1 week left

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I don't think I ever need to see another goat, cow, or chicken cross the street!


Malaria is widespread in Hohoe. Our house mom has fallen ill to it, and one of the teachers at my school also has become infected. They tell the volunteers not to worry-it's just like the common flu in America. The only people who die from it are in remote villages who cannot reach a doctor to take the pills. I'm not sure if I believe that. It makes me angry to think of all the people who are dying bc they don't have access to proper treatment.

The most interesting person I've met here is Mary. She owns a local batik fabric shop. Looking at her shop, you would think it's like any other on the street; however, in the back there are many woman sewing and making the fabrics. She has taken these women off the streets from prostitution to train them to become seamstresses. Her goal is to stop the spread of HIV/AIDs in Hohoe. She's very passionate about her job and asks all of the volunteers to spread the word that this disease is much more prevalent than the statistics that are out there. She said to multiply the stats by at least 10. Unfortunately, there is a stigma in the community attached to you if you are infected; therefore, the people don't get tested and continue to infect others. For those she is able to convince to get tested, they meet at her local shop at 3 in the morning and she drives them to a doctor's office over 2 hours away.

Hearing this news, a few of the volunteers created an AIDS awareness program for local schools. They have been going into the classrooms and telling the students everything they need to know....None of them had even heard of the disease. This program will continue on with future CCS volunteers. I will be attending one of Mary's clinics on Tuesday to help her....she is doing this by herself without any resources.

On a lighter note, the other day at school was chaos. One of the teachers left about 1 hour into the school day. The other teacher decided to sit and talk to the owner of the school the entire day. Their children were running like crazy around the school. I went into one of the classrooms to try and get them settled, but noticed they turned the benches into slides. They piled one on top of the other and then slid down them. Once I got one of them down, they had already built another slide.... I think someone was purposely trying to torture me. Who knew 35 4 year olds had so much power!

I've made major progress with my students at my school. Since the students are used to memorizing addition, subtraction, and multiplication facts in order, I decided to do an interactive "market" for them to practice their math skills in real life situations. In the beginning, each of them were afraid to interact with the others in class, but within 5 minutes they were buying and selling their goods. Most importantly, they were learning how to make change and multiply the price if students wanted more than one item. Rebecca, a student, decided she didn't want to buy anyone's goods bc she enjoyed making money! This may seem pointless, but it's the first time they learned how to work together-and have fun while doing it.

Today was my last day at school. Their holiday starts tomorrow. Saying goodbye was very difficult bc many of the students were crying. One of the teachers asked me to stay here at the school bc I bring life to a place that has nothing.

I'm not sure if I'm writing too much or too little....I hope you are enjoying these stories. It's hard to pick which ones to write about. Keep your emails coming. I love to hear from all of you! So sorry I can't respond to each of you over email, but please know I'm able to read each one!

You know you are in Ghana when...
1. Your hotel has 5 cats to control the lizard problem.
2. You fit 10 people in a cab. 2 in the trunk, 3 in the front, and 5 in the back. (My head was sticking out the front window bc there wasn't enough room in the car.)
3. A goat is strapped to the top of the tro-tro, a bus.

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Comments

[MOM]

Love your Stories!
Keep on writing... love to hear all the stories ! What you are doing for these people is so amazing! I'm so glad that you are enjoying your time there. I'm sure they will never forget you! Stay safe and well. Love and miss you-MOM

[Erika]

Very Inspiring
Hi! here's another person you don't know! I was just looking at who was in Ghana, because I'm planning to go for 10 weeks, leaving in April. I just finished high school and I'm taking a year off to save up, and I can't wait. I've done volunteer work in Mexico and Guatemala, but it'll be my first time out on my own, and I have always been drawn to Africa, particularly Ghana. I'll be working in an orphanage teaching english and and organizing activities, etc, and you are giving me lots of ideas! Keep up the great work, and I look forward to your future entries :)