We arrived safely in Cape Three Points on Thursday afternoon. After dropping our bags we headed down to the local football pitch for some games with our new Ghanaian friends (e.g. sack races, egg/spoon races, and three legged races). On Friday we took time to explore the Trinity Yard School and in the afternoon began work on the construction of a library. The library will serve three communities as well as the students of the Trinity Yard School. Our goal this week will be to finish digging the foundation and then begin laying bricks. In addition, each day in the morning groups of students will be teaching in the local primary school and also working on preparing a community garden. This weekend we did find time to relax too. We have a beach on site so making time for a quick swim or body surfing session is easy! We also visited the Cape Three Points Lighthouse.
Family and friends of students, we will do our best to post additional updates, but please know that our access to e-mail is limited.
All the best from Ghana!
-- Mark, Yara, John, & the Jackson student crew
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
The group arrived in Accra, Ghana early this morning, safe and with no lost luggage! They are bypassing the hustle/bustle of Accra and headed to the serene Cape Three Points where Trinity Yard School and the villagers anticipate their arrival! The group is reportedly tired from the two days of travel, but everyone is excited to meet their work partners for the next two weeks, begin to learn the local language, and get their hands dirty!
FYI, Ghana is 6 hours ahead of Mountain Time.
FYI, Ghana is 6 hours ahead of Mountain Time.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Why I Want to Go to Ghana
I asked the students to write the reason why they wanted to go to Ghana and what, specifically, they intended focus on for their cultural studies independent project. Here is one students response:
The word equality is commonly tossed around in our privileged state of existence. It’s an easy thing to discuss when a person is sitting in a warm, comfortable house after a hearty, satisfying meal. “All men are created equal.” People strive to make that statement the truth or pretend like it is, but it is not the reality. In going to a place like Ghana, Africa, I would hope to break down my limits and immerse myself in a place where I see first hand that life isn’t so easy and life isn’t so equal. I mean here I am typing on a computer trying to understand what it would mean to go Ghana and become intertwined within their culture. This trip would be a huge learning experience where I would get to work and study in a hands on situation. Instead of giving the money to an organization where I don’t know exactly how that money is used, I could be able to see the complete extent and affect the money and work has done. How amazing something like that could be. I am very open to being completely out of my element and working with people I know nothing about. I would hope to learn phrases from their language so I could converse and express how excited and happy I am to have an opportunity to be with the people of Ghana. I would be honored to get the chance to make a difference and start the beginnings of giving the youth an equal opportunity to succeed in school and in life. For me, I feel lucky to have the prospect of going to Ghana. And for me I believe that this experience will open my eyes and change my life.
I have a seven-year-old sister who turned my family’s life upside down. My mom will even say, “I thought I had parenting all figured out until this little one came along.” I watched my parents struggle in raising my sister, Estella. Not only did my parents have to give her the tools and supportive hand to learn to walk and talk, they had to prepare her for school and the rest of world. For an independent project, I would like to see how families in Ghana prepare their young to be successful in their lives and teach them how to thrive in such a harsh world. In doing this, I want to compare and contrast the similarities with Ghanaian families and my own. This project would be important to me because I was shown what it is like to bring a life into the world and not only teach them things but learn from them as well. It would be not only interesting, but possibly helpful and telling if I could observe how families in Ghana function and raise their children. Our cultures, I’m sure, are very different, but the affection between family members is universal. It would be exciting to learn and get to see the differences and similarities between families from two very different places. In addition, being able to relate the things I am discovering right to my own home would make my project that more personal and motivating.
The word equality is commonly tossed around in our privileged state of existence. It’s an easy thing to discuss when a person is sitting in a warm, comfortable house after a hearty, satisfying meal. “All men are created equal.” People strive to make that statement the truth or pretend like it is, but it is not the reality. In going to a place like Ghana, Africa, I would hope to break down my limits and immerse myself in a place where I see first hand that life isn’t so easy and life isn’t so equal. I mean here I am typing on a computer trying to understand what it would mean to go Ghana and become intertwined within their culture. This trip would be a huge learning experience where I would get to work and study in a hands on situation. Instead of giving the money to an organization where I don’t know exactly how that money is used, I could be able to see the complete extent and affect the money and work has done. How amazing something like that could be. I am very open to being completely out of my element and working with people I know nothing about. I would hope to learn phrases from their language so I could converse and express how excited and happy I am to have an opportunity to be with the people of Ghana. I would be honored to get the chance to make a difference and start the beginnings of giving the youth an equal opportunity to succeed in school and in life. For me, I feel lucky to have the prospect of going to Ghana. And for me I believe that this experience will open my eyes and change my life.
I have a seven-year-old sister who turned my family’s life upside down. My mom will even say, “I thought I had parenting all figured out until this little one came along.” I watched my parents struggle in raising my sister, Estella. Not only did my parents have to give her the tools and supportive hand to learn to walk and talk, they had to prepare her for school and the rest of world. For an independent project, I would like to see how families in Ghana prepare their young to be successful in their lives and teach them how to thrive in such a harsh world. In doing this, I want to compare and contrast the similarities with Ghanaian families and my own. This project would be important to me because I was shown what it is like to bring a life into the world and not only teach them things but learn from them as well. It would be not only interesting, but possibly helpful and telling if I could observe how families in Ghana function and raise their children. Our cultures, I’m sure, are very different, but the affection between family members is universal. It would be exciting to learn and get to see the differences and similarities between families from two very different places. In addition, being able to relate the things I am discovering right to my own home would make my project that more personal and motivating.
Monday, March 22, 2010
New Blog
Welcome to the new blog. We hope to stock this thing full of goodies. As for now, we are almost off. Can't wait!
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