PROJECT: Media coverage

We wrote an article about our experience for a journal about development and the nonprofit sector - Slogopis. It's only in slovenian: http://www.sloga-platform.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Slogopis-11.pdf

PROJECT: Presentation

LIVING: Busua - Accra

PROJECT: Butre (Video)

PROJECT: Reading Club (video)

PROJECT: Child sponsorship

Skozi objave sva se pogosto dotaknila težav izobraževalnega sistema v regiji Ahanta West. Izobrazbena raven je tu še vedno zelo nizka - kar sedem od desetih otrok v višjih razredih osnovne šole ne zna dobro brati in pisati. Zaradi odročnosti ravnatelji zelo težko privabijo učitelje, ki povečini ostanejo za leto, dve, potem pa poiščejo boljšo priložnost. Izobraževanje, tudi osnovno, še zdaleč ni zastonj. Šolnine predstavljajo za družine, ki se ukvarjajo predvsem s poljedeljstvom in ribarjenjem, velik strošek. Kako prav pride vsakršna pomoč -  najsibo bo to pomoč prostovoljcev, bralne urice ali pomoč v obliki zvezkov, knjig, ter ostalih šolskih potrebščin - sva začela globlje dojemati, ko se je projekt nagibal h koncu, ko sva že dodobra spoznala šolski sistem, učitelje, učence. Angažiranost ter entuzijazem nekaterih ravnateljev ter učiteljev, ki sva jih imela tri mesece čast spoznavati, je izjemna. Med njimi, kljub težkim razmeram, še zdaleč ni apatije.  Svojega poslanstva nikakor ne jemljejo le kot službo, temveč želijo v teh spregledanih, obrobnih vaseh puščati pečat, vnašati spremembe. Na drugi strani so otroci, z minimalnimi možnostmi. Ne omenjam privič, da je v teh razmerah že srednješolska izobrazba dosežek, kaj šele univerzitetna. Le-ta predstavlja skorajda nepredstavljiv cilj. Ni bilo enostavno sprejeti misli, da se bo večina otrok, ki sva jih poučevala, kljub inteligenci in marljivosti, odpovedala svojim željam, načrtom. Zdaj še sanjajo, se ob tem pridno učijo, a le redki starši si bodo lahko privoščili srednješolca. 

S ciljem pomagati posameznim otrokom dokončati izobraževanje, je društvo Humanitas leta 2001 zagnalo projekt botrstva. Poudarjajo, da pri tem programu ne gre za brezpogojno in nenamensko pomoč v obliki dajanja denarja ali materialne pomoči brez nadzora in selekcije, temveč za pomoč pri dvigovanju osnovnega standarda otrok ter predvsem pri razvijanju njihovega izobraževanja. Z mesečnim prispevkom boter krije šolnino, priskrbi šolske potrebščine, po potrebi zdravila, mize za učenje, nujna oblačila. 

Zgolj majhen del najinih otrok ima botre. Kako jih prepoznate? Tisti z botri imajo čevlje, imajo torbo, svinčnik, zvezek. V začetku sva mislila da ti otroci prihajajo iz ekonomsko bolje stoječih družin. Ob Ebenezerjevem obisku ob koncu projekta, ko smo imeli zaključne ure po šolah, pa sva bila kar osupla. "Oooo, vidita, to so čevlji, ki jih je fant dobil preko programa botrstva nekaj let nazaj", se je Ebenezer prešerno nasmejal ob pogledu na enega od otrok. Podobno ob pogledu na majce, torbe. Otroci z botri so  tisti, ki bodo obiskovati tudi srednjo šolo - program namreč velja do zaključka le-te. 

O različnih programih botrstva sva že pred Gano veliko slišala. V času krize smo prišli celo do situacije, ko botre potrebujejo tudi slovenski otroci. Sama sem sicer pristaš misli, da svet rešuj najprej na svoji ulici, pa vendar mi izkušnje ter zgodbe, ki sem jih v teh mesecih spoznala, narekujejo, da naprošam tudi za otroke, ki niso del moje ulice. Vsi, ki želite s približno dvajsetimi evri na mesec podpirati katerega od otrok, se povežite z društvom Humanitas: http://www.humanitas.si/?subpageid=23. Ne moremo sicer pomagati vsem, lahko pa vsak pomaga nekomu.

Sonja

PROJECT: Reflection, Fourth part

MV was a problem child in the beginning. Some kids are mischievous by nature in the best possible way and MV was one of these. She loved action and loved causing a ruckus. It is unfortunately true that I spent a disproportionate time with the children who caused problems, and eventually Sonja and I had to devote quite a bit of time to MV. It turned out that she had just been bored, after we gave her some attention she became one of our best students, and especially loved working with Sonja.

A more difficult case was X. X was one of the older students, but somewhere along the line something must of happened to make her overly afraid of being wrong. She never wanted to attempt things; many of the other students had this problem, but not to such a degree as X did. Instead of correcting her own attempts during our writing exercises she would rip out a page from her book and write them all again. In our classes, where most children write extra small to conserve space, tearing out a page is an extreme action. She had little confidence in her own abilities, and would not read unless I stood by her, validating her every pronunciation, most of which were correct or very nearly correct anyway. I hope we were able to give her some confidence in her abilities.

N. was unusually quite and studious. Among our students the quiet personality type was very rare only 4 or 5 of the bunch would sit quietly and read for the entire class without taking some sort of break or nap on occasion. N. also stood out as the only student who liked the Winnie the Pooh books. Winnie the Pooh is a fixture of American culture (in which this particular brand has been over-commercialized with an abandon reserved for few others). Because of this I was very surprised by the lack of interest in the Winnie the Pooh books, N. was the only student who liked them. He would sit and sound out the words and read, I mostly left him alone only checking up on him every so often, or answering his questions about the pronunciation of specific words. He was already at the point where my involvement would have probably just hindered him, he had already learned how to learn and he needed the book more then he needed me. In addition, and what I found extremely interesting, was that N. was not among the best students in the class, at least in the beginning and certainly not when he started reading the Winnie the Pooh books. Although it is difficult to say with certainty, I believe that N. was the student who improved the most during our time here.

Despite the occasional problem the enthusiasm the children brought to reading was incredible. Given that we taught at the end of the day I found it hard to believe they would be able to last an additional hour and a half. But usually they did without a problem. Especially when we started writing exercises as well. Some students didn't want to stop reading at the end of class and I basically had to pull the books away from them (even on the last day, right before vacation).

As mentioned in previous posts we began writing exercises around the middle of our volunteer-ship. I wish we had started it sooner, but I didn't because I thought that children of such varying levels couldn't benefit from the same drills. But I was wrong, even the children who didn't understand the drills probably gained something from copying them down. We mostly had the children unscramble sentences. These drills proved to be a good difficulty level for most of the children in the class.

I felt blessed to be able to have this experience. It deepened my respect and gratefulness in so many ways. I encourage everyone with the time and the will to take on such a project, as is usual in such situations, you get more then you give.

//Tomaz

(V četrtem delu refleksij nadaljujem s ohlapnim pregledom najinega dela ter situacij s katerimi sva se soočala. V prejšnjih delih ste že spoznali nekaj profilov najinih učencev, zadnji del pri tem ne bo izjemaJ)

MV je zelo nagajiv otrok (v najboljšem smislu besedeJ). Rada ima dogajanje, akcijo, rada kakšno ušpiči. Prišel je čas, ko sva ji, ravno zaradi njenih nagajivih prigod, posvetila več časa. Presenetljivo - hitro se je izkazalo, da je želela le pritegniti najino pozornost, saj je po tistem postala ena najinih najboljših učenk.

Drugačna, bolj kompleksna situacija je bila z X, eno od najinih najstarejših učenk. Je zelo nesamozavestna, ima izredno malo zaupanja v svoje sposobnosti in znanje, kar je otežilo njeno vključevanje in sodelovanje v skupini. Bila je tiha, v ozadju, vsako sodelovanje in izpostavljanje je predstavljalo zanjo velik stres. Že ob najmanjši napaki je bil pri njej opazen slab občutek in sram. Upava, da sva s svojo vzpodbudno držo vsaj malo omilila njeno težavo. Upava tudi, da bo kateri od prihodnjih učiteljev ali dolgoročnih prostovoljcev zaznal njeno blokado in ji jo pomagal preiti, ter razvijati njene številne talente.  

N. je zelo tih in študijozen. Med tamkajšnjimi učenci je tak značaj bolj izjema kot pravilo. Bral je skozi celotna srečanja, brez premora. Sedel je, ter mirno, počasi, glasno bral. Razen tega, da sem ga vsake toliko pogledal, mu morda pomagal s katero od besed, N. ni potreboval veliko pomoči. Bil je že na tisti stopnji, ko bi bilo moje vmešavanje kvečjemu moteče. Bolj kot mene je potreboval knjige. Kljub študijoznemu značaju, N. ni bil med najboljšimi učenci v skupini, vsaj v začetku ne. Zdi se mi, čeprav seveda ni mogoče trditi z gotovostjo, da je N. v času najinega projekta najbolj napredoval.

Ob misli na entuzijazem, s katerim so se učenci vsako uro znova lotevali branja, sem ganjen. Zdi se mi prav neverjetno, posebej zato, ker so bile najine ure ob koncu šolskega dne, otroci pa utrujeni. Posebej začuden sem bil vsakič ob zaključku naših srečanj,  ko sem pričakoval, da bodo veseli odvrgli knjižice ter oddrveli domov, a je začuda peščica učencev vedno znova ostala v klopeh in brala. Tudi ko sva že pospravila učilnico in svoje torbe, so oni še kar sedeli in skušali izkoristiti zadnje “bralne” minute.

Od zaključka najine odprave mineva že mesec dni. Izjemno počaščen in vesel sem, da sem imel priložnost pridobiti to dragoceno življenjsko izkušnjo, ki je v številnih ozirih poglobila moje spoštovanje in hvaležnost. Vsakega od vas, ki vas privlači misel na podobno izkušnjo, vzpodbujam – ne odlašajte, bodite pogumni in se priključite kateremu od številnih podobnih projektov. Prejeli boste toliko več kot boste podarili!

PROJECT: Reflection, Third part

Due to the differences in ability among our students I felt that doing exercises [as a class] would be unfeasible (how could it benefit both E. and C. [from part 1] to do the same drill?), so early on we started instructing the class to split into individual reading groups, and had each group of three read books. Luckily the children enjoyed reading the same books over and over again (otherwise we wouldn't have had enough books in the beginning), which was great practice for them anyway. As I became more confident of their reading ability I added harder books until half of the class could spend time reading individually and half the class could read in groups of two. I also made an attempt to add a much harder book [one with no pictures in it], I tried to get E. to read it, but he lost interest. No one else ever wanted to take it either.

Teachers are lacking in the villages of Butre and Azani, class sizes are around twice the size of what we are used to in the west. It is difficult to induce teachers to stay in these outlying communities. Over the last 3 year period only one teacher has stayed in Butre, in Azani the situation is also difficult. Teaching is also done with the absence of textbooks (what I say applies to the primary-level in Butre and Azani, Sonja and I briefly toured some of the other schools in the region and the same seems to hold there as well).

Due to the absence of textbooks, teachers will copy part of a text to the board and then the students will copy it down into their notebooks and study it. They also do exercises just like we do in the west. It is a difficult system for both the teachers and the students.

In these difficult circumstances EHT and Humanitas assist the teachers and students in three ways: through the foster parent program, through the library, and through the volunteers. The goal is to support children through primary and secondary school to increase the chance that the children will go to college.

When we first came to Africa everything seemed so chaotic to me, from the streets of Accra to the development patterns of villages, to the free market anarchy that I suppose reigns in other African countries even more completely then it does in Ghana which is relatively rich. In Africa things seem to be more about relationships then about goals. Scheduling is impractical for a wide variety of reasons, but as a result people are much more flexible. Once, in the beginning, when I arrived to Butre late ER. asked me if she should go call the children back. I was still thinking in a western context so I thought: that's not going to work, what child would come back to school? How long would it take ER. to visit all the children. But later I learned that it was quite ordinary for such things to happen and that rounding up the children was quite efficient (one child gets two children, two children get four children, four children get eight children etc.). You don't really need to be so precise if you have a system like this, which relies completely on people. In 15 minutes many of them could already be reading. Everything is local here. Everyone walks. Everyone talks to their neighbors. It's different, you must be flexible and learn to sit quietly in the shade so you don't sweat too much and get too tired as you wait for your students to collect.

//Tomaz

Zaradi velikih razlik v znanju učencev se skupinske vaje niso izkazale za dovolj efektivne. Težko si je predstavljati, da bi enaka vaja učinkovala tako na E. kot na C. (glej First part). Zato sva kaj hitro učence razdelila na bralne skupinice po tri. Začeli smo z skromnim izborom otroških knjižic s temami iz afriške kulture. K sreči se niso naveličali branja enih in istih knjižic, kar je bila v vsakem primeru dobra vaja za njih. Sčasoma sva dodajala nove, težje knjižice, ki so omogočile polovici skupine individualno branje, ostali polovici pa branje v manjši skupinici po dva. Proti koncu najinega programa sem poskušal tudi s precej težjo knjigo, brez ilustracij. E. jo je sicer vzel v roke, a ga ni dovolj pritegnila da bi jo dokončal.

Tako v Azaniju kot v Butrah je velik manjk učiteljev, razredi so (pre)polni, v vsakem je približno dvojno število učencev glede na zahodne standarde. V odročnih vasicah, kot sta Butre in Azani, je učitelje težko privabiti, predvsem pa težko zadržati. Večinoma prihajajo za leto, dve, potem pa poiščejo boljšo priložnost drugje. Odročnost in neperspektivnost pa nista edini težavi s katerima se soočajo. Skupaj z večino ganskih učiteljev imajo izjemno omejene možnosti učnih metod, saj je tabla edini učni pripomoček, ki jim je na voljo. Učenci nimajo učbenikov, tako snov učitelji pišejo kar na tablo, otroci pa jo prepisujejo v zvezke.

V teh težkih razmerah je za otroke že srednješolska izobrazba dosežek, univerzitetna izobrazba pa skorajda nepredstavljiv cilj. Čim večje število teh otrok skušata Ebenezerjeva organizacija EHTN in slovensko društvo Humanitas pripeljati do univerze. Skozi osnovno in srednjo šolo jim nudita podporo preko treh programov: programa botrstva, knjižnjičnega projekta ter pomoči prostovoljcev.

Prvi vtis Afrike je bil kaotičnost. Kaos vsepovsod. Od ulic v Accri, organiziranosti (oz neorganiziranosti) vasi, do anarhije ekonomskega sistema prostega trga, ki v afriških državah dominira. Posledica kaotičnosti in neoprijemljivosti sistema je izjemna fleksibilnost ljudi, na kar sva se prav tako morala privajati. V začetnih tednih se je primerilo, da sva zamudila v Butre. Šolsko dvorišče je bilo prazno, pričakala naju je ena od učenk. Hitro se je ponudila, da pokliče ostale. Takrat sem razmišljal še “zahodno” in se mi je zdelo nerealno, da bi učenci, ko so enkrat že doma, prišli nazaj. Takrat še nisem razumel, da to za njih ni nič nenavadnega, in da, presenetljivo, tak način zelo dobro funkcionira.

Sčasoma sva tudi midva opuščala svoje zahodne navade in postala bolj fleksibilna. Ko sva čakala in čakala učence, sva mirno, neobremenjeno, v tišini sedela v senci in potrpežljivo čakala začetek šolske ure.

PROJECT: Reflection, Second part

E. was already among the most talented students in our class when we came. He also seemed to hold a somewhat privileged position vis-a-vis his peers. In some way that was impossible for me to pin down he was in-charge. During our first day of class we played some simple games with the children to assess their knowledge; first we asked them to count upwards, and stopped them around thirty, then we went over directions (asking them to point left, right, up, down etc): a few had problems, after this we started to test knowledge of articles of clothing, opposites, building materials, animals etc. It quickly became apparent that the knowledge of English of various students differed widely (see some of our beginning posts for more details). The less knowledgeable students more or less followed the lead of E. Our first class was held in one of the outdoor classrooms in Azani (all the classrooms in Butre are indoor). Teaching outdoors was our preference in the beginning; a gentle breeze cooled us as we stood in the shade and there was plenty of light, but we couldn't stay outside for long.

Naturally, many children wanted to be included who weren't in the program and this led to chaos after the teachers who were helping us left for the day. This is why teaching out-of-doors proved impractical. During the classes we held during the strike we taught out-of-doors, but it was a major problem getting the other children to leave and go home.

Children who knew how to read a little bit benefited the most from our program, and happily this included most of the children. The progress we saw was edifying, a few children improved drastically.

The children are so happy to read. Most schools in the west have a "school library", a small room stocked with books. Nothing similar exists here and this is unfortunate.

All of the parents of the children are motivated to send their children to school (even government schools charge tuition and education is not compulsory): some through a genuine desire to better the lives of their children, some are motivated by social pressure. Nevertheless, sending their children to school is an enormous sacrifice for most of them. Consider this: 10 Liters of Sashi water costs 70 Euro Cents, but most of the children do not drink sashi water but instead drink water from streams or wells. At our final meeting the children were just as happy to receive the sashi waters we used to keep the coca-cola cold, as they were to receive the coca-cola itself. Most of their parents don't know how to read, few know English. They don't have many books at home.

This partially explains why they are so happy to read books, but it is at most contributory to the main cause. The main cause is that they are happy, intelligent and motivated children who are curious and positive and love good stories, just like people everywhere.

--Tomaž

Prvi dan pouka sva pričela s preprosto igro osnov besedišča – začeli smo s štetjem, nadaljevali s smermi neba (kazali smo levo, desno, gor, dol itd.), z naštevanjem oblačil, nasprotij, gradbenih materialov, živali ipd. Tako sva vsaj približno dobila občutek na kateri stopnji je znanje angleščine najinih učencev. Hitro sva opazila da so med njimi velike razlike. E. je bil eden do tistih, ki so zelo izstopali. Tako glede stopnje znanja, kot tudi glede pozicije v razredu. Bil je vodilni glas v skupinskih utrjevanjih in ponavljanjih, ki so mu ostali sledli. Za E.-ja so bile bralne urice zelo poučne, a ugotavljava, da so od najinega pouka največ, še več kot E., odnesli učenci, ki so pred najinim prihodom brali solidno. Veseli naju, da to skupino predstavlja večina. 

Nasploh je v obeh krajih, tako v Azaniju kot v Butrah, vladal velik entuzijazem glede branja. V Gani namreč ne obstaja nič takega kot “šolske knjižnjice”, ki so v zahodnih državah nekakšen standard. Otroci tudi doma nimajo knjig, večina njihovih staršev ne zna brati, le izjeme znajo angleško (ki je v Gani uradni jezik).

Čeprav v Gani šola še zdaleč ni zastonj, starši podpirajo izobraževanje svojih otrok, pa najsibo to zaradi želje po boljšem življenju, ali zgolj zaradi družbenega pritiska. Šolnine predstavljajo za družine velik strošek. Za boljšo predstavo: čeprav 10 litrov sashi vode stane (le)70 centov, večina otrok pije vodo iz vaških vodnjakov. Ob zaključnem srečanju niso bili nič manj veseli hladnih sashi vod, s katermi sva hladila cocacole, kot samih cocacol.

To delno razloži navdušenje nad knjigami, a je v resnici le dodatek k središčnemu razlogu – da so ti otroci veseli, inteligentni, motivirani, radovedni in pozitivni, ter da imajo, kot njihovi vrstniki drugod po svetu, radi zanimive zgodbe.  

LIVING: Aunt Elizabeth

If there is one thing Elizabeth is not its average. That's clear right from the first time you meet her. Usually you find her infront of her pharmacy - one of her life-projects. You find her sitting on a blue plastic chair, maybe she is talking to her neighbors as they pass by: dynamic and cheerful. Maybe she just started dining on some fufu or perhaps she is searching for the right medicine for a sick child, a family member from Busua who came to her shop with one or two cedis (Ghanian money). If she's not in the pharmacy then she might be on her terrace, setting an elegant breakfast for a few foreign backpackers or in the kitchen preparing crepes; avocado filled, with fried bannanas on the side. Or maybe she is at a meeting in Agona. On Sunday afternoons she preaches her living faith at the Church she helped build, nestled among the other houses at the foot of a hill. Wherever you meet her you recieve an warm, open, authentic welcome; lukewarmness and half-heartedness are permenantly absent. You can't remain an acquaintance for long, before you know it a trusting friendship is built.

Yes, aunt Elizabeth is definitely not average. For me, she represents the prototype of the instinctual, archaic, and timeless women as described by Clarissa Pinkola Estes in the cult classic Women Who Run With Wolves. Elizabeth has within her the primal strengths of women - strong, curious, tough, brave with a playful spirit. During our time in Busua she became a sort of Ghanian grandmother to us.

As one of the rare ambassadors and boosters of education in Busua she played a crucial role in convincing Ebenezer to build a library in Busua and helped him to get his program started. Before the library was built volunteers stayed with her. The beginning wasn't simple, and her help and encouragement within the community really helped. Even now, after the project has become well accepted in Busua, Elizabeth still welcomes new groups of volunteers and gives them help and advice.

The story of how she recieved her education begins when she was a little girl. It was, and is, especially difficult to motivate children who live around the coast to go to school. Although the situation is better now, when she was a little girl absolutely no one wanted to go to school. The teachers came to the Chief for help. After nothing else seemed to work the Chief enlisted the help of several of the men in the village. They go from house to house and, in one way or another, take the children to school; Aunt Elizabeth was also forced to go to school in this manner. Today, she says with a smile, she's very thankful to the Chief.

Her story is rich. She has accumulated many memories since those early days in Busua, some of them also fill the pages of her photo albums. Black and white photographs of a pretty, young ghanan women, pictures of friends and family, of her as a nurse, of her with the first volunteers, later as a pharmacist, and last of all as a Charismatic minister.

It seems that all we could write about her wouldn't be enough, so I borrow the words of Novica Novakovic:

"...I have a very big heart, almost as big as the miner who descends amidst the coal, with a wide smile and white teeth, even though he never knows if his bright face will drink the sun after the shift-change; like a house servant, who washes, irons and cleans the floor and windows with an innoccent song; like a fisher on Dalmatian island, who slowly and deliberately inspects and repairs his hole-filled netting and then sets to sea; like a farmer, who cautiously plows his field and fights--once with the drought, next with the flood--helpless, but determined and proud...

I have a heart almost as big, and in it enough room for all people, from the east and the west, the North and the South, and enough room for jazz and blues."

 Sonja

Če kaj teta Elizabeta ni, prav gotovo ni povprečna. To je jasno že ob prvem stiku z njo. Ponavadi jo najdeš pred lekarno - enem od njenih mnogih življenjskih projektov. Sedi na modrem plastičnem stolu, se morda pomenkuje z mimoidočimi sovaščani. Dinamično, nasmejano. Morda ravno obeduje fufu ali išče primerno zdravilo za obolelega družinskega člana busujskega otroka, ki se je, s CD-jem (ganska valuta) ali dvema, zatekel v njeno lekarno. Če ni v lekarni je morda na terasi, kjer z vso skrbnostjo lično pogrinja mizo ter popotnikom pripravlja palačinke. Avokadove, z ocvrtimi bananam. Morda je na sestanku v Agoni. Ob nedeljskih dopoldnevih pričuje svojo duhovno prebujenost skozi poslanstvo pastorke v eni od busujskih cerkva. Kjerkoli že jo srečaš, si deležen odprtega, pristnega sprejema, zaznaš da izstopa, da mlačnost in polovičarstvo pač nista v njeni domeni. Zdi se, da z njo ne moreš ostati zgolj znanec, ne da bi se zavedal z njo zgradiš zaupljiv prijateljski odnos. 

Da, teta Elizabeta nikakor ni povprečna. Zame predstavlja prototip instinktivne, arhaične, z brezčasno vednostjo obogatene ženske, ki jo je v kultni knjigi Ženske ki tečejo z volkovi pronicljivo ilustrirala Clarissa Pinkola Estes. Elizabeta je ena od žlahtnih »pražensk« - močna, radovedna, vzdržljiva, povezovalna, pogumna, igrivega duha. V času najinega bivanja v Busui, je postala najina nekakšna nadomestna ganska babica.

Kot ena redkih busujskih ambasadork izobraževanja je igrala pomembno vlogo v začetnem obdobju knjižničnega projekta. Začetki niso bili preprosti, zato je Ebenezerju njeno aktiviranje znotraj lokalne skupnosti zelo pomagalo. Tudi zdaj, ko v skupnosti okoli projekta ni več dileme, Elizabeta odprtih rok sprejema nove skupine prostovoljcev in jim ob morebitnih težavah priskoči na pomoč.

Pripoved o svojem izobraževanju je pričnela z anegdoto o takratnem Chiefu. Ker je v obmorskih vasicah, tudi Busui, otroke izjemno težko motivirati k obiskovanju šole, se je Chief tega izziva lotil na nekoliko nenavaden način – po hišah je poslal nekaj starejših fantov, ki so otroke (tudi Elizabeto) »zlepa ali zgrda«  odvedli v šolo.  Danes se Chiefovim strogim prijemom s hvaležnostjo nasmeje. 

Njena zgodba je bogata, kot se za osebo njenega kalibra tudi spodobi. Od časa Chiefovih represalij do danes se je nabralo premnogo spominov, nekateri od njih polnijo tudi strani albuma. Črnobela fotografija mlade ganske lepotice, fotografije prijateljev, Elizabete kot medicinske sestre, gostiteljice prostovoljcev, lekarničarke, ter naposled, Elizabete karizmatične pastorke. 

Zdi se, da karkoli bi zapisala o njej, ne bi bilo dovolj. Naj mi zato pomaga Novica Novakovic s svojo mislijo: 

"..Imam zelo veliko srce, skoraj tako veliko kot rudar, ki se spušča v premogovnik, s širokim nasmehom in belimi zobmi, čeprav nikoli ne ve, ali bo njegov sajast obraz po koncu izmene uzrl sonce; kot hišna pomočnica, ki celo življenje pere, lika in pomiva tla in okna, ob tem pa veselo in nedolžno prepeva; kot ribič na dalmatinskem otoku, ki vsak dan počasi z zanosom pregleduje in krpa svoje luknjaste mreže in se nato odpravi na morje; kot kmet, ki skrbno orje svojo njivo in se bori enkrat s sušo, drugič s poplavo, nemočen a vztrajen in pokončen; ; kakor babica, ki me je vsakič, ko sem napovedal svoj obisk, ure in ure nestrpno čakala na balkonu, da bi me zagledala, kako prihajam izza vogala, da bi me objela in se pogovarjala z mano.

Skoraj tako veliko srce imam in v njem je dovolj prostora za vse ljudi, z vzhoda in zahoda, s severa in juga, in v njem je dovolj prostora za jazz in blues."

PROJECT: Photostory -- Final Chapter

-- Sonja

PROJECT: Goodbye from Butre

                              

                            Skozi življenje mnogih ljudi greš..

                             

                                Kaj puščaš za sabo? 

                           Je brazda v rodovitni njivi?

                             ali le izginula sled roke, 

                      ki je skušala zadržati nemirno reko?

                            Je plamen, izpuhteli v dim?

      Bela črta, ki za nekaj trenutkov ukradenih večnosti preseka nebo?

                         Kaj daš, ko vstopaš v njihova življenja?

                                          Kaj vzameš?

                                               

                                                                 (M.Kačič)                               

PROJECT: Reflection, First part

C. is one of the youngest students we teach. She knows very little English but is very eager to learn, and she liked Sonja and me very much. But despite her goodwill and efforts we were unable to teach her how to read even the simplest of books. C. would often volunteer to answer questions and would try her best to produce some English, despite the laughter and derision of her classmates (which we of course did our best to stop), she kept at it, she kept asking Sonja and I the words of the book Bingo and Bisi over and over again, but there just wasn't enough time for Sonja and I to dedicate ourselves to her, with so many other children in the class, so unfortunately we weren't able to teach her to read. But she was always cheerful and positive and although she doesn't know it, an attitude like hers can't help but inspire. I think that she is more confident in herself now and more dedicated to learning then she was at the beginning, I hope that our attitude and efforts toward her will help her in her quest to learn. I am certain that she will eventually be successful on her own.

But, of course, I'm disappointed that we weren't able to help C. As Sonja wrote in an earlier post it's very easy for volunteers to fall into the trap of expecting results and then being inevitably disappointed. Her volunteer work at Hospice thoroughly purged her of the subtle vanity of expecting big results from her efforts; among all types of volunteer work hospice is perhaps unique in facilitating such a purgation because the people you serve are journeying towards fast approaching death. There is no measureable output at hospice that indicates success.

Our case in Ghana is different. There is a very direct hierarchy of outputs: first level - the child can either read the next word or they can't, second level - are words correctly pronounced or not, then speed and smoothness can be assessed. And automatically you do it, and you need to if you want to help people. But it’s not the point.

I had thought that I was totally immune to this greed for results, and both Barbara and Ebenezer warned against expecting too much. But after experiencing this first hand I don't think you can really guard against this completely without living through it. But we were able to help the vast majority of students to varying degrees. And even though results aren't the point of our work I still think it’s good to reflect on our efforts. Maybe it will help somebody else who comes to teach.

In the next 3 posts in this four post series I will discuss the achievements and progress of individual students (anonymously, of course) and the problems and challenges they overcame. I’ll talk about what I think we did well and what we could have done better.

//Tomaz

C. je ena od najmlajših učenk, kar je tudi eden od vzrokov, da je njeno znanje angleščine na nižji ravni kot pri ostalih. S Sonjo naju zelo 

sprejema in kljub njeni močni volji in vloženemu trudu, C. tudi ob koncu trimesečnega intenzivnega bralnega obdobja, še ne zna brati. Navkljub pogostemu zbadanju ter smehu sošolcev (ki ga kolikor je v najini moči poskušava ustaviti), C. vednoznova dviguje roko, poskuša odgovarjati na vprašanja. Znova in znova prihaja s knjižico Bingo and Bisi, ter naju sprašuje besede. Na žalost pri skupini približno dvajsetih učencev ni dovolj časa, da bi se ji posvetila v zadostni meri. Kljub zavedanju, da je njeno znanje na nižji ravni kot znanje sošolcev, ostaja C. vedra, pozitivno naravnana, vztrajna; te njene lastnosti pa so, čeprav se tega sama  ne zaveda, inspiracija tudi za vse nas ostale. Občutek imam, da je v teh treh mesecih postala bolj samozavestna in se učenju posveča še resneje. Prepričan sem, da se ji bo taka drža obrestovala. Če sva s svojim vedenjem, vzpodbudami pridala vsaj delček k temu, sem zares vesel.

Kljub zavedanju dolgoročnega pozitivnega učinka na C. sem vseeno malce razočaran, da ji nisva tudi kratkoročno bolj pomagala. Kot je Sonja zapisala že v eni od prejšnjih objav, je velika past prostovoljstva v prevelikem pričakovanju vidnih neposrednih rezultatov, kar neizogibno vodi v razočaranje. Sonja se je te “igre ega” otresla skozi delo v Hospicu (kjer se ne da izmeriti uspešnosti dela, saj se ljudje, ki jih prostovoljci spremljajo, poslavljajo).

Najin primer je drugačen, saj “uspešnosti” ni težko izmeriti, npr: prva stopnja – učenec zna prebrati besedo ali ne, druga stopnja – izgovorjava besede je pravilna ali ne, hitrost branja, itd. Uspešnost meriš nezavedno, kar je tudi potrebno če želiš učencem pomagati. Je pa res, da to ne sme postati smisel dela.

Preden sem začel z delom po šolah, sem bil prepričan, da ne bom imel težav s pričakovanji (na kar sta naju opozarjala tudi Barbara in Ebenezer). A tekom projekta sem spoznal, da stopnja popolne neobremenjenosti z rezultati pride šele skozi konkretno izkušnjo.

Četudi rezultati niso bistvo najinega dela, menim, da je smotrno narediti refleksijo najinega dela. Le-ta bo morda v pomoč tudi drugim prostovoljcem pri njihovem delu. V naslednjih treh objavah bom pisal o napredku ter uspešnosti, izzivih ter težavah s katerimi so se soočali učenci (seveda bova ob tem ohranila anonimnost otrok), ter česar sva se kot prostovoljca lotila dobro in kaj bi lahko naredla bolje.

PROJECT: New Books

"My name is Maria. I live with my mother and father, my sister and three brothers. We live in Iramba Ndogo, a village in Tanzania. My mother says that when she was a little girl, big trees grew everywhere. Over the years, people have cut down many, many trees for farming, for building houses and for making charcoal. Without trees our rivers no longer flow all year long. We must save our trees or the land will soon become a desert...My mother joined the environmental commitee on our village council. She tells everyone to plant trees near their homes and farms. Our family is in charge of the village nursery..."

These are the words of Maria, a little girl from Tanzania, taken from the book Maria's Wish by Canadian author Kathy Knowles, the founder and leader of Osu Children's Library Fund. Environmental problems and solutions are presented through the story of this child. Maria and her family were witnesses to the deforestation of the land under the pressures of farming. Their village was badly impacted by the expanding desert. And what is Maria's wish?

"I hope the forest will return to my village soon. My mother believes this will happen if we try very hard. Then, when I have children, they can play under the shade of the large trees, just as my mother did when she was a little girl. If our trees come back, our rivers will flow freely again."

"Maria's Wish" is one of the "new crop" of books at the library complex. At the end of March Ebenezer returned from Slovenia. He brought some new furniture and a new collection of books, which we were very happy to recieve. Thus our "traveling library" has been enriched with new beginning-level, African-themed books that the children really like, which at the same time expand their worldview. The stories are enriched with large photographs which illustrate the story.

Ebenezer brought many books, a number of books are by the Candian author Kathy Knowles, among others is "The Lucky One", the story of Masawuda (who's name means "The Lucky One") a 10 year old boy born with crooked legs and hands, who despite being the target of ridicule from his peers, knew that his name was proper to him. One day he met Mr. Arnauda, who helped him find a doctor who cured him. Other books bear titles such as "One Little Crab" and "Mumaizu and the Hippos". A portion of the collection is also geared toward the most basic levels, in these books objects of a certain color are photographed throughout and the books bear the name of the color i.e. "My Green Book", "My Blue Book" etc. Ebenezer also brought some books for more advanced students of English.

Despite the fact that our volunteer work is coming to an end these books will help us during our last few classes and will certainly be a big help to the three new volunteers from Slovenia and all future volunteers. Thanks Ebenezer and Humanitas [who donated the books]! :)

We already introduced some of these books to our children at our last class and they loved them.


Sonja



 

" Moje ime je Marija. Živim z mamo in očetom, sestro ter tremi brati. Živimo v Tanzaniji, v vasici  Iramba Ndogo. Mama pravi, da je bilo v času njenega otroštva vse polno velikih dreves. Skozi leta so jih ljudje posekali - za kmetovanje, gradnjo hiš, ter izdelovanje oglja. Brez dreves reke ne tečejo skozi vse leto. Drevesa moramo varovati,v nasprotnem primeru bo na naših tleh kmalu puščava. ... Mama se je pridružila veškemu okljevarstvenemu komiteju. Vsem govori o tem kako pomembno je sajenje dreves blizu domov in kmetij. Naša družina skrbi za vaško drevesnico."

To so besede zambijske deklice Marie, vzete iz otroške knjižice "Marijina želja" (Maria's Wish) Kanadčanke Kathy Knowles, ustanoviteljice in vodje  Osu Children's Library Fund. Skozi preprosto otroško pripoved opozarja na okoljevarstveni problem njene dežele ter istočasno podaja rešitev. Marija ter njena družina so bili priče uničevanju gozdov z namenom širjenja obdelovalnih površin, gradnje hiš. Krčenje gozdov je vplivalo na rečne pretoke v tolikšni meri, da bi lahko privedlo do nastanka večjih puščavskih površin. S svojo vlogo v vaški drevesnici igra Marijina družina pomembno vlogo v lokalnih poskusih pogozdovanja. In kaj je Marijina želja? 

"Upam da bo v moji vasi kmalu ponovno gozd. Moja mama je prepričana, da če se bomo dovolj potrudili, nam bo uspelo. Potem se bodo moji otroci igrali v sencah velikih dreves, kot se je moja mama, ko je bila majhna deklica. Če se bo to zgodilo, bodo naše reke ponovno svobodno tekle."

"Marijina želja" je ena od osvežitev knjižnjičnega kompleksa. Konec marca se je z oddiha v Sloveniji vrnil Ebenezer.  V Busuo je pripeljal nekaj zelo uporabnega pohištva ter, česar sva se še posebej razveselila, novo kolekcijo knjig. Tako je tudi najina "potujoča knjižnjica" obogatena z novimi poučnimi knjižicami z vsebinami iz afriške kulture, ki otroke animirajo, istočasno pa širijo njihov pogled na svet. Zgodbe so obogatene z ličnimi fotografijami, ki oživijo svetove pripovedovalcev. 
Ebenezer se je odločil za več knjižic kanadske avtorice Kathy Knowles, med drugim tudi The Lucky One, zgodbo desetletnega fantka Masawouda (njegovo ime pomeni "the lucky one"). Kljub temu, da se je rodil z zvitimi nogami ter rokami, bil posledično med vrstniki večkrat tarča posmeha, pravi da so mu starši dali pravo ime. Nekega dne je namreč srečal gospoda Arnauda, ki mu je pomagal najti ortopeda, ki ga je pozdravil. Tu so še knjižica En majhen rak (One Little Crab), Mumaizu in nilski konji (Mumaizu and the Hippos). Del zbirke so še sila preproste "barvne" knjižice: Moja zelena knjiga (My Green Book), Moja modra knjiga (My Blue Book), Moja oranžna knjiga (My Orange Book). Ebenezer je prinesel tudi težje knjige v angleščini, ki pa ne pridejo v poštev za najin pouk.

Kljub temu, da se najino gansko "bralno" poslanstvo počasi izteka, pride knjižna osvežitev še kako prav. Predvsem pa bodo nove pridobitve olajšale delo novih treh prostovoljcev, ki so prispeli pred nekaj dnevi, ter vsem prihodnjim prostovoljcem. Hvala Ebenezer, hvala donator Humanitas! :)

Iz knjige Maria's Wish:

LIVING: Rainy Season

Ghana's temperature varies little throughout the year, in August it is 24.7°C on average, while at its hottest in March it is 26.8 °C. At the end of March the rainy season approaches.

Sonja and I hoped the rainy season would lessen the sweltering heat; it did. But it also brought with it an increase in humidity. Though on the balance, I think it's better. The rains come in quick, torrential squalls. Once last week I saw the sky begin to turn strange. I went out to the beach and walked out in front of the resort: thunderheads, their tops illuminated brightly, their undersides darkling. Streamlines of flying sand divided around my ankles and flew on toward Busua. A circular gap in the clouds bathed the near-beach in uneasy brightness while farther from me the beach was already dark. A lone figure walked from Butre, his clothes flapping wildly. Four boys came up the beach from Busua. Then the rain started to pour. I took shelter under the roof on the outdoor patio at the resort where Sonja and I sometimes eat french fries. I saw the boys later, still sheltered under the eaves of a concrete storage house while I was on my way back to the library. The rain came in at a 45 degree angle, I sheltered from the driving rain and the wind behind a pillar. The resort employees were cleaning up after the easter rush, they were out cleaning the open-air dance floor. They continued, undisturbed by the rain.

A few minutes later the rain slowed to a drizzle and I went back to the library complex. Sonja had put a towel beneath the window to hold out the driving rain. She hadn't noticed that some water had also forced its way under the door. So far that was the biggest storm of rainy season.

The start of rainy season also corresponded to the arrival of crickets. I'm not sure if the two are related. At night their chirping layers-over the periodically breaking waves.

-- Tomaž


Temperature v Gani skozi leto le malo variirajo. Najhladnejše, avgustovsko povprečje se giblje okoli 24.7°C, najbolj vroče, marčevsko, pa okoli 26.8°C.

Smo v začetku deževne dobe, s Sonjo sva upala, da bo prinesla vsaj blago ohladitev. Temperaturna razlika se zares čuti, kar pa žal ne velja za stopnjo vlage v zraku, ki se je kvečjemu le še zvišala. Kljub temu je deževna doba za občutljive zahodnjake veliko blažja ter prijetnejša. Blagodejen vpliv ima tudi dež, ki se pojavi v hitrih sunkih, tudi večkrat na dan. 

Prejšnji teden sem bil priča doslej najmogočnejši nevihti. Nebo se je pričelo nenavadno spreminjati. Stal sem na plaži pred Resortom ter opazoval oblake. Izza zgornjega dela so silili zaslepljujoči sončni žarki, medtem ko je njihov spodnji del postajal vse temnejši. Veter je raznašal mivko. Pričelo je deževati. Zatekel sem se v zavetje pod streho zunanjega dela Beach Resorta. Sunki dežja so padali pod kotom 45 stopinj, zato sem se pred vetrom ter dežjem skril kar za steber. V svoji delavni poziciji pa so ostali zaposleni, ki so še naprej, navkljub dežju čistili plesišče.
Nekaj minut kasneje se je dež umiril, ko je le še rosilo sem se odpravil proti knjižnjičnemu kompleksu. Tam sem našel Sonjo, ki se je spopadala z deževnico, ki je pronicala v sobo. Vzdolž pod okno je položila brisačo, da bi jo zadržala. A voda je na najino smolo našla  pot tudi pod vrati. :)

Deževna doba je poleg blagodejnega dežja ter znižanja temperatur prinesla tudi čričke. Moč jih je slišati ponoči, ko se njihovi zvoki mešajo z bučanjem valov.

LIVING: Easter Monday

We learned the language of the Ghanan road in Accra, the "law of the honk", the basic method of communication. The roads in Accra are like the roads in Rome, which we both visited shortly before going to Ghana; the roads in Rome are like scenes from Fast and Furious. We noticed that honking in large measure replaces traffic signs and all the rest of "Western" road etiquette. For example, instead of following the rule of "person on the right goes first" the typical Ghanan driver will honk loudly and force his way through a crowded intersection, while everyone else does the same. In the countryside, where there are no speed limits, drivers warn pedestrians, goats, and other drivers that they are about to race through a village. At the market in Agona taxis honk continously as they slowly crawl through the sellers and the buyers. For me, honking triggers childhood memories of bridal proccessions wending there way past me from the church to the reception, their members announcing the good news to the world.

There is no wedding in Busua today; no swarm of aggressive taxi drivers, but the sound of loudspeakers blaring music from restaurants and the sound of traditional drumming which come from the beach mix with honking. All together it makes a cacophony of unusual sounds which give the impression of a celebration. This impression is correct, because today Ghana, and especially Busua, celebrates one of its biggest holidays -- Easter Monday. This is a day when extended families gather in their villages of origin to celebrate. With feasts of rice, fufu, and fish specialities. This is also a day when cars, tro-tros and buses which have occupied every inch of Busua announce their ALLELUIAS with honking.

Today Busua is a tourist spectacle with a carnival atmosphere and streets that are filled like the streets in Accra and a packed beach resembling the Brazilian Copacabana. The Beach-Resort and the other restaurants along the beach are packed. There is no doubt that the preparations they made over the last couple of days were necessary: the concert setups and the opening of large beach-side grills. This is certainly one of the days that Ghana tourism lives for and lives by.

The Easter Holidays in Busua are really celebrated according to Pauls:"Always be joyfull". We experienced this yesterday, at the charismatic service at Aunt Elizabeth's church. At this church, the members of which are mostly women and children (at least according to our two visits), the services are filled with dancing, drumming, and the charismatic preaching of Aunt Elizabeth through which there resounds a loud, untiring ALLELUIA! :)

Today the holiday spirit moved from the church to the tables which were occupied by various branches of the family, and after this to the beach where the festivities of the citizens of Busua and their in-land family and friends continued.

Sonja

Že v Accri sva se naučila prometnega jezika Gancev – “zakona hupanja”, ki je osnovni način komunikacije na cestah.  Spominjal naju je na rimske ulice, ki sva jih obiskala ne dolgo pred tem, le-te pa na dirkalno stezo iz filma Fast and furious. Opazila sva, da v ganskih mestih hupe v veliki meri nadomeščajo prometne znake ter ostala “zahodna” cestna pravila. Npr. namesto tihega upoštevanja desnega pravila, ganski šoferji zahupajo in si s tem opozorilom vzamejo prednost.  Na podeželju, kjer ni tabel z omejitvijo hitrosti, šoferji s hupo opozarjajo pešce, koze ter ostale avtomobile, da se približujejo. Na agonski tržnici divje hupajo predvsem taksisti, ki se v koloni počasi prebijajo skozi stojnice in pešce. Doma v Sloveniji sem hupanje povezovala predvsem z otroškim spominom na kolone svatov, ki so okrašeni svetu naznanjali veselo novico.

Danes v Busui sicer ni poroke, kot tudi ne množice nestrpnih taksistov, a kot le redko, se z glasbo gostinskih teras ter glasbo tradicionalnih bobnov, ki donijo s plaže, meša hupanje. Skupaj tvorijo nenavadno simfonijo zvokov, vsekakor pa dajejo vtis prazničnosti. Ta vtisni ni zgrešen, saj je danes za Gano, prevsem pa za Busuo eden največjih praznikov – velikonočni ponedeljek. To je dan, ko se zberejo širše družine in praznujejo. Ob rižu, fufuju, ribjih specalitetah. To je tudi dan, ko s hupanjem svoj ALELUJA oznanjajo kolone avtomobilov, tro trojev, celo avtobusov, ki ta dan zasedejo Busuo do zadnjega kotička.

Danes je v Busui pravi turistični spektakel – ob bučnem, skorajda karnevalskem vzdušju zapolnjene ceste spominjajo na tiste v Accri, plaža z nepregledno množico turistov pa na brazilsko Copa Cabano.  Beach Resort ter ostale restavracije ob plaži so polne. Zdaj ni dvoma, da so se splačale priprave zadnjih nekaj dni, ko so gostinci postavljali ogromne grile in z “live bandi” vabili prve goste. Prav gotovo je velikonočni ponedeljek eden tistih dnevov v letu, za katere živi (in od katerih živi) busujski turizem.

Za ganske velikonočne praznike zares velja tisti Pavlov: “Zmeraj se veselite”. To sva spoznavala najprej včeraj, na velikonočnem bogoslužju v cerkvi tete Elizabete. V tej cerkvici, ki jo (glede na izkušnjo najinih dveh obiskov) obiskujejo predvsem ženske in otroci, je na velikonočni dan ob ritmu tradicionalnih bobnov, ob plesnih gibih ter karizmatični pridigi tete Elizabete, donela glasna, neutrudna, nekajurna ALELUJA! :)

Danes se je praznično veselje iz cerkva preselilo najprej za mize, kjer so se krepile vezi razširjenih družin, zatem pa na plažo, ki je postala prostor za pomenkovanje ter druženje nepregledne množice Busujcev, njihovih “celinskih” sorodnikov in prijateljev.

LIVING: Journey to Double Zero

The Cape Three Points lighthouse is about 14km away from Busua, but you can't go directly there with a taxi or tro-tro, first you have to go to the Agona Central Station. The station is indistinguishable from the Agona Main market: taxi's mix with fruit sellers, fish-mongers--a word still in wide use in Ghana--weave in and out of the congested taxi traffic and between large stands balancing platters of smoked fish on their heads. It's like they are wearing smoked-fish sombreros. I've never been brave enough to buy one of those fish, because I know the fish sellers aren't good at English and I would have to bargain with them. And as we bargained in whatever newly borne pidgin language circumstances would force us to invent she might spill the fish.

Once I saw a spill in the Agona market (and caused a spill myself in the Accra main market, which is also indistinguishable from the Accra main station). In Agona a man carrying a bunch of wooden logs on his head dogged out of the way of an overly aggressive tro-tro minibus and spilled the plastic cups and toys perched upon a womans head. I couldn't stay to see the situation resolve because Emmanuel was hurrying onward and I had to keep up with him.

But today there was nothing worse then a slightly aggressive taxi-filler who was trying sell us a charter. No charter for us, we're savvy (and cheap), we go tro-tro. Whenever possible of course.

Tro-Tro's only service bigger towns. For example they only come to Busua on Wednesday, market day. Interestingly Butre has tro-tro service, although I don't think it's much bigger then Busua, but maybe that's because taxi's refuse to drive to Butre. Every once in a while I see someone walking from Butre to Busua along the beach in business clothes, maybe they are going to work that way to save on taxi fare, or maybe they are just coming from (or going to a funeral).

So, we walked from the taxi side of the market/station to the tro-tro side. A tro-tro for Three Points had just left so Sonja and I were the first people in the next bus. The tro-tro attendant put my backpack in the back. I kept eyeing it nervously until so much luggage was stacked around it that there was no chance it was going anywhere. Sonja and I sat at the very back of the tro-tro, on the fourth bench. It started to fill up gradually: two women with red turbans and black dresses, maybe going to a funeral; a man in a blue shirt of the type we wear in America on casual Fridays; another man who also looked like he was dressed for work; a woman who had bought several trays of eggs. Eventually twelve of us packed in, including the driver and the attendant  the cost to go to Three-Points was 3 Cedis per person (~1.5 Euro). I thought that this was a little steep for a Tro-Tro fare; but by the end of the ride I couldn't believe that it was that cheap.

Even though Three-Points isn't far from Agona the road that leads to it is rough [although still good]. And it took us a long time to get there, because Tro-Tro's stop all over the place (there are no official stops, anyone can flag a Tro-Tro down). In addition it seems to me like the drivers are engaged in all sorts of side businesses, because they often stop by the side of the road to pick up or drop off various foodstuffs.

The Chief had encouraged us to go visit Three-Points on account of the unspoiled natural beauty of the area. It was very beautiful, surprisingly isolated and very quite. At first when we stopped in Three-Points Sonja and I felt a little bit panicked, we had expected Three-Point to be a major stop, but it was just the dead end side stop of the route between a Agona and a bigger bigger town some 4 km away from Three-Points. We were worried that we wouldn't be able to catch a tro-tro back.

Cape Three-Points is a small town with about twenty small homes at the base of a peninsula. This peninsula is the southern-most point of Ghana and the nearest land to zero longitude, zero latitude. The Tro-Tro attendant introduced us to a guide in the town who took us up to the Three-Point's lighthouse. The view of the three capes was beautiful, much of Cape Three-Points is a preserved natural area. A pleasant breeze blew.

The lighthouse has been in continuous operation since 1925. When we got back to town we decided to walk to the next big town so we could be sure to get a Tro-Tro, and to stop at a beach lodge on the way to get some rest. We wandered into the Escape Point resort and went to the beach and then relaxed in some of their hammocks after we bought 3 liters of water and a coke.

Then we headed back to the road and walked for what seemed like a very long time. We could hear the surf breaking in the distance underneath the sound of hundreds of chirping birds. That and our footsteps were all we heard for about an hour, unless we talked. We began to see people harvesting palm nuts along the road and eventually we came to the town. After wondering around a bit and talking to various people, who all told us different things, we eventually sat down by the town water pump to wait for a tro-tro; a goup of ten children wanted to shake our hands and give us high fives in innumerable variations, over and over again :). A tro-tro eventually came and we happened to sit down next to another passenger bound for Busua, he had also been one of the carpenters who had worked with Ebenezer when he was first building the library.

Originally we had planned to go shopping at the market, but we were both just to tired, and went home after a long and wonderful day.