“Okay,” you may be saying, “youth organizations are all well and good… but what are you EATING in Ghana?”
Glad you asked! Here’s the crash-course intro to delicious Ghanaian food that I have gotten over the past ten days. Dig in…
1. There will be banku!
On your table, you will see (pictured, left):
a) A ball of soft corn/cassava/yam dough of clay-like mush-ability.
b) A bowl of water with liquid soap so you [...Read More!]
It is currently five in the morning: the time that most punctuality-abiding Boston Public Schools teachers and students arise each morning to make it to school on time.
Here in this mosquito-infested hotel in Accra, what on Earth awakes us at this shocking time? Alas, it is time to escort our dear efo (brother) to the airport!
Dan (born on a Tuesday, and thus called “Kwabla”, in Ewe) is the son of [...Read More!]
Seth (pictured in the white shirt) told us a funny true story tonight…
Noble YCC Treasurer, Seth, was sleeping peacefully in the guesthouse, when a young boy from town appeared at his door.
“Seth,” the little boy said (pronounced “Set”), “do you know where is Kwame Peter?”
“Huh?” said Seth, “There is no Kwame Peter living here. You have the wrong house.”
“No, no,” insisted the boy, “I know I saw Kwame Peter here! [...Read More!]
“Children,” boomed the Grand Quiz Chairman, “are you happy?”
“Yes!” yelled the two hundred schoolkids in the audience.
“I asked,” hollered Chairman Moses Kawkaw with a grin, “ARE YOU HAPPY?”
“YES!” sang Sogakope’s youth at the top of their lungs, “YES!”
Today’s Grand Quiz was brilliant on about ten different levels, which became clearer and clearer as the day went on.
At first, however, I didn’t really understand the concept. I did know that Bright Star [...Read More!]
“Why do we feel so at home here in Ghana?” Dan and I have been asking each other.
Slowly it’s dawned on us: it’s not just that the people are amazingly friendly and kind, though that helps. It is that the echoes of our American culture are everywhere here in Ghana, because, we are now understanding, the echoes of Ghana are everywhere in America. Oh the power of the African diaspora!
Here [...Read More!]
It was too hot today to exist. My fellow YCC Ghana volunteer, Dan, and I spent most of the baking hours attempting to work while draped on chairs and benches and other surfaces, trying to remember to breathe and drinking giant bottles of Voltic Water and Alvaro Non-Alcoholic Pear Malt. The ceiling fans whirled wobbly circles at their maximum speed and only seemed to stir the thick air soup slightly.
This is [...Read More!]
How can you bear to do it? How can you send the baby of your womb out across oceans, into this wild, scary world? Moreover, how the heck do you help pay for it?
The roosters sprinted across the yellow dust between the parents of YCC children and the YCC staff as John stood up to speak. He started the meeting at 2:20, only twenty minutes later than scheduled, [...Read More!]
A delightful way for a teacher to be introduced to her future students is to attend an award ceremony celebrating their previous year.
It is scientifically proven that if a teacher comes into a classroom thinking about the talents and strong brains of her pupils, the pupils in turn will achieve greater academic success. We humans have a nice way of rising to high expectations, don’t we?
So huzzah and tra la [...Read More!]
Under the curve of Mother Africa’s head, before her long neck, the blue Volta river spills forth from Ghana and meets the Atlantic Ocean.
Today we had a free time before the Youth Creating Change holiday party tomorrow, and so American Dan, German Alexander, and I went with Ghanaian YCC Staff Member Collins to the meeting of the waters.
Seth pointed to Dan as we were leaving. “You,” he said, “you bring [...Read More!]
What luck that brought us all together at this wonderful organization in Sogakope, Ghana!
When Ghana emerged as my dream destination a few months ago, I joined the Couchsurfing.org “Ghana” group. (Tip: Do this on CS before going to a new place!)
Almost instantly, I received a dozen welcoming messages from various people and organizations in Ghana who were eager to have visitors and volunteers. One emerged as the most interesting [...Read More!]