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Hello all…it’s Tuesday July 8th and I have less than 4 weeks left. How is this possible? I am still incredibly excited to come home and see everyone but I suddenly have zero time left to do some crucial things while still in Ghana. This week and next week are my last full school weeks left and I am growing sadder by the minute. Before I get into what has been going on this week however, let me backtrack.
My 4th of July weekend was a lot of fun. While I did not get to watch fireworks, I did meet many Americans while at a bar in Accra and people of other nationalities were wishing me a happy Independence Day. I choose to drink Heineken for the majority of the night. While I don’t really like this beer all that much, it was the closet thing to American beer (meaning it was the only beer in Ghana that I could also find in the U.S.). I even have a picture of me, wearing red, white and blue and standing in front of an American flag. On the 5th, Jeanette and I spent the afternoon relaxing and recovering on the beach. We had an equally fun Saturday night and made it home by dinner time on Sunday evening. This was perfect because Sunday night means movie night and I have very few of those left.
Monday: I spent the morning with the vocational school. There were just three students but I could not wait any longer to teach my lesson in HIV and AIDS. Even though there were few students, I think the lesson went well. The students took notes, asked questions and seemed genuinely interested (though they have not seemed that way with the past few lessons). I finished by showing them some more disturbing photos of STD’s and also pointed out my images of the male and female anatomy’s. I hope to do a lesson on rape and on abortion before preparing my test for the class. The rest of the day I spent with class 4 because the teacher, Mr. Osei was out again (though he wasn’t sick, he was taking care of some things because he is going back to school himself). I continued with a math lesson from the previous week and gave them new spelling words for a test this Thursday and then they were taken to the computer room for that class. I’m not sure I have mentioned that the school hired a new computer teacher. This man is much more competent then the last teacher. He actually teaches for one thing and spends hardly any time playing computer games. I’m glad the school is getting actual use of the available computers (other than me typing emails and blogs of course). After school I headed to town as quickly as possible and then straight to the post office. My mom’s package finally arrived, as well as a package from my god mom. I was thrilled to find many supplies for the school and for my upcoming art classes (as well as luna bars, power bars and a people magazine for me). After having a rough time getting a tro tro home on account of a short, but heavy rainfall, I arrived at home just in time to greet two new volunteers. Julia and Christina are from Germany and are here for 6 weeks and one whole year respectively. To celebrate their safe arrival, the girls, Martina, myself, our two coordinators and two guys from the community walked down to the nearby spot (bar) for a drink and some fried rice. I was surprised at the chilly weather. I was still wearing a t-shirt but the breeze gave me goose bumps. I pray that the rainy season goes away very, very soon.
Tuesday: Today I woke up early to workout, clean my room a bit and prepare for my art project with class four. Using brand new crayons, construction paper and stamp art I received in my mailed boxes, I had the kids make cards for Madame Isabella. Isabella is the volunteer from Norway that was here when I first arrived and left in the end of March. The kids still talk about her and I think she would really appreciate hand written cards by them. Secretly I am hoping the new volunteers will have the kids do the same for me after I go because I would love to have something like that to keep.
The project was a hit, though I was very frustrated for a large portion of the class. The kids were so excited for new materials but of course no one wanted to share and everyone wanted to be first in line to use the stamps. I used my loud yelling voice however and things eventually went smoothly. After lunch I spoke with class 5 to ask their opinion on what I should do with the money raised by the young adults at my church. I explained that I would be able to buy either new English books for the class OR pay to get desks made. After much consideration, the class (mainly a few girls I took aside) decided they wanted new desks since they are going to be class 6 next year and therefore should have big desks. I absolutely agree. I decided that I am going to provide class 5 with the desks and decide how to spend the remaining amount of money. For sure I would like to get mattresses for the remaining 5 children still sleeping on the floor at the orphanage and I would very much like to get exercise books for the entire school. I am excited to see what I come up with.
Charles, the only boy from the vocational school came to talk to me again. He really wants to go to a different vocational school in the upcoming term but is unable to pay school fees. On two occasions now he has taken me aside and asked me in a very respectful and serious manner that he would really appreciate my help. I have told him twice now that I will think about it. He says he can show me any paperwork he gets to prove that he has enrolled and he has a cell phone so he can be in touch with me once the new term starts. My only real worry is not being able to help every vocational school student, however he did make a good point in saying that none of the other students have bothered to ask for my help and he would not tell everyone. After thinking about it some more and talking to one of his teachers, I think this sounds doable. If the money I give him (50 cedis) can help him have a future in shoe making or catering or a career as a tailor, then I think it is money well spent. I will let you know what happens. School is now over however and I have a bunch of washing to do. I will write more this week.
Thursday July 10th: School is over and I am catching up on the blog. After spending Tuesday washing clothes, taking inventory on all the remaining school supplies I have available to me, and eating dinner with the new volunteers, I invited all the kiddies in to watch "Cars." Julia (new volunteer from Germany) stayed in the room to watch and hang with the kids. The boys enjoyed the movie in particular, which is funny because there are definitely no sports cars driving around Ghana, yet they took a natural interest in the racing. The movie is longer than I remembered and by the time it was over, it was nearly 9:30 and I had just 4 kids who hadn’t given up and gone to bed. On Wednesday I ate breakfast early and headed to Kumasi around 9am. I arrived at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (K.A.T.H.) by 10 and headed for the HIV clinic. I absolutely regret not spending more of my 6 months working in the clinic though I am grateful for being able to spend anytime there at all. Wednesdays is reserved for counseling. I at first assumed this meant counselors available to talk with about HIV, fears and questions, but this wasn’t exactly the case. Due to the great deal of people suffering from the HIV virus and lack of available doctors and nurses, that sort of counseling is costly. Instead each Wednesday is used to conduct three sessions about using ART (Antiretriol treatment) once you are diagnosed. Samuel, the epidemiologist I worked with the last time I visited the clinic, was conducting session 2 of the counseling requirements. He explained to me that once the patient is not only diagnosed but their CD4 count is below 300, the hospital decides it is wise to begin the medication. The patient cannot begin to receive this medication until they have gone through the three counseling sessions. No counseling actually takes place, rather the sessions are simply to provide the necessary information needed to correctly take the medication. Once they have completed sessions one and two, the final session is meant for testing and to prescribe the dosage. I sat next to Samuel as he spoke (mostly in Twi) to a group of 15 or so people. I also learned that each patient is supposed to bring someone to help understand the directions and importance of taking the medication correctly. Therefore not every person in the room has HIV, some are there to offer support. For whatever reason, this was comforting to know. I of course could hardly understand one word of what was being said but Samuel would stop from time to time and explain to me in English. Clearly there was not a whole lot I could do with me not speaking or understanding Twi and because I cannot come on a regular basis, but I was glad for the opportunity to see what the clinic offers people. Monday and Friday are regular HIV clinic hours for people to visit doctors, take CD4 tests and get their next months worth of medication. Fridays is also the time when children who were born with HIV can come for their clinic checkups. I decided I would really like to come on one of those days. Depending on my schedule next Friday I hope I can take the time to go back to the clinic.
After my hours at the hospital I went to the cultural center to check on some gifts I still need to buy and stopped by the tourist office to figure out the best way to travel along the coast when I my friend Rachel comes to visit on the 23rd. Though I know I could have figured it all out, going to the office was very helpful. I had some time left before I should held home so I thought it would be the perfect time to visit the Armed Forces Museum. I joined another group of travelers for the guided tour but within 10 minutes I had violent stomach cramps and felt as though I was going to faint. I stepped out and rested for a minute, realizing I had been walking all over Kumasi and had not had any lunch. Opps. I decided I had to wait on the museum and went to get an apple before getting on a tro tro home. After eating dinner I felt much better so I spent some time outside with the kids. I was informed that Pastor and P.K. (my two favorites) had not eaten dinner, and it was past 7. Their mother was not around and I do not know where she was. Pastor and P.K. are part of the family of 7 kids all living at the orphanage. Their mother is very much alive and also living in the community but their father has passed away. With their mother gone, the children have to find food for themselves. Some of the other adults told me they had been given rice, but I was not convinced. It is not possible for me to see these kids go unfed so I grabbed a cedi and bought some jollof rice rice with spicy veggie stew) for the younger kids of the family. I was able to get 5 portions for just one cedi. While I cannot do this every night, I was happy to provide them with supper. Before bed, 4 kids came in to get homework help. I struggle offering much help because even though the other kids in their classes may not be orphans, I really do not think their parents are available to provide homework help. Yet, I am living at the orphanage and therefore have a responsibility to the children living here.
Today: School is again over and I had another full day. I started the day preparing for the spelling quiz in class 4 and writing a few notes on rape for my vocational school class. After break I administered the spelling quiz to class 4 and sadly, just 7 kids missed just 2 or less. While the words may have been a bit harder than last time, I gave the kids three nights to study. Since there were so few that earned stickers however, I was able to quickly buy 7 toffee candies to hand out. After break the quiz I headed to the vocational class but they were in the middle of a lesson in catering. They start practicals next week and needed the full day to work on their cooking. Instead I sat down in their classroom to start writing their sex health test I will be giving them next week. After lunch I grabbed class 3 for P.E. They were thrilled, which was wonderful because it means they really appreciate my decision to take them. We spent a full hour playing football (well I sat this one out mostly to take pictures) and I this time the entire class played, including every girl. It still amazes me that class 3, all of whom are younger than those in class 4, are better behaved than my other two classes combined. Tonight I am having another movie night since there are so few Sunday’s left and still so many movies to watch.
Friday: I just wanted to add something short before posting this weeks blog. I had a short day at school today because I had to leave right at noon to meet Jeanette. The two of us then had to travel 45 minutes to the seamstress to pick up our dresses. The seamstress was not able to come to Kumasi today so we went to her. We both had to wait for a few more alterations but I am very satisfied. I am looking forward to wearing these dresses when I get home. I was able to help with an English lesson on prepositions in class 4 and do an art project with class 5. I had them draw self portraits of themselves using the colored construction paper and new crayons I received in the mail. They really enjoyed it. Alright well I am done with this blog. 3.5 more weeks and I am back in the U.S. Shocking.
See you all very soon.
-Erin