Community Service: Ghana 2011

This past week began with an incredible, optional, one-night home stay in the village, continued with more progress on our projects, and ended with a whirlwind tour of Ghana. We took a midweek break to catch a soccer match in the village, and Megan and Anna even got a chance to suit up and play for the team!

Each student also had time to pursue an independent project of their choosing, and our group showed a lot of creativity. By the end of the week, students had built a new ping-pong table, painted benches for the soccer field, and even honed their balancing skills the Ghanaian way (we still still need some practice, though).

Our community welcomed us several weeks ago with a traditional drumming and dancing performance, and it seemed only right to return the favor on our way out. After a month of practice, we suited up in our new Ghanaian wardrobe and organized our very own show for the whole village, performing five-star renditions of both the Kpatsa and Kpanlongo traditional dances.

It was pretty difficult to say our final farewells after nearly a month working closely with the community. We spent our last three days soaking in the best of Ghana, including a swim in the beautiful Wli Falls…

… and the indescribable opportunity to make new primate pals at Tafe Atome Monkey Sanctuary.

It’s been a fun-filled month of immensely productive community service here in Ghana. We’re all sad to leave, but excited to share this unbelievable experience with our friends and family back home. We’ll see you all soon.

-Joey and Jennifer

When you’re spending a month on a tropical beach, it’s important to make the most of your ocean opportunities. So, after another full week of service work, our group enjoyed some hard earned rest and relaxation on the sunny sandy beaches of Busua. Best of all, we stopped by the Black Star Surf Shop for our very own surfing lessons while Ghanaian fishing boats bobbed in the background. Just another perfect day in Ghana.

The family and friends out there are probably wondering what life is like here in Ghana, and you can rest assurred that life is good. Very good.

We start early and spend the morning and early afternoon at our various job sites, including…

Digging a hole for a water cistern at the library: The pit is 10 feet wide by 10 feet deep, and our Putney crew truly tackled this task, moving an immense amount of dirt, in just a few short weeks.

Now that the digging is over, we’ve already started building the cistern. Our students helped mix the concrete and carry it to the cistern.

But the projects don’t stop there. We’ve been busy painting the library…

… acquiring newfound carpentry skills…

… and having fun teaching at the primary school.

In the middle of most days, we take an afternoon siesta down at the beach. It’s an ideal time for rest, relaxation, and beach soccer.

In the evenings, we play card games, have impromptu language lessons, help cook dinner, and receive drum and dance lessons.

Yes, life is good here in Ghana. Very good!

Your Putney Ghana leaders,
Joey and Jen

Greetings!  After a solid week of service work at Trinity Yard, we piled into our trusty 15-passenger van and headed west on a weekend trek. We stopped in the town of Beyin and rented two canoes to get us the rest of the way to our destination: the famous stilt village of Nzulezo.

After an hour on the water, we finally arrived at Nzulezo. Our crew got quite an upper-arm workout from all of that paddling! The small stilt village is home to only a few hundred people, but it’s well-known for it’s unique architecture and way of life above the water.

The wet and wild boat ride was a small price to pay to experience firsthand this truly incredible world landmark. The students got to tour the village, meet the residents, and experience another slice of life in Ghana. We rounded out the excursion with a night at a nearby hotel and we trekked home to the Yard in the morning.

We’re well into our projects! We’ve been working alongside local people, which has given our students so many opportunities to get to know Ghana first-hand.  Already, the progress is immense.  We hope you enjoy the photos!

All is well in beautiful Ghana.

Bye for now,
Joey and Jennifer

We spent almost two days in Accra where we saw Kwame Nkrumah memorial, ate delicious food, and enjoyed scenic ocean views.  We also had a dance and drumming performance at our hotel that was amazing!

Today, we traveled to our community where we will complete our project.  We met many of the children we will be teaching this summer and got a look at the village.  We start work on our projects tomorrow and are super excited.  All is well in Ghana!

Bye for now,
Joey and Jennifer

We’ve received word from the leaders that the group has arrived safely in Accra.

We know that parents love to keep up to date on their kids’ activities during our programs.  While we expect that most of our participants will take the time to be in touch occasionally, we have found that it is helpful to parents for our leaders to post periodic updates on this blog.  Obviously, blog posts will not provide detailed information about your child, but they will let you know about some of the group’s activities, projects, and excursions.

The frequency of blog posts varies from program to program depending on internet access (which can be limited), and each group’s itinerary and busy schedule of activities.  Please rest assured that we can reach leaders at any time and that we will discuss any important issues concerning your child directly them and with you.  As you know, you can reach us by phone at our office during business hours, and on our emergency line 24/7 if necessary.

We suggest that you subscribe to the blog during your first visit so that you will receive e-mail notifications at the end of the day if a new update has been posted that day.  To subscribe, enter your email address under ‘Subscribe to this blog!’ form on the right-hand column of the blog.

Have a fantastic summer!