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.