Last trip up north (for the time being)

As of today, I have one month and two days left here in Ghana. I can’t BELIEVE how time is flying by, and I want to make the absolute most of my time left here! I will definitely be coming back to Ghana in the future.

This last weekend, we had yet another NYU trip— up north, to Tamale (pronounced “tam” as in “Pam”, “a” like “ahhhh”, and “le” like “leigh”- not tamales like hot tamales, which would be fun.) I had debated whether to go or not, given that I have been to the north of Ghana twice before and the trip is brutal (minimum 14 hours by bus, not great roads) but ultimately, I went.

We left at 4:00am and drove for the entirety of our Thursday. Inevitably, there was car trouble at some point, so we had about a 16-hour journey total. When we arrived to the guesthouse sweaty, hungry, and groggy, we discovered that dinner had been prepared for us: spaghetti and meatballs! I was overjoyed. I haven’t even seen such foods in Ghana. They don’t even eat beef here very much. It was amazing.

The next day we went on a tour of a Mosque, and we were able to see the inside as well. I haven’t ever been able to get inside of a mosque before, generally non-Muslims are not allowed in, so it was quite the honor to see the whole building. The man giving us a tour happily answered our questions about Islam and how it is practiced in Ghana. We then attended a lecture on Northern Ghana, which gave us some valuable background on this marginalized region of the country.

Then we went to the market, which is always a joy. Markets everywhere look different, this one may have been my favorite so far- small passageways and tons of stalls- it reminded me of Morocco.

The next stop was the highlight of our trip. We visited a clinic that was founded in 1991 for the poor and destitute. There is no charge for services; it is run entirely on donations. Patients can stay for as long as they desire, some for years and years (we met one woman who had been there since 1992!) The people who go to this clinic are generally abandoned by society- lepers, the mentally ill, AIDs patients, everyone. The doctor who runs the clinic was one of the most inspiring men I have ever met. He performs all of the surgeries— they see 60 to 120 patients per day, so that should give you an idea. His whole philosophy is that people need love and care in order to heal. His patients are accepted and given incredible love, which I believe plays an enormous role in the success of the clinic; it isn’t just about the science or the medicine, but about how people are treated. We were able to tour the entire clinic and spend a couple of hours learning from this man. His spirit is contagious.

The next day we went to the grounds of a former slave camp. Earlier in the semester we went to a slave castle in the South, which was the last stop before crossing the Atlantic. This camp transported people from north to south for the slave trade. The day was incredibly hot— maybe 110 degrees— so it was difficult to even stand outside and listen to the history, much less envision it. Yet this gave us all a small idea of how brutal slavery really is. It is difficult to believe that such practices occur today, and important to see the issue. These people were, as the history books will site, treated like livestock. Worse. They were beaten savagely, their spirits broken, their beliefs spit upon. For punishment they were chained to rocks and flogged just two feet away from the shoddy burial site where tens and hundreds of their friends, brothers, countrymen, and fellow captives were irreverently laid to rest. They could see and smell the bodies. Once again we all made a promise to do whatever we could to eradicate slavery.

When I get home, my tolerance for even the slightest bit of racism will be nil. I am interested to see how this will play out.

After the slave camp, we visited a… well I don’t know what it officially was but it can be equated to a commune for widows. These widows support themselves and their children by weaving baskets. We were welcomed with dancing and music, and then purchased some baskets (they do amazing work!), and were given a brief weaving lesson. The widow teaching me kept slapping my hands, I think she was shocked at how poor a weaver I was.

We then went to an art market- to anyone traveling to Ghana, be aware that these are tourist markets. You can probably find exactly the souvenirs you want, but be prepared to barter like a savage. I much prefer the actual markets, even though it is more difficult to find the things you need, because it is less aggressive.

Eventually, we retired to the guesthouse. We had an Indian buffet for dinner, which was pricey but decent, and a nice change of pace.

The next day we left at 5am and made excellent time to Accra. I am really glad that I went on this trip, despite the long journey.

Reality Tour!!!

The Reality Tour is a trip planned by City of Refuge outreach, for NYU students to see what child trafficking in Ghana looks like, how it can be stopped, and above all else to spread awareness. Because I work with City of Refuge, I have been talking with John and Stacy about the trip for months (they’re the couple who founded the organization), and I was super excited to go.

Ten NYU students came— there are 44 of us total. We drove over to Doryumu to the City of Refuge compound last Thursday evening, and planned to head out on Friday around 2am. Things started out a bit stressfully, to be perfectly honest. I was having trouble finding transportation for all of us, collecting the money from everyone, and generally getting things organized with my fellow volunteers. It was starting to feel like the trip would never happen.

A few phone calls and lots of prayer later (John pulled me over for a bear hug and gave me a mini-sermon on God’s faithfulness. He is so awesome.) We were on our way and my worries dissolved.

The trip to Lake Volta is about 10 hours, including the wait for the fairy and the ride across the late. This is the largest man-made lake IN THE WORLD; I believe it was created sometime in the 1970s. It is being overfished and the situation has become quite dire— people who depend upon the lake for their income are without any means of supporting themselves or their families. Subsequently, the Volta region of Ghana, and specifically the area surrounding Lake Volta, is extremely poor. This area is also plagued with the phenomenon of single motherhood; fishermen will have several girlfriends from different villages, and then leave. Some women have eight, nine, even ten kids and no father to speak of. All of this contributes to the issue of child trafficking.

We arrived at our host home (John, Stacy, and crew travel to Volta frequently and have arrangements for when they are there) and rested for a bit. It was so refreshing to be on an excursion where there was rest/ reflection time scheduled for us… Afterwards, we grouped to discuss the weekend plans, ate a delicious meal courtesy of Lucy, the COR cook (such a sweetie), and we were on our way.

That afternoon, we went by boat across the lake to a small village, one that Stacy and John had never been to before. The boat ride was unreal. As we made our way across, we stopped to talk to nearby fishermen. We saw a lot of children working the lakes. This is hard labor, and these kids are young. John would hand them lollipops and ask them if they wanted to go to school.

I should probably also mention that COR has volunteers who are from and work in the Volta communities. They do a lot of the research, relationship building, and awareness spreading. I love that this organization focuses so much upon getting to know the communities that they are helping. This is a bit of a tangent but bear with me; there are other NGOs that work to ‘prevent’ child trafficking in the Volta region, only they decided that it would be best to pay traffickers for the children’s freedom. The result? Save one kid, the trafficker will go get two more because he can turn a profit off of them. In 2007, several children were killed as a result of one NGO’s attempts to ‘strong-arm’ traffickers into freeing their slave children. This work takes planning, research, organization, and dedication. It’s not like you can waltz in and change everything— lasting change takes time.

Back to the trip. It was hard for me, as I know it was for everyone else, to see children working the lake. Child labor/ child trafficking are easy to theorize about, but to see it first hand is crazy. I wanted to just snatch the kids and take them somewhere safe, but like I stated above, things don’t work like that.

When we arrived at the village on the other side, we heard music blasting from speakers… in the middle of the huts that created this small community was a raging dance party. I kid you not, it seemed like the entire village was out, dressed their finest, for a Friday afternoon dance. It was kind of awesome. John found the chief of the village immediately, and we set to work— John discussed the issue of trafficking with him and COR’s vision to educate and care for trafficked kids, and the chief was completely on board. John asked to see more of the village, and the chief obliged, sending us with a village man.

Not fifteen feet away from this dance party (which, as it turns out, was to celebrate the birth of the chief’s grandchildren… I’m not sure whether three were born at once or three were having their naming ceremonies around the same time, but it was something like that) were trafficked kids. You can tell by their muscle development, and there are telltale signs of abuse and malnutrition. Also, while everyone else was dancing they were making nets, so… yeah. John talked to them and to their masters, begging for the freedom of each child. There was also a young boy who was completely neglected, though not a slave. He was someone’s stepson, and therefore not taken care of. It breaks my heart.

Ultimately, John and Stacy’s initial visits to the village follow a pattern- talk with the chief, get people on board, point out the problem, begin research. We weren’t looking to free kids that day; it was just a start in that particular village. It was interesting to see the process that they go through when starting negotiations with a new village…

After touring the village, we were led back to the chief. John and him discussed via translator the issue of trafficking in the village for a long time. The chief seemed very eager for COR’s help. To be honest, it seems like any aid from NGOs is sought after by a lot of villages, so it didn’t surprise me that they were so cooperative- if they agree to work towards the eradication of slavery, their children will be better educated and taken care of. Part of CORs mission is to educate as to why slavery hurts everyone, not just the child involved.

Once the negotiations were over, we DANCED! Several girls who were probably about my age challenged me to a dancing competition. I kid you not, they think it’s hilarious when white people dance… I don’t really blame them, but it’s funny that even in remote villages obruni’s have a reputation for our lack of rhythm.

On our way out, we were escorted away from the village by a huge crowd of dancing and singing children and teenagers. I love how they celebrate in Ghana… there was a lot of hugging and a bit more dance competition-ing. They left, and while we had planned to boat home before sundown, there was a storm, which left us stranded on the banks.

Luckily, we were in a ridiculously remote area, which meant that the stars were brilliant. It was beautiful on the banks of the lake and looking up at stars. Eventually we did make our way home, carefully. We arrived in the pitch black of night safe and sound.

The next day was the day camp, followed by the feed/ deworming session. During day camp, village children arrived to do fun activities with us- it was mainly to get to know the people, and to have fun with the kids, than anything else. One of my colleagues had planned an activity where she handed out 500 squares of cloth for kids to illustrate with something meaningful to them, which she plans to make a quilt out of for COR. It was really amazing. I had planned some simple drama games. There were some translation difficulties but I think the kids still had fun- they really liked to jump, so most of our “movement” exercises were spent doing that.

In the process of all of this, I must share that two babies fell asleep on me. Not at the same time. Their mothers/ community women retrieved them eventually, but I was secretly pleased that I had lured two separate babies to sleep. Seriously though they were precious, as were the children we worked with. I am so unworthy of their affections, they get so excited whenever an ‘obruni’ comes around, and it is an honor that I do not deserve. It was a pleasure to spend the morning with these kids, though, and I hope that we gave them a good time.

After day camp we set back to the homestead to put together 300 boxed meals. There is a specific method, so it doesn’t take too long, but let me tell you, unpeeling 300 hardboiled eggs feels like quite the accomplishment.

When everything was ready, we took the food and the deworming meds to the community where we were to hold the feed. The purpose of a community feed, other than to feed people (14 and under only), is to get to know and keep track of children- each child is registered, and COR returns three months after the initial feed to deworm/ feed the same children. If some of the kids are missing inexplicably, they know that there’s a problem. There’s more to it but that’s the jest of it.

Lots of people lined up for the feed. Again, the language barrier presented a problem. Each child needed to be registered- their names, ages, birthplace, etc.— and photographed, before being given meds and then finally their dinner. Another tactic of identifying trafficking is through the registration process. Often trafficked children will not know their ages or even their names.

My job was to keep the line organized and to direct children in an orderly fashion to the registration tables. We only had 300 meals and many many more children showed up (which is to be expected. It is extremely difficult to keep track of more than 300 children in a given community at one time- there aren’t THAT many people working for COR.) Stacy was smart and numbered the kid’s hands in line with a sharpie, so we knew which kids were cutting, and the first 300 there really were the ones to get their meal.

Obviously I can’t pass judgment on hungry children for trying to sneak food, or even on their mothers for trying to get them through the line. But it makes our jobs difficult. I always just tell the kids that they’re stealing from their brothers and sisters, and leave it at that. Patience is so important when working with these big crowds, even though it is chaotic. After dancing, singing, being laughed at, trying to use all 10 of my Twi words, and kissing babies all for the sake of entertaining the line-dwellers, the feed ended. We only got through number 287, which means that a few people slipped the line. I felt really bad for the kids who had numbers but didn’t get through, and for the crowd remaining, who were begging for whatever we had. However, 300 children were fed and dewormed, which means that Stacy and John can determine the trafficking situation in the village AND that 300 kids will be able to lead healthier lives (the worms are a huge problem, as I’ve mentioned in previous posts.)

After the feed we returned to debrief and eat. We talked with John and Stacy for a long time about the organization, the methods, personal stories… they really are doing great work.

So I’ll put in yet another plug for them: visit www.cityofrefugeoutreach.com to learn more and, if you so desire, donate to this worthy cause. They do PayPal, it’s easy as pie.

Sunday morning we awoke early for the return trip. On the way back to Accra we stopped by the COR site again, where everyone got to meet the kids. I was happy that they got that opportunity; everyone fell in love with these children. They are remarkable.

This journey was one of the more life-changing experiences that I’ve had here in Ghana. There are so many populations to be helped, but that doesn’t make it any less necessary. I am moved now more than ever to do my part… once you see a child working on the lake, you can’t really ignore the problem,

Can you?

FESPACO (film festival time!)

This past week*** when I wrote this... now it was like three weeks ago...*** I went to Burkina Faso, the country directly north of Ghana, to attend FESPACO: Africa’s largest film festival (and one of the largest in the world.) The trip was an optional trip for my film class, so seven NYU students came, as well as one girl from Colorado who is studying abroad at the University of Ghana.

Last Friday we left for our 20 hour drive at 4:00 in the morning (I stayed up all night so I could sleep on the bus.) Eventually we ran into difficulties driving the bus, but we had an amazing time seeing what the rest of Ghana looked like— there are elephants in the north, so we kept our eyes peeled (“elephant watch”). We didn’t see any, but the climate and terrain in the north is incredibly different, they call it the bush (Accra, where we live, is right on the ocean and very tropical.)

The villages alongside the road were few and far between, but the ones that we did see were extremely welcoming. I finally saw some mud huts (again, I want to dispel the notion that all of Africa dwells in huts sans electricity and connection to the modern world, but there are places where people do live in huts… promise not to generalize this to all of Africa!) At one point, some of us girls were looking for a restroom and asked a local woman where we could find them. She took us on a hike through the village and the surrounding forest, and eventually stopped and said “pick any tree you want here.”

We spent the night in Tamale, northern Ghana, because it is dangerous to drive too late into the night (there aren’t street lamps away from the cities, and some of the roads are pretty bad). The next day we were eager to get into Burkina Faso and FESPACO!

As soon as we crossed the border, which went remarkably smoothly, everything changed completely. Ghana is an Anglophone country completely surrounded by Francophone countries, so the first change was the French. I was the only person on the trip who spoke French, so Kingsley (our film TA who was in charge of the trip) had me translate. I was super nervous about it but overall I was happy for the experience— Burkinabe people were eager to help me communicate and learn, and no one was critical of my mistakes.

Another evident change was the climate- it is a much hotter and dryer country, and there was dust everywhere. We also saw tons and tons of motorcycles, which is the primary means of transportation in Burkina Faso (they were outlawed in Ghana for a while to prevent theft, so we don’t see a lot around here). Even mothers with babies will drive motorcycles, which was shocking at first.

Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, was only a couple of hours from the border. We went straight to the FESPACO grounds (which took some time to find…) to see whether the commencement ceremony was still going on. It was over but we found some delicious steak sandwiches, baguettes, and French fries, so no problems.

During the days at the festival, we attended a professional panel that included some of the most influential film makers in Africa. It was quite the honor to hear their dialogue on African cinema. I learned a lot, and there were two film makers in particular who peaked my interest, women who made a film called “The Witches of Gambaga” about women in Northern Ghana who are accused of witchcraft and therefore condemned to a life of isolation. Two of my professors were on the panel (I had no idea that they were such a big deal! I was honestly a bit star struck…) so I had the opportunity to speak with these directors in person. They gave me some great advice about my own documentary, and inspired me to use the arts as a means to promote social justice.

The afternoons and evenings, of course, were reserved for seeing films. There were many to choose from, of all sorts of nationalities. Many were in French or in indigenous languages with French subtitles, but I wanted to see as many nationalities as possible regardless of language. We worked our way through the city to get to the right theatres (trickier than it sounds) and ultimately I saw nine films.

My favorite three (note: I understood French movies, but not as well as English movies. This most definitely impacted my viewing experience.)

High Chicago- Canada

A drama about an African American man who dreams to open a drive-in theatre in Africa. There is a lot of social commentary about what it is to be African- the main character identifies with his African heritage but many other black characters do not.

Bullets Over Brownsville- US (the only American film in the festival, I believe)

A docu-drama about the Brooklyn neighborhood of Brownsville and all of the violence that occurs there. Very heightened style, but I felt it conveyed the message well.

The Witches of Gambaga- Ghana

A documentary that I have already described, very compelling about women’s place in Ghanaian society.

I also heartily enjoyed a series of seven short films (counted as one in my ‘movies viewed’ count) of a variety of nationalities- Mozambique, South Africa, Lebanon… The general theme was ‘children.’ One was about abuse, one was an interpretation of a traditional folk-tale… good stuff.

As I briefly mentioned already, the food in Burkina Faso is out of this world. Definitely influenced by the French culture, the bread and the beef were fabulous. It was a refreshing change- I like Ghanaian food, but I liked Burkinabe food more.

The trip was also a great opportunity for us NYU students to bond. The trip wasn’t without it’s challenges, and the seven of us were able to get to know and love each other a lot in the process. I have come to realize how much the people you travel with shape your experience…

Eventually, we made our way home. We stayed in Bolga Tanga for one night after crossing the border, and then arrived safely in Accra uneventfully.

Because I procrastinated on writing about this trip (right after I got back I had midterms, then spring break), there are some details I am simply too lazy to include. Highlights of my time in Accra since then:

1.) Meeting the Vice President of Ghana and attending a reading of his autobiography.

2.) Meeting a Ghanaian Chief.

3.) Having children at City of Refuge fight over who gets to sit in my lap.

4.) Seeing the progress of the new school that City of Refuge is building.

And, probably the most exciting event to transpire,

5.) Taking part in a feed at City of Refuge: we took 1200 meals to a rural village and gave them to children in need (they partner with a church in the village.) These people clearly care for the children of Ghana in all capacities. It was challenging and exhausting, and I learned a ton.

More to come!

Spring break, otherwise known as "The Lion King" (a misleading title because I actually never saw any lions...)

This past week has been a definite highlight for my semester abroad. Last Saturday, several of us headed out early in the morning on an STC bus (which is similar to greyhound): the destination? Mole National Park. The plan was to spend a few days in Mole, and then head up to Burkina Faso (might as well make use of that visa, eh?) for Nazinga National Park.

Mole is approximately 14 hours north of Accra, and it is the largest wildlife reservations in Ghana. It is one of the only places in Ghana where you can see wild elephants, among other things.

En route we stopped in Tamale, which is directly north of Accra, for the night. Upon arrival we had no hotel, so it took a few tries before we found vacancy. Luckily, the cab drivers were nice, and the hotel had running water and— the ultimate luxury— air conditioning! Unfortunately, however, there were no options for food. After a full day of traveling without meals, some of us were more devastated by this fact than others.

There are two buses that run from Tamale to Mole, one at four am and the other at two pm. We arose early to purchase out tickets for the later bus, and finally got to eat at a nearby restaurant. For the foodies out there, I had fried plantains and fried rice J After eating we headed to the bus station, so as to be prompt for our next departure.

Two pm came and went… then three o’clock… then four, five, six… we began to wonder whether the bus was, in fact, coming, but others were also waiting on the bus and our guidebooks stated that the Mole bus is frequently late. At a quarter to seven, the bus arrived, and we were happily on our five-hour bus ride to the park.

We arrived too late to see anything that night, so we simply retired to the rooms we had (thankfully) reserved. The resort included a pool and a restaurant. It wasn’t super fancy, but it had everything we needed- three beds per room and a shower. (The further north you get, the dustier it is. We were filthy after traveling.) The best times for viewing animals is in the early morning, and then around dusk, due to the heat— those are the times when animals get water etc. Several people in our group decided to go on the six am tour the next day, but, seeing as how we got in around two am, I opted for some much needed rest. I was able to eat (more than one meal per day! How rare.), swim, and take in the nearby sights until around four, when we went on a car safari tour.

Mole is well known for being one of the cheapest safaris out there. The car tour was approximately 15 cedes per person, or $10 US, for three hours— such trips can cost thirty times that. I chose the red four by four and climbed onto the roof for the journey (it could seat several at a time, technically, but on top of the car there were literally just a few boards attached to sit on. Not really any safety precautions or anything… It was perfect.) Our guide was equipped with a gun, which was the sole means of protection for our entire stay in Mole, and off we rode into the deepest parts of the bush to see what there was to see.

There was an abundance of antelope, bushbuck, crocodiles, baboons, some other kind of monkey that I forgot the name of (they have long tails and they are brown on top and white on the bottom…) etc., but elephants had yet to be cited. Finally, our guide’s expert eyes spotted a group of three elephants, so we hopped out of the car to go get a closer look. Allegedly it is necessary to keep a 50-meter distance from the elephants for safety- they are enormous, fast, and extremely dangerous when they want to be, and thanks to poachers they are often terrified of humans. We, however, we able to get quite close (but not too close, the guide would get mad), and the first citing was definitely a spiritual experience. What amazing creatures!!!

The car safari led to many other wonderful discoveries, and overall it was probably my favorite tour of the trip. After it was over, we ate dinner (Gasp! A second meal!) and star gazed until retiring early for the full day to come. Tuesday morning I awoke for the six am tour, where we walked through the bush with our guide. We were lucky, there were elephants out that day, and I got about ten feet from one! We also saw crocodiles, warthogs, etc. It was a great morning hike.

Later in the day we did a canoe tour. First we walked through a village, which was very traditional (mud huts, chief, etc.), and then we canoed the river, which was very relaxing. We saw some cool birds, but no crocodiles, even though there is no doubt in my mind that they live in the murky waters we were on— they probably were scared off by the canoe.

In the early evening, some of us trekked off to do a ‘tree hike’— we walked an hour into the dusk to a large tree house, where we were to spend the night. We had reserved the tree house and the guides the night before, but when we arrived for the beginning of the hike another group was there: they had reserved the hut and guides that morning. Sometimes Ghanaian customer service is seriously lacking- they blamed both groups for the double booking and almost didn’t let us go on the hike. It was frustrating, but because we knew the other group (they are students in another abroad program who we see around Accra sometimes) they allowed us to all go together.

When we got to the tree hut it was completely dark. The stars were unreal. We didn’t see animals (I had been hoping for a lion siting), but we heard plenty. The people in my group awoke at 2am to leave for the 4am bus, so off we went into the darkness again.

Our journey to Burkina Faso was to be long and complicated. First stop: Labaragaga, where we could catch a bus to Wa (then to Hamile and then over the border…) We arrived at around 4:30, and were immediately taken in by a school teacher who let us sleep on mats- the most comfortable mats in the entire world! We awoke around six for a tour of the village, including seeing the oldest mosque in Ghana. Village children followed us everywhere we went, and the whole town was friendly and accommodating. We also saw them making Shea butter and bought some for cheap.

The trip to Wa felt quick, and from there we found a trotro to Hamile. I would not recommend trotros for long distances, it was super crowded and uncomfortable, but it was cheap and we got there. We crossed the border without much difficulty and then…

… realized that we had no idea how to proceed. There weren’t any bus stations or trotros to be found, and the border town was small and without food (we ate very very little this break.) Eventually we negotiated for a car to take us to Leo for the night, and the next morning we would head to Nazinga. The car was incredibly overpriced, but we weren’t in a position to turn it down, so we took it. It was in terrible condition, making for an uncomfortable ride.

MEANWHILE, I was translating for the group (Burkina is ALLLL French), which was good practice, but sometimes out of my league.

We got to a horrible little hotel in Leo, where we secured two beds for the seven of us. The rooms were dirty but cheap, and we were all so tired and dusty that we didn’t care- that was the best and worst shower of my life.

 The next morning we had to hunt for water. It took a while, but we secured some bottles to sustain us. We also secured a car that was once again overpriced. It was one before we left due to technical difficulties, but once on the road our spirits lifted. We were finally within range of the park!!!

We arrived and INSTANTLY spotted elephants. Nazinga was much more remote than Mole, and the journey from the entrance of the park to the dorms was 55 km in and of itself, so there were less people to scare off the wildlife. There weren’t tours like there were in Mole, so most of our time there was spent sitting by the watering hole and observing the elephants swimming and bathing. They would march right by our dorms in the morning! It was incredible. There were also monkeys and baboons and crocs and warthogs and such, but it was the elephants that I really loved.

Nazinga was relaxing, I was able to eat more than once a day and sleep plenty and read and reflect, which at that point was much needed. Additionally, the staff were incredibly nice- the cook joked with us that we could swim in the watering hole, and I said that were afraid of the crocodiles so he offered to mount an elephant and shoot them for us (it was funnier in French.)  Saturday morning we left around ten, hoping to make the journey without stopping at a hotel.

We ended up making it home in 24 hours without stopping, but it was a long and difficult journey. Still, I was ecstatic to save on hotel costs and to sleep in my own bed again.

Overall, break was a huge learning experience. We “roughed” it a bit, which built character, but in spite of the lack of comfort in some aspects of the trip, we had a great time.

Help us to deworm trafficked children in the Volta region!!! NOW.

As I have mentioned, City of Refuge is a ministry that rescues trafficked children from the Volta region of Ghana, and works towards their rehabilitation. Many children are taken from their homes, often through luring parents to ‘sell’ the children with promises of education and adequate food and shelter. Needless to say, these children receive no education and are in poor health. They work in fishing communities, untangling nets (apparently smaller fingers are faster at this sort of work) and other hard labor without hope of freedom or opportunity.

The rescued children from COR are schooled and live together in a house, around 20 children total as of right now (babies included.) Additionally, the Ghanaian government often asks for assistance from City of Refuge in housing and caring for abandoned, abused, and orphaned children. I have NEVER seen a nonprofit that is so well organized, culturally appropriate (the couple that started COR hires and trains Ghanaians to work towards awareness of trafficking and rehabilitation), and loving. The children there are remarkable, and are given the very best of opportunities to lead fulfilling lives and meet their individual needs.

April 1^st-4^th I will have the opportunity to travel to the Volta region to deworm, feed, and register trafficked children. Because COR is currently at capacity, they cannot offer shelter to anymore children, but they take special care to keep track of every child who is a potentially trafficked child, and follow up with the government to try and bring aid to the situation.

$10.00 will deworm a child for one year: the parasites that the children are afflicted with rob their bodies of food, therefore stunting growth, as well as cause significant pain and illness becomes frequent. Treating worms is the first step in helping these children to lead healthier, stronger lives.

PLEASE consider donating to this incredibly worthy cause. 10 dollars is… 2 grande lattes. About 3 gallons of gas. 4 swipes on the subway. This miniscule amount of money can make an enormous impact on a global scale (you can give more, too if you want).

To donate, go to the City of Refuge (Ghana) website at:

www.cityofrefugeoutreach.com/

And click the link to donate. You can specify that you want the money to go towards de worming medications. If you have any questions don’t hesitate

Meeting my Ghanaian family, learning how to take a bucket bath, and avoiding fish heads

Last weekend was an in-city homestay, where NYU students had the opportunity to live with a Ghanaian family for the weekend. We were able to go either in pairs or solo, and while most opted to go in pairs, I thought I’d be macho and go by myself. I kind of regret that decision. We arrived at the AFS center, which organizes the homestays, and waited for our families to pick us up. We had gotten some instruction as to how to behave and what to expect, but for the most part I had no idea where I would be or what I would be doing. I was eventually taken to a bank, where I waited for Maame to get off of work and take me home. I played snake on my phone (soooo addicted…) for about an hour and a half until I met my mother, who put me into another car. She didn’t say much, so I tried to ask some questions about her family and what we would be doing for the weekend.

Eventually I got to a house- it was large but crumbling. I would say that it was a fairly normal middle-class accommodation; lots of space (houses here are really nice), but no running water or AC or fans or anything like that. I met grandma and Nana, 9 years old, (meaning Monday born. I don’t think I’ve mentioned this, but everyone in Ghana is named after the day of the week on which they were born. When they are baptized they take on a Christian name, so many people go by that, but there is still a large part of the population with the same 14 names. I was Thursday born, so I am “Yaa”. I like it.) and Effua (Friday born), one year old. I was ecstatic to have a baby in the house, it was pretty much the only thing I’d written on my form that I wanted when I filled out the application for the program. There were no men around, I am not sure what happened to them but I didn’t ask.

As soon as I got there, I was fed a huge pile of rice and this tomato sauce that I’ve had a lot here with spices and peppers and onions, and FISH HEADS. I have been trying to be open to trying new foods, but the thing is that in Ghana they eat every part of the animal, bones, skulls, brains, and eyes included. (even chicken bones…)

Shortly after I was fed, the power went out, which happens pretty frequently here. Maame was disappointed because every Friday night she watches CSI on the local station (they play CSI at 9 on Fridays, and Friends at 10:00 on Saturdays!) I played with Effua and talked to Grandma, but eventually decided to retire early when the power returned at 9:03- in time for CSI.

Saturday was chores day, so I awoke after “sleeping in” (8:00am, but Ghanaians typically wake up at 5am or so), to sweep the house. Maame laughed at how I swept the dirt into little piles instead of sweeping everything into the hall. They fed me an enormous breakfast and then we mostly stayed around the house, watching tv and such. I was force-fed yet another meal, and Grandma told me to eat everything. I tried my best. Later they made me my favorite meal, groundnut soup. Because I had written on the form that I was a vegetarian, they decided to use lots and lots of fish heads in everything they made. I happily ate my fufu and soup, but simply could not eat the fish heads. They had gone to all the trouble of preparing my favorite meal and I did not want to let the food go to waste, so I went into the kitchen as though I was going to do my dishes and just slipped the fish heads back into the soup pot. Mission successful.

Sunday we went to church, which is quite the social event here. I was the only white person of course, so when the minister saw me sitting in the back he shouted “Obruni!”(meaning ‘foreigner’, we get that a lot) and everyone turned to look and clap. The service was 3 and a half hours and was mostly in Twi, but it was interesting to take in the culture of church. Everyone wears beautiful tailored dresses and shoes and hats and beads, and there is a lot of dancing during worship. When it came time to give the offering, we danced to the front of the church and put our money into the pot labeled with the day of the week that we were born. Before the service was over they counted up the different pots and announced the winner (Saturday). After church I was fed again (way too much food this weekend. On Sunday morning they presented me with a vat of oatmeal, a loaf of bread, and six eggs. They expected me to finish it all. I seriously debated with myself whether it would be better to eat until I threw up.) I went home in the afternoon, and was glad to be back in the AC and amongst people who spoke English. This weekend was successful and interesting, but somewhat exhausting.

Monday at City of Refuge I began conducting my drama therapy sessions. Because you need a masters degree in order to be a drama therapist, I was concerned about how to conduct drama therapy work within the realm of my knowledge and abilities. Psychological rehabilitation is a HUGE need at City of Refuge (every child there has a story that would blow your mind, and most have had no time to process their experiences), as well as in Ghana as a whole. One of my friends here mentioned that there is a girl who showed up to her internship and was expected to diagnose clients from the DSM, and she had only taken one psychology class!

I decided to conduct some exercises but not attempt any sort of analysis, because I am not clinically able to do so— I didn’t think that pretending to be a drama therapist (which is a clinical title, btw) would be helpful for these kids in the least. I began to work with a group of five children, most of whom had been trafficked. We did some basic drama excersizes to get them comfortable with the idea, and then I took them through the session that I’d had planned for the day. Us volunteers left around 6pm in a cab, and got back home around 8:30.

On Tuesday in my film class we pitched our ideas for documentaries; there are 16 people in the class and four films will be made. My idea was selected, so I will be directing a film that explores the psychology behind beauty standards in Ghana, and compares them to the beauty standards of Western nations.

Friday I went back to City of Refuge and continued some sessions. Currently we are attempting to organize their library, which I am heartily enjoying. The children are all so great, they are remarkable obedient, not to mention talented. I was sad to leave baby Edwin!

This weekend some of my friends wanted to go to Togo to renew their visas (we need new visas every 60 days, but if we leave the country and come back it is renewed automatically and we don’t have to pay the $100.00 fee), but I was exhausted and wanted to get some work done this weekend, so I stayed in Accra. Ultimately I was happy that I did, there is a lot of stuff locally that I’ve been meaning to do.

Next week I head to Burkina Faso for the FESPACO film festival- the biggest in Africa! I am going with my film class, on an NYU grant. I am excited to practice my French, and I’ve heard it's a beautiful country. Can't wait!

Trip to Cape Coast and more

I cannot believe that it is already February 8^th. Time is FLYING by!

Wednesday after class, Emily came to Labone to spend some time with Kelsey and I. We first went to an ice cream shop that was recommended by one of the RAs- Arlenccino, which served Italian Gelato and COFFEE!!! It was pretty expensive, but worth it. Afterwards I took her to Marjorie, our dress-maker (she is Ghanaian and not at all affiliated with NYU, but we all have her make our dresses) to put in a request and get one of my dresses fitted.

Later that night, we went to Reggae night on Tawala beach, a weekly event with live music. Because it was Bob Marley’s birth week, his wife was there. Apparently she lives in Ghana. Anyway, she made a speech, and everyone sang happy birthday to Bob. It was much MUCH crazier than usual (and Reggae night can get pretty wild, especially with a bunch of obruni girls arriving together), but I found some students in a different study abroad group and ended up talking with them for a while. I love standing in the waves and listening to live music.

Thursday I took the day to rest, which was very needed. I read, journaled, and generally reflected on things. I definitely need more time to myself- I live in a house with 18 other students, and while I love having people around all the time, it can be easy to forget to rest. I should probably do that more.

Friday was my first full day at City of Refuge, and the highlight of my week. I arose early in the morning to make the journey- I have to take two trotros and a taxi to get all the way to the site, and it can take anywhere from an hour and a half to two hours. I was nervous about navigating there on my first day, but it ended up being fairly simply. Long, but simple (then again, when is there not traffic in Ghana)

A new baby had arrived just before I got there. Her name is Princess (a common name here), and she is nine months old. She has some fairly significant health problems (developmentally, she is three months old) and was abandoned at the hospital. The government sent her to City of Refuge. The staff LOVE her, I haven't even gotten a chance to hold her yet. She is incredibly sweet.

Additionally, some of the children were participating in a local sports competition, up in the mountains. Apparently they had been training all week in “racing, long jumping, and high jumping”, and Friday was the championship. About six of the kids qualified and were not around all day.

With all of that craziness, the children had the day off of school. I was later told that they had never had such an easy day… Some of the staff went to purchase supplies, so I talked with the head teacher about plans for drama therapy and working on a performance with the children, as well as scheduling. Afterward, I wanted to get to know the children. I held babies (except for Melvin, who is terrified of white people), and watched “High School Musical II” (a late Christmas present from their San Fransiscan teacher, Autumn) which they danced to. The kids are so well taken care of- you wouldn’t know that they were recently slaves working in a fishing village except for their scars and their stories.

City of Refuge feeds us lunch, so I ate some sort of goop. There weren’t any non-Ghanaians around to explain it to me, but it was pretty good. The children were incredibly sweet. I love them already.

On Saturday, we got up to leave at 6:30am for Cape Coast, a town on the gulf in Ghana where the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade was conducted.  We toured the largest castle that held slaves, the Almena castle (which was Dutch), built in the mid 1400s. The tour guide has given many NYU tours, and he was phenomenal at explaining the history of the castle. It was heartbreaking- the smells of the dungeons, the darkness, and generally imagining the injustices that went on there.

It’s one thing to read about slavery in a textbook, another thing entirely to see where slaves were kept and here how they were treated in the actual place where they lived and died. It is easy to be distanced from the issue of slavery, particularly the trans Atlantic slave trade, but it was a human tragedy that I really believe needs to be remembered. Slavery continues to happen EVERY DAY, as the children at City of Refuge understand all too well. We all made a vow to do whatever it takes to prevent slavery and injustice in the world, and with the actual faces to put the numbers to I don't see how I could ever ignore this issue again. I hope that everyone gets the chance to see this castle sometime!

After touring the castle, we went to a national reserve that includes Africa’s only canopy walk. It reminded me or Robinson Crusoe or Tarzan, there were very (very) thin rope bridges that crossed the treetops. It was pretty awesome- I ended up going around twice (there are seven bridges total, about 30 minutes worth of crossing). Eventually we headed to our resort, where we swam in a pool and combed the beach for shells. We had a group dinner on the beach, and then a bon fire. The next day we awoke to a lovely brunch, and people had the option of going back in to Cape Coast to tour another castle, or staying at the resort. I chose to stay at the resort and take advantage  of the pool.

Yesterday, I went to City of Refuge for the second time. I took the trotro to Tema, where John and Stacy had agreed to pick me up. They had errands to run in the market there, so I helped pick our dozens and dozens of veggies and got to see the winding market of Tema- I loved it. When we got back to the house, the children were done with school for the day. I got to play my heart out with the kids, who were all getting their hair cut (I had to hold some of the babies very still). They fed me dinner and I was able to talk to John and Stacy, as well as the San Fransiscan head teacher Autumn.

I am in love with the children, I can’t wait to see them again on Friday!