More photos

October 31

I can totally deal with the infinite amount of mosquito bites, the giant insects, and maybe the big hairy spiders. But I can't deal with the poisonous scorpion that was walking towards me, just outside my room!

I absolutely adore and love the children. And Leo has been great to me, and so has one of the Madams (teachers), Augustina, who lives here, and one of the older housemothers, Auntie Betty. But just about everyone else has not been too friendly. Don't get me wrong, they seem like very nice people, but I will never know because they rarely speak English, yet I know they can all speak English.

I have also picked up some of their language (Ahanta and Fanti), and I know what the word for white person is: Braufalay and Brawny, respectively. So I know when they are talking about me. I find it very rude that they do this. Even when they are asking me a question, they will usually ask it in their language to Leo first, then he'll translate it to me. Wouldn't it just be easier if they spoke directly to me in English? I think so. Maybe this is just how people act in a rural village. I suppose it's similar to gossiping, except they are doing it right in front of my face.

Unfortunately the children's schedule only leaves me with a couple hours a day to spend with them on Monday-Thursdays.

5:30am: they wake up, do chores and get ready for school

6:45am: devotionals

7:00am: eat breakfast, then off to school

2-4pm: come home from school, but have siesta/quiet time in their dormitories

4-5pm: the teachers living here tutor them

5-6pm: play

6pm: eat dinner

6:30pm-7:30pm: recite the rosary

7:30-9pm: younger ones bathe and go to bed; older ones finish their homework/study, then bed.

I get up to serve breakfast, and then I go to the school to help out in the Primary 3 class. I don’t think the education system is very effective. In the class that I help out in, there are about 45 students and one teacher. Honestly, the only way Madam Felicia can keep control is by caning them when they misbehave. They have small notebooks of paper, but not all of them can afford the books, so some children just sit there when there is work assigned. I think the normal age for Primary 3 is about 8 years old; however I asked some of them their ages today and some are 11 or 12. I tried to teach the English lesson a few times, but I supposedly talk too fast and I have an accent they can't understand. Really though, the children just don't seem to learn. Most of them can barely read. The Madam asked a boy what is 1 plus 1 and the boy said 3. By the age of 12, I was reading chapter books and starting algebra. Some children here can't even write their names correctly.

I could go on and on about the education system, but I will just be thankful I had a good education. Now, I want to move on to the kids.

I have learned the stories of a few of the children. I don't like to ask them, I’d rather wait until they come and tell me.

Tonight, Comfort, about 11 years old and in Primary 5, told me her and her brother Jones' story. They come from Ivory Coast, which is a country with a lot of fighting going on now. They came to live in Egyam, but shortly thereafter, their mother died. Their father left to find money in Ivory Coast, but Comfort thinks he is probably dead by now. They lived with their grandparents for a while in a nearby village, but they had no money to take care of them, so they were sent to the orphanage. The land the orphanage was built on was actually sold to them by Comfort's grandfather.

Comfort also told me she had an issue with Raheal today and that Madam Cynthia, one of the house mothers, was insulting her. Comfort was very hurt; she is a sensitive girl and very smart. Jones, her older brother, is also a very sensitive boy. They are both very touchy-feely and love to grab onto people; I love it when Jones takes the small ones gently in his hands and cleans their faces. Comfort was also worried because when Madam Thea was here, she told the children that if they misbehave they will be sent back to their villages. Comfort was worried because her grandparents have no money, so she would not be able to go to school. I told her she does not need to worry because she is a good kid and even if she were sent back, my NGO would make sure she had the money to go to school. She says she wants to be a nurse, so she can take care of her grandmother.

(Note to self: Rita, tall and skinny, comes from Togo)

(Millicent, Isaac 2 /Musafah and Anthony/Pawppy are siblings)

　

Hannah from Nigeria

Hannah is a girl in Egyam who moved here not too long ago from Nigeria. Then her mother died. About a month ago there was a funeral and a memorial at the church on Sunday. I didn't know it then, but the funeral was for Hannah's father. She now lives with a grandmother, but they haven't got any money. So, we bought her a school uniform. Hannah is very quiet, and even when I speak to her, I don’t get a reply. I had never seen her smile until the other day, when I went to her class and took a picture of her in her school uniform.

Photos

                                                Liky






    Spider in my room--as large as my palm!

The children

Thea, (the Dutch founder of the orphanage), told me that 11 children came from another orphanage that was shut down. The children that came had lice and big bellies because they were not being fed. They were afraid of adults because they were beaten at the other orphanage, and this also made them very aggressive. Thea said Victoria would shudder and pull away if anyone tried to touch her. One night 7-year-old and 9-year-old boys were found having sex in the bathroom, and apparently this was a normal thing to go on at the other orphanage; and this was often happening between children and the workers/volunteers at the orphanage. Luckily, these children ended up at Egyam, where you would never be able to tell how bad their past was because they are so happy and well taken care of now.

However, I don't think time heals the scars of a horrible past. Sylvia, an 8 year-old was drawing with chalk today. She drew a boy and girl, then drew a line between the two and told me the boy is raping the girl. I said no, and erased the picture. She drew it again, this time she said it's Madam Jen (that's what they call me) raping John (the 6 year-old boy that was drawing on the other end of the chalkboard). I said “No, we don't talk like that” and I erased the picture, but she drew it a couple more times and I kept erasing it. Finally another boy came up and she said it to him, and he smacked her and told her not to say it anymore and that seemed to stop her.

3 Boys: Liky, Denis and Ezekial

I met Liky and Denis the first day I was at the orphanage. They are 2 of the original dozen that did not have families to go visit for the first 2 weeks I was here. Liky speaks very good English, and Denis does well, too. But Denis does not do well in school. He's in Primary 2, and is 8 years-old, but he can't even write the alphabet. He doesn't do his homework, and even though I have tried to help him, he doesn't copy the questions down correctly or legibly.

Liky is literally attached to me 90% of the time. I have even been helping in his Primary 3 class, and he constantly looks over and smiles at me, or gives me a thumbs-up. Liky is the perfect name for him because he is always sticking his tongue out! He can sometimes be too attached and Leo has warned me that if another child tries to sit on my lap or hold my hand, Liky will push them away so he can hold my hand or sit on my lap. I always tell him it's ok if another child wants to hold my hand, and he sulks away. I watched Liky and Denis today, and they both are striving for attention because when I was busy, they grabbed on to 2 of the Holland people just like they do me, and the founder, Thea, hugs and kisses and picks the children up and they love it. And it's fair enough, I don't think I have ever seen any of the people that work here give a single child a hug or really just spend time with the children. Even at night I’m usually the last adult up and make sure the kids finish their homework and go to bed.

Now I come to Ezekial. Ezekial and his twin brother Thomas were two of the last children to come back to the orphanage from vacations. He is in primary 4, so he's about 11 years-old. This kid never told me his name or even said a word to me, and the first night he came back,  we were all watching a movie. He pulled his chair right up against mine, sat down, put his head in my lap and pulled my arm around him like I was hugging him. He sits the same way next to me every night since, and still barely says a word. He is similar to Liky though, because if another child tries to sit on my lap he'll push them off.

Meeting with Henriette & women's group

School, the beach & a spider

I started helping in the school, Primary 3/3rd grade. I pretty much just graded papers today; it's difficult for the kids to understand my English, and there are no text books, the teacher has a couple small books but I feel like hardly anything can be accomplished because she walked around to show every child a picture of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (it's a Catholic school), then she just had them draw the picture, and that was one lesson that took a half hour. Three children from the orphanage are in the class, one of which is Liky, one of my best little buddies who gives me a thumbs-up sign every time I look at him! Another boy from the orphanage, Peter, was bad in class and he got caned (they use a stick to hit the children when they misbehave).  The teacher caned a girl too, and the girl cried for a good 5 minutes.

Henriette (from Holland, who helped build the orphanage) took the kids to the beach and I went too. It was great fun, but the waves were big and the current strong. The smaller children could barely go in, and I always had at least 3 children clinging to me so they wouldn't get swept away. The kids were so excited but it wore them out, because that night after we all ate ice cream, we were watching Charlotte's Web and Liky fell asleep in my lap, so I sent him to bed. Then Florence came and fell asleep in my lap, and by 9pm I was fast asleep.

 

However, the next night I didn't sleep too well due to the enormous spider that was on my ceiling. I can deal with mosquitos. I can't deal with a spider the size of my palm. I could see it's hairy eyes staring at me when it was all the way up on the ceiling. I couldn't kill it either because it was so fast. After I knocked it from the ceiling it almost fell into my suitcase, then it ran up the leg of my bed before I smashed it with my shoe.

I had nightmares about this spider that night. I sprayed my bed and myself with bug spray, tucked my mosquito net under my mattress and prayed there were no more in my room. I’m pretty sure I have already been bitten by a spider that size because the size of the welt on my leg is bigger than a quarter and it left a decent size scab!

Visit to Ayuwaho

The village chief

Visitors from Holland

     This week the women from Holland who built the orphanage arrived. It's been a bit crazy, I don't think the Ghanaians like having her here. I went with her and Leo to Cape Coast yesterday and it was a difficult day. I feel like I am stuck between a rock and a hard place. I have gotten used to the Ghanaian culture but at the same time I can relate to the European white woman, so she and Leo both look to me when they are sort of arguing.

   When Henriette first arrived, she asked me what I was doing here and I told her about Mercy's Dream, and how we want to get sponsors for all the kids. I'm not sure how she took it, but she replied with, "Well, you know we already have sponsors for all the children to pay for schooling, food, etc." I was taken aback and just said, "Yes, and we want to help you." I'm not sure what she thought of me. However, last night I was talking to her and she was saying how things are becoming more expensive and they will appreciate our help with getting sponsors for the children. I think she likes me because she has invited me to go with her and Leo whenever they have to go somewhere. I have been very lucky to go to some rural villages. One  had no electricity and we had to walk thru trees and a beach to get to it. And we went to Cape Coast and attended some village meetings.

     Saturday we are taking the kids to the beach :)

 

Wildlife in Ghana

This is Pinky, he lives in my kitchen, along with another lizard. And another lizard has taken up habitance in my room. Yes, I name them because it makes me less frightened of them.

This is a millipede. When it is not curled up it is about as long as my foot.

New volunteer room

     I moved into the official Mercy's Dream room with 4 beds that will be used just for our volunteers (and so far we have a volunteer for December and one for Jan-April).

    

    When I moved in Daniel mentioned the ceiling was lower than my other room, and I really didn't take any notice....until I was untangling my laptop cord and my finger got caught in the ceiling fan! Luckily it was on the lowest setting but it was going pretty fast and the tip of my index finger got what looks like a blister filled with blood, and my finger was all swelled up. Leo told me to let the blood out, so I let him use scissors to cut it open and I squeezed the blood out and he put disinfectant on it. I will either have an awesome immune system or be very sick by the time I get home! Today alone I probably could have gotten multiple diseases!

     The kids eat sugarcane like crazy and they want me to eat it too. Basically they use their teeth to tear it apart, then give it to me and you just chew it to get the sweet sugary juice out of it. Today they wanted me to drink coconut water, and I didn't realize the straw was actually the outside of a pen...who knows where they found that! I have also gotten blood on me from 2 different kids, the first a mentally disabled child who tried to jump off a swing while I was pushing her; she fell flat on her face on the concrete; the second was a boy who stabbed his hand with some sharp metal thing and was bleeding all over the place. I also have about a hundred mosquito bites (or as 6-year-old Florence says, "Moquisto" bites!) no matter how much bug spray I use!

     I made the mistake of letting 11-year-old Raheal stay the night with me last night, and now she wants to stay every night in my room! It would be fine, except tonight Madam Henriette arrives. (The kids call everyone Madam, even I am Madam Jen...well, until I went to the Catholic Church and now I seem to be Sister Jen!). Madam Henriette is one of the founders of the orphanage and she is from Holland. From what I gather, things are a bit uptight while the Holland people are here (she is the first of 3 to be arriving for the next couple weeks). Leo said she would probably not approve of me letting Raheal sleep in my room, and I can understand that. Leo also said they will try to ask me questions to try to get something on the staff (this apparently happened to another volunteer, and the staff was not happy with her after the Holland people left). Then they go tell the staff what I say. I will need to learn to keep my mouth shut, since they are white and European - I may feel at ease with them...

Computer lessons

I’ve been teaching computer skills to the children BUT there is only

one working computer and the program I was going to use doesn't work

on the computer so it's all just by my memory. Today I couldn't

teach because the electricity was off for about 6 hours.

 

I think I'll be starting at the school to help in Kindergarten! (Could they be any cuter?!)

SAS Visits Orphanage

Students from Semester at Sea came to visit the orphanage.

School starts again

It took a full 24 hours of planes, taxis and buses to get me here, but I have finally arrived at Egyam Orphanage. Leo, the social worker at the orphanage, has been wonderful. He knows alot about working with Americans, so he has been very accomodating and welcoming. It would have been tough without him!

I spend most of my time playing with the kids. I have never played so much football in my life! They also have a game (I think it's called Mancala) that they love to play, which is good because it's about the only game I think they have, and they want to play it constantly. I arrived at a very good time, the kids had a 2 week vacation to visit their extended family, if they had any. About 15 kids were left at the orphanage and I got to know them very well. I got to go with Leo to drop off and pick up the other children in their home villages and even met some of their families.

I go to the Catholic church with the kids on Sundays, which is very different from church at home. The great part is half the service is spent singing and dancing; the bad part is they speak in Fanti and the service lasts for 3 hours!

All the children are back now, and they have just started school. Last night, they received their books and I helped them put book covers on them. Their books aren't like what I am used to when they say "books". They aren't textbooks, they are pretty much just notebooks and the younger kids have books with words in them to practice writing. I believe the teachers just teach from their own notes, not textbooks. I am supposed to be helping at the school soon, so hopefully I'll be able to see firsthand how a Ghanaian classroom works.

Really the only tough part is the language barrier. Everyone speaks and understands English, but the children often tell me I speak too fast. It's also hard for me to understand them sometimes. They speak to each other in Fanti, so it's hard for me to join a conversation. But the children try hard and want me to be included in everything. The kids have taught me some words in Fanti, (I'm not sure of spelling) Kadiya: How are you? Mawkay: I'm fine. Brauflay/brauny: White person. Beebeelee: Black person. I am very glad I know how to say white person, because everywhere I go people yell Brauflay, and I know when they are talking about me.

I think they have gotten used to me being here by now. It's easy to just play with the younger kids, but it has taken longer for the older kids to come talk to me (the older ones have decided to teach me to dance to their music). My favorite time is after dinner when the kids watch TV or movies until bedtime, and I have about 4 of them who just want to snuggle up to me. They have a DVD player with a bunch of Christmas carol singalongs, Christmas movies and Jesus movies; I think we have watched it 10 times since I've been here and all they want to do is sing the Twelve Days of Christmas song! When they go to bed they always say goodnight, see you tomorrow. It's going to be really hard when the day comes that I won't be able to say "see you tomorrow".

Chicken project

The Beginning

     The second I stepped off the plane I knew I was in Africa, there is a smell that is specific to Ghana (and maybe Africa in general). The best way to describe the smell is like a mixture of humidity, toilet and garbage (luckily that's just in the cities, and Egyam is rural so it doesn't smell...or maybe I've just gotten used to it). It took almost a full 24 hours for me to get to Egyam, Ghana. I spent about 16 hours on planes, then an hour in a taxi, 5 hours on a bus, then spent 20 mins waiting for the security guard to pick Leo (the social worker at the orphanage) and I up from the bus stop at 2am (not the number one place I wanted to be at 2am, being a white female in Africa) and finally take me to the orphanage. The next morning I woke up and opened my door to find 20 orphans staring at me curiously.

     The shower is basically a waist high faucet that has a small stream of water that runs out, no where near the equivalent of my shower at home, or even my kitchen sink! My room is actually pretty nice, 2 bunkbeds with some plastic chairs and a table with a TV on it, though it gets one fuzzy, sometimes black and white channel that just plays Ghanaian soap operas. My kitchen is a room with a small table, chair and sink; and I bought a small gas burner for cooking (I definitely regret not bringing a knife or dish soap). I eat either rice or noodles for every meal. One of Leo's friends, a police officer, I guess really liked me and bought me a bunch of fruit and vegetables. Unfortunately I let Leo put it in what I thought was a fridge but turned out to be a freezer...let's just say fruits and veggies don't last very long when they get semi-frozen. The electricity tends to go out for about an hour at a time, and the water has gone off once or twice; I have definitely learned that I need to keep a supply of water that could last me a couple days.

    

     For 2 weeks, all but about a dozen children, went to visit their extended families (since one day they won't be living in the orphanage and will want to live in their home villages). The dozen kids that didn't have families to visit and stayed at the orphanage, I got to know them pretty well. Liky and Denis, both about 8 years old, are my little buddies. They like to spend one on one time with me. The rest of the boys want me to be goal keeper when they play football/soccer. And the girls just want to braid my hair.

     Liky has very good English, I think because he is so outgoing and loves to talk to people. The kids all understand and speak a good amount of English, but there is still a language barrier and they generally talk to each other in Fanti. It has been hard trying to talk to the kids and people who work here, mainly because they don't talk to each other in English so there is no way for me to be part of any conversation unless they actually speak to me. The kids are better than the adults (except Leo, he speaks very good English and will translate for me), the kids love to teach me words in Fanti. I now know that when people yell blauflay at me it means white person, they told me to say bebelee which means black person.