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.
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