Day 8
Instead of working on our project today, we visited the Kakum rainforest.
Breakfast was omelettes in buns which was a bit different but very nice! Surprisingly, we were all on time today but the coach was late. It was about an hour’s drive to Kakum but well worth it in the end. The rainforest was vast and humid; we felt it the moment we stepped off the coach.
What followed was a short but steep and sweaty trek up through the forest to the canopy walkway. We didn’t actually see the walkway before stepping out onto it; which was a blessing for some people as it was quite narrow and swayed a lot! The views were picturesque as we walked, shadowed by the swaying and creaking of the walkway. This was a moment when Dan (Mr Parker) and Matt wished they hadn’t been so tall! It was a short walk across the top of the rainforest but worth every minute.
On our journey back, we stopped off at Hans Cottage, a crocodile sanctuary and restaurant. At the sanctuary, there were crocodiles swimming around and we were able to get quite close to them. We all got a picture of us all touching a crocodile. On the way back, Layla asked if the crocodile we had our picture taken with was real and Mr Parker replied ‘No there’s a small African child inside!’
We made our way back to Dominase and got on with the project work – chairs needed sanding and varnishing. When we were sat inside the guest house, Layla said to Mr P, ‘I thought you were joking when you said there was a small child inside that crocodile!’ Dinner was spag-bol – very tasty. We then discussed arrangement for church the next morning and got ready to go to bed.
Day 9
Today we all contributed to the village’s tradition of going to church on Sunday morning. In order for us to get a wider view and experience of worship in Ghanaian culture, we split up into groups and attended different churches in the community. Roman Catholic, Methodist, 12 Apostles and Assembly of God were the four we experienced and when discussing what we had seen, we all realised significant differences with worship in the UK. The lively dancing and spontaneous singing was enjoyed by everyone and it was a real eye-opening experience that we were glad to take part in. After church, we had our lunch and then set off to the school to carry on with our project work.
We varnished the chairs, bookcase and computer unit, nearly finishing it. We will add the final touches tomorrow before the handover ceremony. We all took on different roles and really worked well as a team, showing our commitment and strength as a group.
Plantain was a welcome part of tea for some – others found it interesting to say the least! We are all hoping we can finish the ICt room to a high standard tomorrow and really make our mark on the community that has been so accommodating and welcoming to us.
Day 10
Our last full day at Domenase has been fun-packed, eventful and quite emotional towards the end. The day began with a simple omelette and bread breakfast and we set off to the school to officially finish the ICT room. All we had to do was varnish the chairs and sweep the floor. After a short rest, we went back to the compound to have a quick lunch and then we were back at school to play football with our buddies. The game lasted 40 minutes (Ghana time!) and we scored the first goal. However, by half time, we were down 2-1 and some of us thought we had lost. However, during the second half, we managed a come back and overall we won 4-3, the best players being Mr Parker, Matt and Tom.
After lots of hand shaking and cheering we went back to the ICT room for the handover ceremony, where we handed over all the sports equipment, toys and books to the school followed by a speech from both Mr Parker and the head teacher. After, we taught our buddies how to play badminton and had a quick game. Then, we all made our way back to the compound where we rested and waiting for the ‘buddies buffet’ to commence. We all sat with our buddies in a circle to eat and the buffet consisted of many different Ghanaian foods. Plates were stuffed to the max and everyone was well and truly satisfied with the meal.
We then rested for our food to settle down, some described the feeling as ‘my belly is actually going to explode!’. Whilst we rested, the buddies helped Anthony, the link teacher, to build a fire. Once finished, again us and the buddies gathered round the unlit wood and we all had to give advice or a motivational speech or sing or dance or tell a story to everyone. This lasted two hours and would be the last time we spent time with our buddies so we were quite sad. The day ended with everyone saying goodnight before we fell asleep.