed of the family and took pictures of themselves to show them.  I then bartered with the old man; when he told me he liked my bike and I should give it to him, I responded that I liked his house and he should give it to me.  I’m pretty sure he agreed that's a fair exchange. 

Too Cool for School

I realized that in my normal post last week I didn’t mention much about what’s going on at school. Mostly because I get into a routine there that seems boring to me so I forget to share. First of all, during the last week of September we held our first Girls’ Club meeting of this new school year. Twenty-five girls turned out to discuss malaria since it’s the rainy season and the disease is prevalent right now. I always try to open our meetings with a game and this time was no different. We played mosquito tag (I got the idea from a friend who worked on health education with a Canadian NGO in tamale) where 3 girls where mosquitoes and were ‘it’ and 3 other girls were doctors who could cure the sick by rolling a ball between the ‘frozen’ girls’ legs. Since it was their first time playing tag, it took several tries until they were actually running and playing but I think they enjoyed. At the end they told me they were tired and ready to come inside the classroom. First we talked about misconceptions or beliefs regarding malaria and the cause of it. I shared with them something I learned in a Malaria 101 training I attended that malaria literally means ‘bad air’ because before someone discovered it was caused by mosquitoes people thought it was an airborne disease. Then we played a High Risk, Low Risk game with laminated pictures showing people sleeping under mosquito nets, people sleeping under nets with holes in them, people going to the doctor when sick with malaria, people refusing to go to clinic, etc. Through the game we discussed signs/symptoms, treatment, and most importantly prevention. We closed by watching an instructional video on how to make neem cream and then I gave them girly butterfly stickers as a small incentive. O one thing that made me really happy is that when I announced we’d have the club the following day to the form 3 students the library prefect Ruth audibly gasped (or made some kind of noise) from excitement.

It’s going to get more difficult to schedule girls club from now on because we’re organizing extra classes for the students after school. I think the concept is good but honestly I just wish teachers would teach all their normal periods during the week. And Friday at school is such a joke- mostly just PE and entertainment. So if Friday was treated as a regular day instead we wouldn’t need extra classes. But during the PTA meetings parents agreed to pay (it’s optional) for the extra classes so we’re going forward with them. We’ll see how it goes… I actually enjoy the extra classes because it seems like it’s mostly the serious students who stay. Plus it’s easier to teach with a smaller number of students. I have more time to individually check their understanding which is so important in math. And last week when I held extra maths for the form 2s after I gave what we call a ‘Try’ question I let those students who got it correctly and understood it leave the class. Then I had time to further explain to some of those who weren’t getting it. A lot of the girls really struggle with math so it helped to have time with just them.

I finally went to the primary school last week to pick up a Primary 6 (P6) English textbook for my friend Titus. He’s blind but has been helping out at the Kunkwak Primary School but started having trouble because he doesn’t have any Braille materials to help with his teaching. So we hatched a plan to acquire some books so I can read for him to translate to Braille. He attended the Wa School for the Deaf in the Upper West where he learned Braille and really good English. Saturday I biked over to his house for us to begin our work. It was really interesting for me to watch the whole process: putting the paper in the frame, using the stylus to form the dots, and reading to ensure correctness. We spent almost two hours during which I read and he recorded three poems and two grammar exercises. We enjoyed some laughs because of misunderstandings caused by my American English.  I also told him I want him to come help me with a lesson one day at school because I was teaching the form 3s recently about how you can use ICT in learning. One of the examples was people with disabilities like the blind can listen to the radio and deaf can watch TV. I decided ask my students if the blind can read. The response: “O madam no of course not.” So you can imagine the amazement in the classroom when I explained Braille to them. It really is rather incredible and definitely impressive. Whenever I have some free time Titus and I will work on his teaching and learning materials. I’ve also been tasked with helping to find additional paper for him to use which might be difficult if it’s only available in Accra like we think it is. I took several videos and photos which I will try to post at some point when I have high speed internet access. 

Happy World Teacher's Day!

Since tomorrow is World Teacher’s Day (for some reason I have this written on my calendar), I decided to assign a letter writing exercise for the ICT homework this week.  I explained to the class about the upcoming holiday and then told them I’d like each of them to write a letter to a teacher in the school thanking them for teaching.  I told them that even though we’re getting paid to a do a job it’s still nice to be thanked for your work and it makes you happier in your work.   I also told them not to choose me because the idea was to show the other teachers in the school appreciation.  When some of them protested, I said they could write me a letter but only after they’d written one to another teacher too.  I plan on giving the other teachers their letters tomorrow.  

I had to share the letters that I received from our Boys Senior Prefect Michael.  Michael was number one in the end of term exam results last year and is in my group of HIV/AIDS peer educators.  Today at our PTA meeting he shared a short speech (in Buli) he prepared and I edited (in English) on HIV/AIDS with the parents.  I was really proud of him for being so brave and confident in speaking in front of them.  He didn’t even use notes or anything.  He’s very bright, respectful, and overall a teacher’s dream.  Before you read his letter, let me explain one thing.  In the end of term exams for ICT form 2, some of the students had received leaked answers (we’re not sure how that happened but rumor has it teachers at another school gave out answers for whatever reason) to the objective portion.  Many of them received 40/40 marks or other high marks.  Because I’m very strict on cheating, I gave them all zeros, lectured them many times, and made them write me an apology letter.  My hope is that some of them really learned something from it and will never do it again. Enjoy the following 'formal' letter compelete with a title!  And remember English is his second language….

My Best Teacher

Dear Madam Carey,

I wish to write you this letter, how are you on this day? I hope by the grace of our Lord Jesus Chris you are well as I am.

The paramount reason why I am putting these words on the paper is that I want to thank you for being my teacher in this noble JHS.

It is because of your help I know something concerning Information and Communication Technology.  I also thank you very, very much for the love you love me.  Since you came to this school you have no problem with me.  You always advise me and also play (joke) with me.  So for that matter I like your decorum.  There is no way that I will forget of you in my life. 

Madam, I also want to thank you for what you have done to my colleagues at our final exams.  You deducted some marks from those who had the objectives forty over forty and it is a very good idea.  You have done this to prevent us from laziness and cheating in the examination hall.

I will like to end my letter here.

Yours faithful,

Akangye Michael

Being Engaged in Ghana

Obviously being engaged is awesome for many reasons but I want to focus why it is in Ghana specifically.  First of all, since I had to leave my real ring back home for safety reasons, I also have a ‘Ghana’ ring which is made from recycled silver, contains a fair trade gem, and was obtained from etsy.  So I got two engagement rings!  By the way, my fiancée has really great taste in jewelry just so you know. Anyhow, now when men here propose to me in many variations ‘Will you be wife? Can I be your husband? Will you marry me? ‘ I can just point to my ring and I don’t even have to say a thing.  It’s beautiful.  Not that I mind going into my Buli spiel ‘Sorry no.  I have a boyfriend (now fiancée).  His name is Edmund.  He lives in America.  He is an aeroplane engineer’ especially once I realized people actually listen.  For example, word spread last year so much so that if a man I’d given the spiel to in the past greeted me with a friend who proceeded to ‘propose’ he would tell the new guy no for me!  It’s great to be able to shame people when they ask me by showing them my ring.  For example, here’s  a related story from I first got back in country. While I was in a tro (minivan), I was flipping through the sole bridal mag I brought back with me and the guy next to me who apparently was also perusing pointed at a photo of a bride and groom.  Then he pointed to me and himself.  Again I just had to point to the ring finger and he was so ashamed he even buried his head in hands!  Another reason being engaged here is  great…it furthers the ongoing joke about me putting people in my suitcase when I come back to America.  Now that I’m engaged everyone wants to ‘come witness the wedding’ so of course I say they’re invited and we’ll have to pack them all in my luggage.  That’s all I can think of for now but I’ll be sure to update with more stories.

I know I blogged about biking last week but I’m going to do it again this week because having my own bicycle at my disposal has kind of changed my life here.  It’s definitely given me more freedom and the ability to stick to a more regular exercise regime.  Last week I biked to one of the sections of our village that I  hadn't seen before.  I’ve never had a reason to go and nobody’s every taken me but I decided to have an adventure and go there by myself.  Once I passed the chief’s palaceit was unknown territory to me.  But I soon approached a well where I met two of my students.  After greeting them, I continued and made it all the way to the Balerinsa primary school and perhaps JHS.  I mentioned in a previous post that there’s a new JHS in our village but now there’s some controversy about the site of it which now may be moved to this place.  As I was checking the grounds out, a couple of people approached who then decided to give me a tour.  Then more people came including two more of my students and tons of staring children.  The people who live close to me and who are along my regular biking routes are so accustomed to me now and don’t stare that much anymore.  It was funny to be reminded of what a sight I am to see for some- the first white lady (or person period) they’ve ever seen!  This particular evening I was also proud of the Buli conversation I was able to hold with the people there.  It was a great ride except I need to remember not to wait until so close to sunset to be returning because I’m pretty sure I ate some insects by accident riding back.  One some of the routes I take there are flowers along the roadside so I’ll stop and pick a few to take home for decorations.  My students think it’s the quirkiest thing ever I’m pretty sure.  ‘O Madam!  Flowers!?!?!’  I tell them that I think they’re pretty and I like looking at them in my house but I get mostly blank looks in return.  I even went as far as to try to explain to one student who commented on them that in America men give women flowers as a romantic gesture.  To which he responded that here if a man wants to marry a woman all he has to do is take apeteshie (local alcohol) to her family.  Touche.

Baby animals are everywhere right now so I’ve been enjoying all the kids, piglets, puppies, kittens, calves, etc.  I always (like once a week) go to greet my student Joyce’s family and they like laughing at my affinity for holding the baby goats.  I snapped this photo of one sitting in my lap and they got a kick out of me photographing it.  While waiting for the lorry to go to market over the weekend, I got to play with a puppy at the store where I usually sit on one of their benches.  When I asked the lady who owns the store what her name is, she told me I could name her.  I decided to give her the Buli name ‘Awenteme’ (God’s gift) since it’s one of the ones I know well.  I took a picture of her with a little girl Jocelyn that I’ll try to post soon too.