Co-Tutors Dinner

Me with Peter, Ernest and our faithful and reliable driver, Eric

Thursday July 31^st 

I felt better this morning although I didn't have much energy. I laid low and rested while I watched Barb work. I delivered my talk about how to use a book for a math lesson and then Lyle, Barb and I acted out a story that Cindy read about a prairie dog colony that has a tennis ball dropped in it and then we acted out Abu Is A Lazy Boy in reader's theatre.

As we were leaving Ernest gave us each a GNAT pin and bottle opener as well as a union shirt for the men and a dress for the women (the ones they measured us for the first week). They are blue and white and adorned with the GNAT logo “We live to teach”.

Tonight was our co-tutors dinner. We invited Naa, Julius and Comfort as well as Peter Mabande, Ernest and Eric. It was a great evening with our new friends. Julius asked us what we thought of Ghana and Angela said this is her first time to Africa but Joe here has been to lots of countries in Africa and has climbed Kilimanjaro. “Jesus Christ you are great!” Eric said. It was a very funny moment but also an illustration of how privileged people of the west are and how limited are the opportunities for the people here. Most of them have traveled very little in their own country let alone outside Ghana. Ernest has been to Canada for six weeks a few years ago and Peter has traveled extensively through Africa and worldwide, but they are the exceptions.

Peter and Ernest both addressed us and praised CTF and the Project Overseas partnership and us individually. When we gave out our gifts for them Eric made an impassioned speech about how happy he has been to drive us around Ghana and to get to know us. He praised his boss (Ernest) for allowing him to be a member of the team and be allowed to eat with us and join us on excursions (in St Vincent this was not the practice and the driver was nothing more than a servant). Peter said many nice things about CTF and its involvement with education initiatives worldwide. He praised us for our “commitment, interest, involvement, dedication, spirit, humour and knowledge”. We had a great photo session before our guests departed.

At the end of the night the four of us gathered at the bar again for another drink before bed.

Laid Out

Wednesday July 30^th. 

I was up during the night with intestinal problems. I got up in the morning and went to school with the group. I managed to get through my math lesson, but I was wacked and had nothing else to do for the rest of the day, so I went home and slept for the afternoon. I skipped dinner and decided that I couldn't make the Canada Night celebration. So when they left I went back to sleep. When they got back I went down and got some air with them while they had a drink. Off to bed again by 10:30. The pictures are all of the Canada Night without the funny looking MC.

Challenges, Successes and Best Practices

Tuesday July 29^th

We arrived at school by 8:30 as usual and listened as Ernest delivered his talk about the curriculum and how it is developed. After snack break Barb and I led the discussion about Challenges, Successes and Best Practices. It was interesting that all three weeks the discussion went different directions. The first week the teachers talked about the big challenges: no school, no toilets, no resources, etc, the second week they talked about successes, what they have done to overcome some of the infrastructure challenges and this time they talked about best practices in the classroom.

After lunch Angela and I had a great talk with two high school teachers who are here for the workshops but not with us. They were asking why we were here and what we were teaching. They also wanted to know about our union and Canadian teacher’s involvement in it. They told us about the challenges of their classes. They told us about classes of up to 70 or more students in regular sized rooms, no air circulation, and few resources.

After lunch Lyle had me lead the bum spelling energizer where the students have to spell their name using only their bottom. They loved this activity and we had two female winners in the spell off and gave them a prize of stickers.

Cindy and Barb did their lessons after that before we packed up and left. On the way back in the van I lead a discussion about Canada Night and how we could include everyone. In hindsight we should have had all six of us do all three nights, because they were for three different audiences. Barb and I had a short swim in the pool to cool down and then we had dinner. We continued the Canada Night discussion and settled the issues. Unfortunately the HIV/AIDS workshop was canceled again. After dinner the usual four went to the bar for a nightcap.

Beginning the Third Week

Monday July 28^th. 

We are now located in Labone Senior Secondary School in Accra to start our last series of workshops. We started off with the usual routine and opening ceremonies. The rest of the morning and most of the afternoon was taken up with the school action plans. This gives them a chance to present their successes and challenges with the other five schools attending.

We heard about a school that has too many children for the school, so they run two shifts 6:30 to 12:30 and then 12:30 to 5:30. This means that k-1 or k-2 students have to come early and maybe stay for the afternoon to wait for a sibling; or children leave home to walk to school or from school in the dark. Teachers and students change shifts every two weeks. Another remote school has one room for teacher accommodation that they have partitioned into four and the head teacher has given up his office to accommodate another teacher. The rest commute a long way.

The afternoon passed as the schools presented their reports. When we got back to the hotel I immediately went to bed and had an hour nap. I really needed it. I got up in time for dinner which we ate inside. I had a delicious grouper fillet. The usual group hung out outside by the bar for a nightcap before heading off to bed.

Back to Accra and the Cultural Market

Sunday July 27^th 

Angela's husband met us for breakfast and a short visit before we loaded up and headed off by convoy to Accra. The ride was the usual visually stimulating trip. We arrived at the same hotel that we were at the first week, the Coconut Grove. We settled into our rooms and then had lunch in the restaurant. For the afternoon, six of us decided to go to the cultural market to buy souvenirs. I went with Angela and Barb in one taxi and Owen went with Cindy and Leah so that we had a man in each group. Our taxi driver told us he knew where he was going but clearly didn't and had to beep at other taxi drivers on the road and ask for directions, and then he went to the wrong market place before he finally figured it out. Then he had to go back and get the other group. As soon as we arrived we were accosted by a guy who asked where we were from. When I said Ontario he asked if I knew Orillia, Timmins, Coburg, and a few other towns. He said he knew the capital of every province, so Barb asked about the Yukon and he replied ‘that's not a province it is a territory!’ It's all to get your attention and to build a relationship with you so they can lead you through the maze to their shop. This market sells all things African: clothing, shoes, jewelry, wood work and material. We found a good stall with lots of the beaded earrings I was looking for. The three of us bought about twenty pair and were able to bargain a good price. Once we started to buy we were surrounded and talked to by a rotating series of hawkers. Some were fun to talk to, others were more insistent, but most stopped when you told them you were not interested in buying whatever, but another would just take his place. They kept addressing me as Papa, which they use as a term of respect apparently (as I was told afterwards), but I thought they used it for an old man, and I got tired of it, so I said “don't call me Papa”, so they used uncle, brother or friend. One Rasta asked how I was and I told him I was tired of being accosted, he smiled and placed his finger to his lips to signal he wouldn't talk to me, but he didn't go away, he just waited his turn. I hadn't experienced this level of intensity since Morocco or maybe India. I bought earrings, a Ghana soccer shirt for Danny, a kenti cloth bag, bracelets, and money purses.

We met up with Owen, Cindy and Leah right at the end and we walked across the street to hail cabs. We got in a cab and gave him our hotel card, but he still didn't know where it was, but he drove off anyway and flagged down a couple more cabs until he figured out where we were going.

Back at the hotel we went for a swim before dinner. We ate outside at the bar and had a couple of drinks. When it was just Owen, Angela and Barb, I showed them some pictures of India before bed.

Kakum Canopy Walk, Crocodile Farm and Cape Coast Slave Castle

Saturday July 26^th 

Eric and Thomas picked us up at 7:30 for the drive to the Kakum Canopy Walk. This is a 350 metre walk on suspended walkways about 40 metres above the forest floor. It was built by a couple of Canadians in the nineties. It was fun and the views were fantastic. There were a couple of gift shops there and I bought a pair of kenti cloth pants. After that they took us to a crocodile farm where we saw some small to medium sized Nile crocs and a lot of weaver birds who were nest building. We had lunch there before continuing on to the Cape Coast castle. Originally built as a fort by the Swedes for their timber and mineral exportation, and then taken over by the Dutch before the English wrestled it away from them, the history of Cape Coast Castle remains the focal point of this coastal city. Cape Coast, a city of about a million people, was once the capital of what was then known as the Gold Coast. The British moved the capital to Accra in 1877.

However, the first European settlement on these shores was at Elmina -- named so by the Portuguese who landed there in 1471. At Elmina, located about six miles from Cape Coast, the Portuguese built a similar castle, which also was the grounds of the slave market. We had a tour there which was similar to the Elmina Slave Castle. After the tour we climbed up to the top of the castle walls. The view from the walls was amazing! From the top we looked out over the fishing village which was right below. Walking out the 'door of no return' (through which the slaves were taken to the beach to board ships for the new world) we met fishermen who were mending nets and servicing their boats. 

On the way back I asked Thomas and Eric if we could stop along the road (that we have driven back and forth on all week on the way to the school) so we could take some photos. A group of us got out and went in different directions. I took some pictures of the village and boats and fishermen on the beach. A man from the village started yelling at a couple of us because we were taking photos. Eric and Thomas managed to settle them down but it was an awkward situation and we apologized to them. We get caught up in taking photos but sometimes forget that we are taking pictures of their lives and we wouldn’t want people walking up and taking photos of us at our homes without permission. I am guilty of that as I am always trying to get the perfect people shot. Lesson learned.

When we got back to the hotel we went for a swim before Owen and I went for a walk along the road back to the Elmina Slave Castle. As we walked I waded in the water on the beach for a photo op, but the water is filthy with lots of black plastic washing in with the waves. The route is an amazingly fascinating street with so much to see. We walked right to the castle and watched the sun setting over the fishing village. We walked along the shore and watched the fishermen leaving the harbour for the night. Owen and I enjoyed the unsupervised nature of our walk, as we could go as slowly as we liked and talk to whom we chose. The union here is very protective of us and does not want us to get into any trouble. As a result whenever they are with us they supervise us closely, usually with one member in front and one in the rear, much like a school trip back home. It was nice to have a bit of time to explore on our own.

We had dinner when we got back and waited for Angela's husband, who has been in Ghana for a week, to show up at our hotel but he never did, unfortunately he went to the wrong place. David and Angela are going to travel to northern Ghana for three weeks after the project.

Closing and Ghana Night with Deaf Dancers

Friday July 25^th 

Today was the last day for Cape Coast. We got to school by 8:30 and had a couple of hours to finish up things from the week. I took advantage of the opportunity to talk about the time capsule again. 

During the lunch break Cameron suggested that I go into the kitchen to have a look at the food preparation. So I went in and talked to a couple of the ladies. They were really friendly so I asked if I could take some photos. They were delighted with that and happily posed and explained the whole process to me. It was amazing and very efficient as they made lunch for about three hundred people. Not up to Canadian standards maybe, but very interesting as they prepared fish, rice, pepper sauce and cooked vegetables.

After lunch were the closing ceremonies which lasted two and a half hours. During the ceremony GNAT announced that Angela had raised $500 for a school, but that we couldn't go to a school because there was a one day work stoppage (a union protest). So they picked a school that they felt was the neediest and gave them all the materials that Angela had bought a couple of weeks ago from the school supply store in Accra. I took pictures of her and the happy winning teachers who were part of our Nkabom group, five energetic young male teachers. Then one participant wanted us to do the chicken dance again, so we did that. What a thing to be remembered for!

After a short visit to the hotel for dinner we headed back to the school for Ghana Night. This was a much better event than last week. They had a performing group from a deaf school, comprised of deaf dancers and about ten percussionists. The drumming was loud! The dancers performed tribal dances and were very good. Angela was pulled up on stage twice to dance and she had lots of fun. They also showed a couple of slide shows of different regions of the country.

Back at the hotel we had time for another drink before bed.

Spelling Test and Co-tutor Dinner

Thursday, July 24^th.

Today we continued with our workshops. I picked up an extra one explaining how to use books for more than just reading and how to create books. The schools here have very few books and need more. So we were trying to give them ideas on how they could create their own, ie, teachers write them, students write them or make books from pictures from magazines, etc. Peter Mandaba explained to them how the new readers that they are being given were written by local teachers and printed and distributed by GNAT.

Angela and Leah took their group outside to play a game where everyone had to hold hands in a circle and then the leader would lead their hand partners through others by going under or over their arms and weaving through the group until it became a knot of people who could not move anymore. Then without letting go of hands they had to untangle themselves. Again they loved the games.

Lyle had all the participants stand up in a line and told them he was going to give them a spelling test. “Notice you have no paper or pen to spell with. All you have is...” and here he half turned and slapped his butt! The teachers were really surprised but laughed loudly. Lyle demonstrated by spelling his name using only his fanny. Then he had a competition with the best ‘speller’ getting a prize. They absolutely loved it!

The rest of the day proceeded on the same schedule as last week.

This evening we had our co-tutor dinner at our hotel. It was another success as we celebrated with Patrick, Victoria, Clara and Elsie.

Abu Says and Canada Night

Wednesday July 23^rd

Today was mathematics day. I started with the four triangle activity, which they seemed to really enjoy. Patrick, my co-tutor, led them through the theory and syllabus of mathematics in Ghana. He talked for a long time, so in order to energize them and give them a break I took them outside to play Simon Says (with the name changed to Abu from their new literacy reader). I demonstrated it and then divided them into four groups and had them select their own leader. They loved this and had lots of fun. They really love all our energizers and behave like little kids. Later I introduced them to the concept of dominoes (which they didn't know) and explained to them the domino fraction activity.

After lunch Owen, Cameron, Angela, Leah and I rearranged the desks in the main hall. We moved about two hundred desks to the back and all the chairs to the front where we set them up for seating for tonight's Canada Night.

We rushed back to the hotel for dinner and then a quick turnaround for the evening's festivities. I was the MC for the evening and wore my Canada headband and glasses. We showed them four photos each of our provinces, I talked about Terry Fox and then we taught them some movements to go with our journey across Canada: climbing, skiing, skating, fishing, etc. They loved this activity and really like to be active. Next we selected ten men and ten women from the audience and had them tie balloons around their ankles and try to break each other’s. The women represented the east and the men the west. This was a frantic activity and much to Lyle's delight the West won.

Back to the hotel for a night cap and off to bed.

Cape Coast Workshops

Tuesday July 22^nd

We arrived at school at the usual time. Today we started with a discussion of the curriculum led by Ernest. After that we broke up into two groups, K-1 and  grades 2-6 and we talked about Successes, Challenges and Best Practices in teaching in their schools. Barb and I led this session and started with Successes this week rather than with Challenges as we did last week. We heard lots of interesting success stories, from teachers collecting firewood from students and selling it to buy a computer for the school, to a PTA fundraising to build a cement building. At lunch Owen, Angela and I went for a walk around the complex and met a young student teacher who is writing exams this week and getting ready for graduation. It was really interesting talking to her about the process and her feelings about the fact that she knew she had a job in a remote rural village. She is 22 and the village is far from home. She is very excited but nervous too.

Cindy and Barb ran a language workshop for the last two hours and then we headed to the hotel. It was decided that four people would go to the AIDS workshop this evening and the rest of us who were planning for tomorrow's Canada Night would stay behind. The four of us went for a swim first, and then dinner. We had a couple of large beers with dinner. Then we regrouped in the lobby with our computers and another beer and finished our planning. We retired shortly after that.