One of the parents reciting the alphabet during the parent literacy class.
Sunday, 17 July 2011
Nasaala
July 16
At seven o'clock we awake to the sound of staff sweeping outside our rooms. Philip picked us up two hours later and drove us to the Chalice Lassia Toulu Parish and Youth Centre. On our drive many of the children excitedly waved and shouted 'nasaala', which Philip told us means white person. When we arrived we met with the Chalice staff, and showed them a Ppt. about St. Patrick School. They were eager to receive our gift of two video cameras. Together we spent the next hour exploring how to use the cameras, taking videos and pictures, downloading and watching them. We were so caught up in the fun that we were late for lunch and the priest came looking for us.
Lunch at the Rectory was light-hearted, entertaining and delicious. The four of us laughed so much with the two priests, two sisters, and the catechist, that we lost track of time and were late for our next visit. We arrived at the KPF school sub-site in the village of Kawu, surprised to see the parents and children waiting for us. The parents were at the school for their weekly literacy class, which we got to watch. The room was filled with laughter as the parents recited and sang the alphabet in their native language. Watching the parents take risks and supporting those who volunteered to come up to the board as they sang and pointed to each letter with a stick was poignant. Meantime the children peered through the door and any openings they could find. Maria and Tiffany were distracted by the children peeking in and began taking pictures of them, to the delight of the children who were thrilled to see themselves on the camera. When the class was over the adults were also excited to have their picture taken and took a few moments to recognize themselves.
We arrived home to find a full parking lot, loud live music and well dressed people in the court yard. We quickly went back to our room, dropped off our stuff with the idea in mind that we wouldn't stand out and went back to the courtyard to peer through the bricks. It was a wedding reception! We were noticed by some guests and were warmly invited in to join the festivities. It was entertaining listing to the music and watching the guests dance. Members of the band came down to teach Maria and Tiffany a Ghanaian dance, and we sampled some wedding cake. We feel so welcomed everywhere we go.
At seven o'clock we awake to the sound of staff sweeping outside our rooms. Philip picked us up two hours later and drove us to the Chalice Lassia Toulu Parish and Youth Centre. On our drive many of the children excitedly waved and shouted 'nasaala', which Philip told us means white person. When we arrived we met with the Chalice staff, and showed them a Ppt. about St. Patrick School. They were eager to receive our gift of two video cameras. Together we spent the next hour exploring how to use the cameras, taking videos and pictures, downloading and watching them. We were so caught up in the fun that we were late for lunch and the priest came looking for us.
Lunch at the Rectory was light-hearted, entertaining and delicious. The four of us laughed so much with the two priests, two sisters, and the catechist, that we lost track of time and were late for our next visit. We arrived at the KPF school sub-site in the village of Kawu, surprised to see the parents and children waiting for us. The parents were at the school for their weekly literacy class, which we got to watch. The room was filled with laughter as the parents recited and sang the alphabet in their native language. Watching the parents take risks and supporting those who volunteered to come up to the board as they sang and pointed to each letter with a stick was poignant. Meantime the children peered through the door and any openings they could find. Maria and Tiffany were distracted by the children peeking in and began taking pictures of them, to the delight of the children who were thrilled to see themselves on the camera. When the class was over the adults were also excited to have their picture taken and took a few moments to recognize themselves.
We arrived home to find a full parking lot, loud live music and well dressed people in the court yard. We quickly went back to our room, dropped off our stuff with the idea in mind that we wouldn't stand out and went back to the courtyard to peer through the bricks. It was a wedding reception! We were noticed by some guests and were warmly invited in to join the festivities. It was entertaining listing to the music and watching the guests dance. Members of the band came down to teach Maria and Tiffany a Ghanaian dance, and we sampled some wedding cake. We feel so welcomed everywhere we go.
Friday, 15 July 2011
Walking to the Market
Today was a rest day so we decided to venture out down the road for a walk on our own. Passing a seamstress I stopped in to inquire about having a dress made. She measured me, had a chuckle, quoted me 6 Ghanian cedis for a one piece dress and said that I would need to buy three yards of fabric at the market. Along the way we acquired a little friend, 13 year old Maxwell, who had been sent home from school because he hadn't paid the 5 Ghanian cedis levy. Maxwell was simply delightful as he accompanied us to the Market, picked out the material I should buy, and generally looked out for us. He was fascinated with my digital camera, was thrilled to see himself on the camera and excited to take pictures himself. Unfortunately he took a picture of some boys who later followed us through the Market and down the road. All ended well with Maxwell going home with his sister, and us sticking to the busy road on our way back to the seamstress and then home. I'm looking forward to picking up my finished top and skirt next Wednesday.
We've Arrived
We left Canada on July 12; Maria and Tiffany from Calgary and Josephine from Toronto, and met up in Amsterdam. Landing in Accra seven hours later, we piled into buses for the short ride to the terminal, and joined long lines through Customs. Fortunately we passed through Customs easily, were greeted by a gentleman holding a sign with our names on it and were ushered off to the Airport View Hotel for the night. At 8:20 the next morning we discovered that check-in for our flight to Kumasi was between 7 and 8. The hotel driver quickly drove us to the airport, but our panic was unwarranted as there was lots of time until the flight left. Tiffany was thrilled to score an aisle seat, only to lean back and discover that her chair was broken. So being a polite Canadian she dutifully sat forward for the duration of the 35 minute flight to give the lady behind her enough space! Our two flight attendants were impressive- extremely well groomed and professional.
It was exciting to finally meet Philip at the airport in Kumasi. He is a remarkable person; gentle, jovial and patient. We piled our five suitcases into the back of the truck, covered them with a tarp and set off for the 400 km drive to Wa. Kumasi was a chaotic mass of cars, people, and shops. Amazingly the drivers are extremely polite and simply honk or flash their lights if they intend to merge, pass, or turn. All this without stop lights or stop signs. No one even seemed perturbed by the large crowd blocking part of the road participating in an exorcism, or cars parking in the right lane while the driver went in to purchase something.
The lush vegetation, especially in the southern part of Ghana was a surprise. We passed numerous villages and schools along the road with captivating sights, colours and sounds. Women with children wrapped securely on their backs effortlessly carried huge loads on their heads. Goats and chickens scurried across the road. Markets were plentiful and people were going about their day; working, washing, cutting and braiding hair and visiting. School children in uniform were visible in their classrooms, assembled outside their school, playing soccer and finally walking home. The children were equally enthralled with seeing three white faces in the truck and they would brighten up as we drove by smiling and waving. It gets dark early here, and the last hour and a half we travelled down the road in darkness with a full moon, serenaded by enchanting songs from the ponds. Finally two full days after our departure we arrived at our destination, the In-service Training Centre, exhausted and ready for bed.
It was exciting to finally meet Philip at the airport in Kumasi. He is a remarkable person; gentle, jovial and patient. We piled our five suitcases into the back of the truck, covered them with a tarp and set off for the 400 km drive to Wa. Kumasi was a chaotic mass of cars, people, and shops. Amazingly the drivers are extremely polite and simply honk or flash their lights if they intend to merge, pass, or turn. All this without stop lights or stop signs. No one even seemed perturbed by the large crowd blocking part of the road participating in an exorcism, or cars parking in the right lane while the driver went in to purchase something.
The lush vegetation, especially in the southern part of Ghana was a surprise. We passed numerous villages and schools along the road with captivating sights, colours and sounds. Women with children wrapped securely on their backs effortlessly carried huge loads on their heads. Goats and chickens scurried across the road. Markets were plentiful and people were going about their day; working, washing, cutting and braiding hair and visiting. School children in uniform were visible in their classrooms, assembled outside their school, playing soccer and finally walking home. The children were equally enthralled with seeing three white faces in the truck and they would brighten up as we drove by smiling and waving. It gets dark early here, and the last hour and a half we travelled down the road in darkness with a full moon, serenaded by enchanting songs from the ponds. Finally two full days after our departure we arrived at our destination, the In-service Training Centre, exhausted and ready for bed.
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