My November trip was to take the BYU film crew to make the documentary. It was a lot of fun. We installed a merry-go-round at the rural school of Katapor, and visited the four other rural public schools (leaving Essam out of the picture because of how unpredictably rainy it was and how Essam was three hours away).
The film crew was delightful, and apart from a few small things (the focus child being too shy to talk to the camera, the van rental ending up being more expensive than budgeted for, and typical time issues), things went really well! We spent most of our time in the rural villages, and one day at the shop. We also took them to Cape Coast to do El Mina and see the canopy walk.
So... the documentary seemed to be successful!
It is supposed to air mid-March, 2009 on BYU TV. Stay tuned!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Volta Region
The Volta region is beautiful! I went there for the first time during my November trip. The main attractions were a lot of Diana monkeys (WAY cuter than the monkeys in Botswana), and a hike through the jungle to a beautiful waterfall. Ahhh.... I fed bananas to the monkeys, too! They ate it right out of my hand.
There's not much more I can say than it was beautiful to get out of Accra and into nature.
Oh, there was a lady selling rice and chicken out of her house near the waterfall. When I asked how much it was, of course she told me it was three times the cost of what it is for Ghanaians. I went to hang out with the van driver, who was also eating. He informed me I was overcharged and demanded of the woman that she give me the meal for the same price. Then I played with a bunch of village boys. They started out picking on me, trying to pull my hair and touch me and make fun. So I pulled a Jackie Chan on them and they thought it was hilarious. They didn't speak English at all, so we interacted through sparring. Then I gave them all a few cents. I think they ended up liking me, and somewhat confused.
Grandpa had fallen behind, as Matthew and I had gotten back from the waterfall much faster than the rest of the group, so I purchased a flashlight since it had gotten completely dark since we had returned. Matthew ran back to rescue them.
It was a good day. :-)
There's not much more I can say than it was beautiful to get out of Accra and into nature.
Oh, there was a lady selling rice and chicken out of her house near the waterfall. When I asked how much it was, of course she told me it was three times the cost of what it is for Ghanaians. I went to hang out with the van driver, who was also eating. He informed me I was overcharged and demanded of the woman that she give me the meal for the same price. Then I played with a bunch of village boys. They started out picking on me, trying to pull my hair and touch me and make fun. So I pulled a Jackie Chan on them and they thought it was hilarious. They didn't speak English at all, so we interacted through sparring. Then I gave them all a few cents. I think they ended up liking me, and somewhat confused.
Grandpa had fallen behind, as Matthew and I had gotten back from the waterfall much faster than the rest of the group, so I purchased a flashlight since it had gotten completely dark since we had returned. Matthew ran back to rescue them.
It was a good day. :-)
A Day at the Beach
The film crew wanted some entertainment/scenic ocean scenes to film, so Solomon took us all to a public beach near Accra. This was nothing like Kokorobite or Busewa. This was an Accra beach with a crowded village near the shore.
We got out and the smell was overpowering. There was garbage and human waste everywhere. There was a trench filled with brownish-black water, but fortunately there was a log going across it. We walked across the log. Then some men gathered around us and bullied us to give them money since we had walked across the log. There were nine or ten of them. White faces certainly attract a lot of attention in a place like that. Our cameraman decided not film the water there because of how the villagers were acting.
We went to another nearby beach hoping to not be bullied this time. The cameraman, Josephine (my Ghanaian friend), and myself were the only ones that got out of the van because of the mixed strong smell between garbage, waste, and fish. There were some fishermen preparing their nets and canoes who were friendly and let us talk to them (one, of course, proposed to me). They were very friendly. There was a pipe from a factory running straight into the ocean, gushing out large quantities of black oil. There was a little boy doing handstands next to pipe.
All in all, not my favorite experience. It left me wondering what can be done to clean up these Accra beaches. Ghana could really be a great place for tourists if the beaches were cleaner (though other beaches further away from Accra are absolutely gorgeous).
We got out and the smell was overpowering. There was garbage and human waste everywhere. There was a trench filled with brownish-black water, but fortunately there was a log going across it. We walked across the log. Then some men gathered around us and bullied us to give them money since we had walked across the log. There were nine or ten of them. White faces certainly attract a lot of attention in a place like that. Our cameraman decided not film the water there because of how the villagers were acting.
We went to another nearby beach hoping to not be bullied this time. The cameraman, Josephine (my Ghanaian friend), and myself were the only ones that got out of the van because of the mixed strong smell between garbage, waste, and fish. There were some fishermen preparing their nets and canoes who were friendly and let us talk to them (one, of course, proposed to me). They were very friendly. There was a pipe from a factory running straight into the ocean, gushing out large quantities of black oil. There was a little boy doing handstands next to pipe.
All in all, not my favorite experience. It left me wondering what can be done to clean up these Accra beaches. Ghana could really be a great place for tourists if the beaches were cleaner (though other beaches further away from Accra are absolutely gorgeous).
Thursday, January 29, 2009
The Worrrrrrld Mahp!
I traveled back to Ghana in November with a huge world map rolled up in a plastic tube sticking several feet out of the top of my backpack.
Matthew Colling (who was at the time performing a social impact analysis) and I went to the rural school of Koni Kablu, where one of the merry-go-rounds is. We brought the map to give to the school, and it was the first time they had ever seen one!
Only one of the three teachers had come to the school that day. We rolled out the map in front of about 40 wide-eyed kids, and invited the teacher to help us teach. However, we soon became aware that the teacher didn't know where Ghana, Africa, or the US was. He told us to continue with teaching.
We take so much for granted! The kids didn't know the difference between a country and a continent. They didn't know Ghana was part of Africa. They knew that they lived in Ghana and that they lived in Africa, but having never seen a representation of it, they didn't know how Ghana fit into Africa. Since most of them have never left their village, there was no understanding of the size of Ghana, or Africa, or the world.
We showed them where Ghana was, and then Africa, circling it with our fingers. Then we had them circle it with their fingers. We showed them where we came from in the US. They thought we were from Ghana at first. They caught on quickly to locating those places.
We soon realized they didn't know that the colors represented different countries while the blue represented the ocean. Then, we discovered that they didn't know what the ocean WAS! They had never seen pictures, and they lived a dry, savanna area with no lakes.
My lesson to them about oceans went something like this:
Me: The ocean is made of water. What is the ocean made of?
Kids: Water.
Me: The ocean is made of water. The land is made of dirt. Yes or no... the ocean is made of dirt.
Kids: Yes.
Me: No. The land made of dirt. The ocean is made of water. Yes or no... the ocean is made of water?
Kids: Yes.
Me: Yes or no. The ocean is made of dirt.
Kids: Yes.
I think English was the main barrier to our lesson. So instead I wrote out on the chalkboard "Ocean" with "Water" and "Blue" and "Fish" under it. Then I wrote "Land" with "Dirt" and "Grass" and "Cows" under it.
We went through a series of questions like: Do fish live in the ocean? Yes. Do cows live in the ocean? Yes. Basically the answer to everything was yes. Eventually, we got to the point that they understood what was associated with ocean and what was associated with water.
Now it was time to associate it with the map. I said "the BLUE parts are the ocean." What part is the ocean? Then it seemed they didn't understand what the word blue meant. Matthew and I pointed to different things that were blue, and the kids caught on fast. Then we pointed to different blue things, asking, "what color is this book?" "Blue!" "What color is his shirt?" "Blue!"
Then we said, "What color is the sky?"
"White!" They all yelled in union. I looked out the hole in the plaster that was the window. They were right. The sky was bright white.
Then we had the kids come forward one at a time to point to different parts of the ocean. The first pointed somewhere in the Pacific. The next pointed to somewhere in the Indian. The third pointed to DR Congo. Which was, in fact, a different shade of blue.
Overall, I think the English lesson disguised as a geography lesson turned out fairly well. I learned a lot of things... next time I will bring photos of fish, the ocean, grass, different parts of Africa, and different parts of other countries including the US. When I was their age, I loved maps, and dreaming about going to Africa and traveling to other exotic places. I wanted to travel the world. I really want the kids to know about interesting things that exist in the world that they haven't seen, like snow and castles and kangaroos. Just like I dreamed about giraffes and elephants and the Australian outback.
Matthew Colling (who was at the time performing a social impact analysis) and I went to the rural school of Koni Kablu, where one of the merry-go-rounds is. We brought the map to give to the school, and it was the first time they had ever seen one!
Only one of the three teachers had come to the school that day. We rolled out the map in front of about 40 wide-eyed kids, and invited the teacher to help us teach. However, we soon became aware that the teacher didn't know where Ghana, Africa, or the US was. He told us to continue with teaching.
We take so much for granted! The kids didn't know the difference between a country and a continent. They didn't know Ghana was part of Africa. They knew that they lived in Ghana and that they lived in Africa, but having never seen a representation of it, they didn't know how Ghana fit into Africa. Since most of them have never left their village, there was no understanding of the size of Ghana, or Africa, or the world.
We showed them where Ghana was, and then Africa, circling it with our fingers. Then we had them circle it with their fingers. We showed them where we came from in the US. They thought we were from Ghana at first. They caught on quickly to locating those places.
We soon realized they didn't know that the colors represented different countries while the blue represented the ocean. Then, we discovered that they didn't know what the ocean WAS! They had never seen pictures, and they lived a dry, savanna area with no lakes.
My lesson to them about oceans went something like this:
Me: The ocean is made of water. What is the ocean made of?
Kids: Water.
Me: The ocean is made of water. The land is made of dirt. Yes or no... the ocean is made of dirt.
Kids: Yes.
Me: No. The land made of dirt. The ocean is made of water. Yes or no... the ocean is made of water?
Kids: Yes.
Me: Yes or no. The ocean is made of dirt.
Kids: Yes.
I think English was the main barrier to our lesson. So instead I wrote out on the chalkboard "Ocean" with "Water" and "Blue" and "Fish" under it. Then I wrote "Land" with "Dirt" and "Grass" and "Cows" under it.
We went through a series of questions like: Do fish live in the ocean? Yes. Do cows live in the ocean? Yes. Basically the answer to everything was yes. Eventually, we got to the point that they understood what was associated with ocean and what was associated with water.
Now it was time to associate it with the map. I said "the BLUE parts are the ocean." What part is the ocean? Then it seemed they didn't understand what the word blue meant. Matthew and I pointed to different things that were blue, and the kids caught on fast. Then we pointed to different blue things, asking, "what color is this book?" "Blue!" "What color is his shirt?" "Blue!"
Then we said, "What color is the sky?"
"White!" They all yelled in union. I looked out the hole in the plaster that was the window. They were right. The sky was bright white.
Then we had the kids come forward one at a time to point to different parts of the ocean. The first pointed somewhere in the Pacific. The next pointed to somewhere in the Indian. The third pointed to DR Congo. Which was, in fact, a different shade of blue.
Overall, I think the English lesson disguised as a geography lesson turned out fairly well. I learned a lot of things... next time I will bring photos of fish, the ocean, grass, different parts of Africa, and different parts of other countries including the US. When I was their age, I loved maps, and dreaming about going to Africa and traveling to other exotic places. I wanted to travel the world. I really want the kids to know about interesting things that exist in the world that they haven't seen, like snow and castles and kangaroos. Just like I dreamed about giraffes and elephants and the Australian outback.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Family Home Evening and Table Climbing
My host mother, Lydia, likes to take charge of Family Home Evening lessons. One FHE, she asked us all what we heard in church.
My little sister Adwoa talked a bit about Sunday School. Lydia said, "Nice try." Then Essie said what she heard in sacrament. Lydia said, "Nice try." I didn’t want a 'nice try', so I gave a slightly lengthy monologue and seemed to pass the test.
When it was Kweku’s turn, he said: ‘You want to know one thing I heard at church? One thing I heard at church was: ‘Amen.’”
It is safe to say Lydia was less than amused and rephrased the question to ‘what did you learn at church?’
We finally got her to crack a smile when Essie said she learned that Sister so-and-so had a baby.
JJ had an interesting activity in store for FHE. It is called ‘table climbing’ but it turned out to be more like ‘rolling off the table onto the floor with a giant thump.’ If anyone wants to try it, I will tell you how. Lay on the table. Roll off without falling on the floor. Grab whatever you can with whatever limb you can. Get from one side of the table to the other (under the table) without touching the floor. Roll yourself back up onto the opposite side of the table from where you started. More succinctly, go down one side of the table and come up the other without touching the ground.
I made it the first time because luckily there was a bar on the bottom of the table. When I tried it without using the bar, I fell on the floor the first time. I tried again and was able to briefly suspend myself in the air under the table, and it took a battle with gravity to roll myself back up onto the table.
JJ didn’t seem to have a problem with it. Rock climbers are so aggravating sometimes.
Essie and Adwoa both dropped flat onto the ground. I wanted to see Lydia try, but didn’t want to push my luck in volunteering her.
Another time, JJ and I decided we wanted to play the newlywed game, Kweku against Lydia. It was so funny hearing their perspectives. Kweku saw her one night in the dark and offered her a ride. He said it was because he felt sorry for her. She said it is because he fell in love with her the second he saw her. She did not like his car and told her friends at work about it. They said she could do better. She left the house 15 minutes before he was supposed to pick her up on her first date with him. On purpose of course. He persisted in continuing to visit her at work.
Though they couldn't agree on all the details, Kweku summed it all up with the last statement, "It was the dimple that did the trick."
My little sister Adwoa talked a bit about Sunday School. Lydia said, "Nice try." Then Essie said what she heard in sacrament. Lydia said, "Nice try." I didn’t want a 'nice try', so I gave a slightly lengthy monologue and seemed to pass the test.
When it was Kweku’s turn, he said: ‘You want to know one thing I heard at church? One thing I heard at church was: ‘Amen.’”
It is safe to say Lydia was less than amused and rephrased the question to ‘what did you learn at church?’
We finally got her to crack a smile when Essie said she learned that Sister so-and-so had a baby.
JJ had an interesting activity in store for FHE. It is called ‘table climbing’ but it turned out to be more like ‘rolling off the table onto the floor with a giant thump.’ If anyone wants to try it, I will tell you how. Lay on the table. Roll off without falling on the floor. Grab whatever you can with whatever limb you can. Get from one side of the table to the other (under the table) without touching the floor. Roll yourself back up onto the opposite side of the table from where you started. More succinctly, go down one side of the table and come up the other without touching the ground.
I made it the first time because luckily there was a bar on the bottom of the table. When I tried it without using the bar, I fell on the floor the first time. I tried again and was able to briefly suspend myself in the air under the table, and it took a battle with gravity to roll myself back up onto the table.
JJ didn’t seem to have a problem with it. Rock climbers are so aggravating sometimes.
Essie and Adwoa both dropped flat onto the ground. I wanted to see Lydia try, but didn’t want to push my luck in volunteering her.
Another time, JJ and I decided we wanted to play the newlywed game, Kweku against Lydia. It was so funny hearing their perspectives. Kweku saw her one night in the dark and offered her a ride. He said it was because he felt sorry for her. She said it is because he fell in love with her the second he saw her. She did not like his car and told her friends at work about it. They said she could do better. She left the house 15 minutes before he was supposed to pick her up on her first date with him. On purpose of course. He persisted in continuing to visit her at work.
Though they couldn't agree on all the details, Kweku summed it all up with the last statement, "It was the dimple that did the trick."
First visit to Katapor and Nii Otto Kwame Schools
Let's rewind to the initial school visits.
The first day, I woke up at 3am so we could be on the road by 4am so we could meet the MPA students by 5am so we could get to the village by 8am. We usually leave the house around 6-6:30am so this was quite a disturbance. Our goal was to visit 18 schools within four days in three groups, and do an initial data collected, eventually to select five. We split the MPAs into three groups and Solomon, JJ, and I each went with a different group. I went to two villages/schools.
The first was Katapor. I focused on the school, visiting the classrooms and interviewing teachers and students, as well as the headmaster. There were 212 students (88 in the nursery). They have two breaks during the day and all break at the same time. Not all kids can go because some cannot afford the uniform and books cost. By Ghanaian law, they cannot work in the market either, so some kids are just running around. There are books and the kids get homework, but many do not have any light at home. Some may have one kerosene lamp for a family of nine. The school itself was fairly light because there were a lot of windows, but I wonder what would happen in a storm (during these three months it sometimes rains nearly every day). There is no glass so the blinds would have to be closed. There are also no science labs at that school, so it would be extremely beneficial to have one using the merry-go-round and zip-line.
The second school was Nii Otto Kwame. It was much darker. It was made of thick cinder block and did not have any windows, just some decorative designs with holes. They did have a science lab, or at least a box with some test tubes and cylinders they measure water in. They have a mini-microscope as well. I focused more on interviewing village members this time. Many (maybe half) have no light. The rest have maybe one lantern for the whole family. There were, however, some civil unity problems in this village. There is some argument over who should be the chief. Traditionally, it was decided that the first family to settle the area are the royals and that is where the chief comes from. We met with the chief and he told us they had been on national news for some fighting. This school was very crowded with over 400 students. It was not big enough so they had to rotate classrooms with one class meeting under a tree. Mind you, these are all government schools, as we are working with the Ministry of Education.
Many women in the area are stone crackers. I asked if they could show me so the four women took me up a hill and showed me the quarry and how they gather big rocks and carry them out on their head and hit it with this primitive looking hammer to break it down. I asked if I could do it, so I sat on that hill and cracked stones with the women. One woman tried to also put the bowl of large rocks on my head but the others began to scream, so I pretended to hold a bowl on my head and walk swerving back and forth and they all laughed and laughed. I made some great friends in that village. I am not sure this school is a good candidate though. There are too many students to regulate lantern distribution, and the kids did not seem as organized or obedient as Katapor. The civil unrest also makes me wonder what would happen if we suddenly dropped a playground in their area.
The funny thing about visiting these villages it that nobody except the headmasters were supposed to know we were coming or why we were there. However, hundreds of village members sat in the middle of the schoolyard for three hours waiting for us at both schools. The chiefs were sitting front and center in their traditional garb. They had a table with a white tablecloth and flowers for us to sit in front of them. They expected a speech.
Luckily, Jeff (MPA study abroad professor) and Catherine (professor and MPA administrator) were able to make one for us. Even when the ministry told the people to go away, they still waited! The kids at the second school had planned a song, a few educational speeches, and a skit in which each child dressed in a traditional tribal uniform and told us about the culture. Then they brought out a Ghanaian flag to tell us which each color represented. The kids kept calling us their "honored guest from the United States." We were also able to play some games with the kids.
The village members, apart from 'not knowing we were coming', were not supposed to know why we were there. Once Jeff asked what the greatest need in the community was and a man said, "we need a merry-go-round!"
The first day, I woke up at 3am so we could be on the road by 4am so we could meet the MPA students by 5am so we could get to the village by 8am. We usually leave the house around 6-6:30am so this was quite a disturbance. Our goal was to visit 18 schools within four days in three groups, and do an initial data collected, eventually to select five. We split the MPAs into three groups and Solomon, JJ, and I each went with a different group. I went to two villages/schools.
The first was Katapor. I focused on the school, visiting the classrooms and interviewing teachers and students, as well as the headmaster. There were 212 students (88 in the nursery). They have two breaks during the day and all break at the same time. Not all kids can go because some cannot afford the uniform and books cost. By Ghanaian law, they cannot work in the market either, so some kids are just running around. There are books and the kids get homework, but many do not have any light at home. Some may have one kerosene lamp for a family of nine. The school itself was fairly light because there were a lot of windows, but I wonder what would happen in a storm (during these three months it sometimes rains nearly every day). There is no glass so the blinds would have to be closed. There are also no science labs at that school, so it would be extremely beneficial to have one using the merry-go-round and zip-line.
The second school was Nii Otto Kwame. It was much darker. It was made of thick cinder block and did not have any windows, just some decorative designs with holes. They did have a science lab, or at least a box with some test tubes and cylinders they measure water in. They have a mini-microscope as well. I focused more on interviewing village members this time. Many (maybe half) have no light. The rest have maybe one lantern for the whole family. There were, however, some civil unity problems in this village. There is some argument over who should be the chief. Traditionally, it was decided that the first family to settle the area are the royals and that is where the chief comes from. We met with the chief and he told us they had been on national news for some fighting. This school was very crowded with over 400 students. It was not big enough so they had to rotate classrooms with one class meeting under a tree. Mind you, these are all government schools, as we are working with the Ministry of Education.
Many women in the area are stone crackers. I asked if they could show me so the four women took me up a hill and showed me the quarry and how they gather big rocks and carry them out on their head and hit it with this primitive looking hammer to break it down. I asked if I could do it, so I sat on that hill and cracked stones with the women. One woman tried to also put the bowl of large rocks on my head but the others began to scream, so I pretended to hold a bowl on my head and walk swerving back and forth and they all laughed and laughed. I made some great friends in that village. I am not sure this school is a good candidate though. There are too many students to regulate lantern distribution, and the kids did not seem as organized or obedient as Katapor. The civil unrest also makes me wonder what would happen if we suddenly dropped a playground in their area.
The funny thing about visiting these villages it that nobody except the headmasters were supposed to know we were coming or why we were there. However, hundreds of village members sat in the middle of the schoolyard for three hours waiting for us at both schools. The chiefs were sitting front and center in their traditional garb. They had a table with a white tablecloth and flowers for us to sit in front of them. They expected a speech.
Luckily, Jeff (MPA study abroad professor) and Catherine (professor and MPA administrator) were able to make one for us. Even when the ministry told the people to go away, they still waited! The kids at the second school had planned a song, a few educational speeches, and a skit in which each child dressed in a traditional tribal uniform and told us about the culture. Then they brought out a Ghanaian flag to tell us which each color represented. The kids kept calling us their "honored guest from the United States." We were also able to play some games with the kids.
The village members, apart from 'not knowing we were coming', were not supposed to know why we were there. Once Jeff asked what the greatest need in the community was and a man said, "we need a merry-go-round!"
Orphanages
During the four days the MPA study abroad students worked with us, we went with them to the Osu orphanage. It was a very different experience than going to the schools. The kids were completely starved for both attention and touch. I loved picking them up and giving them stickers, and I loved swinging on the swings with them and going down the slides. Most couldn't speak English so it was hard to communicate with them.
There was a fun boy who spoke English who came right up to me and demanded, "Pick me up!" I said, "Why, can't you walk?" He exclaimed, "Yes!" and continued to look at me. I picked him up and spun him around and he laughed and laughed and I kept doing it until I thought we would both fall over. Then we would fall over, and then we'd do it again.
There was a group of older girls on the swings who liked to stroke my hair, too. They all wanted to take pictures with my camera and were surprisingly good at it. They also took a lot of pictures of dirt, but oh well. There was a cute little girl in a purple dress but she didn't respond to much and I thought she must have been through an ordeal.
JJ and I went with our new friends Vicki and Betsy to New Life Orphanage in Cape Coast. Once again, the kids were so warm and accepting and just wanted to be touched and held. I have a great respect for those who set up orphanages. The kids take care of other kids. I brought some balloons as well as stickers this time and the kids preferred to blow them up, let all the air out making the screeching sound, and then come to me and ask me to blow them up again. Every time I tried to give out a balloon, they would say, "do not tie it!" Those kids were so cute.
There was a fun boy who spoke English who came right up to me and demanded, "Pick me up!" I said, "Why, can't you walk?" He exclaimed, "Yes!" and continued to look at me. I picked him up and spun him around and he laughed and laughed and I kept doing it until I thought we would both fall over. Then we would fall over, and then we'd do it again.
There was a group of older girls on the swings who liked to stroke my hair, too. They all wanted to take pictures with my camera and were surprisingly good at it. They also took a lot of pictures of dirt, but oh well. There was a cute little girl in a purple dress but she didn't respond to much and I thought she must have been through an ordeal.
JJ and I went with our new friends Vicki and Betsy to New Life Orphanage in Cape Coast. Once again, the kids were so warm and accepting and just wanted to be touched and held. I have a great respect for those who set up orphanages. The kids take care of other kids. I brought some balloons as well as stickers this time and the kids preferred to blow them up, let all the air out making the screeching sound, and then come to me and ask me to blow them up again. Every time I tried to give out a balloon, they would say, "do not tie it!" Those kids were so cute.
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