tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57866907904444016682024-02-07T19:35:08.747-08:00Volunteer Adventures in AfricaBethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07107103619960560414noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786690790444401668.post-67114100715909853082011-11-29T14:33:00.000-08:002011-11-29T14:33:21.099-08:00Volunteer Adventures in AfricaFor those of you who want to see more photos and more about my time in Africa here is a video I put together <br /><br /><iframe width="459" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kof6aBoQJY8?fs=1" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen=""></iframe>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07107103619960560414noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786690790444401668.post-75834951045465657772011-11-25T13:50:00.000-08:002011-12-12T10:14:18.098-08:00The Shalom Photo ProjectI've officially been back for 3 months...to the day! I have spent that time readjusting and looking for full-time work but more importantly telling the story of the my trip to Africa. If you've been following along you know a lot of it but even these posts have not really explained the amazing experience I have had. I have done two talks so far and I have two more to go. Sunday, Nov. 27th will be at the Delmar Reformed Church at 7:00pm and then on Dec. 11th at 4pm I will give a presentation at the First United Methodist Church's annual Christmas Tea. <br /><br />As part of the presentation and hope to raise money for the Shalom Orphanage I have started selling some of my photos taken while traveling. I've had some success and have collected just over $700 and I hope to be able to collect more. Below are photos that can be purchased if you are interested. You can order just the prints or a fully framed photo. I also have collections of photos I have put together in sets. You can contact me at Beth.Hickox@gmail.com for more info and to order. <br /><br />You can see the photo on my flickr account here: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/67750443@N02/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/67750443@N02/</a><br /><br />Prints Only: <br />5x7 - $8.00<br />8 x 10 - $20.00<br />11 x 14 - $30.00<br />11 x 17 - $35.00 <br />16 x 20 - $40.00 <br />Larger Prints Available: email for pricingBethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07107103619960560414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786690790444401668.post-71461833020111452452011-08-28T11:51:00.001-07:002011-11-06T12:12:54.438-08:00In The Jungle The Mighty Jungle...Ok So It Was More Of A Grassy PlainLions and Tigers and Bears Oh My!!! <br /><br />Not really it was more like Lions, Elephants, Cheetahs, Giraffes, Zebras, Wildebeests, Gazelles, Warthogs, Hyenas, Dik- Diks and others OH MY!!!!<br /> <br />The Safari was INCREDIBLE!!!! In an effort to save money Nikki and I did a camping safari which was great. We used Base Camp Safaris whose price was very affordable especially when you compare with other companies and they really did take care of us. Even though we slept in a tent we had a guide that took us everywhere and a cook, who made the best food ever. No hot dogs or chili on this camping trip.<br /><br />We started the safari at the Tarangre National Park which was our favorite park because there was not a lot of people there and lots of elephants and other animals too!! Following that we spent two nights (2 1/2 days) in the Serengeti which is spectacular bit with lots of people. Our guide Victor was good at getting away from the crowds and seriously had supersonic vision. While driving, he would see animals in the tall grass almost a mile away. I still don't know how he did it; Nikki and I were quite impressed. We had a great time with Victor but one of our most memorable parts of the trip to the Serengeti was when we were taking photos of monkeys and one little apparently had enough of the paparazzi and through poo at the windshield. I kid you not our guide said "OH MY GOD, WE ARE LEAVING!" it was only funny because it didn't hit any of us. <br /><br />We saw lots of lions, a cheetah which was having a rest and we were able to pull up right next to it, baboons and hippos and many other animals. We also spent a very cold night (yes COLD IN AFRICA) at the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater and then visited the crater for a good portion of the day, we didn't have a lot of luck there because it was a cold day and even the animals were like...no thanks I'm going to hide and stay warm. 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cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqEJ_2Dj7v2T54s4nAKY5GqpybzJIgOj6mQ5klHsUFiwuO5avSRlPnN97d51J6cG9x8ZbsPpdWqamQKUW-eUeIfOEedjFllovOoz-uf00k5vr67F_4eHWQ7i5mLBi72Lv_cwP4Rj_9quS6/s320/IMG_2982.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646007969792746882" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjer9IhWNR75HhaFzjkbp3aMfMoYK-Dw_jzHEEBa9aIxIG57Fo4kb648oi_9uLsqZPRWyBoQybzznhz769-i2LjfuurO1J_sKnkoiwX51lZJYIeEiOWZNFDciGMsG-TP19XKQzbCmGiPtpg/s1600/IMG_2884.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjer9IhWNR75HhaFzjkbp3aMfMoYK-Dw_jzHEEBa9aIxIG57Fo4kb648oi_9uLsqZPRWyBoQybzznhz769-i2LjfuurO1J_sKnkoiwX51lZJYIeEiOWZNFDciGMsG-TP19XKQzbCmGiPtpg/s320/IMG_2884.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646007966043869490" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ3_860vFzo41jMa9Z7N54g6Ly6JkKCGfRVrRIla0lzOtPYF8olCA7fMo3zC6jX2FFvAhksEAL9ogvN_OVddyMvc-oApbsGaROlsw37Gt5B-wpvPTpYWqGsv53Dc7A9YQToZ0DT2AJWQ1F/s1600/IMG_2606.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ3_860vFzo41jMa9Z7N54g6Ly6JkKCGfRVrRIla0lzOtPYF8olCA7fMo3zC6jX2FFvAhksEAL9ogvN_OVddyMvc-oApbsGaROlsw37Gt5B-wpvPTpYWqGsv53Dc7A9YQToZ0DT2AJWQ1F/s320/IMG_2606.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646007959424105714" /></a>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07107103619960560414noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786690790444401668.post-39687636643896038322011-08-28T10:31:00.000-07:002011-11-06T12:15:45.961-08:00The Rest Of My Time In Africa<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8NSKVaKpnVLyK9gg_AfmNAdi7jPOLwBxJbeAWxAoEZw7QTVpAbx0z2HT9B6F0pYtwAIB10kX7msnvZwuYtghOvPHhCyAp-M0tioVIBefRYhCNxb0iwsvOFNkU9s4fAgF2rFZzKtcayf3v/s1600/IMG_2384.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8NSKVaKpnVLyK9gg_AfmNAdi7jPOLwBxJbeAWxAoEZw7QTVpAbx0z2HT9B6F0pYtwAIB10kX7msnvZwuYtghOvPHhCyAp-M0tioVIBefRYhCNxb0iwsvOFNkU9s4fAgF2rFZzKtcayf3v/s320/IMG_2384.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5645978284369312786" /></a>I made it home safe and sound and before Hurricane Irene decided to show her face. Seriously people, an earthquake and a hurricane in 2 weeks? I think I might go back to Africa, it appears to be safer :) It's great to be home but I do miss all of my wonderful friends and the children in Africa. I have so many photos it's going to take me years to get through them all but I figure many of you will want to see my travel photos so I am going to break this up into a couple different posts for you, enjoy! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVopuJk0S17r67STArdKO6LGQTQ_Ji8Z0l9F7hIJrh4DhFUz4gW14ZkJp_H0bp52V31ARaAx4kXj4445LXfd5gb0mVPmB52DBn1FuAL5mY6C7YgTnuC0iB10gWFlGriXNOnnyENPM8PL5l/s1600/IMG_2383.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVopuJk0S17r67STArdKO6LGQTQ_Ji8Z0l9F7hIJrh4DhFUz4gW14ZkJp_H0bp52V31ARaAx4kXj4445LXfd5gb0mVPmB52DBn1FuAL5mY6C7YgTnuC0iB10gWFlGriXNOnnyENPM8PL5l/s320/IMG_2383.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5645978281003439682" /></a>On Saturday August 13th I met Nikki at the airport with my friend Ally (he's the taxi driver that looked after me when I arrived in Tanzania.) He took us to Moshi (the town near Mount Kilimanjaro) where we stayed overnight and then spent the next day on Kilimanjaro (ok just the base of it, but still we climbed some of the mountain!) We hiked to see a waterfall; we took a cultural tour of the Chugger Tribe and walked through a banana & coffee plantation. All pretty cool stuff, we were with two girls from Amsterdam were with us and our guide Praise was great. It was a great day on the mountain even if we didn't make it to the summit. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hMU PP1tVsE/TlqLVMG4SJI/AAAAAAAAANw/amBjJmKM1N4/s1600/IMG_2404.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 210px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXsOeQV5VWVtCGyM7IOKuCuS2cXn6Ewj4UuqIejQTNjzgZssFd-FglNDR9bFj9q2UN8icx0eDnkpXsHP9ctp6bfQvyuEMUcSxXFrrgrv6WIsuiUKGc9WwNBFLgYDgTpPLZ9WzjW6t-ycMr/s320/IMG_2404.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5645978279005931666" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/rqk1eRwem6Q/TlqLUyL0t1I/AAAAAAAAANo/7OGjjVB_9vw/s1600/IMG_2452.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 210px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSfE4wZV56gMXcmutQvmPqcOERMzxsd6RjMkfHxTRQaC-BkJeLBlMAC0thyphenhyphenyx90W7K54ujJZ_wz0OqcTPaJKTgHQ_Dm-TKCVUBpRQr3Ij7qQiZ72I2qqBuwMacqSBidRs0_RnNoeBtfRCK/s320/IMG_2452.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5645978272047347538" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/ mbcr1u6AKCc/TlqMsPpcP4I/AAAAAAAAAOI/O8Lzl0Dm8mQ/s1600/IMG_2470.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 210px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2EgebQ1CD1EXj7Ztk8206-ZSNjpVC8cl5YmPSEKq7t0R9Gbnas5xm1xZ_KDQJMyyQTysBPjlI-hJ7bjKFSSCT8Wwu_dNYk3xFRSpeHPRY5zvhfkRbRmYNBWe0Tyd-tRNVMA0lmolkeW0y/s320/IMG_2470.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5645979774604820354" /></a>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07107103619960560414noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786690790444401668.post-66878945943333227822011-08-12T11:36:00.000-07:002011-11-06T12:18:19.453-08:00Ending How I Started<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsq1foc2Altkt5cwe0BBYjbhPlgqDoKiPufumGg483tU4VPjQvpBhQi3ZJxBFP-HrYS4OFRq94c1XlExNqUtiYisJcL6ag3hAMPdaJ3WKv4lkh6MHKMVVKW_FGG60LXdYfkk7bUmQktJlX/s1600/P1040033.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsq1foc2Altkt5cwe0BBYjbhPlgqDoKiPufumGg483tU4VPjQvpBhQi3ZJxBFP-HrYS4OFRq94c1XlExNqUtiYisJcL6ag3hAMPdaJ3WKv4lkh6MHKMVVKW_FGG60LXdYfkk7bUmQktJlX/s200/P1040033.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640048322946896178" /></a>I started out this trip with tears in my eyes when I said goodbye to my husband at JFK. I have ended this volunteer experience the same way only with a river pouring out of me! <br /><br />I thought goodbyes in Ghana were bad...they were nothing compared to what I just experienced saying goodbye to my new family of 70+. All week I have been a weepy mess, each evening when I say goodbye I get a little teary eyed but tonight was a constant stream of tears.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5LxuuM_ztbpXXNZqeMTz1Bho2_fMSzi0f0WXYnXAQXMco0mCMeoKPljKr7eZ39hq7D2GviV5_cUtHexlvHw8cbEPG1IS4kpR6zSshActgBDd6ZiIzYHHfpbbpaf5V3Ec2sCl6bKkqwIrN/s1600/P1040015.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5LxuuM_ztbpXXNZqeMTz1Bho2_fMSzi0f0WXYnXAQXMco0mCMeoKPljKr7eZ39hq7D2GviV5_cUtHexlvHw8cbEPG1IS4kpR6zSshActgBDd6ZiIzYHHfpbbpaf5V3Ec2sCl6bKkqwIrN/s200/P1040015.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640048323212839858" /></a><br /><br />The orphanage had an amazing celebration dinner for me. It started with me doing a ribbon cutting into the dining area followed by wonderful songs that all of the children and staff sang. We ate dinner and then they presented me with gifts, a speech by Mama Warra, a prayer for more safe travels and more singing. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTc7c_1IvsrjsM3fg145qXUD8KVmmvWti4fQJppZAISAsGcszXPv3Dw-wQW3X3GpBYU-7nQYecgZeDPSJjDthhtg2TGKodI8CKp7lvmJPnkXwUd90Sg8oubgzY7XGDPCQrZxygRgHN8n18/s1600/IMG_2380.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTc7c_1IvsrjsM3fg145qXUD8KVmmvWti4fQJppZAISAsGcszXPv3Dw-wQW3X3GpBYU-7nQYecgZeDPSJjDthhtg2TGKodI8CKp7lvmJPnkXwUd90Sg8oubgzY7XGDPCQrZxygRgHN8n18/s200/IMG_2380.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640048319744089618" /></a><br /><br />When it was time to actually leave the orphanage the oldest children walked me out with tears in their eyes and many, many hugs. This has been the best experience of my life and it is with a heavy heart that I leave. I know now that this will not be my only trip to Africa, I will return, I have too. They are my family now and I love them so much. It is a good thing that Chris and I got married in December because I don't know if I would have returned to the US for a while. <br /><br />I have to share this quote which is how I feel right now: "There is not so much comfort in having children as there is sorrow in parting with them." ~Proverbs~ Even though these are not "my" children they will always be in my heart and I will think of them every day! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNHgKJBpZeNdgij5YADpCYBqor_V5EDK-kLMfi9I799vox8klhm5ovLNhsepCmmcKFOE2VVQvzEy9igiiMbn9_GQ1J7vzTK7puZScubGTuL_e-JBsjlH6zV3B8cxgSByMhAszkLUGAbLzP/s1600/IMG_2363.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNHgKJBpZeNdgij5YADpCYBqor_V5EDK-kLMfi9I799vox8klhm5ovLNhsepCmmcKFOE2VVQvzEy9igiiMbn9_GQ1J7vzTK7puZScubGTuL_e-JBsjlH6zV3B8cxgSByMhAszkLUGAbLzP/s200/IMG_2363.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640048317980927186" /></a><br /><br /><br />To end on a happy note, tomorrow I meet up with my best friend Nikki, I am so excited about I could burst! Monday morning we will start our safari and then relax a bit on the island of Zanzibar. This might be the last post for a while but I will add more photos and such as soon as I can so make sure to check back!<br /><br /> <br />Thank you all so much for your love and support throughout this journey!Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07107103619960560414noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786690790444401668.post-31356573469124736982011-08-11T11:49:00.000-07:002011-08-11T12:22:43.275-07:00A Walk Around TownI figure before I leave Karatu Saturday morning I should give you all a taste of where I have been living for the last 2 weeks. Since I can't seem to get blogger to format correctly Here is the rundown:
<br />
<br />Photo 1: A local boy playing in the street.
<br />Photo 2: Fabric being sold at the market
<br />Photos 3, 4 and 5: The view from my walks with the children
<br />Photo 6: A Building near the orphanage
<br />Photo 7:A house made of mud - which is what many of the houses are made from here.
<br />Photo 8 & 9:Rush hour traffic
<br />Photo 10: A local brick making "factory," where were you in Ghana :)
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4HnhEF31YZSgk9C9H1juTvBOrLblLeTR-CTqZRGW6T4HYkiPlgUOmBHpJi0UKqN2vpWENyzq8aYd8qFQ7lq_h96bA272PtG2v4SxOj77EfJ1x-YuK_6owy4SKaYVQIzCbHmaWqJSQMfWG/s1600/IMG_1919.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4HnhEF31YZSgk9C9H1juTvBOrLblLeTR-CTqZRGW6T4HYkiPlgUOmBHpJi0UKqN2vpWENyzq8aYd8qFQ7lq_h96bA272PtG2v4SxOj77EfJ1x-YuK_6owy4SKaYVQIzCbHmaWqJSQMfWG/s320/IMG_1919.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639674220908453538" /></a>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqy5S4GJznFljNOecrjSp-Vlx5TlxtkPhBLNyWhf5lHU0bpWdAgMWs0hWkelHSfpWI6cza-qiiLoBcgRP07pg-AphAst_HxoCa9vHO6fsUmI2no0evEXZFivwCNjmpo988M_ER0b3yeIOT/s1600/IMG_1683.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqy5S4GJznFljNOecrjSp-Vlx5TlxtkPhBLNyWhf5lHU0bpWdAgMWs0hWkelHSfpWI6cza-qiiLoBcgRP07pg-AphAst_HxoCa9vHO6fsUmI2no0evEXZFivwCNjmpo988M_ER0b3yeIOT/s320/IMG_1683.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639673165900847906" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd4ELY0vHirReXE82fwLGLhz_jN40fiE5par031KaMEhxUfP-ocYuIBinVcqK0FXL4S1tndzu4tD2U0aM0wkI4GmLuEy36iAl80opnjdIwIhKJyadwCb7KQsigN7JutRHHHMcvFimmG7FI/s1600/IMG_1685.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd4ELY0vHirReXE82fwLGLhz_jN40fiE5par031KaMEhxUfP-ocYuIBinVcqK0FXL4S1tndzu4tD2U0aM0wkI4GmLuEy36iAl80opnjdIwIhKJyadwCb7KQsigN7JutRHHHMcvFimmG7FI/s320/IMG_1685.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639673170926580866" /></a> Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07107103619960560414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786690790444401668.post-83507003778493957402011-08-08T11:45:00.000-07:002011-11-06T12:25:34.699-08:00The Children of Shalom<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DXdv AlO3N1U/TkAwO2kkZTI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/eC5S0Rrgvt8/s1600/IMG_1748.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip1y4MZw1l6JMcouKE1Z1r9OVyd5c86TGO_uv3FvfHiPqsZPED8SU6tAaedvESXxwBfdb8Yw-6bohdMzVkOo3K1o6Tgdf6ZooxBxooYlV_ZsSKwTFz05Qrcw2UhmOc3WIizzvuszeE6Y61/s200/IMG_1748.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638559765193057586" /></a>“When you put faith, hope and love together, you can raise positive kids in a negative world.” ~Zig Ziglar<br /><br />A week has passed since my arrival. I’ve talked about the organization but I have yet to tell you about the work or the children.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidQXBpS4dwbmqWGlO555C4vD4VOPBMpUH6so1xnzOZw-W7Jl2nHPt2SELJt796Lwiy1UGepIPOvNvWoEZmKQX6H8-3e903DWlv-ABNpyLjBYt7DB1uMZu8BqD6alamA6soIcRfQBjkvlK0/s1600/IMG_1713.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidQXBpS4dwbmqWGlO555C4vD4VOPBMpUH6so1xnzOZw-W7Jl2nHPt2SELJt796Lwiy1UGepIPOvNvWoEZmKQX6H8-3e903DWlv-ABNpyLjBYt7DB1uMZu8BqD6alamA6soIcRfQBjkvlK0/s200/IMG_1713.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638559396706257714" /></a>Each morning I begin assisting in the preschool classroom. In Africa children are placed by levels not age so we have a range of children from ages 3 – 7, which means that the teacher has to teach 3 lessons at once from basic counting to subtraction; I try to help by going around the room and assisting the students, even if it’s just refocusing them. I have taught some children’s songs like the “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and “I’m a Little Teapot” while they teach me Kiswahili, it’s a fun lesson for all. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiKgFvxB3FXwTgtm1Me-ik0rq9ylcrn7rqDLePwGHVgWH-vv8hgP4j3ZYWRpG_kLWRjOQrkbseoVuhOtfm2mv-PGfcCVSDGQlLtJzVIoCMOk6rYWxFf_SYfXAR3y7KoxhJHZ4yqFD2mtXM/s1600/P1030737.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiKgFvxB3FXwTgtm1Me-ik0rq9ylcrn7rqDLePwGHVgWH-vv8hgP4j3ZYWRpG_kLWRjOQrkbseoVuhOtfm2mv-PGfcCVSDGQlLtJzVIoCMOk6rYWxFf_SYfXAR3y7KoxhJHZ4yqFD2mtXM/s200/P1030737.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638561459099589058" /></a>After class is over I usually spend a couple of hours coloring, as it’s something they LOVE to do. I am mostly the “captain of colors” giving each student one color at a time, that way one child doesn’t end up with all of the colored pencils. This is one of my favorite times of the day because they are always so excited to show me their artwork and there is an unending call of my name “Eliza! Eliza!”<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhciUwimLts6jS5xyNhThFICSSf3sewbxlIizKVZvooFPkjMIH-n2Dif2JWHGienCMA9Cmd_v_LUPfrovSGwvBDPRRevhLwj-Wkq8sflctC2-R8NKLXzLprleEZBb1Wq393nq3xWw-l6FSH/s1600/P1030693.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhciUwimLts6jS5xyNhThFICSSf3sewbxlIizKVZvooFPkjMIH-n2Dif2JWHGienCMA9Cmd_v_LUPfrovSGwvBDPRRevhLwj-Wkq8sflctC2-R8NKLXzLprleEZBb1Wq393nq3xWw-l6FSH/s200/P1030693.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638560255732350546" /></a>When the older students return from school and I work with them on their homework and do some English lessons. They are such a great group and so anxious to learn, when I have finished my lesson for the day they always want to continue so there’s a lot of improvising but they don’t mind. The day usually ends with a long walk with the older students or playing with the youngest children.<br /><br />The best part of this orphanage is that the students look out for each other. There are your everyday quarrels over a puzzle or colored pencil but all of the kids protect and love one another, something they have been taught by the staff here. There is so much love you can’t help but smile when you walk onto the property.<br />I’ve only been here a week but I'm already in love with these children. Here is an introduction to some of them: <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtPRakYBSO0Xr5aJIPYknrubLxAYr46DcOd0HTBUISaMyK597Fkb_W3wD0YnGLbwXcD7NaZ_NM96X-U_ISPmPQezs5gXmLIb2KQTKzcsqxC7Sh_eM7W4ZSZqFtBgk-AHVXKaykXN6huwFw/s1600/IMG_1838.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 118px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtPRakYBSO0Xr5aJIPYknrubLxAYr46DcOd0HTBUISaMyK597Fkb_W3wD0YnGLbwXcD7NaZ_NM96X-U_ISPmPQezs5gXmLIb2KQTKzcsqxC7Sh_eM7W4ZSZqFtBgk-AHVXKaykXN6huwFw/s200/IMG_1838.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638560250564674610" /></a>Charles is one of the oldest boys at the orphanage and I have deemed him “the protector.” While on our walks he keeps track of everyone making sure we don’t leave anyone behind, including me! On our first walk my youth leader instincts came out and I was trying to do head counts and watch where they were all going and where they were climbing, pretty much a lost cause. Charles saw that I was nervous, thinking it was because of the hike he said to me, “Don’t worry we won’t let anything happen to you.” He also walks me to the house if I am leaving alone, even though it’s only a 3 minute walk so that I make it home ok. Charles is lucky enough to have a sponsor who pays for him to go to the English Medium School, so he is getting a better education and his English is great. He is also an amazing “football” player!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8NwXs4SFGC32uiYKVoEerhtlhHn7i2L-LWumZsMOcRQaJzjQfbSB1O-MFtPRJYRRLhFbpnIvg7Iu-waZ3KggZFLTXnLb3cPd3BFVED_g4X7Ag83SF42TCKyI9KnUzlsvGUr0u9dB__dsM/s1600/P1030850.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8NwXs4SFGC32uiYKVoEerhtlhHn7i2L-LWumZsMOcRQaJzjQfbSB1O-MFtPRJYRRLhFbpnIvg7Iu-waZ3KggZFLTXnLb3cPd3BFVED_g4X7Ag83SF42TCKyI9KnUzlsvGUr0u9dB__dsM/s200/P1030850.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638563993235699650" /></a>Rosa and Anna: These girls are also two of the oldest children at the orphanage so they actually stay with me and Mama’s daughters at the volunteer house. They always want to wait on me and help me out, even though I have told them 1,000 times they don’t have too! They are sweet girls and they are also teaching me Kiswahili and helping translate to the youngest students who don’t know English yet. <br /><br /> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJeOvviQ0k55NCM_Vjq9bRvxoX7kvMoDV0GhxhnmnKY_U15LRKTDGxwaRyNt4mo5IYzsW3qoyOWsdgoy7H3eq55pRjdB59680x0n2zkEzCaHJrupczxb3QVtRA8_3Q884RURC3GPLmMnNC/s1600/IMG_1782.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJeOvviQ0k55NCM_Vjq9bRvxoX7kvMoDV0GhxhnmnKY_U15LRKTDGxwaRyNt4mo5IYzsW3qoyOWsdgoy7H3eq55pRjdB59680x0n2zkEzCaHJrupczxb3QVtRA8_3Q884RURC3GPLmMnNC/s200/IMG_1782.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638560242994310258" /></a> Jonny is one of the HIV positive children, he’s in the preschool class and has the most infectious smile. First thing I must do when I walk in is to give him a high five and the smile he gives afterwards just makes my heart melt. He LOVES having his picture taken and also, taking a colored pencil using it for 1 second and returning for a new color.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHubw01fH60cSRgjfnlboldtEI38NyY4Gb63Ba96rvZSOjiDj7DNQYd-ZVUzzbeDoHTnmaxOskV9bg0A1BV_iB0Mz38vcNWFtuQXrt7SMHkJpy5qQL7SgKshyw8Gs-J0hF7DlR5A-YbmAA/s1600/P1030754.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHubw01fH60cSRgjfnlboldtEI38NyY4Gb63Ba96rvZSOjiDj7DNQYd-ZVUzzbeDoHTnmaxOskV9bg0A1BV_iB0Mz38vcNWFtuQXrt7SMHkJpy5qQL7SgKshyw8Gs-J0hF7DlR5A-YbmAA/s200/P1030754.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638561467911100226" /></a>Clemente – If I were to bring a child home with me he would be it! When he came to the orphanage he could not walk due to malnutrition, he had burns all over from witch doctor medicine in an attempt to "chase out" the evil spirits so that he would walk. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/ 1GXLb_g4vpg/TkA0FQ0L2EI/AAAAAAAAALY/Z87wh5ZUuj8/s1600/P1030842.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 193px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3oQzhtJ6aOZ7OsoKw0a5t1J0Y0mDX90TiDeJ1EUlfvl4idyBVPRehiRa8kEau-QF9lhw0Wz6XbkF8UrucarAhO4CywQU1lZ4kyp3iAZHJ8IypyEQB-IZm1u-0WRKmoKSHDB0x1oeC2A1I/s200/P1030842.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638563998485698626" /></a>Clemente is now about 3 or 4 years old (no one is sure of his actual age) and runs around everywhere. He is in the preschool class and he spends the entire time following me around. When I say following me around I mean attached to my leg at all times! I have accidentally stepped on him about 5 times but he usually doesn’t even notice as long as I am right next to him. When we are playing he is on my lap or chest or leg or wherever he can be. If another student tries to get near me he gets very mad and when it is time for me to leave at night we have to come up with tasks for him to do while I “make a run for it.” I don’t know what I am going to do on Friday when I have to say goodbye. If anyone tries to take him away from me he screams and yells Mama which is the only thing he says that I "understand" however, though I don’t understand the words he is saying I understand everything he is saying to me. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpsSh-yiMwVtgSazCLGK8TsQRww3z8q0EHvlqersdlnLwIOanQ6Pi-VtUXW6VdYqnnSeFpx80Ccmdeo9Vvdy1G7moCbNicwZvnhumlcLQO63d3eX-g52uOqutKKJ5tMqMwG91ZZSOesXhh/s1600/P1030843.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpsSh-yiMwVtgSazCLGK8TsQRww3z8q0EHvlqersdlnLwIOanQ6Pi-VtUXW6VdYqnnSeFpx80Ccmdeo9Vvdy1G7moCbNicwZvnhumlcLQO63d3eX-g52uOqutKKJ5tMqMwG91ZZSOesXhh/s200/P1030843.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638561478073458770" /></a><br /><br />There are so many more students I could go on for days and when I return I am sure I will.Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07107103619960560414noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786690790444401668.post-1059388890890320332011-08-04T05:49:00.000-07:002011-08-04T10:45:40.833-07:00The Shalom Orphanage Karatu Tanzania<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixueXKvwNey4S8wV5Vai5Diu8or3FQbcjDlWdnA9f_tUTK6pyt4ZobcBZX9NxZMCAxA_a1HCWLOWTNEp0jNAzvGh8S6Sd1lwDqnJaPm5ehYuMF0VHhRwXEzZF4rOXjYOtNsLi27Hjf24xh/s1600/IMG_1663.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixueXKvwNey4S8wV5Vai5Diu8or3FQbcjDlWdnA9f_tUTK6pyt4ZobcBZX9NxZMCAxA_a1HCWLOWTNEp0jNAzvGh8S6Sd1lwDqnJaPm5ehYuMF0VHhRwXEzZF4rOXjYOtNsLi27Hjf24xh/s320/IMG_1663.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636983021094592882" /></a><br />I have been in Tanzania for 5 days now and I am now settled in and started volunteering at the orphanage in full force. The children are wonderful, full of love and laughter. I help the youngest kids with math and writing their letters, I teach the older kids some English and then they have taken me on a few walks around the area – telling me “don’t worry they will take care of ME.” I had a chance to sit down and talk with the founder and local volunteer to learn more about the organization. Here is the inspirational yet heart wrenching story of <a href="http://www.loveandpeacehomestanzania.org/">Shalom Orphanage & Children Care Center. </a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCcgn0DeY8ZA_BaWiXyuRdX_ijYIMz7XICxTUni75QlvIruXwdo4auaR3mleJvPDs4FlrASs_5GUb8E5ManblKNYKLPe9Nd0lic3KWD2r-hfUR0T0MIs2OplbjJvOyATqI2EvIcK40yfK9/s1600/IMG_1680.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 220px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCcgn0DeY8ZA_BaWiXyuRdX_ijYIMz7XICxTUni75QlvIruXwdo4auaR3mleJvPDs4FlrASs_5GUb8E5ManblKNYKLPe9Nd0lic3KWD2r-hfUR0T0MIs2OplbjJvOyATqI2EvIcK40yfK9/s320/IMG_1680.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636983028970399922" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.loveandpeacehomestanzania.org/">The Shalom Orphanage</a> is located in Kartau, Tanzania which is about 2 hours west of Arusha near the Ngorongoro Crater. The orphanage was founded in 2004 by my host mother, MamanWarra and host father, Rev. Nnko (Baba.) Their sole mission is to improve the lives of poor and disadvantaged children in Karatu and neighboring communities Arusha and Moshi ensuring they are shown mercy regardless of religion, tribe or ethnicity. There are currently 56 living at the orphanage ages 0-15.<br /><br />Baba is a minster and while he and Mama were in Karatu ministering at a church they met many vulnerable children. These children did not have proper clothing, food, or a place to sleep. They met some of the children at the dump where they were searching for food to eat. Mama and Baba knew they had to do something and that is when they took in their first three children, Anna (now age 15 and the oldest child at Shalom – pictured in the middle,) Maggie (age 10 – right) and Well Well (age 8 – left). These 3 children Mama and Baba took to their home to live, thus beginning the start of <a href="http://www.loveandpeacehomestanzania.org/">Shalom</a>. (the photo was taken in 2004.)<br /><br />Mama Warra is a woman of faith who believes she can achieve anything with the help of God and this inspiration is what has made her the visionary for this home for children. She started with 3 children in her own home, then moved to another rented 3 bedroom house where she housed 15 children and now because of her hard work and savings from donations given by travelers and volunteers she was able to build the current orphanage 2007. There are still many dreams for this location but I will talk about them in a little bit. <br /><br />Innocent, a local volunteer at the orphanage and Mama helped explain the circumstances that communities in Tanzania face. The biggest problem is HIV/AIDS, at the orphanage there are 6 children who are infected with HIV, but many children across the country lose their parents to this disease. The proper education is still lacking and so many people do not understand the consequences of HIV/AIDS. The 2nd biggest problem is road accidents. There are many road accidents killing many people each year as there are not the laws that we have in the US. When a parent is killed, especially the father, it is extremely difficult for the other parent to provide for their children. In Tanzania the husband goes to work and the wife stays home to care for the children so if that father is gone it’s almost impossible for the mother to be able to financially support her children and she ends up abandoning them. The 3rd major issue is alcoholism. When a parent becomes addicted they start to lose their mind and no longer care about feeding their family but just how to get their next fix. This brings about many vulnerable children because the alcoholism brings about harsh punishments and starvation so the children start begging on the street and looking for food at the dump. Other problems that these children face are lack of available work, educated parents, other diseases, and shame. If a young girl becomes pregnant she is usually kicked out of school, sent away from home and then blames the baby she is carrying for ruining her life, and more often than not she leave her baby out in the bush to die or for someone else to find. <br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggOglvTZhyphenhyphenYRsV1ZEuhyphenhyphenRJxTXSRI4mHyJ12dHzxkkITXdviA-2t18gCbztDqByAh6MWhAD9nPn9GtH4TtIgvli7SX0vf-wazsRAWmycJoxGaPyhUc_sdee0DbEkuVDQv5ZieK-PMZmRA_d/s1600/IMG_1704.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggOglvTZhyphenhyphenYRsV1ZEuhyphenhyphenRJxTXSRI4mHyJ12dHzxkkITXdviA-2t18gCbztDqByAh6MWhAD9nPn9GtH4TtIgvli7SX0vf-wazsRAWmycJoxGaPyhUc_sdee0DbEkuVDQv5ZieK-PMZmRA_d/s320/IMG_1704.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636986852465396706" /></a>Since 2008, the orphanage has had many successes, including the purchasing and building of the current site, which holds the living quarters, kitchen, a classroom for preschool aged children for both children from the orphanage and from the community. They have established a farm, with sheep, cows, chicken, ducks, turkeys, pigs and land to grow corn and other vegetables. This is all important because when Mama finds these children they are severely malnourished so she works extremely hard to make sure that she can provide them with the proper food to help them grow and become healthy. Another success and income generator is the orphanage’s grinding machine for corn, for both the orphanage and the community to use. The orphanage was able to drill and build a well so that they have their own water and they do not have to pay for public water, which they were doing and it was so expensive they are still paying past bills. Lastly, there is an amazing project that is almost complete which is the Bio-gas project created and lead by Innocent. This project will provide heat and light energy to the orphanage by using the waste from the cows on the farm. As mentioned previously Mama was able to save from donations given by trhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifavelers and volunteers to be able to build all of this; however the funding is never a definite as I mentioned there is no permanent funder, like the Good Shepherd Orphanage I was at in Ghana. <br /><br />There are many setbacks that come with running an organization like this. The fact that they survive on donations and never knowing when they will come is its own struggle, sometimes there is not enough money for food; even with the farm there are other needs for the children like bean which they currently are not able to provide to the children. The orphanage also has no play equipment and barely any toys. They would like to give the children a “football” (soccer) field as it is a very popular sport here, and also a swing set for the younger children so that they have a place to play. Running an amazing place like <a href="http://www.loveandpeacehomestanzania.org/">Shalom</a> comes many bills, including electric (which is being threaten to be turned off,) past water bills, school bills, as the orphanage only has one classroom for the youngest children they have to pay for all of the older children to go to school, as education, even in public school is not free here. This is not only costly but the education is not very good. The last challenge they face is the need to pay their staff. They have 15 staff members including: child care workers, social workers, teachers, cooks, cleaning help, and gardeners. Due to lack of funding some of the staff has not been paid since March they pray each month that there will be enough money to pay their personnel. <br /><br />As I mentioned Mama Warra is a visionary, she has many long term goals for <a href="http://www.loveandpeacehomestanzania.org/">Shalom Orphanage</a> and listening to this story brought tears to my eyes and even as I write this blog I have been holding them back. Mama’s biggest goal is to be able to help more children. There are 56 children currently living at Shalom but there are still so many children in the community that need a place like Shalom to call home. The most important project that Mama would like to see complete is to build a school on site for all children to attend. This would help cut down the school cost and it would also guarantee that all of the children are getting a solid education. Children from the community would be able to attend helping to bring in some income. The second vision is a Child Care Village; this would be an area with 6 houses where 10 children would live with a mother, father and older sister who would care for them. They would live and take care of each other as a family. This would be like a stepping stone for the children; they would start in the dormitory and then be able to live in a family unit to teach more about a stable family dynamic. Lastly, Mama Warra would like to build a volunteer house on-site. Where I am staying now is not far from the orphanage but she has to rent it and it is becoming very costly. This volunteer house would not only serve current volunteers at the orphanage but it would also be available to travelers who would like to come to Karatu (not far from the national parks) and stay overnight, much like a hostel and all of the funds would go back into the orphanage. <br /><br />As I have mentioned throughout this post Mama Warra is an amazing lady and the children and staff at Shalom are full of love (I’ve only been here 5 days and I know I’m going to miss them so much when I have to leave.) Mama Warra wants to empower these children to know how important it is to continue to help. These children have no iPods, no cell phones, no video games new clothes and on Christmas Day they go into town to meet the street children and bring them food, pencils, clothes, and toys – all items that were donated to them and they then share these gifts and give them to other children who do not have a place like Shalom, they call it “Celebrate Christmas Donated By Shalom.” <br /><br />Shalom believes that every child has a dream and it is their hope to give these children an opportunity to use their skills and gifts to reach their full potential and see their dreams become reality. They can’t do this on their own there is a high demand for support. Below is more information or you can email me directly at beth.hickox@gmail.com if you would like to help this great NGO, it is something I have now become very passionate about and would like to do all I can to help. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />How you can help</span><br />Financial and Material Support: <br />• There is a high demand to purchase items on their daily wish list including food, first aid supplies, tooth paste and brushes, cooking oil, soap, medical care, etc.<br />• Contribute to the construction costs of upkeep to the current building, a hope for a new school, community houses and volunteers house.<br />• Help with the cost of utilities<br />• Contribute academic materials such as backpacks, school supplies, and books<br />• Volunteer! <br /><br />Contact<br />Warra Elisamia Nnko – Director<br /><a href="http://www.loveandpeacehomestanzania.org/">Shalom Orphanage Center</a><br />PO BOX 370 Karatu<br />Tanzania East Africa<br />Email: shalomchildren2006@yahoo.com <br />www.loveandpeacehomestanzania.org<br /><br />You can also contact me if you would like to donate, I am going to work on getting them funds through donations when I return the US. <br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.loveandpeacehomestanzania.org/"></a>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07107103619960560414noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786690790444401668.post-75430457116357492082011-08-03T13:28:00.000-07:002011-08-03T13:31:00.182-07:00Tanzania UpdateI made it to Tanzania safely after and EXTREMELY long and exhausting flight. I am working on my next blog post tonight and hope to have it perfected tomorrow. It's all about the orphanage I am volunteering at and a "must read." If you read nothing else please look for this post.Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07107103619960560414noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786690790444401668.post-46844964157857008752011-08-02T08:13:00.000-07:002011-08-03T13:26:34.557-07:00A Tad More TravelingAfter we departed from Denu we traveled to Accra, the capital city of Ghana. We stayed at the Salvation Army Hostel where I had the chance to meet many other volunteers who were in town to travel or fly home.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieZBbCL-2oMxrIjz5o4yf3xBUKPI7-wiUghoDv_dSdDAVZlY94NDfDg4IA7m_pm4XgHYxiOtlEUXecWGxQAzaqZHGrD3CfQRBWbhVhRoA_L-nIOyhhTCV_Djsk1t_AEJkmJf7yipqUUxmC/s1600/IMG_1567.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieZBbCL-2oMxrIjz5o4yf3xBUKPI7-wiUghoDv_dSdDAVZlY94NDfDg4IA7m_pm4XgHYxiOtlEUXecWGxQAzaqZHGrD3CfQRBWbhVhRoA_L-nIOyhhTCV_Djsk1t_AEJkmJf7yipqUUxmC/s200/IMG_1567.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636284310158581298" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhecw0-ZSoxYtPr_egg_SIc5dKk6mLSlVHhHRxiD31XQVY_CPj-3GWRNBa9_vc5ItSkShuWAugb2nkKj55b9cUfcJoFRAQU6aCQC1mCgHws2e5oqAh-vB-aXBB4Uh1KZRpCuuxv-Zd6VD1V/s1600/IMG_1559.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhecw0-ZSoxYtPr_egg_SIc5dKk6mLSlVHhHRxiD31XQVY_CPj-3GWRNBa9_vc5ItSkShuWAugb2nkKj55b9cUfcJoFRAQU6aCQC1mCgHws2e5oqAh-vB-aXBB4Uh1KZRpCuuxv-Zd6VD1V/s200/IMG_1559.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636283588572427762" /></a><br />We did a little sightseeing around Accra, we went to their market, which is about 5times bigger than the one in Denu. Simon pointed out monuments and important building and then took me and our new friend Connie (who had just finished her internship and was stay in gin the hostel) to see a coffin workshop. Seriously people a coffin workshop!!!! In Ghana one of the most visited places is the coffin shop. Simon explained that coffins are designed to suit the deceased occupation or hobby. When I got on the plane to Tanzania there was an article in the in flight magazine! It said: "fantasy coffins have become one of the more unusual and significant expression of modern craftsmanship." Who Knew!?! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqPPBkIDI1G7TfuiPtwTbHlETja6kdlwJbdm0yqV8gguCW3hMiR9R-lsGLUkXxP7NFFtiI_0F9PA4sAyWQJP-bv9JesrkxoU_Ls3xUShyphenhyphen3MQtPEqsuZEvgDTcOw_OXQI4mPDKynYd-jmX7/s1600/P1030661.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqPPBkIDI1G7TfuiPtwTbHlETja6kdlwJbdm0yqV8gguCW3hMiR9R-lsGLUkXxP7NFFtiI_0F9PA4sAyWQJP-bv9JesrkxoU_Ls3xUShyphenhyphen3MQtPEqsuZEvgDTcOw_OXQI4mPDKynYd-jmX7/s200/P1030661.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636728314670935954" /></a>The following day I did the coolest yet scariest thing ever! I did the canopy walk at Kakum National Park. That's right, I walked above the trees of the rain forest surrounded only by ropes and walking on planks that swayed side to side. That fear of bridges came back pretty fast at first but since I was with every school group in Cape Coast region I couldn't NOT do it! Plus I just kept telling myself - "I jumped out of a plane once, I can do this" and then I was ok and I embraced this opportunity. I will say I was thrilled when I was back on solid ground!Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07107103619960560414noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786690790444401668.post-11935954436209097302011-08-01T04:52:00.001-07:002011-09-28T17:38:58.000-07:00The Construction Site...Not Just Cement Blocks But Building Blocks For The FutureWhile traveling with Simon, I really had a chance to talk with him about the future orphanage in Denu. After being there helping I had even more questions about the project. I learned that this orphanage will serve mentally and physically disabled children from all over Ghana, and will continue to be completely funded by STAESA<br /><br />In Ghana when a child is born differently abled it is believed that the parents are cursed and these children are often left to starve or just not taken care of. I loved what Simon said, he said if you make an orphanage just for these children it is not helping them, you would confine them and prove to them and society that they are different; so children without disabilities will also be living there. In addition, children from the community who are not orphans will be able to go to the school. This concept will show all the children the importance of acceptance and how to help one another by empowering all of them to be successful and teaching them how important they each are. <br /><br />The orphanage will house about 60-70 children and each room of the living quarters will have a "mother" who will care for that group of children so that they will always feel loved. Many orphanages only have 1 or 2 Madame’s for many children, so here each group of 7-10 children will have their own mama. <br /><br />There is nothing like this currently in Ghana, which is why it is so important that the orphanage be completed sooner than later. The living quarters are close to completion and they are focusing on the school walls now that will take about 5,000 blocks of which 1,500 are completed. I am also happy to report that two more volunteers arrive August 3rd from Los Angeles to help with the progress. Hopefully there will be even more volunteers soon and even groups coming to help in the near future so that the need for both funding and workers can help with the completion by 2012.Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07107103619960560414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786690790444401668.post-6772911723262701952011-08-01T04:28:00.000-07:002011-09-28T17:38:11.225-07:00Ladies and Gentlemen The President of Africa...Rev. Simon KudzoSimon is the director of STAESA and has been with the organization for about 11 years. He is the one that I have been communicating with since I started the research of this trip. He has answered probably 1,000+ questions and helped put me at ease about traveling so far by myself. His detailed emails have always had not only lots of information, but they were very genuine. He is the reason I chose STAESA to be the volunteer organization that was right for me. There are so many organizations out there and I think I looked at over thirty of them. <br /><br />Simon is also crazy!!! In the best way possible :) He is a visionary and an extremely passionate person plus a lot of fun. I finally got to meet him last week when he picked me up in Denu to take me around Ghana a bit before I left for Tanzania. <br /><br />It was great to be able to talk more with him and get to know more about STAESA and all of the different projects that they have throughout Africa. Simon oversees all of the projects with help from his country coordinators (about 31) and an office staff of eight. Simon knows everyone and that is why I call him the President of Africa! <br /><br />As I said before Simon is very passionate about the work that is happening through STAESA. I don't believe an organization like this can be successful without a dedicated staff and a leader who sees the bigger picture and that's what he does. I hope someday to be able to love my career like Simon does. His spirit just makes me want to continue to help after I am back in the States and we talked a lot about that too, so not only has this experience been so positive for me while I've been here but I will continue to "change the world" after I return, one building block at a time just like Mr. President.Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07107103619960560414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786690790444401668.post-3313846426768157842011-07-29T15:50:00.000-07:002011-07-29T16:15:48.659-07:00The Worst Part of GhanaI just figured out what the worst part of my trip has been. It hasn't been the heat (actually I heard it's hotter at home,) mosquitoes, cold showers, or the dust. It is/was having to say goodbye.<br /><br />Since Sunday I've shed a lot of tears saying goodbye to my new friends and family. At church Rev. Perry made an announcement that I was leaving and invited me to the front so they could pray for safe travels, while tears streamed downed my face. A new friend from church Louis, who is an artist, gave me the most beautiful fabric and a painting both done by him as a farewell present. Both of these I will treasure always. The fabric he dyed himself and I LOVE it, it's purple and blue and has the traditional royal stools around the bottom. The painting is of the beach and fisherman from the area where I was living which I loved to watched when I was there, it's a portrait of my home in Ghana. <br /><br />Monday I brought over diapers, baby wipes, powder, toys and some other needed items (Thank you cousin Jen!) When it was time to go and say goodbye for the last time I was biting my tongue so hard so that I would not burst into tears. It was like the babies knew that I would not be returning. Princess cried when I put her down (usually not the case), Agogo grabbed onto my leg, and Prince kept his arms up to be picked up again. I broke my heart to walk away. <br /><br />The hardest goodbye though was to my host family. All day the little girls wanted to sit on my lap and spend time with me. Forgive sat on my bed while I packed and just kept looking at her hands not saying anything. When Simon said ok let's go and we started carrying out my bags that's when I saw Pearl sitting in the sand crying and Forgive came running over for a hug to which Pearl followed continuing to cry and that's when I lost it. I told them to be good girls and walked to the car where Bless and Celesting were and I saw Bless had tears in her eyes we all hugged and I said goodbye to my family tears running down my face.<br /><br />I knew leaving Africa would be hard but I never thought it would be this hard. I'm grateful to have met such wonderful people, and thank God for Facebook so I can keep in touch. I am also happy to have another adventure awaiting me in Tanzania!Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07107103619960560414noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786690790444401668.post-18716352794585164102011-07-23T16:38:00.000-07:002011-07-23T16:45:24.386-07:00Until TanzaniaWell friends, tomorrow I give back the computer and start organizing and packing for the next step in this adventure, travel a bit in Ghana then fly to Tanzania. I am not sure what kind of computer / wi-fi access I will have after tomorrow so if you don't see any posts for a while don't worry. I will try very hard to get more stories and updates up as often as possible. I was presently surprised by the ease to access the web in Ghana so hopefully it will be the same in Tanzania. Till then.... Kwaheri (goodbye in Swahili, I'm trying to practice!)Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07107103619960560414noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786690790444401668.post-87224212124355051522011-07-23T16:21:00.000-07:002011-07-23T16:35:58.885-07:00A Found Farewell to My Host Family<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIsKs62WCar19ZOGLQkmiaWTjAV4Cb0shiIuISU_fSbFqSt-0UbgQkgEUagrw2jMSdJYFfaenYx-aZpu1S5izYpdeHZWo3gRG5UScoFMiF4ExeEaHdcqWSQB2csNnNCww1gMxakrIyXBBJ/s1600/P1030608.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 203px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIsKs62WCar19ZOGLQkmiaWTjAV4Cb0shiIuISU_fSbFqSt-0UbgQkgEUagrw2jMSdJYFfaenYx-aZpu1S5izYpdeHZWo3gRG5UScoFMiF4ExeEaHdcqWSQB2csNnNCww1gMxakrIyXBBJ/s320/P1030608.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632693937740360162" /></a> When I first arrived I talked about Bless, my host sister who is “my manager” as one of my new friends calls her, but I haven’t talked much about the rest of my host family so I figured I would introduce some of them. <br /><br />Where I am living is sort of like a complex with one main house being the “go to” house, this is where I am staying. Madame Celesting owns the house which is very much a western style house, it has running water, kitchen, small refrigerator, 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. Within the gate is also 2 other buildings that houses many of her extended family with about 4 or 5 apartments in them. Though I have not been in any of the houses from what I can gather they only have a couple of rooms each. Most of the cooking is done in my host mother’s house or at the fire pit outside. In the middle of the yard is an outdoor sitting area and a well where we all fetch water. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1rIUyD4wUkfieBhOZvZmdjRhCRfEumz1kTXak-7F95eUKdG1FYrNsphHNkEtAMamosOvFVPE1p8CL6QwHfypANCS0vnxEfQm4Vj2gWVIsem-8kULwiz7iKFQk_fIXxqfJ_JvgDZ7R_VW8/s1600/IMG_1052.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1rIUyD4wUkfieBhOZvZmdjRhCRfEumz1kTXak-7F95eUKdG1FYrNsphHNkEtAMamosOvFVPE1p8CL6QwHfypANCS0vnxEfQm4Vj2gWVIsem-8kULwiz7iKFQk_fIXxqfJ_JvgDZ7R_VW8/s320/IMG_1052.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632693945198072706" /></a> <br /> <br />After much time I think I have figured out whom all belongs to whom. In Ghanaian culture everyone is considered “sister or brother” even if they are not actually their sister or brother. <br /><br />Celesting is the matriarch of the family; she has no children of her own but takes care of many of her nieces and nephews. She is one of 11 children of which 6 of them are still alive and 3 of them live within the gate and one right around the corner. Bless is actually her niece but when Bless was only 2 her father died and for most of her life Celesting has taken care of her. Also, Ester my other “sister” is her niece and though her mother lives within the gate she mostly stays here in the house. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCzskF_wdLT9cUgT2W7czakz1rTtSyLFEzEH5lmdCqBhvhWOEEryf5ax8xtr2PHIYxPS_9OvfGhyNQcSAgAa3j3iBR33q3qlm7ULgp0hGSY_IX_dumD9wfOZAJ12cLaLa8xe3qBpVNgKRe/s1600/P1030540.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 264px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCzskF_wdLT9cUgT2W7czakz1rTtSyLFEzEH5lmdCqBhvhWOEEryf5ax8xtr2PHIYxPS_9OvfGhyNQcSAgAa3j3iBR33q3qlm7ULgp0hGSY_IX_dumD9wfOZAJ12cLaLa8xe3qBpVNgKRe/s320/P1030540.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632693945694871698" /></a><br /><br /><br />Then there are my two cuties Pearl (on the right) and Forgive (on the left.) These two girls are 3 and 5 years old and love to follow me around. Whenever they see me coming they come running over and they always want to sit on my lap, pet my arm (I think they think my skin will feel different) and have me take photos of them. I can’t understand them and they can’t understand me but somehow we know how to communicate. The only thing Forgives says to me is “picture, picture” and Pearl just always tells me that she is fine. I am pretty sure they think they are leaving with me as for a little while it was a threat when they would misbehave that I was going to take them to America with me that was when they were scared of me, now I am afraid they are convinced they are going. I have also heard Forgive tell her friends that I am HER Yavous (at least that is what I suspect she is saying.) There are many others that come and go, mostly teens that are in boarding school and come home on the weekend but it is a very close family and they all rely on each other. Everyone has been very welcoming to me, I will miss them when I leave.Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07107103619960560414noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786690790444401668.post-62064758708956776522011-07-23T09:04:00.000-07:002011-09-26T19:42:43.343-07:00Volunteering a Wonderful Cultural Experience<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipTbYNFkrX_4E1QHFnNedjLSj4375-nNZBcVlqbUg8w6nrH7TRgihxjL0awleo8yEjXfuNXWnfTZo-NWXBpEWcaunHPe3OFNpzn3duas8Mm_OGBEZj7YR7M1c1xiEKATO6oIGaUJHrUb8i/s1600/P1030420.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 280px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipTbYNFkrX_4E1QHFnNedjLSj4375-nNZBcVlqbUg8w6nrH7TRgihxjL0awleo8yEjXfuNXWnfTZo-NWXBpEWcaunHPe3OFNpzn3duas8Mm_OGBEZj7YR7M1c1xiEKATO6oIGaUJHrUb8i/s320/P1030420.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632584762503777890" /></a>Tuesday I will leave Denu. I will say goodbye to my host family and my new friends. I will spend a few days traveling to Cape Cost, Komaski National Park and Accra with Simon the director of STAESA. The past three weeks have been an amazing cultural experience that I could have never experiences if I had just come to travel. I have taken in all aspects of the culture, still working on the language though.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTEDYYIUzm8FozscpiWCTLLGxT3otwJ0YPaNe76JdF2Gd9X5_lKnqM-8gDvCoGloRIsomXmfNPhOOTL5b3gFYL7g-tcqYc3nDUIwo1To9RhbGhsxhzUaPeM9jcGjzKpzj47PLOZ1ItMn6U/s1600/P1030424.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 8px 8px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 280px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTEDYYIUzm8FozscpiWCTLLGxT3otwJ0YPaNe76JdF2Gd9X5_lKnqM-8gDvCoGloRIsomXmfNPhOOTL5b3gFYL7g-tcqYc3nDUIwo1To9RhbGhsxhzUaPeM9jcGjzKpzj47PLOZ1ItMn6U/s320/P1030424.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632588549641006258" /></a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Here are some of the highlights that I may or may not have already mentioned: <br /><br />• I’ve made about 1000 concrete blocks with fine cement and sand<br />• Eaten fish for almost every meal, including the occasional bone by mistake, and in the process I learned <br /> how to take the scales off. <br />• Learned how to make Banku (a traditional meal that is made of grounded corn, eaten with your hands <br /> and served with stews, soup, and anything else that you desire) <br />• Taken and survived a “Tro-Tro” often sometimes with 6 people sometimes with 16 (all the same size van)<br />• Peeled mangos the size of my head <br />• Worshiped at a church that is nothing like any of the churches that I have ever been to at home, and with <br /> that I’ve met some wonderful people. <br />• Been to market day many times and seen everything under the sun <br /> sold on the street<br />• Worn the traditional and modern Africa wear<br />• Become a pro at changing diapers, both cloth and pampers <br />• Learned that when you feel a little homesick a child coming to sit on <br /> your lap makes everything better<br />• Tried Star and Club Beer (both made in Ghana – taste the same as American Beer)<br />• Eaten “Red Red” (beans and fried plantains) on the beach <br />• Been to a Celebration of Life (or as we call them funerals) VERY <br /> different then in the US! <br />• Learned to communicate with the kids that I live with even though we don’t speak the same language<br />• Fetched water from a well <br />• Hand washed all of my clothes <br />• Found and embraced “yogurt” or what we call fudgecicles <br />• Fed a monkey a banana and walked in a rain forest <br />• Have learned to automatically wave when someone yells “Yavous” (aka white) <br />• And finally even in Ghana one of the first things a new friend says to you is “are you on facebook?” <br /> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx8Q6O1fPOkRDw2SG9mexeMg8TPFIS7OcWmFp4JfbRmrQD3owa38c-fx07fkZ-oqfNOG69VlX8wE_-kCj-vuRsNu5bPRmVEduso69a028nH5JHxUO5PV4pWROw-fnPxGc7wWFhMyZ2BVNk/s1600/P1030435.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 285px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx8Q6O1fPOkRDw2SG9mexeMg8TPFIS7OcWmFp4JfbRmrQD3owa38c-fx07fkZ-oqfNOG69VlX8wE_-kCj-vuRsNu5bPRmVEduso69a028nH5JHxUO5PV4pWROw-fnPxGc7wWFhMyZ2BVNk/s320/P1030435.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632588552927092306" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjo9bLR9BK45ratbAt3HL9SmnOhFXcQOpzjjIcYmOZ_qJ47v55ouobZHsAr7ZxnTvFRzyfd_ux2YNFrP9bJ7rbDN_NA8sgkF6dq_R1CC-5MUXu_aPsRAVZZRffIBFlWs44Iyxg-5VSLo0o/s1600/P1030247.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 262px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjo9bLR9BK45ratbAt3HL9SmnOhFXcQOpzjjIcYmOZ_qJ47v55ouobZHsAr7ZxnTvFRzyfd_ux2YNFrP9bJ7rbDN_NA8sgkF6dq_R1CC-5MUXu_aPsRAVZZRffIBFlWs44Iyxg-5VSLo0o/s320/P1030247.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632582284923410258" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg5htp9U0_XftAgaZr4mZicQOhVACcr1Of68blp3THq2Ac0eORoXJfaMzxCkK9mlPBljXJTz9WWrHEhR2CSPiNYrv_RUIFn9gTsauKqUq7JWl_28SUqIEbA83oePJkgC4PxCf6pC5L84Pt/s1600/P1030346.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 237px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg5htp9U0_XftAgaZr4mZicQOhVACcr1Of68blp3THq2Ac0eORoXJfaMzxCkK9mlPBljXJTz9WWrHEhR2CSPiNYrv_RUIFn9gTsauKqUq7JWl_28SUqIEbA83oePJkgC4PxCf6pC5L84Pt/s320/P1030346.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632582286157610946" /></a>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07107103619960560414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786690790444401668.post-50656420590793515652011-07-23T06:39:00.000-07:002011-09-26T19:16:31.927-07:0050 Bags of Cement = 1000 Concrete Blocks<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglEDk_IAxk0JmBKpBeRLsyZbFqtZiDgYsMkDMztsZs3BtF5mZ1Oyl-hD8R5fllpdtvOnHZ9M3DeeE_UAHCBEdmizXmg3dVl3JdP4ri8oIN1uqPF2lDE4YczuyXtvPk7wqnvHmmPnwK-O3U/s1600/P1030487.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglEDk_IAxk0JmBKpBeRLsyZbFqtZiDgYsMkDMztsZs3BtF5mZ1Oyl-hD8R5fllpdtvOnHZ9M3DeeE_UAHCBEdmizXmg3dVl3JdP4ri8oIN1uqPF2lDE4YczuyXtvPk7wqnvHmmPnwK-O3U/s320/P1030487.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632549748831877154" /></a> 2 weeks, 4 blisters, lots of Ibuprofen, hot sunny days, a great farmers tan, 50 bags of cement, who knows how much sand but it was a lot……. we have completed the block making project for my time here. We finish about 1000 blocks to be used for the walls of the school. This will not be enough to complete the school as it will be three stories, but it is a huge accomplishment making it one step closer to completion.Remember when I said we had to make 300? Well… something was lost in the translation part and Kwaku meant about 300 that day not total!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRlhqzVeA90NoaSaBd5YUBQHB9qyAba5WwfOYgY2wKx6vqqbUVL_Cxt1dZiCFJ-TlvWt0JYYqZfJoHs7r7wi5y1kBEyw5OSPYvi6_7w7RWFOSPT2bCBIkH7FuO9EAxgtjKYyC4trvF9GLI/s1600/IMG_1452.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRlhqzVeA90NoaSaBd5YUBQHB9qyAba5WwfOYgY2wKx6vqqbUVL_Cxt1dZiCFJ-TlvWt0JYYqZfJoHs7r7wi5y1kBEyw5OSPYvi6_7w7RWFOSPT2bCBIkH7FuO9EAxgtjKYyC4trvF9GLI/s320/IMG_1452.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632545324654838354" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirp3Frr-gknFcJmttvyX8acRJNcJE87ra8rD1Z6VpFiQy-JidsBeqnX9lX4KjKW9paB1B1-6yqgmIhiRsZNWIWl5q-gLlP7U9LMb6vePGa_RLY0y4QOoM7oIompYCqSF8G-TOqhLvDsbY-/s1600/P1030575.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirp3Frr-gknFcJmttvyX8acRJNcJE87ra8rD1Z6VpFiQy-JidsBeqnX9lX4KjKW9paB1B1-6yqgmIhiRsZNWIWl5q-gLlP7U9LMb6vePGa_RLY0y4QOoM7oIompYCqSF8G-TOqhLvDsbY-/s320/P1030575.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632551884739869570" /></a><br /><br />There were some obstacles along the way mainly the fact that cement is not readily available so sometimes that meant we only had 4 or 5 bags for the day or it none at all. Timing, a work crew of two sometimes three would carry each bag about half a mile one by one on their heads to bring them to the work site because no one owns a car here and the taxis charge a lot to transport cement. I am strong but I couldn’t even lift the bags to pour out the cement much less carry one on my head!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7eOqVfD7wJtluox_XZlYs7LyyrkN1DgDzuSui8AgA8dJ5qgh3fSLkEXuYZAd9K09POQROGdZmpnhkYjkGcZWqZNYe0yKmMVpN2NQGRH8eTbq8aryAVZyL2d_4ExB9BJGTFh28RG0XnD-3/s1600/IMG_1436.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7eOqVfD7wJtluox_XZlYs7LyyrkN1DgDzuSui8AgA8dJ5qgh3fSLkEXuYZAd9K09POQROGdZmpnhkYjkGcZWqZNYe0yKmMVpN2NQGRH8eTbq8aryAVZyL2d_4ExB9BJGTFh28RG0XnD-3/s320/IMG_1436.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632545318243259234" /></a><br />Plus there was nowhere to store it so we could only bring to the site what we could finish that day. Construction in Ghana is nothing like the US, which I’m sure you all knew, you do not go to Home Depot in a pick-up truck and get it all the supplies you need or follow any type of safety regulations, the boys worked in flip flops or no shoes at all – OSHA would have a field day! The other thing as I have mentioned in previous posts is you build when there is money available, my program fee helped covered the cost of 50 bags of cement which was $600 Ghana Cedis (about $400 US) so from what I understand they will stop building for a couple of weeks until the next volunteers arrive and they have more money and help. <br /><br />All in all I’m very proud of the work that we accomplished, I was hoping to be able to build some of the walls but it just wasn’t in the cards, we didn’t have enough blocks. However, knowing that they can at least start on the walls of the school because of the work that I helped accomplish which makes it all worth the sore muscles, blisters, sunburned shoulders and weathered skin. I will end this post with a quote I read today:<br /><br />“Do not let yourselves be discouraged or embittered by the smallness of the success you are likely to achieve in trying to make life better. You would not be able in a single generation, to create an earthy paradise. Who could expect that? But, if you could make life ever s better, you will have done splendidly, and your lives will have been worthwhile.”~ Arnold Toynbee~<br /> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9fd_HTEKnPDO7TbN5PmMjJqXzchfb9N3mGrbG_yOYl77mICywZHNXctjky8asdzeBesXQsBK9YO7twoiB6u61Yd0uuq0r0KdZMaLjlJYxjDGT_NqG-kDGDim2K3VUvpgtNQYmNGihPr0c/s1600/P1030548.jpg"><img style="float:center; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9fd_HTEKnPDO7TbN5PmMjJqXzchfb9N3mGrbG_yOYl77mICywZHNXctjky8asdzeBesXQsBK9YO7twoiB6u61Yd0uuq0r0KdZMaLjlJYxjDGT_NqG-kDGDim2K3VUvpgtNQYmNGihPr0c/s320/P1030548.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632550275455427682" /></a>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07107103619960560414noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786690790444401668.post-57921836782183053202011-07-22T15:52:00.000-07:002011-07-22T16:49:22.681-07:00A Few More PhotosA friend of Bless' let me borrow his computer this weekend so since I have it I want to make the most of it, here are some more random photos...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn38wgCm55KQOIK6SiU7mUssEXCQMCeLcMmxbbAXEEBewneYyUOC4ikHKlq4LkL3PpdGEZdtWvPhZRloJAQVRDzCxmoJKylDY4KubFWvB0l7w3S8h50taKo5IDL-V6-_-_CO2WTHW3Cmyr/s1600/IMG_0949.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn38wgCm55KQOIK6SiU7mUssEXCQMCeLcMmxbbAXEEBewneYyUOC4ikHKlq4LkL3PpdGEZdtWvPhZRloJAQVRDzCxmoJKylDY4KubFWvB0l7w3S8h50taKo5IDL-V6-_-_CO2WTHW3Cmyr/s320/IMG_0949.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632316955110962530" /></a> This is at a school in Denu, I have to walk through the school yard every morning and afternoon to and from the construction site. The children all yell "Yavous, Yavous" (which means white) and on this particular day I had my camera out so they all wanted me to take a photo. <br /><br /><br />I took this on our journey to the waterfall, I just thought the scene was pretty.....that's all I got for this one. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUvrb3xk0Gn-VrL6-P6T2Z98YQeL61pSyTPe6uabpcQRlsNCPuqgSnLgR03w3pxg3WxN3nH0Uby4tqqvaqBJWGTsgCrys2CSFJhJog44PbHxlbnQ8UmfOdPhHM7YaxRHl3GiiZ1GbGpTtC/s1600/IMG_1204.jpg"><img style="float:center; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUvrb3xk0Gn-VrL6-P6T2Z98YQeL61pSyTPe6uabpcQRlsNCPuqgSnLgR03w3pxg3WxN3nH0Uby4tqqvaqBJWGTsgCrys2CSFJhJog44PbHxlbnQ8UmfOdPhHM7YaxRHl3GiiZ1GbGpTtC/s320/IMG_1204.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632318016985696770" /></a><br /><br /><br /> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWoE0D_IsVEgL6W-foAeEdA5mnv2SZdJ-qjnFG8uz9Ln-mNhkqJCMgfEczvHj0BfdqGuIRgXQFWiMcXzZ-oN9-fRtu3s10QCBsPZHy4SIUlNaBuhXgFVnuflum47nAplyzeCXeyLzc61Bv/s1600/P1030278.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWoE0D_IsVEgL6W-foAeEdA5mnv2SZdJ-qjnFG8uz9Ln-mNhkqJCMgfEczvHj0BfdqGuIRgXQFWiMcXzZ-oN9-fRtu3s10QCBsPZHy4SIUlNaBuhXgFVnuflum47nAplyzeCXeyLzc61Bv/s320/P1030278.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632325554509859010" /></a> This photo I actually took my 2nd day in Ghana after it rained like crazy. Since there is no real drainage system here people go out after a storm and sweep the water away.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I went to the beach on Wednesday evening and I watched as a few teams of fishermen gathered their gear for a few days off. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnYLpm0Yo_X1ZG30sB7FW1tCzhY-a9hKe9S9ihywJmolj64DgD9G5c7ZLWmZACaB-bDnRtSq-nSZ51RR3sv33EP00tLOdWYYb9kG925UauLZZjrmt85Z0MfbznVp5EEmU6g62gbtmYHnfO/s1600/IMG_1402.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnYLpm0Yo_X1ZG30sB7FW1tCzhY-a9hKe9S9ihywJmolj64DgD9G5c7ZLWmZACaB-bDnRtSq-nSZ51RR3sv33EP00tLOdWYYb9kG925UauLZZjrmt85Z0MfbznVp5EEmU6g62gbtmYHnfO/s320/IMG_1402.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632325554373862386" /></a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />This fun friend hangs out at the construction site along with about 10 other of his friends but he's the biggest so I think he's in charge! Of course I'm rarely the biggest and I'm always in charge..... :) <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj19dhDE8LeG9ijBwklpiTaQ423zbGzzgQr0QyyxOZ81zJeHZKjWYvDi6vPjg7I3yr7hDph5XKNP_e1zAp8wLyGxfcAhYDhYx085J-oXj7b7XcXZc1XOsszgUVlibcxJinl6eAL6wkukani/s1600/P1030411.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj19dhDE8LeG9ijBwklpiTaQ423zbGzzgQr0QyyxOZ81zJeHZKjWYvDi6vPjg7I3yr7hDph5XKNP_e1zAp8wLyGxfcAhYDhYx085J-oXj7b7XcXZc1XOsszgUVlibcxJinl6eAL6wkukani/s320/P1030411.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632327692392942242" /></a>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07107103619960560414noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786690790444401668.post-68448663116993196172011-07-22T14:22:00.000-07:002011-07-22T14:52:28.277-07:00New York * Paris * Milan &....... Denu ?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiApCAqSZRtXwLl6JR95UDSOrF1YkyOdEWB_YnYzDdLjOht-wFJ7goamzKbnEzL_2prN50aMBI6qPWWvPuayEYOKVz2Azp9V-IMKcRWSRIWCoEDlR6Tan3FPFfcZRFYm33lWc1VvLoyz_Yf/s1600/P1030607.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 98px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiApCAqSZRtXwLl6JR95UDSOrF1YkyOdEWB_YnYzDdLjOht-wFJ7goamzKbnEzL_2prN50aMBI6qPWWvPuayEYOKVz2Azp9V-IMKcRWSRIWCoEDlR6Tan3FPFfcZRFYm33lWc1VvLoyz_Yf/s200/P1030607.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632294358694835858" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQKogPDWyC_bKmZXqhyphenhyphenqv98iRKpYKXt0BenqN7m6ZP_iFTzzg1xa1ok5i3R9mBk5qrUR-gTTZrghWLRIGQSg-ctiCbPgpytEESUnNg4fmPJzAh5lR5Rbc5IfAMQN2ddnSoRjXkZiU8_nU3/s1600/P1030242.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 131px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQKogPDWyC_bKmZXqhyphenhyphenqv98iRKpYKXt0BenqN7m6ZP_iFTzzg1xa1ok5i3R9mBk5qrUR-gTTZrghWLRIGQSg-ctiCbPgpytEESUnNg4fmPJzAh5lR5Rbc5IfAMQN2ddnSoRjXkZiU8_nU3/s200/P1030242.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632294356775679298" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdz_64sE6ghW7m5cz_Ah2Z6hnVQxZ71j3qh1JW5H0kkmweSo3BPbMbhj1QhisJSIl8hsLL0ptt4YgSAriC9ASGGxqvoxgJrmKKr4pk7Wr5t8DDcwnUs2OYTs_ZpMSRyDglKS_Rn-2Tb8fE/s1600/P1030502.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 176px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdz_64sE6ghW7m5cz_Ah2Z6hnVQxZ71j3qh1JW5H0kkmweSo3BPbMbhj1QhisJSIl8hsLL0ptt4YgSAriC9ASGGxqvoxgJrmKKr4pk7Wr5t8DDcwnUs2OYTs_ZpMSRyDglKS_Rn-2Tb8fE/s200/P1030502.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632294354776931570" /></a><br /><br /><br />When I was preparing to come to Ghana the director of STAESA told me that while I was in Ghana I should ask my host sister about getting an African dress made. She introduced me to Dilah, a friend of hers that is a seamstress. We went to the market to pick out fabric and then decided on a style and she made a beautiful dress for the US equivalent of $5.00. It was a little weird having someone else besides my mother make me clothes but she is a great job, you can see it in the picture. The dress style that we chose is more of a modern style that those in their 20s typically wear. <br /><br />On Wednesday morning, Dilah paid me another visit because my host mother had commissioned her to make me two more outfits. The orange, blue and green top and skirt are more of the traditional style and then the gray and purple one is based on the style I picked but a little different so I would have another option. Needless to say we had quite the fashion show in the living room that morning and I am so thankful to Dilah and my host mother for these dresses. Plus I will be plenty ready for Tanzania!Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07107103619960560414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786690790444401668.post-38998936825355625932011-07-17T05:30:00.000-07:002011-09-26T18:47:08.883-07:00Volunteer Turned Tourist This week I was able to spend some time seeing other parts of Ghana, a very nice change of pace. Thursday we found out that the cement delivery for the day was not going to happen so we didn't work. Honestly I was relieved because after 3 full days of moving bricks, shoveling and mixing concrete in the hot sun my body ached. I was going to go back to Good Shepherd but my host mother told me that since there was no work she was going to take me to her hometown, Keta. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYk_AT4CB8TW6TB_HHU_QWsD73rgQ8z0VqDivavd-RSqeXvQQ60Xgb_-O1s-eOXpveTGCuW7D_3xQzkdovwzwtZg3kUE2wHwOE9vSM9Ntn7rR_ywJIHxfbajrtQtC8oe7X5RLo4rZvYxfn/s1600/IMG_1108.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYk_AT4CB8TW6TB_HHU_QWsD73rgQ8z0VqDivavd-RSqeXvQQ60Xgb_-O1s-eOXpveTGCuW7D_3xQzkdovwzwtZg3kUE2wHwOE9vSM9Ntn7rR_ywJIHxfbajrtQtC8oe7X5RLo4rZvYxfn/s200/IMG_1108.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632305458127555474" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqtMlHX1KfN8csIjOvguyL3DAtyByHKw6eFqaMieBMUDxR5nlZpapMZyV3MDhk01gK_4swzuyk5DwCAgx3XY8vF4sq1XN2bsirPaJ92fipnyJAOm2Aw5IpiJtWVkdcbQ-b9SBNHnvtPj7L/s1600/IMG_1101.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqtMlHX1KfN8csIjOvguyL3DAtyByHKw6eFqaMieBMUDxR5nlZpapMZyV3MDhk01gK_4swzuyk5DwCAgx3XY8vF4sq1XN2bsirPaJ92fipnyJAOm2Aw5IpiJtWVkdcbQ-b9SBNHnvtPj7L/s200/IMG_1101.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632305455343044114" /></a> <br />Keta is only about 20mins away but it was great to see another town. Keta a "sea town" and the beaches were beautiful. As we drove into town there were many fishing boats along the shore. The problem with Keta is the sea erosion, many buildings have been destroyed and the residents have had to relocate. When visiting family I noticed that many homes are now made of palm leaves instead of concrete like Denu or Alfao. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjio8JWk3VD03gOwFt-YsLFSY2_G2msB0E35Q7MO81UHoyaxdd1uVa2JH8_GA7ieVW06w0efUNe2T18T1p8l8lL0jISrPZH0TXv-MDa1W1hSxioa2mSlmgPvSqkqKS86nnaj_3IYhe3xJ7o/s1600/IMG_1039.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjio8JWk3VD03gOwFt-YsLFSY2_G2msB0E35Q7MO81UHoyaxdd1uVa2JH8_GA7ieVW06w0efUNe2T18T1p8l8lL0jISrPZH0TXv-MDa1W1hSxioa2mSlmgPvSqkqKS86nnaj_3IYhe3xJ7o/s200/IMG_1039.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632301227707123042" /></a> The most interesting part of the trip to Keta was Fort Prinzenstein, a Dutch fort used during the slave trade. Ghana was one of the primary countries where Europeans captured and enslaved Ghanaians to sell overseas. This is one of the forts where they would bring the slaves before they were sent across the ocean. It was amazing to be able to hear the history retold and to stand in a room where slaves were once held. This is something I can't even put into words. The fort is only partially there now as again sea erosion has damaged the majority of it, but to hear history from the other side was pretty incredible.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKLzTacSuZdhmqGrEiiNf7mTqksjpWIzSGLTrV8SwPH58l0QttiHMj962KrMx2-LWoMgkm18JMtL0-QGbbRFtSqPAc0YJRdSSL5B-GzUtXwBW3xJgIIwwUUbNG2b2tz0oU-QJtTxydvNBR/s1600/IMG_1022.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKLzTacSuZdhmqGrEiiNf7mTqksjpWIzSGLTrV8SwPH58l0QttiHMj962KrMx2-LWoMgkm18JMtL0-QGbbRFtSqPAc0YJRdSSL5B-GzUtXwBW3xJgIIwwUUbNG2b2tz0oU-QJtTxydvNBR/s200/IMG_1022.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632301229094227202" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGraceully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9vDqBCefvGadqupffvZ39cVbIcVzCCpkFd0KGFH1zRuqDboWUdxRFck39vKFgKCtx27ulux-otpi2neyQee9QQ1rr0XFXTO5i66Ho7OMKFQ2GFpJhB5pbAXfTbqWpwb_x6MRMtzApbCZL/s1600/IMG_1054.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9vDqBCefvGadqupffvZ39cVbIcVzCCpkFd0KGFH1zRuqDboWUdxRFck39vKFgKCtx27ulux-otpi2neyQee9QQ1rr0XFXTO5i66Ho7OMKFQ2GFpJhB5pbAXfTbqWpwb_x6MRMtzApbCZL/s200/IMG_1054.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632302448929187058" /></a> <br />Yesterday, I went on an adventure with Bless to the Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary and the Wli Waterfall-both big tourist attractions in Ghana; how do I know - white people, everywhere (Bless kept calling them my friends and asking me if I knew them :) I'm pretty sure this monkey is thinking “holy crap white people!” but who knows :)<br /><br />The Monkey Sanctuary was a lot of fun, I got to feed a monkey a banana right from my hand, I mean I held it while he peeled it and then ate it!! They come right up to you but as soon as your banana is gone so are they. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsXwoqeOqK3WADh-xibVMSJ5gLyh_myrP3HncU_1svIOe4OOG07kt5wKyNPbGpGeP8fOl1rtsGkfH_fQPAEFlw_AfeDLnP1rzHnwECi5EH4EiJa1GOl9RFgGk2XDg4uEpuetoedngQihjm/s1600/IMG_1169.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsXwoqeOqK3WADh-xibVMSJ5gLyh_myrP3HncU_1svIOe4OOG07kt5wKyNPbGpGeP8fOl1rtsGkfH_fQPAEFlw_AfeDLnP1rzHnwECi5EH4EiJa1GOl9RFgGk2XDg4uEpuetoedngQihjm/s200/IMG_1169.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632307084640434802" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikI4JQ37Hca0Wc3EXGjaM2meVg6h1cVyHxVta9HRRbpqxl9WndcPDWW_8053Zwxh4xhZ9NEFAuO6qa6nSTL64O40rk90yGES11Tg3kTZgWe4GdnE-ceAVb-23rPELw6tEYaxRbNO22hmyz/s1600/IMG_1159.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikI4JQ37Hca0Wc3EXGjaM2meVg6h1cVyHxVta9HRRbpqxl9WndcPDWW_8053Zwxh4xhZ9NEFAuO6qa6nSTL64O40rk90yGES11Tg3kTZgWe4GdnE-ceAVb-23rPELw6tEYaxRbNO22hmyz/s200/IMG_1159.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632307080873960978" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr5TCL2g7thnsXumNNtOdCzNrMgfnOl86Cl5ChUo6jEFNv0B30MRVJQyFmMXiEPBnVysDfSGWOI34TpA_uhhZ7mGC2PB7zis4JeXIhwd-nOonwnLWRo9Mx7eGKqBVIl68lElKUHxlk1gDi/s1600/P1030519.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr5TCL2g7thnsXumNNtOdCzNrMgfnOl86Cl5ChUo6jEFNv0B30MRVJQyFmMXiEPBnVysDfSGWOI34TpA_uhhZ7mGC2PB7zis4JeXIhwd-nOonwnLWRo9Mx7eGKqBVIl68lElKUHxlk1gDi/s200/P1030519.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632307083638749938" /></a> After this we went to the Wli waterfall which falls from the highest mountain in Ghana. It's about an hour hike in through the rainforest. As I walked I just kept looking around among the bamboo, cocoa trees and coffee plants I never thought I<br />would actually have a chance to walk around a tropical rainforest, though I didn't se any animals I could hear many calls from birds that probably stay away from the trails. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieGJMj3gjdI1SlQgBqivdrObu2WbRqykDnT2cFJmOcxD1iCeW6oFgQhBWiB3Ar3FjRSfkZpJOaXLIjuefYu4FuVCDUNu-Fs4QbvJSx8ccfxWygENf0xxTnnWTAlWq4FB_z36ZqJl-MUCMl/s1600/IMG_1220.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieGJMj3gjdI1SlQgBqivdrObu2WbRqykDnT2cFJmOcxD1iCeW6oFgQhBWiB3Ar3FjRSfkZpJOaXLIjuefYu4FuVCDUNu-Fs4QbvJSx8ccfxWygENf0xxTnnWTAlWq4FB_z36ZqJl-MUCMl/s200/IMG_1220.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632309537030727042" /></a> and coffee plants I never thought I <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio3_4Pv58HaWA-oV7AdyuUtEumKMAEYki71Vecq9SFCftDp-76DOIzecfgoUlk9y2P0DjHR5RKenisNYOr5whgeSJQlC3ZZ3NtmWUkG2JuIlYCMFsj39yCo9pub7n1ge0h9IqxReu20KeU/s1600/IMG_1236.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio3_4Pv58HaWA-oV7AdyuUtEumKMAEYki71Vecq9SFCftDp-76DOIzecfgoUlk9y2P0DjHR5RKenisNYOr5whgeSJQlC3ZZ3NtmWUkG2JuIlYCMFsj39yCo9pub7n1ge0h9IqxReu20KeU/s200/IMG_1236.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632309530299650690" /></a>would actually have a chance to walk around a tropical rainforest, though I didn't se any animals I could<span style="font-weight:bold;"></span> The waterfall was roaring I took some photos but it was so strong everything was wet even when standing pretty far away, so we didn't stay too long especially since it started to thunder. Remember when I said rainforest...there's a reason it's called that because in an instant the sky opens up and downpours!!!! Everything was soaked, luckily the inside of the camera bag stayed relatively dry, but we were soaked and looked like we actually went swimming. I felt so bad for our driver who was going to stay back and we convinced him no too. With the rain comes mud and the little taxi cab that brought us there almost didn't take us out. We had to get a group together to push us out and then ride 4 hours home soaking wet. When we got home and were freezing Bless asked me if this how New York is...Cold? <br /><br />Even with the rain I had a great time. It was nice to see the difference is climate that Ghana has to offer and with this the different ways people live. Many houses in the northern part of the Volta Region (which is where I am) are made with mud bricks and grass type roofs also instead of palm leaves for fencing they use the bamboo because it's readily available. There is also a lot less trash maybe because there are less people in one given area. It was a nice weekend trip and I can't wait till I get to see more of Ghana in a week! Oh yea I'm at the half way point of my time in Ghana, time is flying by! Till next time – Miadogo! (till tomorrow)Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07107103619960560414noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786690790444401668.post-75577959426361299382011-07-15T10:38:00.000-07:002011-07-15T11:32:12.233-07:00More Photos<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcdFNJOaoO_0I8Uka6aj75b2OTCydv-WlmDfpmPolLEZ4ivqYUGhykq0UBe2E8O7ao7z2Bn0tQWie_wG1gEc2nXeDHmt6Z8gk_eQcs4r6tOh8ISn-VKlNZtJQEIKSVn55OYcZp-FkcAvJk/s1600/IMG_0933.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 127px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcdFNJOaoO_0I8Uka6aj75b2OTCydv-WlmDfpmPolLEZ4ivqYUGhykq0UBe2E8O7ao7z2Bn0tQWie_wG1gEc2nXeDHmt6Z8gk_eQcs4r6tOh8ISn-VKlNZtJQEIKSVn55OYcZp-FkcAvJk/s200/IMG_0933.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5629648614921499058" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7wXco4BBePN1By3YmuW742pqYqEfZdv6vVhoqmNHJCgeHTD6LjnZLW65-kl0teudeUlRtTExck9IP0UpIMLVJjl7UbWyVwcNYCxNcx86Ea9Pwayy0Pzg3kJV59yhZzZmQfuwls5vxBlVm/s1600/IMG_0875.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7wXco4BBePN1By3YmuW742pqYqEfZdv6vVhoqmNHJCgeHTD6LjnZLW65-kl0teudeUlRtTExck9IP0UpIMLVJjl7UbWyVwcNYCxNcx86Ea9Pwayy0Pzg3kJV59yhZzZmQfuwls5vxBlVm/s200/IMG_0875.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5629644363093664674" /></a><br />Here are a couple more photos<br /><br />The first is how they carry their babies around. I'm amazed every time I see a woman wrap up her baby it's only 2 maybe 3 tucks and folds.<br /><br />The other is a woman at the market,she is "filtering" dried cornBethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07107103619960560414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786690790444401668.post-37626632525543225682011-07-15T10:23:00.000-07:002011-07-15T11:24:15.639-07:00Some Photos<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilc4f5Dtz3qQ2GKzrCOZIluGZevQNB8Zc3j8J-SKsVLFXbk72VtqUyIk4rtrrymDi64d24z4cqICXfZ_SK4VrZeANWytgqbrF_oXpZ0v0WRe5AkmPpza0Lz9b5XyY6gV7VPXn2hK3bnQ4O/s1600/IMG_0779.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilc4f5Dtz3qQ2GKzrCOZIluGZevQNB8Zc3j8J-SKsVLFXbk72VtqUyIk4rtrrymDi64d24z4cqICXfZ_SK4VrZeANWytgqbrF_oXpZ0v0WRe5AkmPpza0Lz9b5XyY6gV7VPXn2hK3bnQ4O/s320/IMG_0779.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5629632914298696050" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Izs40KbKJqeJ-7umpDTsOTQd8t91oS86nrivcuJBHSm_19guUR87WjIYISElOtMZbWsnrRxTA2sn3rolEK69K3PvViKBTpkMC_QZh4WBh61WiYiELmIkJrj0KU5onBqzRv5AtPs6qYNJ/s1600/IMG_0767.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Izs40KbKJqeJ-7umpDTsOTQd8t91oS86nrivcuJBHSm_19guUR87WjIYISElOtMZbWsnrRxTA2sn3rolEK69K3PvViKBTpkMC_QZh4WBh61WiYiELmIkJrj0KU5onBqzRv5AtPs6qYNJ/s320/IMG_0767.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5629632907200241106" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd8mL4N9Mm4ezSNoszx0O3a_acF3N5nxxxjC4EAAjy4SJH4Wh1Prx1p9aX1IpYWydIcGKpfXdBoUUhUfVWPul3rfP0Et3k4hADEW0HZXjxy7zp89kS_8AsFURCPcIjq-n0vAmCmpUoJPI8/s1600/IMG_0834.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd8mL4N9Mm4ezSNoszx0O3a_acF3N5nxxxjC4EAAjy4SJH4Wh1Prx1p9aX1IpYWydIcGKpfXdBoUUhUfVWPul3rfP0Et3k4hADEW0HZXjxy7zp89kS_8AsFURCPcIjq-n0vAmCmpUoJPI8/s320/IMG_0834.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5629632917388288514" /></a><br />I figured while I can I would post photos, the connection is slow so I can't post a lot, The first 2 are from the beach near my house and the third is my host mother's nephew at their farm. Hopefully more to come soon, enjoy!Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07107103619960560414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786690790444401668.post-53524897570958242792011-07-12T12:17:00.000-07:002011-07-15T10:19:22.626-07:00Let Block Making Commence!!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4wB-N4mLFdBHuFyn9zZbuvXxLFX8EcNS87tZ_efLTNJkKIdB7lmb24SZTaEevnPY0vJfabQEUqC0MBM_FevsqW58-ZWrqi5OtJktNWZ0dKWIUq_1XVtoLVdNzwJilZNCDe5Lbcz4QWBds/s1600/P1030438.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4wB-N4mLFdBHuFyn9zZbuvXxLFX8EcNS87tZ_efLTNJkKIdB7lmb24SZTaEevnPY0vJfabQEUqC0MBM_FevsqW58-ZWrqi5OtJktNWZ0dKWIUq_1XVtoLVdNzwJilZNCDe5Lbcz4QWBds/s320/P1030438.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5629629663814660770" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgicXfUWfHoY-e2MKTirJixKezI9-Vo2WEITgLcfV2EVsL8yrT20MuEdjViFukHzKFFcLETQzudznRZmvgwtMm9fPch6we_HbwRkY1Cdjgq1XCaFbk4fKy5YGHT9ctXIhY7rCyJXvPgf_EI/s1600/P1030497.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgicXfUWfHoY-e2MKTirJixKezI9-Vo2WEITgLcfV2EVsL8yrT20MuEdjViFukHzKFFcLETQzudznRZmvgwtMm9fPch6we_HbwRkY1Cdjgq1XCaFbk4fKy5YGHT9ctXIhY7rCyJXvPgf_EI/s320/P1030497.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5629629671644724770" /></a><br />I have begun work on the orphanage...sort of...yesterday I went to the site and we moved the already dried blocks so we would have space to make more blocks. We must have moved about 300 blocks 35lbs blocks into piles, needless to say I was a bit sore today. We only worked for a couple hours, which at first I was disappointed in but this morning my arms an back were thankful. Since I was done at the site by noon I went back to the orphanage to play with the babies some more. When I walked in my little buddy Prince looked at me smiled and put his arms up to be held, I was glad I made good use of my time and went over. <br /><br />Today we started making blocks, finally. We used 2 bags of cement mixed with sand and put the mixture into a mold to make the blocks. We made about 35-40 and tomorrow when ten more bags of cement are delivered we will work all day starting at 6:30am so it won't be too hot. The goal is to make about 300-400 blocks once Kwaku and I found a rhythm it goes pretty fast so I think if we work all day the rest of the week we should be fine. Next Wednesday the other group from America comes so we want to be ready to build the walls of the school. <br /><br />When I signed up to do a construction project I knew I would have to prove myself. Even when I volunteer in the US I have to spend at least one day proving I can lift more than 10 pounds, use power tools, and do minor construction projects. I figured I would have to work twice as hard here as the culture is very different and women don't work on a construction site. At first Kwaku the site manager didn't let me do a lot but I just watched what he did and the followed suit I moved bricks with him and then took the shovel from the pile to mix and mold the cement, and he couldn't argue. Today when we were done he looked at me and said, "you hard worker, I like this." Point proven - time to get things done for Africa!<br /><br />This weekend Bless and I are going to Howay, to see the monkey sanctuary and a big waterfall, it will be good to travel a bit and see other parts of Ghana, I just hope it doesn't rain! I also hope to get to an actual computer soon so I can upload some photos for all of you to see. I haven't been able to take too many "around town" as most people don't want any photos and if they allow it they want money except for children who want me to take hundreds of photos of them :) Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07107103619960560414noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786690790444401668.post-5903212909558387092011-07-08T12:35:00.000-07:002011-09-26T13:47:49.664-07:00Good Shepherd's Happy Children's Home Orphanage<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijO7rKOJ6XLaL7Lbe-iw1gQ5iWXPiH_TcoAokKqUVDxzGrxplAllNLqyyv8-9FsSXUEE6TJ7FrYkzKwXlfWaJG93hyphenhyphenwb_-ek7Tpr6ugjyugs3RyVJJpz58e1H19vnW52tSmY9temXcZ6tY/s1600/IMG_0743.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijO7rKOJ6XLaL7Lbe-iw1gQ5iWXPiH_TcoAokKqUVDxzGrxplAllNLqyyv8-9FsSXUEE6TJ7FrYkzKwXlfWaJG93hyphenhyphenwb_-ek7Tpr6ugjyugs3RyVJJpz58e1H19vnW52tSmY9temXcZ6tY/s320/IMG_0743.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5629626752723820802" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisrSoyDbXtTdy27Gam-DLDVKzCJUCbwGolxttGS0YKxO5AFXe1-XWaQcp9VGr05groPwniWqeABFbrvGwF69uIkLu73tSHfCas7cGoWv7H7MAit5bGNQ4K9EQlejwz_GSE0hEHrpIS8Cck/s1600/P1030332.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisrSoyDbXtTdy27Gam-DLDVKzCJUCbwGolxttGS0YKxO5AFXe1-XWaQcp9VGr05groPwniWqeABFbrvGwF69uIkLu73tSHfCas7cGoWv7H7MAit5bGNQ4K9EQlejwz_GSE0hEHrpIS8Cck/s320/P1030332.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5629626754879501282" /></a> Yesterday was my last volunteer day at the orphanage. Over the last few days I've become very attached to the babies, especially Prince because he is a little bit of a bad boy, but he's also full of love and just wants to be held and snuggled. It's so sad to think that all three of them were just left; Prince was found on the beach, Agogo on the side of the road in a plastic bag and Princess on a rooftop. It's a miracle that they are alive and healthy. They are very lucky to have Madame Ester who cares a great deal for them. <br /><br />Yesterday none of them would sleep at the same time and I swear we were always doing a diaper change, which is normal but hard as they use cloth diapers because the orphanage can't afford to buy throw away diapers like we use in the United States. The cloth diaper system wouldn't be so bad if they had enough for multiple changing’s. There are only 6 cloth diapers and 3 babies, so as soon as you change them you have to do wash (by hand) and hang the diapers to dry. As soon as the unused diapers are dry it's time to change someone else again, so sometime next week I'm going to find a place to buy both types of diapers so they can at least use the throw away diapers at night and give Ester a little break in the morning. <br /><br />I was able to meet the pastor from the church that runs the orphanage, Pastor Christen. He came by to play with the babies because he had a meeting with a gentleman that he hopes will help fund the new building and grounds for the orphanage. They have 4 acres of land near the current orphanage that they would like to build a new facility on so that they can take in more children and have a better school area. Currently, Good Shepherd serves 42 children but would like to have the space and staff to serve 100. The classroom area is outside on a concrete slab, which luckily enough has a roof. The children are broken up into four or five levels (not ages, but education level) they each have a corner of the concrete slab where they meet for lessons, and there is not much room for them to play. The new facility will have an enclosed school with separate classrooms and a computer center. The dorms will have housing for 100 students, staff and a volunteer house so people can come and stay at the orphanage when they volunteer. They also have plans for a football (soccer) field and a volleyball court so the students can have room to run. <br /><br />One thing I have learned that in Africa they don't raise money and then build, they build what they can as they raise the money. Sometimes it takes many, many years for things to be completed because organizations run out of money. As I traveled from Accra, when I first arrived, I noticed many unfinished buildings along the way and this is why. This orphanage is funded primarily from a Baptist church in Alabama. Pastor Christen hopes he can raise the funds to finish by the end of 2012. This has also been the case with the orphanage that I will begin working on tomorrow. They started building in 2009 and they hope be done by the end of this year but they have a ways to go and they can only work when they have funds and volunteers. <br /><br />Tomorrow I buy 50 bags of concrete and it will cost about $1,400 US Dollars, once that runs out the work will stop until more volunteers come. The reason picked this organization is because about 1/2 of the $1400 is from my program fee which goes directly to this project many other organizations only give a small percentage to the actual project and the rest is administrative. I am learning a lot here and I am so happy to be experiencing all that I am, including having an entire fish put on my dinner plate tonight, that's right head to tail all bones included!!!!! <br /><br />For a little more info on the foundation that supports this orphanage: <br />http://www.jessebrooksfoundation.org/index.php <br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKT8onyuvu1_GbV2R3kvYNuI_Zp0fT-Ln8baf827_reOQWOwCwBxZ2A7CKS3VGbqf_O9EvGu4biHywRSJuCnKiCUi36ecr-I-VB9mLH5JMNZoN_9WJnYvkCWJEoOrGndHUMSjqawWiu3o6/s1600/P1030457.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 183px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKT8onyuvu1_GbV2R3kvYNuI_Zp0fT-Ln8baf827_reOQWOwCwBxZ2A7CKS3VGbqf_O9EvGu4biHywRSJuCnKiCUi36ecr-I-VB9mLH5JMNZoN_9WJnYvkCWJEoOrGndHUMSjqawWiu3o6/s200/P1030457.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632283817536386546" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT1UWowiBQZKLFobcHFR17gmKFBFT637KlVrbg1c-EPalOxrXFrCZKvvHG719J1KDjY7_uPvibpRJMmQopa3GvzyIfJN28qEMeDA6HEZ56esMgEgW5Kc-BW0ho66xwnYu3EQtgietUXyxL/s1600/P1030456.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT1UWowiBQZKLFobcHFR17gmKFBFT637KlVrbg1c-EPalOxrXFrCZKvvHG719J1KDjY7_uPvibpRJMmQopa3GvzyIfJN28qEMeDA6HEZ56esMgEgW5Kc-BW0ho66xwnYu3EQtgietUXyxL/s200/P1030456.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632283821357351346" /></a>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07107103619960560414noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5786690790444401668.post-60162073404101089512011-07-05T12:46:00.001-07:002011-09-26T12:55:14.420-07:00The Sights and Sounds of Denu/Alfao<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs5ZFU-8lOqs73S69HnAdmeZYLE87xPHI8hJ346zgje87u-nGyUNlzhCIufpSX5ovwNF-AaAXAQtuQyq748UUjWcDkaQbyZd9C85igmzpoyyJJ1chjU5qBF4bZERx8OkZ-N_Qbvw5qYd1D/s1600/IMG_0900.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs5ZFU-8lOqs73S69HnAdmeZYLE87xPHI8hJ346zgje87u-nGyUNlzhCIufpSX5ovwNF-AaAXAQtuQyq748UUjWcDkaQbyZd9C85igmzpoyyJJ1chjU5qBF4bZERx8OkZ-N_Qbvw5qYd1D/s320/IMG_0900.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5629630951308837410" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghgFwXHDAM2vbD93KRaaH4TTEEZO17qmfMpI480DtS4BWCkJnzxqVrBM5pYGEMrTe1Y7PAaRP6Pk-XkFh7zsznEfouvq28NSAoGucU5tyfj8nDKSf42PLFMjpRWU_VV9eOub6bJr-qcCWr/s1600/IMG_0937.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 220px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghgFwXHDAM2vbD93KRaaH4TTEEZO17qmfMpI480DtS4BWCkJnzxqVrBM5pYGEMrTe1Y7PAaRP6Pk-XkFh7zsznEfouvq28NSAoGucU5tyfj8nDKSf42PLFMjpRWU_VV9eOub6bJr-qcCWr/s320/IMG_0937.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5629630949645198386" /></a><br />Now that I've had a couple of days here, and the whirlwind part is over, I've really started looking around especially since my last 3 days I have spent a lot of time in taxis going back an forth from Denu to Aflao. <br /><br />As I mentioned in the intro I am near the ocean so everything is sand and dirt, it's red sand so it looks a lot like Sedona, AZ. I feel like I am always covered in it, between the sunscreen and bug spray it just stick to everything. It is very dusty here except when it rains and then it's very muddy. Madame Ester, from the orphanage, explained that when they built Alfao they just started building with no plan. This means there is no type of drainage so when it rains it floods, everything closes and the power goes out. Parts of Alfao have been without power for 4 days, including the orphanage. I also got to experience “road construction” today, which means a big dump truck drops off a load of dirt and the a bulldozer spreads it and that's it. Which is why the cars in Ghana are so beat up and when they break done they are just left on the side or in the middle of the road. <br /><br />I have also started reading the names of all the shops as I walk or ride around. Ghana is a very religious country so almost every shop name includes something religious in the title. Examples: Sweet Jesus Hair Braiding and Weaves, Jesus Has Done It Dresses, God is Good Hardware, and The Wise Men Banking and Wire Transfers.<br /><br />The sad thing about this area is the garbage. There are mini "dumps" everywhere and littering is normal. Even going to bathroom on the side of road is a normal and regular occurrence. There are signs up that look new trying to educate the community but it will take a while. <br /> <br /><br />Ok back to being positive, Bless and I went to the market today that was coolest thing I've seen so far. It makes all US farmers markets look pathetic. They had everything: fruits, veggies, fish, nuts, chickens and goats (yes alive and yes for sale as food not pets) candy, drinks, house hold items, fabrics, the list could go on forever. We bought roasted peanuts, which were amazing probably because they were not a hybrid or processed. For those of you who were worried about me not having peanut butter I had a candy (ground nut cake) that taste just like it only hard. We also bought veggies and fruit to eat tonight (don't worry fruit with skin that has to be peeled plus it will washed it is boiled water.) Speaking of water the purified water comes in bags and not bottles which is very interesting, they kind of look like sandwich bags and are very inexpensive. <br /><br />Lastly the coolest thing I've done in Ghana thus far is drink coconut water straight from the coconut and eating the coconut meat. Bless used a crazy sword to open the coconut right up with no problem - seriously coconut in one hand sword in the other two swings and done! <br /><br />The next two days I will be at the orphanage playing with the babies then on Friday I will be meeting with the construction manager and purchasing the cement so that Monday I can begin making bricks. Hopefully, there will be a little traveling this weekend. I'll keep you posted. Till next time!Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07107103619960560414noreply@blogger.com1