Day 71: The last days of our trip!

July 13-15 - Etchye. We stayed in a village with Pastor Prince Yevu. It was cool to be able to share our story with two churches in the Eastern Region. We loved getting to see another part of the country!

July 15-18 - African Atlantic Farm. An American, Kris, is starting a commerical farm in the Afram Plains and we were able to spend a few days observing his work on the farm and in the nearby village.

July 18-20 - Canapy Walk and Elmina Castle. These are two tourist attractions near Cape Coast in the Central region of Ghana. We enjoyed seeing the beauty and history of Ghana in a different light.

July 21-22 - Monkey Sanctuary and Wli Waterfall.
Macafui, our African brother, took us to these two tourist
sites. We got to feed bananas to monkeys
and stand underneath the tallest
waterfall in West Africa!
Definitely one of the highlighst of our trip!!

July 23 - Market!

July 24 - Our last day in Ghana. We were treated to Chinese and got to say goodbye to the Nyador family and the GCM employees that we got to know during our stay.

Day 58: Catch up time!!!

We are finally back to Tema! The last 2.5 weeks we didn't have very strong interent so we were not able to update everyone on the blog, but today we are back in the city and ready to post about our final village.

On June 24th we left Dzebedato to head to Akplale for our final 2.5 weeks in the bush. Here are pictures that we weren't able to post about the event:

The teachers of Dzebadato in a goodbye ceremony

Mawusee, our host and friend, at church with us

Dancing the Abaja with our fellow teachers in our new outfits!

With Monica and Erica, the two girls who lived in the house we stayed in.

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In Akplale we taught at a Junior High School and a Primary school. We had to condense the curriculumn to be able to teach both sets of teachers and students, but they all learned very fast and still picked up on all the basic computer skills we were hoping to teach them. We enjoyed teaching older students because we could teach them even more than we were used too. Here are some pictures of our stay in Akplale:

Brother Ernest, the Pastor of the church and our host

Patience, Brother Ernest's wife, with two of their daughters

In front of the computer lab at the Junior High School

Our students

Neighborhood kids!

The neighborhood boys danced for us as we did our laundry

These are a few glimpses of our final village. As of the 10th of July we officially finished teaching the ICT training that we came for. We have now journeyed to Tema and will spend the next couple of weeks working with a local church and seeing some different parts of Ghana.

Look forward to more updates!

Day 40: Saying goodbye to Dzebetato

We have said goodbye to our second school in Ghana, Dzebetato. When we arrived every student and almost every teacher was computer illiterate. But now, two and a half weeks later, the students have mastered the basics of turning on a computer, using a mouse and typing. The teachers are proficient in Microsoft Office and now know how to navigate on the internet.

We are extremely proud of how fast they have learned everything. Both the teachers and students have left this training time extremely proud of their new skill set. To have computers in front of them and to learn how to use them is something that they never dreamed was possible. So many of the teachers went through training college without ever really using a computer yet yearned to have that knowledge. Even the Headmaster, an elderly man who only wanted to learn how to turn on a computer and do a few basic functions, is eager to learn more.

We leave this school excited for the potential in the students and teachers. We pray that this allows them to pursue their dreams and make something of themselves.

As a way of saying thank you, the community and teachers presented us with beads and traditional dresses. We were humbled by these gifts and were very honored to receive them.

One of our classes on the last day.

Unfortunately, the internet signal is too weak to upload anymore pictures. As soon as it is stronger we will post them!

Day 35: A day in the life of a Ghanaian village

5:30AM: Sun is up so we are too!

6:00AM: Make breakfast of either oatmeal, fried eggs, bread, cornflakes or all of it combined!



6:30AM: EAT!!!!

7:30AM: Daily Devos

8:30AM: Head over to school to greet teachers

9:00AM-11:30AM: Rotate through four groups of students teaching basic computer skills

11:30AM-1:00PM: Mid day break for lunch



1:00PM-3:00PM: Teach the teachers. So far we have covered all basic Microsoft Office programs, typing and will be covering the internet tomorrow.



3:00PM-5:00PM: Wait out the heat at home before walking around the village. Most days we get many visitors. Today one of the elders of the church, David, came by with a large bag of coconuts for us to enjoy!

 In the meantime we like to treat ourselves to an ICE COLD Coca~Cola on the front porch and write e-mails home. Most of the time the local children gather around us to see what we are doing on the computer! 

5:00PM-6:00PM: Walk through the village and get to know some of the community members.

6:30PM: Dinner. This is a typical Ghanaian dish called Fufu. It is made with crushed cassava and crushed plantains. You eat it by dipping a small ball of the dough in a soup and swallowing.

7:30PM: Take turns heating water for our bucket showers.

8:30PM: The sun has gone down so time for bed!



***Schedule subject to change at ALL times!

Day 31: Making new friends!!!

 Mawusee (with Taylor) and Pearl (with me) are two of our wonderful new friends that have welcomed us with open arms. We often get to hang out to either learn how to cook a Ghanaian dish with Mawusee or have a dance party with Pearl. This day, they wanted us to look truely African so they they spent hours braiding our hair!

These are some of our new students in Dzebetato. They are very eager to learn and are quickly picking up typing. Sometimes they work so fast that we get out early and get to play!!

Day 28: Snapshots of the day

Today was such an eventful day. Abby and I went on a walk through the village and were met by many of our new friends. Our friend Patrick owns the local "Jiffy" and he invited us to come and sit down. While visiting with Patrick, he gave us orance Fantas, that were ice cold!!!! And Saltines, which I personally had been craving for days! Then we stayed and watched the first half of the France vs England soccer match.

While watching the soccer match a few of our students came to join us. Everywhere we go we are have a little group of kids that follow us, to keep us company. After the soccer match we then go to play vollyball in the street with a few of our other students. It took us a little while to figure out how to hit our "vollyball" which was made of a sock filled with rice. But nontheless we got the got the hang of it and it was a lot of fun!

Below is a picture of Abby and I with the seamstress who tailored our dresses, that the last village gave to us. She refused to charge us for any of her work because she wanted to thank us for the work that we are doing here. This has been one of the many gifts we have received since arriving to Dzebatato.

Once again we are just blown away with all the generosity we have experienced. It has been exciting to come to a new village and make even more Ghanaian friends!

Day 25: Our new village

It has been four days since we first arrived at our new village, Dzebato. Once again, we have been received warmly by everyone!! We have already established a routine of teaching four groups of students in the morning and then meeting with the teachers in the afternoon. Everyone is eager to learn which makes our job much easier!!

The students were really shy around us the first couple of days, but after we walked home with them on Friday they have started to feel much more comfortable around us. They love walking with us and fighting to see who can hold our hands. Hopefully we'll start putting some names to the faces!

Perhaps the best part of Dzebato, besides having a fridge, is Mawse, one of the teachers. She is not only the one who cooks for us but she has become our best friend here. Today, she taught us the true way to do laundry by hand and has become our language teacher as well. She loves to cook for us and her cooking is EXCELLENT!

Day 21: Saying Goodbye :-(

Today was our last day teaching in the Akutope-Avuto village. Abby and I were greeted at school with a horde of students running to embrace us. All day long the kids followed us around school saying "Please Madam, don't go!" We have come to love these kids deeply and will always cherish the friendships we have made.

Here are some of our first graders enjoying their time practicing typing with Miss Abby.

This is a sweet little girl who always greets us with a smile and a hug. When she is in class she diligently focuses on her work and excells in typing.

The teachers surprised Abby and I with custom made African dresses that they all pitched for as a thank you. Above is a picture of all of our students.

We were both touched by how greatful the students were for the computers that were brought. The teachers kept repeating that we would never completely understand the impact that they will have on this community. Many of the teachers have said, with pride, that they are no longer computer illiterate. We are both so thankful that God gave us this opportunity to see how much He cares for his children and how this is a start for them to expand their view of the world.

We would encourage those of you reading this to be thankful for the opportunities that God gives you no matter how small the may seem. We have come to realize how blessed and how comfortable life is in America. So take time to appreciate such things like knowing how to using a computer.

Day 18: Avu Lagoon

This week, the teachers wanted to take us an adventure in order to show their appreciation for our service to this village. They took us to Avu Lagoon, which is a local eco tourism project. For three hours, we hiked through sugar cane fields, rode in wooden canoes through the marsh to eventually end up in the open waters of the lagoon.

Here we are starting off our adventure through the flooded sugar cane field. We felt a tad overdressed in our skirts but it only added to the day!

Our headmaster, Eric, thoroughly enjoyed walking through the marsh, especially when I then Taylor managed to fall waist-deep into the mud!

Here we are in the canoe with one of our fellow teachers! Above is a school house in a tiny rural village that we passed during our hike. Both Taylor and I were extremely thankful that we are able to teach in a concrete school building with numerous classrooms.

The day ended with trying sugar cane for the first time. The teachers were pro's at eating this sweet treat, Taylor and I had a much harder time managing to even get a full bite which brought much amusement to everyone present.

We only have 2 teaching days left in this wonderful village...its so sad to think about saying good-bye. 

Day 15: Ghanaian Hospitality

Since our arrival in Ghana, Abby and I have been welcomed over and over. But now that we have been in the village of Akutope-Avuto for a little over a week we are realizing that Ghanaians are very gracious and hospitable people. Almost everyday we receice a small gift from a village member to express their graditude for our service. We love these small acts of gratitude, it makes us feel so welcomed and so appreciated by the village.The small gifts are continual reminders that God will always provide for us, in one way or the other. We will leave here feeling incredibly humbled!

After a visit to introduce ourselves to Auntie Lydia's brother, he thanked us for the visit by sending us a large bag of mangos (which we told him was our favorite fruit)!

Also we asked Auntie Lydia's nephew to take us to town on Saturday so that we could find ourselves some Coca~Cola! George was extremely surprised that we loved coke so much! So a few days later he sent us an eight pack!

On top of these two wonderful gifts, the chief came and set up a TV in our small apartment because he was concerned that we were bored at night time.

In addition, one of our fellow teachers has spoiled us to the max! Everyday she brings us a local juice made from soya beans and nut of a boaboab tree.

And lastly, many villagers have given up an afternoon of their time, so that they can take us through the village or to an event of some sort.

Thank you Ghanaians for your hospitality. We love your country!

Day 14: What to do with cornflakes and no milk in Africa?

As we were buying supplies for this village, we were given a box of cornflakes but no milk. For the past week, Taylor and I have pondered this dilemma of how to eat our cornflakes when we don't have any milk.

This is what we came up with!

1. Pour dry cornflakes into a bowl, add a dash of salt and consume!

2. Sprinkle liberally on a fried egg just to give it a little crunch

3. When your rice and beans is slightly dry, just add some cornflakes and its a whole new meal!

If you have any other suggestions comment below....we still have half a box left!

Day 11: Becoming an elder....

Today is a national holiday in Ghana and our school put on a ceremony to welcome us and the computers. 

The students displayed the tribes traditional dancing, accompanied by the traditional drumming. 

The village decorated us with traditional beads. We each received two braclets and two necklaces. For this area it's a great honor to have two of the traditional beads, because it symbolizes having the status of a village elder!

The cheif of Akutope-Avuto and Abby watching the students display their new computer skills.

Abby and I with our Auntie and the village cheif. Auntie is our hots in this village and she has been cooking and looking out for us.