I didn't realize this didn't post back in September...but this should have been posted here at the end of September, 2008.
I am back from West Africa, with about 40 mosquito bites, and some amazing stories
Traveling to Ghana to stay with the Aryiku family, teach at L&A Memorial Academy, and work on building the clinic we so diligently raised funds to build was an overwhelming sensory experience. Doing a homestay with an African family was really terrific. We were able to experience Accra, Ghana from the perspective of locals--including sampling all the best parts of the local food and the local nightlife. Ghana is famous for its "high life" music--a really fun combination of hip-hop and reggae. The food, however, left a bit to be desired. I like spicy food--a lot--but there was something about the spices used in Ghanaian cuisine that just didn't agree with me, or most of our group. And the local specialty, tilapia, was being fished out of the Gulf of Guinea, which we quickly realized was also where the public sewers drained, untreated. But the fried plantains--stellar. I ate so many of them, I never want to see another plantain in my life.
Our very first hours in Ghana were spent at Jamestown Beach, where we watched the fishing boats go out to the Gulf of Guinea. Incidentally, this was also the site of Accra's central prison. Dead fish, screaming children, locals running up and down the beach, street vendors hawking their wares--everything from hunks of bread slathered with margarine, to fritters made from plantain flour, to salted fried fish, to woven bags with photos of the Tower of London. The noise, and stench, were almost overwhelming.
While in Ghana, we also traveled up the coast to visit the rainforest (Ghana is sub-Saharan, equitorial, coastal, tropical), and hiked through the forest, walking on the canopy walkways. There are only four such canopy bridges in the world. The experience was almost...surreal. While on the Cape Coast, we also visited one of the British castles used in the slave trade. The architecture and the scenery were breathtaking.
The heart of my experience, though, really wasn't in the traveling through the countryside--beautiful as that was. It was in interacting with the children at the school. We spent much of our time in Ghana at L&A Memorial Academy, visiting classrooms, occasionally stepping in and teaching a lesson for a weary and grateful teacher (my lessons, of course, were all about writing and language), and generally enjoying working with the children. The younger children wanted to hear us sing our national anthem (never in my life have I been so glad I remembered all the words to the first verse of the Star Spangled Banner!) and play schoolyard games with us, and the older children wanted to quiz us on science and math facts, and grill us about our careers.
We also had the opportunity to perform manual labor in building the clinic we raised funds to build. We raised over $40,000 to build a health clinic on the grounds of L&A Memorial Academy. The clinic will serve the school and the surrounding Mallam neighborhood in a poorer area on the outskirts of Accra. While the neighborhood has several maternal-fetal clinics, ours will be only one to provide basic vaccinations, basic routine healthcare, and vision and dental services on a rotating basis as we're able to get medical teams in to provide services (we will have a dental chair, and basic vision care facilities available).
The manual labor aspect was incredibly humbling. We mixed "aggregate concrete" by carrying individual buckets of sand and stone up three flights of steps to the area where the clinic is being constructed. Molds for concrete forms were made from reclaimed wood, sawed by hand. There were no power tools; no band-saws; no cement mixers. We had one trowel to share between the lot of us--we smoothed our molds with sawed-off sticks. When one of the carpenters asked us, "Do you have, could you send us tools to make this work go faster?"--it made me realize just how meaningful our contribution to this building was. They estimated that our days of labor on the clinic may have shaved a month of time off of the construction time.
Being involved in this project from the fundraising to the wall-raising has been humbling, overwhelming, and life-changing. Interacting with the children, and teachers, and families whose lives will be changed by the provision of basic healthcare services gave me new perspective on what I can do to make a lasting impact on these lives--that is, to stay involved for the long-haul.
In addition to building and teaching, some of us went to a rural Asante village and met with the villagers there. I think it was the first time I have been called, "Whiteman" in my life. It was very funny. They wanted to show us their cooking, their crops, their houses.
One of the most powerful experiences for the group of us who traveled together was visiting the orphanage. Each of us gravitated to a different group of children. Some visited with the infants--holding the sickest and tiniest babies you've ever seen. There was no neonatal ICU--just a rickety bunkbed where newborns with leprosy and malaria slept with seven or eight other children. Others went out to play football and volleyball with the teenagers who'd lived on the grounds their entire lives and with whom visitors never interacted. Some took out crayons and paper and entertained the school-age children for hours. I looked down and found that two seven year olds, Yaya and Princess, had taken hold of each of my hands. Princess had somehow managed to get herself a notebook--her own personal notebook--in a orphanage where they didn't even have enough money to buy infant formula for the coming week. I'm not sure how these two little girls picked me out of the crowd as the woman who'd go off to a quiet corner and write with them, but somehow, they just knew. Princess and I sat for hours, writing down words, drawing pictures, and making up poems which I wrote in her little notebook for her.
And now, what you've all been waiting for: the pictures! Our whole group uploaded their photos to a common site, so you can enjoy the photos from the perspective of all the people I traveled with. The website is: http://projectghana.shutterfly.com/ I also shot about 6 hours of film from our travels that I'll be editing into a short documentary (and I'm hoping the audio is good!).
I hope that you all will consider donating to Project Ghana if you haven't already. This will help to defray some of the costs of operating the clinic and purchasing supplies. You can access the Project Ghana donation site at www.admef.org/projectghana. And you can learn more about the Adakum Foundation at www.admef.org. We've been working with Japhet Aryiku and his family for the last six months to make this clinic a reality.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Friday, June 13, 2008
On The Agenda...
We met on Wednesday, June 11 to talk about our coming projects, and it was a good meeting. Kelli wanted to solicit opinions on whether we should make donations anonymous, but we all decided that we wanted people to proudly announce their giving!
The other work on the horizon for us was lining up speakers and some additional items for the Happy Hour on June 24th. This has truly been a team effort. Laura has been spearheading the production project to put together the slide show that is going to run throughout the happy hour. It's amazing watching the whole thing come together.
As the JP Morgan interns came in and out of the meeting (they were fantastic, by the way!), and our group dwindled, I engaged some Frenchmen at the table next to ours in conversation about global politics. The Frenchmen were in New York to take meetings regarding opening up their organic beauty products business in the United States. One of the remarkable things about being in New York is that one meets people from all over the world every day. I told them a little bit about our project and the work we planned to do in Ghana. They were very interested.
One thing this project is teaching me is the importance of being a "citizen of the world." It's not enough to be engaged in politics or fundraising in one's own backyard. While those efforts are noble, our economy and our interests truly have to be global if we're going to survive and thrive as not merely a nation, but as a human race. I'm so proud to be taking part in these efforts.
Remember: Project Ghana Happy Hour, TUES JUNE 24, 2008, 6-9pm. Buy tickets online at: www.projectghana.com/happyhour
The other work on the horizon for us was lining up speakers and some additional items for the Happy Hour on June 24th. This has truly been a team effort. Laura has been spearheading the production project to put together the slide show that is going to run throughout the happy hour. It's amazing watching the whole thing come together.
As the JP Morgan interns came in and out of the meeting (they were fantastic, by the way!), and our group dwindled, I engaged some Frenchmen at the table next to ours in conversation about global politics. The Frenchmen were in New York to take meetings regarding opening up their organic beauty products business in the United States. One of the remarkable things about being in New York is that one meets people from all over the world every day. I told them a little bit about our project and the work we planned to do in Ghana. They were very interested.
One thing this project is teaching me is the importance of being a "citizen of the world." It's not enough to be engaged in politics or fundraising in one's own backyard. While those efforts are noble, our economy and our interests truly have to be global if we're going to survive and thrive as not merely a nation, but as a human race. I'm so proud to be taking part in these efforts.
Remember: Project Ghana Happy Hour, TUES JUNE 24, 2008, 6-9pm. Buy tickets online at: www.projectghana.com/happyhour
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Coming Events
As some of you now know, a group of twenty young professionals from NYC and other cities across the country is raising funds to go to Ghana at the end of the summer. We're going to Accra to help build a health clinic for the L&A Memorial Academy, a school that was built in the early 1990's by the Adakum Educational Foundation. The clinic will focus on preventative medicines, and will play an integral role in promoting a sustainable health care solution for the children of the academy and village. It will primarily serve women and children, but the entire village (300-400) will be welcome.
Ghana is a stable, English-speaking, primarily Christian country in West Africa. It boasts lovely beaches, some tropical rainforest (though most of it has now been cleared for agriculture), and was long famous to European explorers for its abundance of gold. Gold is still a major export.
The 20 of us will all be paying our own airfare and expenses for the trip to Ghana, as well costs associated with fundraising efforts – enabling all donations to go directly to the Adakum Educational Foundation, a New York based, registered 501(c)(3) organization. We're hosting two major events in New York this spring in advance of the trip to help raise funds for the clinic. We're thrilled to announce that JP Morgan Chase is matching our fundraising efforts, which is going to make a huge difference in what we're able to do in terms of building this clinic. I'm including information below. Even if you're not able to attend either event (or you're not NYC-based), please consider donating to the Adakum Foundation here. Every bit helps, and your donation is processed through a secure paypal transaction. Remember, it's tax deductible!
Information on the Project Ghana events in NYC this month:
Event #1:
What: Happy Hour for Health Fundraiser
When: Tuesday, June 24; 6pm-9pm
Where: Django – located on the north-west corner of 46th Street and Lexington Avenue.
Donation: $25 minimum donation at the door for an evening of raffles, drink specials and information on the Ghana Project.
Tickets can be purchased via PayPal by advance here
Event #2:
What: 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament
When: Sunday, June 29th; 10am – 4pm
Where: Riverside Park -- located at 72nd Street and Riverside Drive – Courts are reserved.
More information:
* There will be 3-4 people per team;
* One co-ed bracket; one men-only bracket
* The minimum donation is $50 per person, or $150 per team.
* Each team can set up their own mini webpage at our Project Ghana website.
* Project Ghana site will enable each team to sign up and receive donations
Sign up for the 3-on-3 tournament here.
One of the trip organizers, Kelli, contracted malaria a few years ago on her honeymoon in Africa and her experience in Africa has been life changing. I think her experience, along with each of our individual journeys leading up to the trip, going to Ghana, and building the clinic will touch your lives as well. My own journey is proving to be extremely interesting, as I have to go off the rheumatoid arthritis medication that finally put the disease in remission after years and years of doing damage to my joints in order to receive the required vaccinations to obtain my visa. I think this journey to do good work is going to be extremely rewarding, and I am looking forward to the challenges it presents.
Thank you so much for all of your support. Don't forget, all donations are tax deductible, and please email this information to those who you think might be interested.
Looking forward to seeing you on June 24th!
Ghana is a stable, English-speaking, primarily Christian country in West Africa. It boasts lovely beaches, some tropical rainforest (though most of it has now been cleared for agriculture), and was long famous to European explorers for its abundance of gold. Gold is still a major export.
The 20 of us will all be paying our own airfare and expenses for the trip to Ghana, as well costs associated with fundraising efforts – enabling all donations to go directly to the Adakum Educational Foundation, a New York based, registered 501(c)(3) organization. We're hosting two major events in New York this spring in advance of the trip to help raise funds for the clinic. We're thrilled to announce that JP Morgan Chase is matching our fundraising efforts, which is going to make a huge difference in what we're able to do in terms of building this clinic. I'm including information below. Even if you're not able to attend either event (or you're not NYC-based), please consider donating to the Adakum Foundation here. Every bit helps, and your donation is processed through a secure paypal transaction. Remember, it's tax deductible!
Information on the Project Ghana events in NYC this month:
Event #1:
What: Happy Hour for Health Fundraiser
When: Tuesday, June 24; 6pm-9pm
Where: Django – located on the north-west corner of 46th Street and Lexington Avenue.
Donation: $25 minimum donation at the door for an evening of raffles, drink specials and information on the Ghana Project.
Tickets can be purchased via PayPal by advance here
Event #2:
What: 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament
When: Sunday, June 29th; 10am – 4pm
Where: Riverside Park -- located at 72nd Street and Riverside Drive – Courts are reserved.
More information:
* There will be 3-4 people per team;
* One co-ed bracket; one men-only bracket
* The minimum donation is $50 per person, or $150 per team.
* Each team can set up their own mini webpage at our Project Ghana website.
* Project Ghana site will enable each team to sign up and receive donations
Sign up for the 3-on-3 tournament here.
One of the trip organizers, Kelli, contracted malaria a few years ago on her honeymoon in Africa and her experience in Africa has been life changing. I think her experience, along with each of our individual journeys leading up to the trip, going to Ghana, and building the clinic will touch your lives as well. My own journey is proving to be extremely interesting, as I have to go off the rheumatoid arthritis medication that finally put the disease in remission after years and years of doing damage to my joints in order to receive the required vaccinations to obtain my visa. I think this journey to do good work is going to be extremely rewarding, and I am looking forward to the challenges it presents.
Thank you so much for all of your support. Don't forget, all donations are tax deductible, and please email this information to those who you think might be interested.
Looking forward to seeing you on June 24th!
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