Back at Berkeley

Once we got back to Berkeley, we knew we would be doing a lot of presentations to ensure that everyone at the school got as excited as we are about this opportunity. The first of the presentations to do was to the entire faculty at the all school business meeting on the first Tuesday back in school. We met with Mr. Merluzzi to find out what he was interested in us presenting, and then we went to work making a video and putting together what we were going to say in the presentation. It's amazing how much time goes into putting together a ten minute presentation. We've uploaded below a copy of the video that we showed in the presentation. Music credit goes to Shakira and her song Waka Waka (This is Africa). You may have heard it before when watching the World Cup this year; it was the official song of the World Cup.

Thursday July 29-Saturday July 31

The last two days of our included a lot of driving and getting back to Accra for our return flight. We added a few more cultural sights to our trip to ensure that we were able to get a good sense of the culture and the high points of the country.

We got an early start on Thursday, and on our drive to Cape Coast, we stopped at Kakum National Park. Kakum National Park is a rain forest that includes one of the five canopy walks in the world. It is the highest and longest of all of the canopy walks. Although nerve-wracking, it was a great experience that all the members of our group greatly enjoyed. We had a chance to talk with our guide, William, and get a bit more insight into a young person’s perspective on living in Ghana and working there. He lived in a nearby village and was even able to let Meghan know that the village she had previously visited now has electricity. It was an exciting revelation. After dropping him off in his town, we proceeded to Elmina for a late dinner and headed straight to bed.

The next morning, we awoke and had a quick breakfast and hopped on the bus to the Elmina Slave Castle, the first of the slave castles built by the Portuguese along the Atlantic Coast. Our guide was a volunteer who teaches at a Secondary School near Elmina. He was able to inform us that while the Portuguese had not originally built the castle for the slave trade, they quickly realized that it was more lucrative to them than the trading that had been done previously. It was a moving tour, in that we learned a lot more of the hardships and atrocities that the more than five million slaves endured at the particular castle. One of the most horrifying statistics is that 2/3 died before even leaving the castle. There is a small fishing village near the castle with a bustling trade economy, and because we still had Berkeley goods, we were able to distribute them to a few of the children in the area. (A few of us also got to try our hand at balancing a platter stacked with oranges on our heads.)

After leaving Elmina, we made the three hour journey back to Accra to prepare for our meeting with Nana Sarpong. In our meeting, he told us how appreciative he was of us making the journey to Ghana and to his home village, and we assured him that we were equally appreciative of the opportunity. We filled him on the meetings we had with Kwenor and the other members of the ICT Center as well as the welcoming ceremonies that the school put on for us. We also discussed with him the conversations that we had with the two schools, and we mentioned the importance of the ICT Center in the burgeoning relationship. He understood the importance and assured us that this is something to which he is committed. As a side note, despite his recent health problems, he was bright, lively, and overjoyed to see everyone safely back in Accra. His wife even mentioned that she believed that our trip and visit to Agogo had helped to raise his spirits and restore some of his health.

We finished the trip with a meal that included all the members of the trip as well as Alex, the driver, Yvonne, our tour guide, Desmond and Hayford, the ICT Center technicians, and Kwenor, who is the lynchpin in the success of this partnership. We headed back to the hotel, said our goodbyes to Christian, and went to bed for an early morning departure.

We are currently sitting on the place reflecting on the success of our trip and our hopes for its fruition in the fall. We have become keenly aware of the significance that our visit has played in this relationship, and we truly believe that the experiences that we have had will ferment the partnerships and allow for a solid foundation for growth in the coming months. While we are aware that there may be some bumps along the road, we are committed to making this partnership a success.

Wednesday July 28th

After breakfast we met with the headmistress and three teachers from Agogo Presby A Primary School to discuss the same issues we addressed with Ramseyer the previous day but with slightly different results. It looks like Agogo Presby A wants the same opportunities and exchange for their students that Ramseyer does, but because they’ve had some coordination difficulties with the ICT Center, they were initially a little more hesitant than Ramseyer. However, after our lengthy discussion, it looks like they are positive in going forward with the use of the CIT Center and participation in Challenge 20/20. We were even able to bring the Buruli Ulcer into our discussion when we talked about Challenge 20/20. They seemed receptive to that idea. We will set forth with the same timeline with which we setup in our meeting with Ramseyer Basic School.

After the meeting, we got on the bus to Kumasi, which is the second largest city in Ghana. We stopped along the way at three different traditional Ghanaian craft villages. The first village was the largest producer of Kente cloth in the Ashanti region, and a few of us even got to try our hand at weaving. After making our purchases, we headed to the next village, which showed us the traditional art of die-making and stamping traditional symbols onto kente cloth. The symbols are intricately designed and can be seen across the country. They have various meanings, often tied to traditional African morals and expressions. Our favorite is the symbol called Gye Nyame, which means “accept God” in the sense that God is omnipotent and above all. The last handicraft area was that of woodcarving. We met a master wood carver, and he showed us the tools he uses when he creates his artwork. We were able to pick up a few remaining gifts before heading to Kumasi to visit the palace of the former Ashantihenne, who is the king of kings of the Ashanti region.

The palace tour was interesting and informative, and despite the fact that we were hungry and tired, we found it to be a valuable experience. We took lunch at an interesting Lebanese/multinational restaurant. We enjoyed the variety of food offerings and conversational topics, before loading the bus for the long trip back to Agogo. If you notice, a recurring trend is the time spent on the bus. Being American, we have realized that we take our excellent infrastructure for granted when we travel long distances; we will now be more thankful for our smooth roads and well planned cities when we head home.

We finished the night with a lively discussion at a local Agogo establishment suggested by Kwenor. A few of us decided to walk home and quickly realized we are not as familiar with the small town in the dark as we had hoped. We got a little lost but made it back safely.

Tuesday July 27th

Today was a busy day. After breakfast, we met with the headmistress and two teachers from Ramseyer Preparatory School. We went in with questions regarding their thoughts and intentions for our partnership. We were pleased with the conversation, and we found that these three had similar intentions to ours. We set up a time table with goals for the project and also discussed Challenge 20/20, an initiative we are running through NAIS.

We next boarded a bus to Ananekrum, the village of Nana Marfo, one of the sub-chiefs of Agogo who lives in America. On the way, we stopped to see the reforestation project and fish farm, two initiatives led by Dan Warren, founder of One Village Planet. We were impressed with the growth that has taken place with these two projects over the last four years. It was interesting to learn that he is using teak, an exotic species of trees here in Ghana, because it is fire resistant and mixes well with native flora. We also lent a helping hand using a machete. It was a good workout, even for the five minutes we spent doing it.

Then, we reboarded the bus to continue our journey to Ananekrum, which we found to be an extremely bumpy and unpaved ride. It’s about 45 minutes from Agogo, and we were able to experience their weekly market day. We purchased some goods to take with us to the next rural village we would be visiting both to stimulate the local economy and in order to have goods in hand when we arrived at the next village. Before leaving, we met Mr. Abass, a global health worker who travels to Ananekrum on Tuesdays to hold clinic regarding testing and treatment for the Buruli Ulcer. More on that later.

We left that village and headed to an extremely small, remote, underdeveloped village that had no more than twenty huts. It has no power and no running water with huts made of mud and thatch. We visited this village to see another area where Dan Warren is creating jobs through the growing of teak saplings. This project is run by a woman that is local to the village. When we first arrived in the village, we were again welcomed with a ceremony similar to the initial ceremony but on a much smaller scale. We brought with us sugar and rice for the villagers that we purchased from local sellers in Ananekrum.

We reboarded the bus to Agogo with much hunger in our stomachs and little excitement about the bumpy road ahead. After a little over an hour, we arrived at the home of Nana Rose, who is a queen mother in the village but spends much of her time as a nurse in London. She served a delicious Ghanaian traditional meal of fufu, which Meghan had been requesting since the beginning of the trip. It was spicy and delicious and is made of a light spicy soup with a circle of what looks to be dough sitting in it; in fact, the dough is actually ground yams and plantains. This is the national dish of Ghana. We quickly realized the reasoning behind this entitlement when we realized how full we had become; clearly, this is a filling food that is cheap to produce and can fill the bellies of many hungry children. We also were able to taste some locally tapped wine called palm wine. When the palm trees are cut down for the palm berries, the trees are left for a period of time to ferment, before being tapped for the wine. It was sweet and tasted like fruity champagne. We only had two water bottles full to share, but we would have been more than happy with a larger portion.

After our 4:00 lunch, we were longing for a nap but dutifully headed to the ICT Center to again try our hand at Skyping. Kwenor was there to assist us, and we learned of a new tool called a dongle, which is a USB wireless stick. Unfortunately, despite our new technology, we were unsuccessful once again in our attempts to Skype. Kwenor swears that because the current wireless provided has been acquired by a larger technology company, the bandwidth and internet accessibility will improve soon. We are hoping that this proves true.

We were very excited about coming back to a light meal consisting of sandwiches and chips, but we were greeted by the public health provider, Mr. Abass, who had a presentation on Buruli Ulcers. The graphic but informational presentation followed by Mr. Abass’s discussion with us over a decidedly heavy dinner got us to thinking about how we might incorporate this into our Challenge 20/20 project. We were able to ask questions of him that related to the spread of the disease, the potential for education, and, most importantly, how he saw this fitting into our project. We are also fortunate in that he has agreed to be our contact person should we have any questions regarding the disease. We are thinking that posters, brochures, and educational materials could be collaborated upon by both Berkeley and Agogo students and the Agogo students could in turn use the materials to educate the local population on the dangers of the disease and the importance of early detection.

A long and exhausting day has come to an end, and our brains will be temporarily alleviated when we head to the largest nearby city, Kumasi, in the morning.

Monday July 26th

Today, we woke up for breakfast and headed down to be joined by Nana Rose, Nana Marfo (local subchiefs), and the headmistress of the Ramseyer Basic Primary School. We were very excited to see the eagerness with which the headmistress spoke, and we were looking forward to visiting her school. While we sorted boxes and discussed specifics with the headmistress, Jo, Steve, and Laura met with the technicians of the ICT Center to discuss the structures in place along the lines of technology.

We then took a short walk and arrived in a chaotic school yard, where we then were privy to local dances perform by the children. We then headed to a sixth grade classroom to greet students and the teacher we will be working with in the fall. We found that they speak English, although they had a hard time understanding the American accents. After saying hello to the sixth grade students and teacher, we entered the fifth grade classroom to meet the students with which we will be working in the fall. We explained the purpose of our visit and the relationship we hope to form. The students were excited about the partnership and were even more excited when we pulled the many goodies out of our backpacks and began distributing them among the children. We also spoke briefly to next year’s sixth grade teachers before heading off to Agogo Presby Primary A. We left the school feeling excited about the potential of this project, but also realizing the difficulties we are likely to face in the forthcoming months. We were also a bit sad about the fact that we left many children empty handed because of our lack of knowledge of the handling of the situation.

At Agogo Presby Primary A, we were once again greeted with cheers, another dance, and recitation of poems. We met briefly with the headmistress and head sixth grade teacher in her office and then headed to the sixth grade classroom where we met with the students we had been corresponding with last year. We spoke to them briefly and passed out a few goodies, thanking them for their willingness to participate in the exchange last year. We then went to the fifth grade room where we again distributed the goodies to share. The students were overjoyed and put on their t-shirts for photo opportunities. It was an exciting experience for us, after our months and months of planning, to see the students running around the village and school yard in various versions of Berkeley t-shirts. However, we were once again besieged by students who were disappointed with their lack of goods. Jo’s husband, Jerry, did come with his pockets stuffed and was able to alleviate some of the disappointment.

After a short rest from what proved to be a draining but thrilling morning, we took lunch and headed to the ICT Center. We met with a number of technicians and attendants as well as a few students who were using the computers. We learned of the potential and shortcomings of the center, and we made a list of measureable goals for the future. We went to see the training center before arranging a Skype session with Mr. Buck Johnson and Mrs. Boss. While it proved to be relatively unsuccessful, it helped us show the people of the center what we envision for the future. It also helped them understand what steps need to be taken to accomplish this goal.

After eating dinner, Kwenor arrived belatedly. He was delayed due to customs problems with one of the boxes that had been shipped prior to our arrival. We started on what was supposed to be a twenty minute debriefing of the day’s events, but we ended up in a two hour meeting that proved to be crucial to the future success of our project. We are exhausted after a very long and very important day in the future of our partnership, and we do not look forward to the screaming man and the cackling roosters outside our windows at 5:00 tomorrow morning.

Sunday July 25th

On Sunday, we got up to check out of the hotel and settle our tabs with the front desk before loading a larger, more comfortable bus for what we were told was going to be a three hour journey to Agogo, but what actually turned out to be a five hour journey to Agogo along back, winding roads. But, we did find it to be much of an improvement, despite the long time frame, to the road conditions we discovered the day before on the way to Shai Hills. The scenery was pretty and the air in the mountains was refreshing. We stopped along the way at an Arboretum to learn a little about Ghanaian plant life.

Once we arrived, we ate our first meal of mostly traditional foods (Meghan discovered from experience that Ghanaians always like to throw in a plate of French fries, because they think that’s all we eat). We were shown to our dorm room lodgings at the Pentecost Women’s Bible College; we have to say that while the conditions are sparse, they are providing to be adequate (we have electricity and cold running water). Once we had four minutes of resting time, we were taken to the Chief’s Palace for a private welcoming ceremony before a public, formal welcoming ceremony.




Once arriving, we found ourselves shaking more hands than the President of the United States, but we realized we had to follow suit to respect the traditions of the Ashanti Village in which we are visiting. After Josh made a short speech outlining the purpose of our visit to Agogo, we headed outside for the formal ceremony; this ceremony entailed much of the same, but was capped off with several beautiful, traditional dance performances provided by skilled locals in traditional dress. While the ceremony took place almost solely in Twi, we were lucky to have Yvonne and Dan Warren, two members of our group, telling us what the ceremony was about.

After the ceremony, we walked around the village for a few minutes, before being invited to meet the queen mother. She is almost 100 years old, and she is the one in charge of appointing any chief, because of the matrilineal structure of the Ghanaian traditional system. It was amazing to learn about the significance of the Queen Mother in appointing the next chief. She is truly respected by the village and while her age is high, it is not something that stops people from revering her. We went back to the college for dinner, where we debriefed our experiences and began discussing necessities on activities for the next day.

Saturday July 24th

On the second day, we woke up at our hotel and enjoyed a breakfast of pineapple, rolls, cereal, and beans. These are among the traditional items here. Then, we took our bus to meet with a professor of religion and African Studies at the University of Ghana—Legon. He answered our many questions and educated us about the history and current state of affairs in Ghana. He also addressed our thoughts about the future; it was enlightening, informative, and inspirational.

The next stop on our first day was the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park and Museum. We got a tour of the park, where we were able to see Kwame Nkrumah's final resting spot. Nkrumah helped lead Ghana and many other countries in West Africa to Independence from their colonial powers. Nkrumah became the first president of the country in 1960, three years after Ghana became the first country in Africa to gain independence. His government was overthrown in a military coup in 1966, during which he fled to Conakry, Guinea and was asked to serve as honorary co-president because of his accomplishments in leading Africa.

We then took the bus to the market and were able to interact with the market vendors for a very short period of time, which we found to be an exciting cultural experience in itself. Meghan proved to be a skillful in bargaining, whereas Josh, although a bit wary of it in the beginning, surprised himself in his abilities in the end.

We then ate lunch and began a long trek to the Shai Hills Game preserve. Accra’s traffic and notoriously bad road conditions proved true, as the venture was all for naught. When we arrived, the baboons and antelopes had headed for the hills (literally), and we were left without any animal photos. We did, however, capture photos of some of the local children and rangers. That night, we were exhausted and ate a light meal before heading to bed.