Well, we are almost home. After finishing up our final week on the work site, we said our final, sad goodbyes to the Trinity Yard School and boarded our bus to Kakum National Park. We left feeling satisfied with our work, having completed digging the foundation and mixing and laying a concrete foundation from which the building will be erected. We also completed creating two gardens that hopefully provide some food for the Trinity Yard students in a few months. Yara and her crews wrapped up their work at the primary school, having taught at least once at every grade level and leaving a large amount of supplies with the students and teachers to help faciliate improved instruction in the future. Leaving Cape Three Points and the Trinity Yard was not easy, however. The connections we made in just two weeks made our departure sad and tearful for many of the Africans and Americans alike. We really hope that this experience will continue to infiltrate the hearts of our students and that they do not forget what they saw and learned here in Ghana. Additionally, we hope our efforts and friendships will be remembered in Ghana for us to return someday.

After leaving "the yard" we headed to Kakum National Park. Near sunset, we took a private Canopy Tour that took us over 40 meters above the jungle floor. We spent the night camping under mosquito nets in the jungle, listening to the symphony of sounds, and rising early for a nature walk before sunrise. During our walk, we were able to see mona monkeys jumping from tree to tree. We then transition to Cape Coast in the afternoon and had a sobering tour of the slave trading castle. The experience was moving, to say the least. After taking in the sunset at Fort Victoria that overlooked the town of Cape Coast, we settled down for our final night in Ghana and reflected on our day in our journals. Tomorrow we make our way back to Accra and depart in the evening. We look forward to seeing our friends and family, but I think it is safe to say that this place will be sorely missed. Thanks for tracking our journey with us.

The following photos were taken by student participant, Annie Milburn:

Greetings at the end of our first full week in Cape Three Points! Things are rolling along smoothly and quickly, and we are trying to figure out how to slow down time and extend our stay. We've made great progress on our work, having finished digging the foundation to the huge, two story library. Next week we will make concrete and begin to pour the foundation.

The library will serve the entire community of Cape Three Points, the first such effort of its kind and an incredible opportunity for all residents of the area. We've also made headway on our garden project, which is to help build a sustainable food source for the students and also teach them various horticulture techniques. We've paired up with the student of the Trinity Yard to help us on this project. After clearing space and moving compost and soil around, we should be ready to plant the seeds we brought with us by next week.

Finally, Yara continues to take a group of students to the primary school daily to help teach lessons and model new, more engaging teaching methods within the classrooms. This has been a welcome alternative for the young students and much different than the chalk/blackboard and corporal punishment approach they are used to.

We've also mastered some new skills with our drum and dance lessons, batik class, and chip away at our independent projects before the sun sets. Naturally, we fit in a good ocean swim and some fun every day too. The weather has been blazing hot, but a nice jungle rain shower cooled things off last night at dinner time. We look forward to the weekend and some fun activities with the TYS students.

More to come soon. Hope all is well back home. Couldn't help but notice the news so I had to add a final shout out to my alma mater, GO BUTLER!

Best,

Mark, Yara, and John