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.