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  Akwidaa, Ghana
Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Greetings from Ghana,

I hope that you all enjoy this update. You'll realize that we really do work while we're here! Stay well and have a fun summer, especially you Yoopers!

TODTWD

TODTWD is "Take Our Daughter to Work Day". It's a program that Peace Corps Volunteers in Ghana do to encourage girls to continue their education past primary school, avoid getting pregnant, and above all, to DREAM! There are four schools in the Sibi area in which I could choose only eight girls who would get to participate in TODTWD. I decided to have an essay contest as a selection process for girls in primary levels 4-6 (equivalent of 4th -6th grades) and Junior Secondary levels 1 and 2 (7th & 8th grades). I asked them questions that pertained to their education, future plans, and how they would overcome any obstacles that would hinder them from reaching their goals. The questions were simple and straightforward enough for students of this level to understand if they understand English. As it turned out, the majority of the primary girls could not even understand me when I went to the schools to explain the program. A teacher was there to translate for me. How could I expect them to write a one page essay in English? That should have been my first clue.

I gave the girls two weeks to think about their futures and write the essay. I collected the essays from the teachers at the schools and Chris and I read them at home. We weren't too surprised that so many of the girls wanted to be nurses. But we were really surprised that most of them wrote nearly the same thing! And at one of the primary schools every single girl wrote the exact same thing word for word. I was really disappointed with such blatant cheating. At least they could have been more creative with cheating. So I ended up choosing about ten of the best and most original essays. Chris also suggested that I interview all of the girls just to make sure that they can understand English and to weed out a couple more. Out of those ten, I was only able to choose five girls even though originally I said that I could take eight.

The girls were to meet me at my house early (6am) on the morning of May 21. We were going to take the first car out of Sibi to Nkwanta where the program was to be held. It couldn't have been a worse day. It rained all morning, and that meant no car. We waited for hours and I told the girls that maybe we should reschedule when the first car finally came. That was 9am, when we were supposed to be in Nkwanta, and it was a cargo truck loaded with yams! The girls were unstoppable; they were determined to get to Nkwanta to participate in the program. I got to sit up front with the driver and stay clean and dry, while the girls piled in the back on top of the yams. We reached Nkwanta two hours late, but we were still welcome to participate in the program. The girls were eager to change into their school uniforms that they all had packed and freshen up before they were ready to meet the working women of Nkwanta. One woman was a manager for an NGO, another was a secretary for the District Assembly, and another worked for Game and Wildlife, the government agency that manages the National Parks.

I also took the girls out to lunch at a real chop bar. They all had a local favorite, banku and meat, which was a treat. One of the girls actually wanted to be a caterer so she was able to ask the owner of the chop bar, also a woman, how she established her business.

After lunch we met back up with the rest of the girls that other PCVs brought from their communities and had a panel discussion with the various women. The girls listened to the women's stories of how they got their education, overcame challenges and became what they are today. I think they were really inspired. At the end of the program, we gave all the girls a certificate of participation.

Before leaving Nkwanta, I let the girls look around since it was market day. Three of the girls had never been to the district capital before and I think they were shocked by all the things it had to offer, like ice water. They all bought bread and popcorn to take back to share with their families. At the end of the long day, we all loaded up on a bus back to Kpassa. Then we had to take another car to Sibi Hilltop. And instead of paying for a bush taxi that wanted to overcharge us, the girls convinced me that we should wait for another car. I spotted a flat bed truck loaded with cement headed north. I asked the driver how far he was going and he said Sibi. How appropriate; arriving back in style, just the way we left. Of course, I sat in the front while the girls piled in the back on top of the bags of cement. This time it wasn't raining and a beautiful red-orange sun was beginning to set.

Back in Sibi, I was exhausted, but the girls were giddy with excitement. They showed off their certificates and chattered away about the events of the day. I was really happy with how the day turned out and even happier with the girls that I had selected. Hopefully that same determination they had to get to Nkwanta will carry them through to successful careers!

SHEP

SHEP stands for School Health Education Program. (Don't you love the acronyms of Peace Corps?) It was Chris' idea to start doing SHEP lessons in the schools. He decided that P4-P6 would be best since they can "pick" some small English. He approached the headmasters of both of the primary schools in Sibi Hilltop and scheduled a block of time on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for us to teach SHEP. The topics we've taught so far have been sanitation, personal hygiene and safe water. We bring in as much visual aid as we can, such as pictures, water samples, soap and sponge, etc. We do short skits and ask for students to volunteer. We ask a lot of questions and try to have the students engaged and actively participating in the lesson. Despite all of that, we still end up incorporating the teaching method the students know best, rote memorization. At the beginning of class, after they have all stood up and greeted us in unison and won't sit down until we tell them to, one of us will write the theme of the lesson on the board along with a simple definition. Then we make all the students say the word or words, again, in unison. Can you imagine a classroom of about 50+ children saying "Personal Hygiene"? After the song and dance of our lesson is over we always go back to reciting the theme again and again.

Some of the kids, we can tell, understand the lessons; they raise their hands for every question. Most struggle with the English bit, only raising their hand when they see everyone else raise their hands. But all of the students appear to be beaming the entire hour we are there teaching. Maybe they can see that we care about what we are teaching them and therefore they also are eager to learn it. Or they just think we're funny to watch; they've never seen a white person demonstrate how to properly take a bath, pretending to wash behind the ears, between the toes and under the armpits. On that note, Mr. Kuma, the headmaster of E.P. Primary School, takes the cake. He saw us struggling to demonstrate how to wash the groin and buttocks and he happily (or drunkenly, I'm not sure which) came in to demonstrate. So who knows, maybe something from SHEP will stick with them or at least they'll go home and teach their little brothers and sisters.

No Worries... 2nd Anniversary Story

It rained on our wedding day, might as well rain on our anniversary too. June has marked the beginning of the rainy season this year. It rained three of the first five days of the month. We had planned a quick trip to relax on the beach to celebrate our 2nd anniversary. We packed a backpack, locked the house and kissed the dogs goodbye. Jumped on our bikes to head to the next town where we could get a car, and all the while there was threat of rain growing more ominous by the minute. Even before we left the house, a huge dark front from the north was blowing in. But we thought we could out run it. About half way to Kpassa, the storm suddenly shifted and swooped in from the east. I've never peddled so hard in my life. But we didn't out run it. A cold hard rain beat us for about 4.5 long muddy miles. And at one point Chris calls out to me "Happy Anniversary!" It was actually the day before our anniversary. We rolled into Kpassa soaked to the bone. Even most of the clothes in my bag were damp. I was in a terrible mood, wondering if we shouldn't just go back home and try again tomorrow. But Chris convinced me otherwise and we kept going. We got a straight car to Hohoe, then Hohoe to Ho. Things were looking better, but there were still rain clouds hovering over us. We checked into the cheapest (~$5) place we knew, the YMCA and hung all of our wet clothes out on the balcony to dry. The caretaker recommended a place for us to eat and offered to take our clothes inside if it rained. So we walked over to the restaurant and ordered, you'll never believe us - pizza! With real cheese! And as we enjoyed our pizza, it began to pour. It was only then that we realized that we left the louvers of the windows open in our room. Oh well.

Then we went to use the internet. Another Peace Corps Volunteers was supposed to email us about the beach we were going to, but didn't. We also forgot our guide book, so we didn't really know where we were going to stay once we got to the beach. And all the travel blogs we looked up gave such terrible reviews for the accommodations on that beach that we were beginning to loose hope of a nice anniversary trip. Back at the room, we saw that the caretaker did bring in our clothes, but our bed and sheets and clothes that were on the bed, were all drenched! We can't win for losing. But we managed, somehow. Chris flipped the mattress over and we were given a mop and a fresh set of sheets.

The next morning, still unsure what to do or where to go, we headed to the station to get a car. We just decided to head towards Accra and then on a whim I called the Green Turtle lodge where we went last year. It was not even 7am yet, but someone answered the phone and told me that there was a self-contained chalet available for three nights... "no worries" said the British woman on the other end, "we'll see you this evening." That was the best news we had heard in two days! Our anniversary trip was saved! We knew exactly where we were going and what to expect when we got there. Three nights and two days of total relaxation were only a day's journey away. We reached the paradise of Green Turtle around 4pm. The tro dropped us off at the end of the sandy driveway. And as we walked up the driveway together, as the ocean came into view, I said to Chris "now it's a happy anniversary."

The end.

Or is it the end... then we learned that we didn't bring as much money as we thought and we barely made it back to Nkwanta with 10,000 cedis ($1) to our name until we went to the bank the next day.

Ok now, the end.

Peace out,

Sayward and Chris

P.S. Happy Belated Father's Day!

P.P.S. Request for cookie recipies via email. We've been on this cookie kick lately... maybe I'll fatten Chris up after all.