Saturday 6th April
Arrived at Accra safely and blown away by the heat! 30 degrees and 9pm. Ah the sweet, sweet smell of leaded petrol, it must be Africa. Everybody so nice here. Looking forward to some local delicacies tomorrow and a good night’s sleep tonight, however the fan looks a bit precarious. Looks like it could spin off at any moment, which I am sure will leave a scar! Well now, it’s about 10pm so off to sleep. Looking forward to seeing Ghana in the daylight tomorrow.
Sunday 7th April
Arrived at Dutch Komenda around midday and I have shed half a stone in sweat. Beautiful place. Called in at Partner Ghana’s office and they all seem very helpful. One or two ideas seem to be coming now with regards to partnership work.
Evening time around 7.45pm and I am going to read for a while. We have been to two communities to see the elders and to let them welcome us and let them know of our intentions. I did a poor speech for the first visit and the second one was a lot worse! However they all clapped loudly. Strange that they don’t clap after the translator talks to them. Anyway tomorrow is the real start of the reason for the trip.
Monday 8th April
In the morning we were introduced to the Dutch Komenda staff, wonderful people. We were then introduced to the school. Felt a bit like a celebrity and wasn’t a great feeling although sometimes as a teacher you need to put on a show. After lunch (fish and maize, delicious) we went on a community tour and this was very educational. We looked at an old Dutch fortress at Dutch Komenda and an old British fortress at British Komenda, funny that! We are both very tired from our journeys today so I think it will be supper and then bed. Looking forward to seeing the tradesmen tomorrow.
Tuesday 9th April
7am – Unfortunately the power went out last night therefore the fan wasn’t working so a hot night was had by all. The fan also drowns out noises in the very early morning which tend to wake me so a bit of broken sleep, never mind today is another exciting day going to the college.
7.45pm – Off to bed early after a great day. Talked to Michael from Partner Ghana and set some dates for things to be completed. Also went to the Teacher Training College to help try and set up some staff links. A very eventful experience. Lastly we went back to school to look at some desktops and tried to repair them. We managed just over half. We also talked to the carpenter who is going to sort out an estimate. I feel a lot better today as we are really getting in the work however time is starting to run out so we need to be quick for the next two days.
Wednesday 10th April
After a great night’s sleep we went to observe and partake in ‘holy service’. This moved me to tears as the singing and praying was so heartfelt and the sunlight shining through the window openings gave the place a real spiritual feel.
Afternoon of the same day – We are going to present an ICT session now on basic Windows software packages (Word, Powerpoint and Excel). It should be enjoyable.
Evening of the same day – The session went ok but the heat tended to take any enjoyment out of it. We went to Cape Coast to buy some artefacts and we saw some other white people for the first time, very strange feeling. In the evening I did a basic English Language lesson which seemed to down OK. Am no starting to think about home as we only have one full day left, and missing my two girls, although now feel as if trip was a real worthwhile experience.
Thursday 11th April
7am – Last full day in Dutch Komenda. Am totally engrossed in the machinations of the school now.
Evening of the same day – Today was a relaxing day and all the better for it. Hot, hot, hot probably the hottest day of the week. We didn’t do much in the morning. I watched the cook prepare our meal and then we went to an unbelievable beach which was very clean. After that I prepared my lesson and then the power went out. In bed and it is 8.15pm and reading with a torch. Last night here. It is going to take around 20 hours to get home so not looking forward to that, anyway could be worse.
Friday 12th April
Bad night’s sleep last night as power was off and the heat was just about unbearable. Like being in a Sauna. Fortunately about 2am the power came back on so did get some sleep. Will probably have the chance to catch up today so no harm done.
Afternoon of same day – This will be my last input. Michael came to see us today to round this up and give us the minutes from the meeting we had with him and the school. We had a closing ceremony and felt sad that we were leaving. Leaving for the airport now. Ultimately the trip was very rewarding and we have forged some real sustainable links and feel that there is some real worthwhile links which both parties and all the students can learn from. A real fantastic time and looking forward to the next time.
See www.facebook.com/partnerghana for some photos!