I had the pleasure to talk to my family on Thanksgiving and my dad actually gave me a good idea for a blog. Apparently people want to know what I do on a day to day basis. I will do my best to give you an idea of what life here is like, but obviously everyday here is different. That being said let's walk through a given Tuesday...
6:30am: At this time, or 7:30am, I get three knocks on my door from either Eunice or Mary (my caretakers) telling me that breakfast is ready. Breakfast is typically an egg sandwich along with hot chocolate. Eating hot chocolate outside in Ghana can be tough, but it is nice nonetheless.
7:30am: I have recently started teach English twice a week at the local senior high school and this is when my class starts on Tuesday. I will do a blog next week on teaching but it is certainly very challenging to teach in a Ghanaian classroom.
9am: This is typically when I leave school and my day greatly slows down. I normally stop on my walk home to see the tailors who are working on school uniforms for the orphans. However, still I am usually home by quarter after nine and then have nothing to do until.
Noon: Every day at noon Mary or Eunice brings lunch. My lunches and dinner can vary and the local food is difficult to describe. Typically though I am praying for red red which is beans and fried plantain soaked in oil. Every meal I eat alone, but again outside, and at high noon that is again quite a hot part of the deal.
After I finish up lunch I have no obligations until my committee meeting at 4pm. Typically I spend my time reading or typing up documents for the committee. Often Dela will come back on a break from school and we can chat a little then.
4pm: On Tuesdays and Friday AYEC meets at four to discuss updates on existing projects and what types of other projects will would like to work on. Meetings can last anywhere from 5 minutes (typically when we are just waiting for something to be done there is nothing to talk about) to half an hour, and normally last about twenty minutes. Dela and I then walk home together and kick around some other ideas with just one another. I also use this time to figure out exactly what happened in the meeting since most of the time discussions are in Ewe (the local language.)
When I return home I am typical swarmed by the local kids and they stay until...
6pm: Once again it is delivery time from either Mary or Eunice. Like I said I eat all my meals alone and if any kids even approaches my Mary or Eunice yells at them from across the small yard that separates us. Again I typically eat in around twenty minutes and then the kids come back.
I stay outside playing with the kids until whenever I want to take my bucket shower and then call it a night.
I do not want to give any false impressions about my days here in Ghana. I along with the other volunteers are all working on a lot of projects but with that being said there is still a lot of down time. I think it is the natural result of not having a job while most people in the community are busy during the days. I still feel I am being productive and doing a lot, but I do wish there was a little less down time. That being said I definitely feel as though I have adjusted since I have already been here two and a half months!
Don't think I can escape this blog with saying a quick giving of thanks. I am incredibly thankful for all my friends and family who have been supportive of me while I am here. It makes my day to get emails from back home. I am also thankful for those who have contributed to AYEC's projects. If you haven't that is obviously fine too but please, please, please consider making a donation. Again I love getting emails so feel free to send me one at brad.mendelson@gmail.com
Monday, November 29, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Travel
So I really have no idea what things people want to hear about from Ghana, so feel free to comment on this blog and let me know. That being said one of the most common questions I get is if I am traveling a lot while I am here. The answer is both yes and no. I am traveling but trying to space out my travels so that I do not spend too much time away from Helekpe. I am really trying to get used to living in the village and traveling every weekend would obviously take away from that. Some of the times I have really been able to discover the most about the village have been on the weekends.
That being said I have traveled for two long weekends (Thursday to Monday) with the other volunteers that I am working with. The first time a group of seven of us traveled to a remote resort called Meet Me There. It was an absolutely beautiful resort right on the water. It is so remote that in fact we were the only guests staying there. It was a great trip and offered the first real opportunity to get know each other outside of simply spending two days a week together in the office. Meet Me There was mostly just a relaxing weekend and I do not think we left the resort the whole weekend we were there.
The second long weekend we traveled was to Cape Coast which is may be the most popular tourist town in Ghana. Cape Coast is, as the name would suggest, right on the coast as well. It is also a significant city in Ghanaian history as it was were the slave trade here used to be based. The castle which housed both British royalty and Ghanaian slaves is still open today for tours and was by far one of the most chilling things I have ever been to. You can literally walk through the dungeons which housed hundreds of slaves for months at a time and almost imagine the horror they must have seen. Aside from the castle the weekend have also a good time. It was a bigger group this time with nine of us going, but still just as much fun.
As I said earlier I have traveled both time with the other volunteers that I am working with. Perhaps one of my next blogs will be on them but I will say that I have really enjoyed my time with all of them so far. They are from all over the world and offer different perspectives. Considering they are the only people I can really have an easy conversation with it is great that I get along so well with them. Furthermore, it is also great to be able to bounce different ideas off of them and learn from their ideas. It is also makes the travels fun! I will be traveling more soon so I will keep you posted.
That being said I have traveled for two long weekends (Thursday to Monday) with the other volunteers that I am working with. The first time a group of seven of us traveled to a remote resort called Meet Me There. It was an absolutely beautiful resort right on the water. It is so remote that in fact we were the only guests staying there. It was a great trip and offered the first real opportunity to get know each other outside of simply spending two days a week together in the office. Meet Me There was mostly just a relaxing weekend and I do not think we left the resort the whole weekend we were there.
The second long weekend we traveled was to Cape Coast which is may be the most popular tourist town in Ghana. Cape Coast is, as the name would suggest, right on the coast as well. It is also a significant city in Ghanaian history as it was were the slave trade here used to be based. The castle which housed both British royalty and Ghanaian slaves is still open today for tours and was by far one of the most chilling things I have ever been to. You can literally walk through the dungeons which housed hundreds of slaves for months at a time and almost imagine the horror they must have seen. Aside from the castle the weekend have also a good time. It was a bigger group this time with nine of us going, but still just as much fun.
As I said earlier I have traveled both time with the other volunteers that I am working with. Perhaps one of my next blogs will be on them but I will say that I have really enjoyed my time with all of them so far. They are from all over the world and offer different perspectives. Considering they are the only people I can really have an easy conversation with it is great that I get along so well with them. Furthermore, it is also great to be able to bounce different ideas off of them and learn from their ideas. It is also makes the travels fun! I will be traveling more soon so I will keep you posted.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Finally Taking Donations!
For the last two months I have been working with a community based organization in Helekpe, Ghana called Adaklu Youth Education Committee (AYEC.) When I arrived I learned that AYEC's two goals were to provide orphans with school uniforms and give scholarships to kids so that they can attend high school, which is not public in Ghana. For the school uniform project the group has been working with seven local elementary schools and five local middle schools. It should be noted that school uniforms are mandatory in all schools in Ghana. In addition to these goals I have also decided that if we can obtain the funding we should work to improve one of the local middle schools which is in dire need of repair. Finally, AYEC itself wants to become sustainable and not rely solely on volunteers efforts to provide funding.. To that end we are aiming to start a five acre plantain and pepper farm. Those two crops have been carefully selected because they are very profitable, potentially making up to $15,000 a year, and can grow well on the land we can purchase.
After two months of being here I can personally attest to what a difference these projects, if successfully carried out, would make. While the projects may be noble they are certainly not free. In the last two months I have been carefully working alongside the committee to gather estimates for the different projects. Having done the research I have decided to set a goal of raising $25,000. This is certainly a lofty goal, but one I believe is achievable. The goal is even more attainable because of the fact that I have already received a generous donation to match any dollar given within the first $10,000 I can obtain. This means that if you can give as little $10 that donation will be matched making it worth $20, or in practical terms, more than enough to provide a new school uniform to an orphan.
I am therefore asking for you to help me in this project. If you can, please make a donation to AYEC. Donations should be made payable to Cynthia Mendelson with a note on the memo lined that says, "Donation to AYEC." Please mail checks to:
Danny Mendelson
Wise Metals
857 Elkridge Landing Road, Suite 600
Linthicum, MD 21090
I realize that charitable donations are not made out to individuals. However, because AYEC is only a small group in Ghana there is no other way to get money here efficiently or without losing significant value from the contribution. Therefore, my mom and dad will gather the all of the checks and then wire them to AYEC's bank account here. Since this is not how donations are normally made I will be logging every donation and will be happy to tell you exactly where your donation actually goes. I will also provide receipts wherever possible. If you have questions please feel free to write me an email at brad.mendelson@gmail.com.
I realize that not all people are in a position where they can give money. Anything you can do to help would be greatly appreciated. Support can range from spreading the word about the project, to holding a fundraiser, or even simply learning more about the project. To that end I would be happy to talk to anyone with any questions. Again feel free to write me an email. Thanks so much for your support!
After two months of being here I can personally attest to what a difference these projects, if successfully carried out, would make. While the projects may be noble they are certainly not free. In the last two months I have been carefully working alongside the committee to gather estimates for the different projects. Having done the research I have decided to set a goal of raising $25,000. This is certainly a lofty goal, but one I believe is achievable. The goal is even more attainable because of the fact that I have already received a generous donation to match any dollar given within the first $10,000 I can obtain. This means that if you can give as little $10 that donation will be matched making it worth $20, or in practical terms, more than enough to provide a new school uniform to an orphan.
I am therefore asking for you to help me in this project. If you can, please make a donation to AYEC. Donations should be made payable to Cynthia Mendelson with a note on the memo lined that says, "Donation to AYEC." Please mail checks to:
Danny Mendelson
Wise Metals
857 Elkridge Landing Road, Suite 600
Linthicum, MD 21090
I realize that charitable donations are not made out to individuals. However, because AYEC is only a small group in Ghana there is no other way to get money here efficiently or without losing significant value from the contribution. Therefore, my mom and dad will gather the all of the checks and then wire them to AYEC's bank account here. Since this is not how donations are normally made I will be logging every donation and will be happy to tell you exactly where your donation actually goes. I will also provide receipts wherever possible. If you have questions please feel free to write me an email at brad.mendelson@gmail.com.
I realize that not all people are in a position where they can give money. Anything you can do to help would be greatly appreciated. Support can range from spreading the word about the project, to holding a fundraiser, or even simply learning more about the project. To that end I would be happy to talk to anyone with any questions. Again feel free to write me an email. Thanks so much for your support!
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