Ghana. What a country. I've been holding off on writing this because
I'm waiting for my brain to fully process it. I don't know if that
will ever happen. These experiences are becoming more difficult to
write about. I was very blown away by what I saw.
I did a 3-day homestay with my 3 roommates/quadmates whatever you call
them. I had no clue what to expect. Julie (my roommate) found the
program on the Facebook group.
After 1 taxi ride we were greeted my Mama Viak and her brother. They
didn't say much, but we followed them into another taxi, a 2 hour
shuttle ride and 2 other taxis. We had no idea where we were going,
if these people were nice, what we were doing. We knew nothing.
On the ride there I looked out the window, absorbing all that I could.
These were our first few hours in Ghana. I could not believe how
different everything was. Dominica was different from the US, and
Brazil was very different..but Ghana. I could not believe it. There is
so much poverty there it is unbelievable. Nothing but poverty,
everywhere you look. Almost every woman I saw was carrying something
on her head, most of which were things to buy. They carried the most
random items on their head such as water (which is drank out of bags,
not bottles), sodas, fabric, take out boxes of food, knives and
kitchen supplies, a suitcase, outlets, and my personal favorites: a
personal scale and a tummy trimmer. Seriously, everything was carried
on their heads. In the shuttle ride we stopped in a town once in
traffic and a herd of at least 20 woman ran to our open windows,
yelling at us, and shoving items in our faces, trying to get us to buy
what they were carrying on their heads. They're so desperate to sell
anything they can.
Almost every store had God's name in it. It was incredible! These are
examples of some store names I saw: In Christ Alone Fashion, God is
the way Food and Beverage, Jesus the King (which sold flipflops),
Loving kindness food and drink bar, God's Time is the Best, Gracious
Grace Fashion and The Lord is my Light Ent. Seriously just about
every store had to do with God. Almost every car had a huge sticker on
the window that said such things as "Jesus is Lord, "God is good
always," "If God say yes no man can say no," "Great is the mystery of
Godliness." It was quite a powerful journey. I looked out the window
silently, taking notes and trying to take everything in during the
whole 3 hours. Christianity is so simple to them, and it's such a
passion. I drove by church services late at night. Huge groups of
people were outside, praising God. There were churches everywhere.
We finally arrived to the town of Ho in the Volta Region of Ghana
(google for more pics and info). We followed the older lady (Mama
Viak) and her brother through a crowded marketplace, where we got many
stares and cold looks. We felt like outsiders and that we definitely
did not belong. Ghana is not a touristy place for sure, and I'm pretty
sure Ho is never seen by tourists. We got in the final cab and went to
Mama Viak's orphanage/school, our new home for the next couple days.
The second we arrived we were surrounded by children. They immediately
held our hands, sat on our laps and reached their arms up to be lifted
up by us and just held. We were overwhelmed with love, smiles and
children searching desperately for hugs. During the two days it was
very rare to see one of us without a child's hand or a child in our
arms. This experience was the most heartbreaking, but loving, joyous,
confusing, eye opening experiences I've ever had. So many emotions. At
first we didn't think Mama Viak, her daughter and the other few adults
at the orphanage liked us. They didn't make any effort to talk with
us, even though they knew English well. We were confused and weren't
told much about where we were and what we should do. The kids brought
us to see a monkey who was chained to a tree. We then watched some of
the children play soccer for a bit while we hung out with the kids.
For every meal Mama Viak had us sit at a table in a building by
ourselves. We were fed a lot at each meal and all of the food was
delicious. It was as authentic as it gets. Later that evening, Wisdom
(Mama Viak's son) came by. We were relieved when he showed up because
he was very friendly and was the first to actually tell us about the
orphanage. Mama Viak and the other adults didn't show any interest in
getting to know us. Wisdom is a senior at the University in Ghana.
We went into his room and he told us about the orphanage. There are
about 30 orphans who really never leave the school, where they live
and about during the day more children join them at school, but leave
and go to their homes at night. About 20 of the children came into the
room where we were listening to Wisdom. All of us girls did not have
a bare lap. Children were sitting on our laps, holding our hands and
leaning on us. The rest of the children sat on the floor and intently
listened to Wisdom. These children ranged from ages 4-13ish. Wisdom
was not telling a children's story, but talking about serious matters;
the orphanage, and speaking adult to adult. Yet every single child
was silently watching Wisdom. Not one of them was fooling around,
talking or playing. They were like little adults. I've never seen
anything like it. That image is forever ingrained in my memory.
We learned that Mama Viak is a 70-year-old woman who started the
orphanage in 1964 because she was an orphan herself. Most of the
children have parents but the parents cannot afford to keep them or do
not have a school near them. The children do not have a dormitory or
beds or pillows. They sleep on the classroom floor on thin mats.
Some have toothbrushes. I didn't see a single toy. There was a swing
that a volunteer from Germany recently put in. There are about 5
teachers-who all volunteer and aren't paid anything. They do not have
individual books. Wisdom asked if we were all Christians and talked
briefly about God.
After we listened to Wisdom we went outside. The children loved
getting their pictures taken so I took pictures of them in front of
the side of their school where a painting of Jesus holding a child was
next to the words "He loves little children." I started singing "Jesus
Loves His Little Children." All of a sudden the 15 children that
surrounded me joined in and sung so loud and joyfully. After that
song the children started singing Joy to the World and Hark the Herald
Angels Sing. That was one of my favorite memories.
We then brushed our teeth with the kids outside and went to in our
room where there were bunk beds for us (the only beds in the place.)
A little more about the school-there were 2 toilets but no sink or
light and rarely toilet paper. The only running water was outside in
a little spout. The "kitchen" was outside and the food was cooked on
hot coals that the children would bring out. We washed dishes in bowls
of water. There were no sinks at all. The only room with electricity
and light was the room we slept in. Mama Viak showed us a building
that she wanted to be the dormitory, but it needed to be cemented.
That night we were all so taken aback and shocked at what we had seen
and what we had experienced. We felt like we were actually in one of
those commercials. This is real life. We wanted to help so badly and
it seemed simple. We were brainstorming all these ideas. We wanted
to start a non profit..make a video, bring it back home, show people
and raise money. We were thinking we could go back and put cement in,
send over materials and just anything. Such a feeling of passion we
all had that night.
Then it was Valentine's Day. This was the best Valentines Day I've
ever had. I don't think I've ever given and received as much love.
That morning we helped the children bathe and dress. They bath with
bowls of water. It was time for school, and we sat in some
classrooms. In my classroom the children were ages 10-12 I'd say.
All of a sudden the teacher walks out of the room as he's in the
middle of writing a sentence on the chalkboard. A student says,
"you're sposed to teach" (to me). I didn't know what to do-I wasn't
given any instruction! But I got up, looked at the book he was
reading, finished writing the sentence, and then read and taught what
was in the book. That was interesting! The previous night we decided
we wanted to buy a bunch of food for the children. We asked Mama Viak
what food she needed and we went to the market in town and bought $150
worth of food.
We played with the children more and when evening came Wisdom brought
his stereo to a classroom. It was Julie's 21st birthday the next day
so we had a dance party. We danced to African music (Hiplife) with
the children for hours. We were soaking with sweat and having such a
fun time. Then Wisdom and his sister went to a local bar called the
White House with us. There we talked with some Germans our age who had
volunteered at the school/orphanage for a few months.
They told us some things about the place that made us a little uneasy
and confused. They said that they don't know how much money actually
goes to the children. They said they've seen many toys come in but
they children never get to play with them-they're stored away in a
room. They said they've seen Mama Viak hit the children and they've
talked to older children who hate it there. At first we were really
bummed, especially because we really wanted to help and raise money.
After a lot of thought we realized that we'll never know the truth.
Even though the Germans have been there for a while, the hitting is a
cultural thing, and Mama Viak is 70. Who are we to tell Ghanians how
to discipline even though we don't agree. Also, Mama Viak said she
doesn't want the children to think that every time white people come
that means they get something-maybe that's why they don't get to play
with toys.
So it was a bummer that we had to hear that, but we'll just never
really know the truth. We all really want to go back and we're hoping
that someday we could go back and cement the building that could be a
dormitory.
Mama Viak was so sweet was very hospitable to us. From the day we got
to the school, the children asked when we were leaving, hoping we
could stay for a long time. The morning we left broke my heart. I
can't tell you how many children asked if we were coming back. It was
so sad leaving that place. I wanted to bring the children with me and
just hug them and tell them I loved them.
Experiencing that, and just seeing Ghana in general made me disgusted
at how much wealth we have and don't even realize it. How much we
complain about and how many more things we have to buy. We're in our
own little bubble, extremely blessed, but spoiled. I wish there was
more awareness about how extreme poverty is in Ghana..and in most of
the rest of the world. I wish everyone could see how these children
live. Yet they still have such joy. It's truly amazing.
Those were only the first 2 and a half days in Ghana! There are many
more stories I still have to tell. I feel like there was so much I
did not say about this place. It was a truly indescribable experience
that I'm still trying to comprehend. I hope to go back someday and
until then am praying for ways that I can help the children from
across seas. Say a little prayer for the children there for me.
Yesterday we were at 0,0! (0 degrees latitude, 0 degrees longitude!).
I'll write about the rest of my Ghana stories soon!
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