Witch Doctor

This is the witch doctor.


This is before you enter their village and they are to scare away unwanted spirits.


While in Ghana I decided to check out the witch doctor to see what it was like. **Just so you know I do not believe in the witch doctor whatsoever, but it was interesting to see what some of the people believe in there. **

Once we arrived we sat down and we met the witch doctors. We then proceeded to the area where they do the ritual stuff, and sat down. We sat outside of two shrines. One of the shrines was a room with sheets over the door way, but on each side of the door on the wall was dead chickens with blood dripping down. The second just had random things inside of it... kinda weird. We had to fold a GH 5 into fourths, then put it to our lips and think of questions, next put it to your head, rub your chest, and spit on it 3 times. During this time I tried my hardest to not laugh at what was going on. They placed the 5 down and put this sting of beads on it. He had a huge pile with random things in it like: bottle caps, bones, starters from a car, bolts, rocks, and shells. They did their ritual thing and their prayer. Then he tells you what your future is.

This is what he said mine was:
That a witch is after me, and I should not quarrel with anyone. If I fight with someone then I will always be blamed for it. I should also not slap or cane a child for they will fall down and then die. If this happens I will be blamed for killing the child. He then proceeded to ask me if on my moms side of the family if we worshipped something, or if we had any traditions. I told him we had traditions, and he said that I should participate in them. He then asked if i came from a royal family.. to which I answered no. Then asked if my father and mother were alive. Once I told him they were he said that I should get them a souvenir because then there spirit will always be with me to watch over me. He then said that I will have a successful marriage, and that if I think someone it the one I should just marry them. If I think someone is the one I shouldn't get them a souvenir because then I wouldn't marry them. I also should receive souvenirs from them as well. He continued with telling me that I will become a leader of an organization or school, and that I will become rich.

6 weeks later...

In my last post I talked about how an orphanage in HoHoe that volunteers went to were selling kids. If you would like the complete story that I read I am posting the link below.
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=188784

I never got to talk about going to Mole so I will start off with that. We left for Mole Thursday Aug 12th at 5:00 pm. We took a tro tro to Accra (4 hours), then a tro tro to Kumasi (7 hours), then a bus to Tamale (7 hours), and last a taxi to Mole (4 hours). Overall with waiting time a driving it took us 25 hours to get to Mole! It went pretty smoothly for the most part. The bus to Tamale got pretty crowded though. Since all the seats are taken people had to sit on buckets in the aisle the whole way! I really have no idea how they did it. Then on our way to Mole in the taxi was the bumpiest ride ever! The road was just full of holes everywhere, and our taxi kept bottoming out. Also the doors kept flying open as well. Then there are cows in the road and one cow didn't want to move. So the taxi didn't want to swerve either and he ran straight into the cow. He hit its head soo hard that it hit the front of the car and then the window on the passenger side. I was in a lot of shock then cried haha. At Mole we did a jeep safari which also included walking around the park and tracking down elephants.





We got to be up close and see tons of antelope, lots of elephants, baboons, warthogs (which were all over the hotel grounds), water bucks, velvet monkey, crocodile, and bush buck. It was so awesome being up close to all the animals especially elephants... definitely worth the travel. On the way back we went through Bimbilla instead. Our bus there was two seats on each side then fold down seats, called jump seats, down the aisle which we were all stuck in. One time we hit a bump and I flew out of my seat into the guys lap next to me. On top of the bus they like to stack it full with yams, refrigerators, other random things, and goats.



PLACEMENT

After a while when I would get to placement at the preschool all the kids would hear me coming or wait outside for me. They would start yelling "You are welcome Madam", and then I would have a kid hanging off each finger and several hanging off my arms. Then some kids would be hanging onto my legs. It was a very difficult process in getting into the door. Then once I was leaving they would walk me out to the car. The teacher that was teaching the older kids was finally fired due to always being drunk and not showing up to class. Those poor kids now have no one to teach them. I did try my best to teach them while he was gone but it was just chaos since the headmaster just combined my class and that class. That was very difficult to teach them since the little ones don't really know much, while the older ones know so much. I would try to stick with things that they both could learn from or I thought would help. I did read them several books since they seemed to like those a lot. I found out the kids would want to do a lot more if I gave them stickers when they gave me the correct answer. They loved those stickers sooooo much it was quite cute. I taught the kids two more songs before I left, and they loved them!! One song was Bom Bom Balicka and in this song you stand in the middle of the circle while turning and pointing to everyone. Once you get to the last word of the song "friend" they have to shakey shakey shake their body. And the kids always would land on me to shakey!! They found this so hilarious! My last day was a really sad day there. My class didn't understand or know that I was leaving since they are so young. I did get to take a picture of the whole school which was pretty successful. I did cry my eyes when I had to leave Franky and Francesca. That was seriously the hardest thing to leave those kids. I am already missing them so much. It is difficult being back here.





The thing I loved about Ghana was the people and the town. The people were all so very nice and helpful. They loved talking to us and getting to know us. Some though did ask us for money, and would ask us to marry them. haha I got a few marriage proposals. Whenever we were traveling they would help us out so much by taking us to the right bus and getting us on there. They always made sure we were getting to the right place, calling taxis for us, and giving us advice. I loved how in the town no one really rushed around. It was a nice change, and we were able to get to know people and hang out with them. We made some friends in town as well. We would always go to their shop to play games and hang around. I also loved how simple everything was around there. The kids would play these games they made up with one another and would play with whatever they had. No kids really had toys around there, but they still seemed so happy. I loved how people were so happy with what they had even if it wasn't much. Its a whole different experience since people believe money makes them happy here, and there it was the opposite. If people in their family were happy and healthy then they were happy. Ah I loved it so much.

These are some of the guys we were friends with. From left to right: Eric, Enoch, Courage, and Koffie.


On my last day I got to hold a baby on my back!! They put their babies on their backs that held up with just a cloth. It was pretty comfy though.

Did you know Jesus is black with dread locks? - Random Ghanian

I just found out something really sad and upsetting about an orphanage that a lot of the volunteers go to here in HoHoe. We saw in a news article that at the Christian Orphanage the guy that started it is selling the kids. He tells people if they give $7,000 + that they can have a kid. It was such a disturbing article actually. With the money that he receives he buys himself very nice things, like a Harley, multiple tvs, and laptops. Plus more I am sure of.

Now at placement I am the only one and it is nuts! Some days the kids are crazy and wild so I let them play a lot, and others they are more calm (haha). I found out that the headmaster does want to find a new teacher, because the one with the older kids always gets drunk at night. Then he comes to work drunk or hungover and she doesn't like it. Lately he really hasn't been showing up to even teach the kids. It is so sad so I have been hanging out with them a lot more than my class. Last week the Franky got caned and bawled his eyes out and so did I (haha). Caning is where they hit the children really hard with a stick on the back, arms or even head. Its so heartbreaking to see. I basically always go comfort the children when it happens. I have been able to take the kids out a lot more to play. They are loving the soccer ball and I brought these plastic eggs that are filled with rice and make noise. The kids love these sooooo much! They are starting to learn the alphabet a little bit better as well. I am going to have a really hard time leaving my kids today and I really don't want to, but I have to. I will definitely be crying!

I will be back in America on Saturday! WHOOOO get to eat some real food haha!!

Quick Update

This is my favorite kid Franky (he has down syndrome) and he is sooooooo adorable!! I love teaching my little preschoolers so much! At first when I got there he didn't speak at all but now he is saying more words. The teachers and his mom still don't really believe me, but they are coming around. I also have made the alphabet and numbers for the school to hang on the walls which I will be doing soon. It is hard to teach them because there is so little they should be learning right now. I mostly let them color and play games since that is what they should actually be doing! They have loved all the songs I have brought them and want to do them everyday. They think they are hilarious and laugh so much. It is so cute! The teacher for my class hasn't been there lately either. Other than everything I love the kids so much and always have so much fun with them!

A group of us went to Mole (pronounced Mo-lay) this past weekend which took us only 25 hours to get to haha. We went on a safari and saw lots of animals. We actually got to walk through the national park.

I am short on time today on the internet, but I will update more in a couple of days!

T.I.A (This Is Africa)

The headline T.I.A is something we use all the time here when something strange seems to happen. We see the strangest things here or sometimes something funny happens to us and we just think well this is Africa. Also the lights have been going out quite a bit, which can get annoying at times. Thankfully we have a generator at the home base, but it takes atleast 15 mins just to get it up and running. Once its going then you should expect for it to go out atleast 3 times haha. And now the water isn't running so it might be time for a bucket shower... EXCITING!! The laundry as well can get tiring since we have to hand wash everything... a few of my things have become stiff since I guess not all the soap came out of it. But oh well what can you expect when hand washing? And it actually isn't that bad to hand wash I do it once a week because we do sweat a lot here.

Well I am now the full teacher of the class at Lolobi Pre-school. A typical day starts at 9 or 9:30 whenever the kids feel like strolling in to school. We work on letters, numbers, shapes, animals, and body parts. They know everything in order but once you ask someone to show you where J is they don't know. In these school systems they learn to memorize it all. So I am trying to help them out on picking out the letters rather than just memorize. It is the same with numbers than can count really well but they can't point out the number when asked. When asked to point out a letter or number and they can't get it the headmaster, Eunice, will say shame on you and pick someone else. Its so sad. Also they do caning in the schools where they hit kids with these long sticks really hard. A lot of the children cry and I want to go hold them all the time. We made more coloring books for the children and wrote their names on them. They love to color and show me what they have done. They think they color so well when they scribble but its so cute so of course I think it is good. Some older kids try taking their crayons and make them color right, but I tell them to leave a lot of the times. We also bring books for the kids and pictures of all different kind of animals. About 10:30 we go outside and sing some of their songs and do the hokey pokey of course. They love doing that song everyday now and think it is hilarious. A lot of the kids have caught on to the words now. We also have introduced them to the itsy bitsy spider which they like to. Today we brought a soccer ball and played with that outside for a long time. Its always good when we go outside so I can get their energy out. We kicked the ball today and also threw it back and forth. I love being there and being with those kids. And now they aren't scared of us and actually never let go of us when we are there. It is strange though that the teacher of that class just lays around when I am there and does nothing. Plus the kids are so young that they don't have the attention span to listen for so long.

Last weekend we traveled to Kumasi. There is a bus that goes from HoHoe to Kumasi but it was packed full. The next option was tro tros which is the bus system here and they pack it full with people. The buses are small and they all look like they shouldn't even be working. We got on the tro tro to Accra at 1:30 in the morning and crammed on in. This tro tro over heated 4 times and we had to stop each time it did to let it cool down. One time it started smoking and one of the girls started freaking out. Everyone started climbing over each other trying to get out of it haha. But it wasn't even smoke apparently. It was hilarious after it happened. We made it to Accra at 5ish and got dropped off somewhere where it was a mad house. SOOOO many people were everywhere going crazy. We asked around for a bus to kumasi and a guy took us to one. We got in and were the only ones which made us concerned. Then we started driving away at which point we were for sure we were going into the sex trade haha. But he just wanted to pick up people on the side of the roads. The bus got so crowded with not only people, but also the most random stuff! With this bus we only got a flat tire, which isn't to bad. We finally made it to Kumasi after ten hours. OUr hotel was interesting in that it was decorated with lots of Chinese stuff. In our room we had a kind bed (which is two twins pushed together) and two cots. So 4 people on the bed and I got a cot, and have been given the name Granny. The next day we went to the cultural arts place and the biggest market in Ghana. Wow that thing was huge and it was like a labyrinth. We walked down this one part which started out as just clothes, then regular food, then like animals getting chopped up everywhere. The smell was horrible and made me want to puke. People were grabbing onto us and I would have to yank their hands away. Ah it was crazyness. Hard to explain. Then we left Sunday and our tro tro man was crazy. It was pouring rain and a truck was passing by. Since we leave the windows open due to no a/c the mud flew in and all over everyone. I saw it happening so I ducked. But I was sitting on where the wheel was and there were holes so I got splattered with mud the whole way haha. Then our tro tro got stuck in the mud!!!!!! It was insane.

Other than everything that goes on here I love it so much. The people are so welcoming and nice. I will be sad to leave here. We have made several friends as well. I love my kids that I teach a lot and wish I could bring them all back to the U.S. Its just different to see how everyone lives here and even though they don't have much they are all so happy. I love it so much.

Unity We Stand, Divided We Fall -Boss

Last Friday some of us went back to the School for the Deaf to clean off the spider webs on the outside of the school. Let me just say it was disgusting and way to many spiders, but we finished it up and lived through it. Those spiders were huge too... I mean come on they were African spiders!! Towards the end some of the students wanted to clean so they took our supplies and did some haha. They did it way faster than we did it though so that was embarrassing. Then later in the day we went to an orphanage to just play with the kids which we did! They loved playing with my camera, and one kid got into taking photos so much!! The others played football with them forever and those kids are so good! Their living quarters though are so sad and horrible it really depresses you, but you just try not to think about it to much. Today I went back the pre-school, which is located in Lolobi, and taught them a bit. Apparently when we are there we are the teachers. Last night Rachelle and I made little booklets for them to color in and write in, but we couldn't use them today since we did not have enough. We did bring a few books where the teacher made them recite several times what each animal was. Then we busted out the hokey pokey and they loved it! They liked how you got to dance around and wiggly... it was quite cute. Tomorrow we are bring them more American songs and other things to teach. The kids now love us all and aren't scared of us anymore. Ah I would take them all if it was possible haha they just are so cute. I love it here so much and wish I could teach them more.

This last weekend we went to the caves and rocked climbed (with no harness) and went inside some caves. It did take us an hour hike to reach the caves, but unfortunately we didn't have time to do all of them. The last cave we went in was their sleeping quarters back then and there were so many bats in there. The hole to get inside was tiny and when you are coming out bats are flying out at the same time. It was so tiny down there and hot, but a lot cooler than any other caves I have been to. I did some dangling over a cliff since our tour guide, Boss, told me to put my foot somewhere else and it was slippery. Thank goodness I was already holding on to a tree limb. After the caves we were off to Lake Volta which is 2 hours away from us. Our hotel was so beautiful since it was right on the lake. That night some of us headed to the disco at the other hotel. We got a tro tro to take us and our driver Ziggy hung out with us all night. We arrived at the hotel and they were all dancing to African music.. but then they did some American ones for us. A lot of dancing went on. Then Ziggy told us that the nightclub was open that was down the street. He took us over there and at first we were the only ones there but after a while it started getting crowded. We danced with EVERYONE! Then it started getting to crazy and we made Ziggy take us away... by this time it was mid-night hahaha!! We just danced so much we were exhausted! Plus the beer here is pretty tasty not gonna lie!
Since we do so much during the day we all usually are in bed around 8:30 or 9 so midnight was pushing it.

Even though the color of our skin is different we are still the same on the inside.

This is our group.. The Spoons!


On Monday when we went to the school for the mentally challenged most of the kids had been picked up by their parents. The ones that were left wanted to just draw and color. A lot of them love writing out the letters and numbers. It was sad seeing them go and I wish we had more time there, but I would love to come back to see them again. My last day at the school was Wednesday and I was so sad to be leaving them already. They already had a special place in my heart. I just wish there was more that I could do to help them. Rachelle and I bought some of their bookmarks that they weaved themselves. We asked one of the teachers what he teaches them and all he could say was that he takes them on walks. We kept asking what he does academically, and he would dodge the question. If the teachers took the time to actually teach the kids and see where they are individually they would be excelling. The kids there are so smart and just need someone to believe in them. The vocational teacher, Michael, has such an amazing vision for the kids. He wants to help them so much and wants them to do good. He loves those kids so much, and I wish all the teachers there would be like that.



On Wednesday we did go to the school for the deaf because we will be cleaning their classrooms. I loved it there sooooo much too! Thankfully I got to put some of my sign language to use and could communicate some. Also since I am done at the school for the mentally challenged I have been moved to a pre-school outside of town at Christ School. My kids are 1 and 2 years old. At first when we arrived the kids were scared of us since they have never seen a white person. Some cried and some just kept staring and would not get near us. The teachers were teaching them how to add, count, and say the alphabet. They were also making them sing the same 4 songs over and over, which eventually the kids got so bored really fast. I then pulled out some crayons and paper for them to color on and they loved it so much! All of their faces lit up when they figured out that they could color, and they kept tapping us to show us their drawing. There are two down syndrome kids in the class and they were the most excited! Ah they were sooooo cute!! It was nice to see that they were allowed in a regular classroom. The teachers just kept saying to us that they didn't speak, but I did not care.

On Tuesday we climbed the tallest mountain in Ghana which took about an hour to do. The trail was very very steep and you had to climb rocks. Lets just say I had to take several breaks. It was worth it though once you got to the top. The view was incredible! On the way down it was tricky since the rocks were loose and leaves everywhere making it slippery. I did fall quite a bit haha and scratched my leg up. It was intense coming down! Our tour guide though just ran up it and down it... in FLIP FLOPS!!!!!!!

I have been trying some different foods as well. The other day we had grass cutter and it was interesting. With the rice and sauce it actually wasn't bad. Also have had sugar cane, Buflo (its like a donut and a sweet roll together), Ghana popcorn (almost like kettle corn), these egg sandwiches that are only made at night on the streets, and fan ice (ice cream). Next week its goat!!! I am excited! haha there are tons of goats roaming around here. We also did go to a gas station restaurant and had chicken pizza which was delicious!!!!

This weekend we are going to some caves where we get to crawl and rock climb in. Then its off to Lake Volta on Saturday night!! I am excited!!

There are two kinds of Poeple in this World: Big Spoons and Little Spoons!

These are the kids at the Volta School for the Mentally Challenged.



Sorry I haven't updated much the internet has been down (surprise) and I was away this weekend.

Last week at placement started going very well and I have fallen in love with the kids. I am teaching the older class and I have about 10 kids. The boys are usually doing vocational work, which they are so good at. When they aren't working they love doing math. Salese is still on very simple math but everyday he is getting more and more. God's way is on simple math to but catches on quickly. Edem has moved on the double digit math of addition and subtraction. She underestimates herself in that she can't do it, but actually is really smart. There is another girl in a different class Juliet, who has cp, and should be in a regular school because she is so bright and intelligent. There is this super cute boy Eva, who has down syndrome, who doesn't speak but loves following us everywhere and holding our hands. There are so many kids I have fallen in love with. The thing that is hard is that the teachers don't seem to care and have left, because school is ending this friday. They have left all teaching up to us 3 volunteers. Its hard to take care of 100 mentally challenged kids, but some are very well behaved. We have seen things that are disturbing, but you keep going.



On Wednesday we hiked up to Wli waterfall. It was so pretty and incredible. It was basically the best bath I have gotten since being here haha. We got to swim in it and went all the way to the back of it with the water pounding down on us. After that we shopped at some places on the way... I got this wooden bowl and mask that the guy made.

Friday we were only at placement for an hour and half and then headed down south to Cape Coast. Our whole group went which consist of 18 people. The ride there took 9 hours and it was soooo bumpy. The roads here are paved but they have like 5 set of 3 speed bumps in a town... so basically you hit them every five mins. It gets quite annoying to say the least. Our hotel was bungalows on the beach so it was really neat. Once there we went to the hotel bar since it closes at 11. The beer that we get that is made in Ghana is Star. Its HUGE!! The next morning we woke up early to go on a canopy walk, which I loved. It was basically ropes and you walked on ladders that had a piece of wood on top of it. They were very wobbly and creaky... kind of scary not going to lie. After that we went and ate at the Castle Restaurant and had a Ghana dish called Red Red, which was super spicy. We then proceeded to the slave castle and had a tour of it. It had such a sad feeling there and the dungeons were just so small where they would have 150 people in and no laying down at all. Above the dungeons was the church... so disturbing. After that we had a fun night getting to know each other. That Sunday we got up and got to swim in the ocean and lay out on the beach so relaxing there!! Then it was back to HoHoe.

Well I will tell you about my group which consist of 18 people. They are all sooo amazing! Its incredible that we all get along. I have gotten the nickname Giggles because for some reason I am laughing so hard a lot. But I have this partner in crime that does it with me too, Michelle! Kelsie, is the girl I talked to a lot on the community website for CCS, is really cool and we get a long pretty well. Ilana is hilarious!!! We sometimes wonder why she even came here because she thought there would a McDonalds plus she trips a lot. I get along with my roommates Rachelle and Laure so well, but they are leaving me soon :(. They both crack me up and remind me of my friends back home. Anna is my personal walking zombie but she says some funny things but as well as really nice and chill. The 3 men we have are Luis, Chris, and Greg. Greg is a little nervous about getting stuck with Michelle and I on our trip to Mole (which is 15 hours away), Luis is here with his daughter and is sooo nice.. he looks out for us, and Chris is mysterious. The Debbies (there are two) are crazy fun!! I will do shout outs to others later!

This town though is so incredibly nice and loving. They are very welcoming and love seeing us. The kids are always yelling out Yevu (meaning white person) and waving. I love it here so much!!

Laura V

Finally here!

Well I am finally in Ghana!! We arrived at 7:40 am on Saturday and the plane ride wasn't that bad actually. It took us 4 hours to get to HoHoe from Accra which was an insane ride! Its all dirt roads everywhere and huge holes. Its just crazyness everywhere. We got the home base and they took us around town. At night we went to a bar called Obama Gardens. Apparently they are obsessed with our president...which I don't know why.

On Sunday we got to sleep in so I slept soooooo long. We do have bunk beds and mosquito nets over them. I have 3 other roommates, another Laura,Rachelle, and Debbie (From Britain). It is pretty hot in there to but its actually not to bad to be honest. The food is really good too. We have chicken every day for lunch and dinner. On Sunday we just had orientation and we learned about our placements and everything else.

Monday we started our placement and WOW it is so sad to see what I saw. I arrived and the teacher just left me to teach the kids, who really don't know english. It was just so heartbreaking. A lot of the kids have autism and down syndrome. The children are running around everywhere with horrible clothes and no shoes. It is just so different than what you see in the US. I will talk about it more later. I only have a certain amount of time I can be on! I miss you all!!

Laura V.

Pre-Butterflies

The time is almost here that I will finally embark on this awesome journey! I board my plane to JFK at 8:05 am, and still haven't made it to bed haha! Then at JFK I have a 3 hour lay over, which will be fine... I will be able to get to know some of the other volunteers. My plane then takes off at 3:30 (2:30) our time, which will take about 11.5 hours. I will then arrive in Ghana at 7:40 am (on Saturday) , which is 2:40 am Texas time! I definitely will be sleeping a lot on Saturday, but then orientation and a tour of the town, HoHoe, on Sunday. Then Monday I finally start teaching the children, which I am super excited!!

Usually my days are going to consist of volunteering in the mornings, then they immerse you in the culture in the afternoons. They might take us on excursions, go see dances, and teach us the language Ewe... even though most do speak English! I probably won't be able to make contact or anything till maybe Monday.

I am going to miss my family, alllll my friends, and Alpha Gams!!! I love you all! :)

Placement in Ghana

When I signed up to volunteer in Ghana with Cross Cultural Solutions I was hoping that I would be working with kids. With the program you fill out a survey as to what your interest are when working over there. You get to choose your top three, which all my included in some way working with children. I have been waiting 7 months to find out what I was chosen to do! I gave everything to God and trusted in Him to figure out what would be best for me.

A couple of days ago I FINALLY received my placement for what they have me doing in Ghana. I am going to be working at the Volta School for the Mentally Challenged. I am really excited/ nervous about this. Not quite sure where to start as in preparing for something like this. I have been e-mailing other people who in the past have worked in the same school. I am making a small scrapbook with pictures of where I live, my family, my friends, and anything else. I know I will teaching them some English, but I will also be doing arts and crafts with them as well! I hope it goes well!

I leave in 6 days and am packed and ready to go! Ahh I can't believe the time is finally here! I will keep everyone updated as to what I am doing.

Laura