Journey for Change, Ghana Blog – Day 6
Latoya Massie, 16 years old
We arrived here on Saturday, March 6. After we rested , we went to The Village of Hope, took a tour and met many children. I played basketball and later that night had three plates of food at dinner! It was great! We had a lot of fun activities and when our Ghanaian partners found out they were staying at the hotel with us, they were excited because they had never been to a hotel before.
On Sunday we got prepared to go to church. The service was energetic and powerful. We went to eat after the service and the food was okay. I have to say that I preferred the meal we had at Village of Hope, but I appreciate the people that cooked for us everywhere.
We then went to T.K. Beads which is a company that has a 6 month to 3 year training program in the making of glass beads. We bought some of the jewelry and some of the beads that we can use to make our own jewelry. I really liked the purple, multi-colored, and sky blue beads. Some of them were shaped like hearts and there were also gold pieces that I really liked.
We followed that up with a visit to Tema House and the children who live there ran to us and clang to us like magnets. We rode bikes with them and played with them until dinner was ready. They performed a dance for us and sang a song. We ate dinner and I enjoyed every moment of that day. Before we left we gave the children of crayons, cars, paint sets and books.
On Monday we went to Kankum National Park and went on a hike to the canopy walk. It was fun, but I didn’t find it challenging. I would love to jump out of a plane! After that we went to lunch at a beach resort where I had typical American fast food-a cheeseburger and fast food! I walked on the beach and drew shapes in the sand. I also collected some little shells.
We also went to El Mina Castle which was originally a storage place for goods such as gold. Later it became a slave trading place. We saw the “door of no return” and it was such a scary walk and at time it made me angry and I felt a lot of pain. To actually experience what went on with our ancestors, how they were treated and how they lived made me write a poem that really expresses my feelings. It was an eventful day that took my emotions a lot of places.
Tuesday we arrived at the U.S. Embassy and met the Ambassador. We learned about their different programs, positions and what they are doing for Ghana. They are expanding roads and building new ones. They will also be operating a new ferry in the next two years!
We then left on the long trek to Kete Krachi. We took a ferry to cross the river and continued on a dirt road. Along the way we saw frogs, owls and goats. There was one owl that landed right in front of the bus and would not move at all! It finally got on when we revved up the car.
We spent the next three days in Kete Krachi. Although we had basically the same schedule every day, each day held different emotions for me. On Wednesday we went out on the lake and Jasmine and Benjamin poured out their emotions in an amazing way to a community of elders on a village island. They were really impressive and we were able to rescue two boys that day. They were named Christian and Jacob and looked to be around 10 years old.
Generally we would come back from the lake, have snacks, rest a bit and then go play with the children living there at the Village of Hope. We would then have dinner, work on our writing and just relax. We would get up early and start all over again the next day.
We learned so much about advocating for the freedom of the kids on the lake and what it takes to negotiate with the masters and the people in the communities. It was such an eye opening experience. The first day was so hard to take in and to have a great outcome made us know that we were capable of doing what we did. So the next day was a bit less emotional and the last day we were all more comfortable taking a stand for the children.
Saturday we came back to Accra. It was a long and rough drive, but at least it was in the daytime and we could see all of the things going on in different villages along the way. When we got back we got ready for dinner near Independence Square on the beach. I was the most emotional of all because it really hit me and my partner, Sally, that we were going to be leaving each other. It was hard, but there was a lot of gift giving, thank you’s and goodbyes. I know we will stay in contact.
Today is a new day and we are still here in Ghana because our flight was cancelled because of bad weather in New York. So today is a day to have peace of mind and to share what we have been experiencing. I’m looking forward to getting back home though and show my peers and the world what is going on here. I hope to open their eyes and ears and get the kids on the lake the respect they deserve and the freedom that is their birthright. This issue has become really close to my heart.
To view photos of the mission to Ghana, please go to: http://angelrockproject.com/arp/photos/default.asp?fol=809
Journey for Change: Empowering Youth Through Global Service uplifts the lives of inner-city youth through global travel, volunteerism and advocacy work. More information on the program can be found at www.angelrockproject.com.
