Camp and Independence Day

Upper West Girls Camp...Success!!
Hey all!  Sarah here!  Jordan and I had a fun and busy past couple of weeks!  From February 24th – March 1st, the Upper West Region PCVs hosted a Girls Camp for 36 JHS girls from across the region in the upper west corner of the region in a city named Lawra.  My friend Janette, who is an agriculture volunteer in Lawra, and I organized the camp, and it was a somewhat stressful, but overall FUN week!  The four full days of the camp each had a theme, with different presentations happening in the morning (when the day was a little cooler!), fun hands-on activities happening in the afternoon (when the day became too hot to just sit and listen to someone talk) and then a fun evening session .  The camp was also one of the first of its kind, because it involved both hearing and non-hearing students.  Three students from the Wa School for the Deaf attended the camp, accompanied by their PCV teacher there, and the campers enjoyed learning sign language and interacting with students they normally don’t get a chance to interact with.  
Day one was all about education and vocations, and the girls had a good time listening to some female speakers in the morning that had worked hard to get to different positions not normally held by females.  In the afternoon, they got to make coil pots out of scrap fabric, learn how to make hammocks out of water satchets (that normally are thrown on the ground and become trash) and go to a local ICT center to learn about computers.  We finished off the day with an astronomy night where the girls got to look through one of the PCVs nice telescopes to see the moon!  We also had a bonfire and an ‘I Can’t’ Funeral, where they wrote things they thought they couldn’t do on a piece of paper, then threw them into the fire to signify that they indeed could do anything they put their mind to. 
Day two consisted of Food Security (a big buzzword and focus in West Africa right now) and Alternative livelihood projects.  In the morning they learned about chicken and rabbit rearing, and got a tour of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture animal rearing facilities.  In the afternoon they learned how to make moringa soap, have an intro to sewing class, and a second lesson using the computers.  They loved being able to perform and watch their fellow campers in the talent show that night, where we had everything from singing and dancing, to juggling and poetry reading – some PCVs even highlighted their talents!
Day three focused on Health Issues.  In the morning they learned about HIV/AIDS/STI prevention, and learned how to make a mosquito trap from plastic bottles.  In the afternoon they learned about nutrition, tried some yoga, and made ‘Protect Your Dreams’ banners, where they painted about their dreams on a cloth banner, which they could then hang underneath their mosquito net.  This signified how sleeping under a mosquito net at night protected them from malaria, and therefore protected the dreams they have for their future.  That evening, a couple of PCVs led the girls in a short self-defense presentation while we were trying to get the movie set up (we have all learned as PCVs to be ready for anything to happen, and be prepared to have a backup plan!).  The girls thought it was pretty cool though, and it was a good thing for them to learn.  The movie was called Emmanual’s Gift, about a Ghanaian born with only one good leg, who bikes across Ghana with only one leg to raise awareness about disabilities.  People with disabilities here in Ghana are not given very much support or concern, and many become beggars in major cities because they can do nothing else to raise money.  They are sometimes even disposed of at birth if seen to have a physical disability, because people believe that it is bad luck for the family. 
The movie was a lead-in to the topics for Day four: Diversity and Disabilities.  The morning sessions introduced campers to discussions of what diversity was/how to be tolerant and aware of it, gender roles in Ghana, how they are changing and how they can adapt, and what disabilities mean and how we can be more supportive of people with them.  We also played a fun jeopardy game of different things the girls learned during the week.  The afternoon finished out with the girls finishing beautiful drawstring bags for their sewing class, trying out different activities to inspire their creativity (Ghanaian students find it very hard to be creative, because they are always so afraid to be different or get something wrong, so this session was wonderful to see them have some fun trying new things and not having to worry about anything being incorrect!), and talking about goal-setting, and journaling about some of the things they learned throughout the week.  We also had a fun closing ceremony where the girls were presented with certificates of camp completion, and we took a group photo in the cool tie-dye shirts we had made as campers were arriving the first afternoon.
The final evening we were supposed to have a JAMZ night (dancing to loud music, it’s called Jamz here in Ghana :) ), but again, were reminding about how important it is to be flexible!  None of us were expecting rain, because it’s the start of the hot hot hot season and it’s pretty unusual, but not unheard of, to get a big storm.  When we saw it off in the distance, we didn’t think anything of it, but it moved quickly!  By 5pm, the dust storm hit, blowing wind and dust all around for a good half an hour.  But, it was luckily followed by a nice rain!  Ghanaians don’t like the rain, because it’s cold...but PCVs love it!  So for a good hour while it rained a nice drizzle, the PCVs danced around singing, while all the campers stood under the awning in front of their sleeping place and watched us act like little kids!  We taught them the hokey pokey, the chicken dance, the Macarena, and a bunch of fun partner games, which they enjoyed watching us play and cheering for the winners.  It was dark by the time our dinner was brought to us, and by then we didn’t know if it would rain again, and didn’t want to be walking to the place in the dark, so we nixed the Jamz night, and instead just hung out and talked, learned more sign language, and relaxed after a long week!
Friday morning we got up, then started to hit the road so we could all get back to our respective villages.  Jordan and I, and the six students we had brought from Bugubelle, Tarsor, and Kulfuo, had the farthest to go, so by the time we crawled out of the packed lorry in the hot sun at 2:30pm in Bugubelle, we were beat!  After making sure that all the students had the means to get back to their houses safely, we got on our bikes and pedaled home, tired but glad we had such a good week with lots of laughs and few large setbacks.  A highlight of the week for me too, was meeting all of Janette’s wonderful friends in Lawra, and I realized how key it was for the success of our camp that she is so integrated into her community; any time we needed anything or something went wrong, she was able to call a specific person to come help us out, no problem.  It made me appreciate the time and effort that goes into just making relationships with people in your community (here in Ghana as a PCV, but anywhere really!) because that is key to successful projects but also the key to enjoying our service here.  I especially enjoyed becoming friends with a woman named Delphina, whom we affectionately nicknamed ‘Momma D’ for the week, as she made our breakfast and lunch and also was the overnight chaperone in the sleeping hall.  So she really was like our Mom for the week!  She is a strong woman with a giving heart and beautiful and fun personality, and I was so sad to leave her on Friday morning.  I’m lucky she has a daughter that lives in Tumu, our district capitol, so I can go see her when she visits! 
The Saturday and Sunday after getting home from the camp were supposed to be spent relaxing, but we were reminded about how good it is to be involved in lots of fun things back in our village – not much time to relax, had a full week of clothes to wash, people to greet, and a dry-season garden to work on!

March 6th: Ghana’s Independence Day!!! 
Jordan here:  So we may not have shot off fireworks, gorged ourselves on burgers and brats, or went to see the 4th of July parade, but we did get to see some marching!  Ghana became an independent nation a little over 50 years ago from Great Britain.  The communities gather groups (mostly school kids) in teams that practice marching and attend competitions to prove which is the best team.  This was the first year our circuit held their own marching competition.  Sarah and I went to watch and support our school as they went up against 4 other groups in each age and gender category.  They also played a celebratory friendly football (soccer) match.  Like the USA, there were appearances by dignitaries and lots of speeches.  Each one had a little history reminder and a charge to the Ghanaian communities to work to improve their lives and the lives of generations to follow.  They honoured the flag recited their pledges and national anthem.  The radiowaves were talking mostly about the special day and programs also gave little bits of history of this very young nation.  Ghana is very proud of its independence and its status as a leading and hopeful country in West Africa.  As more history and traditions are created, the Ghanaian Independence Day will continue to grow and be even more celebrated.  It was a interesting day to observe and in which to take part.