Day 4 by James and James
Note from yesterday: After finishing our blog, a new exciting challenge arose. The chance to talk on the community radio. James Rees and James Berger and Jess Woodgate took on the challenge. We headed down to the radio shack to preach our message tot the locals. James R was up first. He took the mic and the words ‘Akwaaba Ankwanada’ beamed across the village. This was greeted with a great roar of laughter. James Rees is now famous within the community.
We woke up to the sound of Ghana. We then decided we were still tired so went back to bed. After a few more mins, we woke up for real, ready for the day. We graciously gobbled greedily a great ginormous globule of gorgeous porridge. Lovely!!
We then started our project. We managed to paint a whole classroom. And re-floor a room. We learnt how to mix concrete the Ghanaian way and used it to re-floor holes in the floor. It was really hard work but we made amazing progress. We crashed int eh afternoon after all this hard labour and spent time chatting with buddies, washing clothes and taking showers.
Day 5 by James and James
Wow! Day 5 already. And back by popular demand, another blog on the day’s events.
After waking to the sounds of mosquitoes gnawing at our nets, hungry for a morning nibble, we were also hungry ourselves. We headed off for breakfast. We tucked into some tantalisingly tasty treats of bread.
The grand overlord Mr Mitchelle summoned us to our work. Hours and hours of back-breaking toil, painting and digging. We transformed rooms into education temples fit for any queen or Ghanaian with the will to learn.
We devoured our lunch and then headed out again to battle the elements into submission. We conquered the floor and finished with time to spare. We then spent the evening relaxing. Unless your James Rees and James Berger who headed out for more mayhem, involving interrupting a church service and breaking the toilet ceiling with a towel. Banter!
Alas another blog over with. Goodnight everyone, see you tomorrow!
Day 6
Another day in the Ghana team household and we’ve just got back from visiting our buddies’ houses.
Sally: We went to my buddy’s house last and met her family. It was different to see how they lived and lovely to meet their families after feeling like we had shaked everyone’s hand in the village!
James: As I walked over to the house, I was greeted with a roar of applause. As he showed me his room, I was shocked by the poor conditions in which he lived. But it was nice to meet his family!
Will: I was warmly greeted by Davidson’s 85 year old grandmother who welcomed like my own mother. This put my nerves at ease and made the experience more memorable.
Ben: Robert took me to his house by the beach in Ankwanda. I felt very welcomed by his family and his eccentric grandmother made the evening even more enjoyable.
Jacob: Emmanuel showed me to his grandmother’s house first where I felt welcome and made an attempt at speaking Fanti. Then I travelled to his brother’s house and met all his siblings who made the experience even more enjoyable.
Luke: Gomez took me to his house at the far side of town in a farming area where his family grow pepper, tomato and maize. We also met his siblings and his mum who was hard at work.
Chris: Anthony took me to his house near school beyond the the trees. His house is small and filled with siblings and his mother cooking outside. He has a 1 year old brother who still goes without a name. Then I went to Erik’s house which is bigger but every room is used for sleeping! I found it surprising that the whole family – aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents all live under the same roof!
Hannah: I went to my buddy Hannah’s aunt’s house where I met her brother who is 20 and finishing a course in business. Hannah does not live with her mother, who works in Accra but instead with her grandmother who was cooking while her uncle worked in the fields.
Anisha: I had already visited Mary’s house with Jess, Hanna and their buddies so this was my second time visiting her family. It was lovely to see everyone again, especially her grandmother.
James B: I went to my buddy Ezekiel’s house and met some of his family there including his mother. Nice to see the house and his relatives although we did not spend long there.