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Published: March 16th 2013
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It has been a busy, but successful month at school, and I really can’t believe we only have a week and a half until the end of this second term! The children have been working hard for various monthly tests, and also completed their end of term exams this week, so next week we are going to enjoy getting started on our class project; making volcanoes and creating lava! The children are particularly excited, as they don’t often have the opportunity to be really creative and ‘hands-on’ in their learning (mainly because of limited resources and the structure of teaching at the school), so it will be great for them to get a bit messy and make paper mache etc!
On the 1
st March we launched the celebrations for the 25
th Anniversary of the school. It was a wonderful morning when the whole school came together- from nursery children right through to the college students- to enjoy various performances, speeches and the revealing of the new school logo for this special anniversary. The nursery children performed a traditional African dance, accompanied by African drums, which was adorable and brilliant! The older primary children also presented some dances, and the college
choir gave a beautiful performance. Florence Adjepong (the principal) also delivered a very moving speech on the journey that she and her husband have experienced in developing the success of the school. It was particularly interesting to hear, in her words, how far the school has come over the past 25 years, and it feels so rewarding to be a small part of such successes!
The days are long and tiring (as in any teaching job!), but definitely worth it. One of my favourite times of day is returning from school in the late afternoon and driving through the small communities surrounding the school; seeing groups of children chatting together as they take their buckets and containers to collect water for their families; older children taking care of their younger siblings as they collect them from nursery; young men sitting outside their various stalls and shops enjoying the slight coolness of the day by playing cards or checkers; and I am always amazed by how the children returning home with water (some of them no older than 8 or 10 years) can carry a huge bucket on their head with apparent ease.
Last weekend I went with my
good friend Priscilla to meet a group of lovely children that she works with as part of an NGO project called ‘Compassion’. It was great to mix with some children from the more deprived areas of Accra, and I’m planning to join Priscilla in her voluntary activities as part of the NGO project over the next few weeks. We had travelled to the area in which Priscilla grew up, so after we spent some time with the children she took me to her family home and I met her mother and some of her nephews. It was a lovely afternoon, and was great to meet Priscilla’s mother, who very proudly showed me around her home and brought out various photo albums of her family! She has promised to cook some traditional Ghanaian dishes for me, so I am hoping to see her again soon.
As I approach the end of my 7
th month in Ghana, it has caused me to reflect a little on what my time in Africa has meant to me, and I can’t wait to get back to Vilanculos, Mozambique in a couple of weeks for my Easter break and to make some more definite plans.
As I have often said, I feel extremely lucky to have been brought up in the UK where I’ve had so many opportunities and a solid education; and I am forever thankful for my family and friends, all of whom I miss every day and wish it was easier to share more of these experiences with . However, I also feel very fortunate to have ‘discovered’ Africa- It is a place that is always in my heart and, for now at least, I don’t see myself being anywhere else for the foreseeable future… All I can say is follow that ambition or dream, however small or insignificant it may seem… who knows where it may take you!
It’s always lovely to hear news from home, so please continue to let me know how you’re all doing, and I should have another exciting update after my travels back to Vilanculos in a couple of weeks’ time :o)
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