Progress

I have started teaching at the school part-time while I am not at the orphanage. The kids at the orphanage are pretty independent so it’s is really most important to spend time with them after school and before bed. Hanging out with them before bed is my favorite. A couple of us usually head to the orphanage at about 7, after they have eaten and bathed. We help with homework and my favorite thing is to read with them. They LOVE the books, but unfortunately we only have 4 so we have been reading the same ones over and over.

From our experience, we have found that the school needs the most help. There were 4 decent sized rooms and two tiny rooms when we arrived. They have since built a couple more rooms that are now being used as the nursery and kindergarten. The quality of the teaching is very poor. For example many of the kids can write the alphabet but when you tell them to write the letter “E” they can’t do it. On Wednesday I taught class 4 long division, but many of the students don’t know their times tables, so it was very difficult for them. The headmaster wants us to work with students individually on reading, but the children have no books. 

They love my sunglasses

Friday I traveled with the director of our organization, David, and the two volunteers from France, and one from Germany to Cape Coast in order to buy mattresses, pillows, underwear, bath sponges, and things that the children really need. It was an extremely long day, because here in Ghana 1 hours means 3, and every place you go you wait for, as they say, 1 hour and the hours add. We were able to buy a mattresses and pillows for all the children that are good quality. We also attempted to get school uniforms for the 3 children who do not have them, but we will have to return next

Canopy walk

week. We picked up the tables and chairs for the kitchen as well so they will not have to sit on the dirty floor with flies swarming them.


When we were finished in the late afternoon I met 4 of the other volunteers and we traveled to Kakum National Park for the night. We stayed in a hotel (with a shower!) inside the park and in the morning we did the canopy walk and went to a monkey sanctuary before heading back to Cape Coast. Tomorrow we plan to take the children to the beach!