Notes from our trip to Ghana

When Kristen, Katie, and I traveled to Ghana in January to volunteer we had not clue the impact our trip would have on us. The warmth of the Ghanaian people had been described to us by our Ghanaian classmate & friend, Victor, but we could hardly imagine his contagious laugh magnified exponentially.

In the days leading up to our trip Kristen was a bit nervous about traveling to such an unknown destination. The experience of visiting such a different place was especially moving for her and upon returning she feverishly wrote more than thirty pages of her impressions. Below you will find some of her impressions on teaching in Sogakope.

When class begins, which seems to me a somewhat arbitrary time as there is no clock in the room, and no bells, the children sit on their wooden benches. Some, but not all, have shared tables in front of them. None of them have books, workbooks, or pens. There are no brightly colored posters, no alphabet painted around the room, no visual aids or fancy wipe boards. It is an open-air cement room with a dirt floor and a tin roof, a chalkboard, and thirty small children. This is grades 3 and 4- in one classroom. Garrett introduces me as his fiancé, and the class stares in bemused silence, smiling and wondering at me. I smile back and tell them I’m happy to be here. I watch Garrett begin the math lesson, slightly nervous. I have no lesson plan, no idea of the curriculum or level of the students. How can one possibly teach without a plan?

This summer we hope return the gift that was given to us launching a non-profit focused on helping the people of the Volta region. Check back later for more info on that effort.