An Afternoon with Brown in ECL

Brown and his students in ECL2

“Tell me the words you see on this page.”  Small hands go up instantly. “Fish!” yells out one child when called on. “Night…” whispers another. “Shoop” says another, a little too quickly. Samuel Godfried Brown, the teacher for this ECL class, smiles, and says, “No, it’s pronounced SHOP. Say it with me.” All the children do.

Brown, as he is commonly known, grew up in Humjibre, and was one of the first students that GHEI sponsored for Senior High School though the scholarship program.  He went on and completed Senior High School at Kumasi, and then returned to Humjibre, hoping to continue on to University shortly.  Slowly, Brown became more involved in GHEI, first volunteering with the tutoring centre, and then YEP classes, and finally Early Childhood Literacy, or ECL.  He was the first teacher to volunteer to teach to the ECL class.

The YEP program exists to push older students towards greater excellence, and ECL is for those younger students in the first year of school that are already falling behind.  While the education system functions fairly ably out here, there is no capacity for those quiet kids in the back, who quickly slip through the cracks.  And if you don’t have a handle on literacy at an early age, the chance that you would catch up later is slim.

Brown teaches ECL2.  These are the kids who have completed a year of ECL, and still benefit from the intensive, supportive learning environment.  By now, these kids can read, albeit with some stumbling here and there, but it’s a good thing Brown’s such a laid back guy.  

The book that they were reading was Frank The Fish Gets His Wish.  It’s a cute story about a fish in a pet shop feeling lonely in his tank, till a new a fish named Trish is put in his tank with him.  It’s a good story for beginner readers, all the words are a few syllables long, and the alliteration and rhyming scheme is good to get a grasp on proper pronunciation.

However, I could not image how this book would be relatable to these kids.  What does a kid in Humjibre know about a pet store?  What’s a pet? Why isn’t anyone eating this fish?

As I sat in the corner and the kids painstakingly followed the words with their slightly dirty fingers, I wondered how we were supposed to bring kids to a western level of English literacy when the majority of children’s books are so clearly biased towards kids in wealthy western societies. 

The chapter ended and Brown deposited a large box of books on the table.  The kids hungrily grabbed one each, and I cornered Brown as he was cleaning.  How do you translate foreign concepts like pet stores and fish tanks and, for that matter, fish that are kept as pets.  For some of the words, Brown said, we translate them into our own language.  I had seen him do this for some of the more complex words like “swim” and “gills”.  Yes, but how do you say ‘Pet Store’ in Sefwi?

He smiled, “Teaching ECL is interesting because there are some words that can help you the teacher learn by explaining them in your own language. It helps with your own understanding by slowing down and explaining the words and the ideas.  It is like you are learning by teaching.”

Besides, he said, the ECL students know what a fish is.  They know what loneliness is.  They know what it is like to have a new friend. 

“And that is also why we also have these books,” he said, gesturing to the table, where the kids were engaged in their own books. 

A page from "My Yellow Book" by Kathy Knowles

These books were the Osu Children’s Library Fund books written by Kathy Knowles.  They are simple, and great for early readers, and firmly planted in Ghana.  One sentence in “My Green Book” has the line “The Shea Fruits are green” and above the text is a picture of Shea Fruit, a fruit most in Ghana would recognize.  The students read these books aloud, confidently, even the boy who was whispering earlier.

I wondered if people in the west would better understand the enormous challenge of encouraging literacy in Africa, if six and seven year olds in America were forced to sit down and read “My Green Book”.  Clearly, we need more books like this here in Ghana, and we need more dedicated teachers like Brown.

“When I completed SHS, I wanted to get into business.  I imagined myself as someone like that.  But due to some things at home, I couldn’t continue to University right then. So I started to teach with GHEI because they needed volunteer teachers, and then I started to teach in Anglican Primary school as part of the government’s Youth Employment Program.”

“Since I’ve been teaching my mind has changed. It keeps my mind active always and boosts my morale to teach like this,” he said, gesturing again to the kids now putting away their Ghana themed storybooks.  “I think it is because of working here at GHEI I want to continue being a teacher.”

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A New Year, A New Project, A New Approach from GHEI

GHEI has started 2012 strongly. 

The Chief of Humjibre called a general meeting for Wednesday morning in the community centre.  There was no need to ask what the meeting is for, people simply dutifully showed up, in small numbers earlier, but the crowd grew to nearly hundred. 

Nana Kwado Twum II, The Chief of Humjibre

Nana Kwado Twum II was briefed by Clement last week.  Over the holiday break, GHEI received news that one of our projects listed on the Choose a Need website had received the full amount of funding, and was ready to go. 

When Clement and senior staff sat with the chief, he explained that GHEI were attempting something new.  GHEI has since it's humble beginnings been entirely community focused.  The talent and energy infused into the work by volunteers and staff from Humjibre for Humjibre, has been a big factor in its success. 

Humjibre, though, is a rapidly shifting and growing community.  Even since I arrived in April, I've seen it in little details like new items at stores and the far off hammering of new houses being built.  Lately, phone credit entrepreneurs have added phone retail sections to their enterprises; they grow from a young man's backpack sitting in the shade to a wooden structure with a tin roof and a glass display case in less than eight months. 

 

To keep on our toes, and anchor ourselves more firmly in this rapidly growing community, we've had the idea to begin volunteer community groups to collaborate directly with particular projects.  This way, getting an update on a GHEI project in Humjibre is as easy as visiting a neighbour. 

Yesterday morning, to a crowd that kept growing, we explained the project that we were funded for: a mechanized borehole.  Right now, women and children must manually pump the water, which comes out in small spurts from the faucet with every lift and pull.  This project would mean that an electric pump would fill a water tank, and make the chore of fetching water as easy as turning a tap.  Clement explained the technology in finer detail and the community asked questions.  The response was positive, and the chief then said a few words on the subject of communal labour.  Then Clement presented the idea of a five person volunteer committee (four from the community, one from GHEI).  It was hard to tell if there was going to be any interest, and the community groups were entirely volunteer, so who knew how seriously the gathered people of Humjibre took this project. 

 

In the end, four people volunteered: two of them women, all of them well known members of the community.  Before the meeting closed, one man curmudgeonly commented to the chief that we needed more people here, and he vowed to make sure more come to hear about this project.  The committee and GHEI are going to begin planning for the borehole, and the next step is to present our plan at the next general meeting called by the chief.  Let's see how many more get involved.

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Review of Summer Serve and Learn Volunteer applications begins on January 15, 2012

We are welcoming applications for Summer Serve and Learn now! 

GHEI will start reviewing applications from January 15'th on. Review will continue until all spots on volunteer teams are filled. Successful applicants will be contacted to schedule interviews. 

Learn more about the Summer Serve and Learn program

2012 Summer Serve and Learn project descriptions / FAQ / 2012 Summer Serve and Learn application

Email applications to apply@ghei.org 

A Christmas and a New Year comes around again in Humjibre

Humjibre: December 23, 2011 - 5:44 P.M.

 We are inching into Christmas here in Humjibre. It’s drier here than I’ve ever seen it; the harmatthan dust from the desert has settled in town, casting a spooky diffused light everywhere. It’s like Christmas in sepia, with children playing in whirling dust devils instead of freshly fallen snow. I’m not sure how, but it cuts an equally magical image. After all, this time of year is about anticipation and the excitement of everyone gathering and celebrating, not about snow and shopping malls. And if you take a walk in town, the excitement is everywhere.

The holiday greetings here are "Afehyia Pa" in Twi.  This means I wish you a good meeting of the year, or along the lines of 'one year has gone a full cycle'. The response is "Afe nko mmeto yen", which means, 'may the year go round and find us again'.  To me, it sounds like when the years meet, that is when we will also meet.

Humjibre: December 24, 2011 - 8:13 A.M.

About a month ago, as the holidays were just over the horizon, I sat down with Lawrence to get to know how it goes down here. With the mail service in Ghana the way it is, our Christmas themed correspondence needed to go out soon, and if we were to give our supporters a taste of Humjibre Holidays, I needed to know what that looks like. Lawrence has been a great cultural attaché recently and he agreed to acquaint me in the library. I was fishing for was a few sentences, so when he quietly talked for over half an hour, I was a bit surprised. I was glad I was recording it. Clearly, Lawrence is still excited about Christmas:
 

8:15 A.M.

“When I was young, I would start thinking about Christmas early, even from February I would start thinking about Christmas being around the corner, and then I would start thinking of different things I would want to do and the types of clothes I would want, and then I would start thinking about my friends, and I would wonder if my gifts would be more beautiful than theirs, and on and on…

"For months before, because I would be thinking of Christmas, I would be saving some small coins from my chop [lunch] money or collecting some fallen wood in the forest and selling it as firewood. I would do this so I could buy foodstuffs for December 24’th when I would go home and prepare my own Christmas dish. It was usually rice and stew and I would make it very delicious!”

8:18 A.M.

Like a hardened capitalist, I asked, And the presents? What about those? 

 “Oh yeah. Before December 15, you would tell your parents [what you wanted]. You would alert them to what kind of clothes, what kind of shoes, and they if they had the money, they would buy it for you. If the money wasn’t there, they would choose whatever style they could afford. From the 20’th to the 24’th was when you would get your presents, if you could get them…

"On the 24’th of December, you are thinking about Christmas, Christmas, Christmas! When you finish making your own food that night, I would taste a little of it, but then I would reserve it for myself for the next morning. Elders in my family would come in the morning and take a small taste of everyone’s food, and declare this person’s food the most delicious or that person’s food the most delicious.”

8:23 A.M

Did your friends think it was strange that you would be cooking and not hanging out with them on Christmas Eve? “All my friends were also preparing dishes!” So, everyone stays home cooking on Christmas Eve? "But..."  Lawrence continued.

“Later on the 24’th night, all the children who go to the Catholic Church would gather and sleep there. We would prepare to wake up early and sing Christmas songs early on Christmas.

8:21 A.M.

"We would even wake up sometimes around 4 in the morning and we would sing for 30 minutes or so in the church. Then we would go out to every house in Humjibre and sing for people. If they liked our singing, they would give us a little something as a Christmas gift.”

You would sing in front of people’s houses at 4:30 A.M!?! “Yes!” Do they still do this? “Yes, some churches do.” In the recording, you can hear the sound of my palm slapping against my forehead. Lawrence went on,

8:25 A.M

"We would be singing at people’s house until 9 or 10 in the morning. After the house to house singing, we would then hand the money over to the church, and I would come home and take my bath. And then, I would get a chance to eat my food.”

The church took your money? “They would give us some biscuits and candy for our work.” I thought this didn’t sound fair, but that’s a whole other discussion. So no one would eat your food? “No! Nobody would touch my food unless I gave them a little…which I usually did.” 

8:27 A.M

 “In the evening, I would go out with your friends and just hang out. We would be comparing our new clothes. We were very honest too! Sometimes, I would say things like, ‘Oh your clothes are nice, but you, your clothes are not so good.’ We would discuss this way for a long time.” Lawrence looked a little sheepish recollecting his childhood vanity. I thought of my own childhood vanity at Christmas in comparison: I would hope packages under the tree weren’t clothes at all but stacks of aggressive video games...Now I was more embarrassed and I reached over to stop the recording.

“But! New Years!” Lawrence exclaimed. I stopped mid-reach. “People in Humjbire say that New Years Day is the most popular day in the whole year! Even more than Christmas!”

8:29 A.M.

Oh?

“First of January is not something small! It’s a very big event! This is when the Catholic Church has their annual harvest celebration. Everybody would be taking photographs if they have cameras, and those who got new clothes for Christmas would be wearing them. Even if they didn’t go to church, they would come. Sometimes, there was half of Humjibre there. People would come from other towns because they knew that people were dressed well and there was good food in Humjibre!

"In the morning, the youth church members, like myself, would arrive early on the first of January, and help get the place prepared. We would sweep, arrange chairs, and put up canopies outside. By 11 or 12 the Harvest would begin and it would continue on into the night. 
 

8:31 A.M.

"What would happen is this: You would bring food, and place it with other food. It was food like, some yams or some plantains. Once the food was all collected, and it was your turn, you could say a price. But then if people liked the food, someone would say a higher price, then if someone else liked the food more, they would say a higher price. Sometimes people would by so much food!”

So like an auction for foodstuffs…you could pay like 5 cedis for a yam, even though it’s like four times higher than the real price? “Yes!” Why would people do this?

“Because everyone was having a good time together!”

As I was pressing 'stop' in the recording, I was thinking that no matter where you are in the world, you celebrate holidays not to taste good food and get things, but to have a good time together. And what better time to do so when a year makes its full cycle...

Humjibre, December 24, 2011 - 8:40 A.M

From all of us here at GHEI, here’s to you, your family and your friends, all having a good time together this holiday season. Afeyhia Pa!

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GHEI F.C. vs Real Kojina

After the intermural match between GHEI’s Early Childhood Literacy class and the regular young patrons of the library last month, library administrator Lawrence and education program manager Happy were impressed.  On the uneven, rutted ground in front of the library, these kids were showing some serious talent.

The Team Bus

I was in the office after the match as ECL teacher Saga, and Happy and Lawrence all conversed feverishly about the game.  It was getting intense, each were gesturing more wildly.  What they were arguing about was not the game, but the future of the team.  The three men had big ideas.  

Kojina, a nearby village, practically next door to Humjibre (where we have expanded our malaria program), was going to be the first match for a new, combined and refined GHEI football team.  Kojina has only one primary school so playing our ECL students of the same age was a good match...or so we thought.

 

Word of the match travelled fast and the students and teachers in both villages were getting excited. While Lawrence and Happy were planning logistics with the Kojina teachers, Saga found some uniforms. They were a little big, but effective nonetheless.

On Friday December 9^th , students ran from school to GHEI so they were sure to be on the team.  A dream team of mixed ECL and Library students was controversially assembled.  This was when the Svengalis of the team got to work: Lawrence handled the team management, Happy handled the transport, and Saga took to impromptu training.  It seemed like the three grown men who were managing a kids football team were more excited than the kids were…

Also, a truck full of filtered water, ready to hydrate

A large group of players and spectators assembled.  The group walked up to the main road and everyone piled into the back of a blue pickup truck. In true tradition, the truck drove through town once at a slow speed, singing and chanting so that everyone in Humjibre who was on the street knew an important match was about to take place.  The truck boisterously rumbled down the road with the excited high pitched cheers from the dozen young voices and the maniacal rallying cries of team managers Happy, Saga, and Lawrence.  Kojina residents must have been terrified.

Once we arrived in Kojina, the team was given a spot to put on uniforms.  Lawrence took over as coach, and drew up elaborate strategies.  As the teams took to the field all the spectators gathered around the goals of their team to wave branches, yell support and continuously sing at the top of their lungs.  The three masterminds paced up and down the sidelines with their players, and yelled furiously.  Happy gestured aggressively towards openings in the defence, Saga screamed encouragement to the players, and Lawrence hoarsely tried to remind the players of the 4-3-3 team arrangement. 

Health program assistant Mensah was the referee. Which would have been a conflict of interest had he not called a good game and also, crucially, had we not lost 3-4.  The spirits of the youngsters seemed to be a little deflated but upbeat; all in all, they had a good time.  Team managers Happy, Saga, and Lawrence on the other hand looked like they took it harder than anyone.  They were subdued on the ride home, and on arriving in Humjibre they immediately retired to a drink spot to begin drawing up plans for a rematch, a training schedule, league matches, and who knows, maybe some sponsorship deals. 

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Visit Cape Coast Castle with us this Summer

The Cape Coast Castle

This summer, as part of GHEI Summer Serve and Learn volunteer program (that is now accepting applications!  Apply here!), volunteers will have a trip to Cape Coast Castle included as part of their volunteering time with GHEI. 

The Cape Coast Castle is a must visit for any traveller in Ghana.  This haunting and important landmark is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is very popular with tourists. Until the 1830's, when Britain outlawed slave trading in its empire, captured men, woman and children from throughout Ghana and other parts of Africa were marched hundreds of kilometres to this point. Once they arrived at the castle, they were kept in a cramped dungeon for months until they were led aboard ships destined for the Americas, where they would work as slaves.

Phillip Briggs, who wrote the write up for Ghana on respected travel publication Frommer's list of top ten places to visit in 2012, and also authored the Bradt Guide to Ghana, has this to say about the castle, “This World Heritage Site is reputed to have been one of the largest slave-holding sites in the world during the colonial era...Sited on the edge of town overlooking a rocky stretch of coast with crashing waves, this white washing building is far more attractive than you feel a place with its history out to be.  But once below ground, in the claustrophobic dungeons which saw ten of thousands...it is a grim and sobering place indeed.” (Bradt Guide: Ghana.Vol.3)

View of Cape Coast town with its multitudes of colorful fishing vessels

When I was there, I felt the same sort of odd juxtaposition in Cape Coast.  There were beautiful palm lined beaches right under the chilling shadow of the Castle.  In town, I was struck by how the reminders of the colonial era existed in some strange harmony with the modern Ghana. Walking next to a large European cathedral with a small cobblestone square, you were still surrounded by the chop bars, provision stores, and the boisterousness that you see in every Ghanaian city.  It was an unforgettable vibe; it was beautiful and fascinating.

At the base of the castle, fisherman prep for a voyage out onto the waves

Although this place is so important in world history, it is nearly impossible for your average Ghanaian school child to visit it.  GHEI provided their Youth Education Program kids a chance to do just that though.  For the annual “Youth Learning Tour” (a.k.a a good old field trip), GHEI students took a trip to the Kakum National Forest, the university of Cape Coast, and finally, a trip to the Cape Coast Castle, and the beach next door.  For all it was their first time to Cape Coast, for some, it was their first time seeing the ocean.   We posted a slide show from the trip on our blog back in February. 

YEP students at the castle

They left Humjibre on a bus Friday, Febrauary 18'th, at 2 A.M, such was the fullness of the days events.  Education Program Coordinator Jen Artibello remembers well, “The bus ride was an adventure all in itself! The bus we had booked did not show up and we ended up with a smaller bus with less seats! Which was no problem as everyone just shared seats, but the road we took to Cape Coast was mostly a dirt road and looked like swiss cheese!” (Note: This is NOT the road volunteers will take!)

At Kakum National Park, the canopy walk was quite popular but very scary for most.  The university was also interesting, especially the computer lab. Few students had ever seen that many computers.  But no one was that engaged.

GHEI students taking in the ocean's expanse

At the Cape Coast Castle though, there were questions about just about everything.  “Most of the students have never seen the ocean and I got many questions about that!” according to Jen.  “I  was also asked numerous times what 'the big black things'  were.  I explained they are cannons and then I had to explain what those were and why they were there in the first place.”

The reason this place was built in such a fortified way was not to ensure slaves didn't escape.  It was to protect the British interests.  The slaves and stores of gold in the Castle were often under siege from pirates or other countries' navys.  There are a lot of cannons high on these walls. 

Getting a better view

“After the tour of the dungeons we were all quiet and standing there staring out at the ocean. Remember, this was the first time they had seen the ocean before, and they were in awe.” according to Jen. “I asked one of my students what he thought of the ocean. He didn’t say anything; he just started to cry! He couldn’t come up with any words.” 

After exploring the castle on their own a bit more, staff and students went down to the beach. “After an eventful day of firsts, running away from waves while screaming and laughing was definitely the highlight of the trip for them! It was a great day and I know the students learned so much more than they would have if they were in a classroom.”

Volunteer this summer with GHEI in Humjibre and learn more about an important piece of history in a beautiful part of the world.

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GHEI Hosts World AIDS Day Event in Humjibre

Community Health Worker Isaac answering questions and demonstrating how to put a condom on properly

When GHEI hosted World AIDS Day for Humjibre in the community centre, it began like most community events do: with giant speakers, a DJ spinning some bass heavy hip-life, a GHEI staff member yelling invitations to the community, and the pounding of dozens of tiny feet dancing before the adults come.

World AIDS Day events eventually began formally and it started off getting people involved through a question and answer session hosted by Aggie, about AIDS, AIDS prevalence in Ghana, and proper ways to protect yourself.

It was a good exercise, so let's do it here on the blog, for World AIDS Day:

• How many people in the world have HIV? 33 million,
• How many AIDS related deaths occur per year? Around 2 million. 
• What is the proportion of Ghana's population that has AIDS? 1.9%.  Which doesn't sound bad, when you compare it to Swaziland, with their tragic rate of 26%.  Ghana does have the lowest rates in West Africa according to Ghana Demographic and Health Survey. But slow down there, Ghana's rate is still over 3 times that of the USA. 
• How many children are orphaned by AIDS in Ghana? Around 160,000 as of 2009.  
  
• What is the prevalence of AIDS in the Western Region of Ghana, where Humjibre is located? 4.7%. Not the highest rates of any region in Ghana, but rates of AIDS are much higher in towns near mining areas, which the Western Region has plenty of.  Transient workers from all over Africa come to mining towns, often bringing AIDS while the sex worker industry often thrives in these towns, spreading it locally.  
• What age group has the fastest growing rates of AIDS in the B.A.B District, where Humjibre is located? Youth, ages 15-19.   

Aggie drops some science; enormous speakers take a break from dropping a beat

The World AIDS Day event in Humjibre was very much targeting these young people.  Being youthful, and naturally surly, many of them hung out in the back of the community centre. So instead of bringing them to the front to watch Aggie demonstrate how to put on a condom properly, we went to them.  Community Health Workers and staff mingled amongst the youth, armed with rubbers and wooden phalluses, and we demonstrated.  No questions were out of bounds.  In fact, in my zeal to explain these things, I might have embarrassed a group of teenage boys by my blunt language.  I counted this a success.  

Following the event was condom distribution, in separate men and women areas. Everyone would get three, and predominantly it was the older mid-20's crowd, but young people were coming in slowly. One boy asked me to get them for him, and I said, no, this isn't a thing to be ashamed about, get your own.  I pushed him inside, and he said thank you to me on the way out. 

Community Health Worker Shadrack distributed more than 150 condoms on this night.

After the event, the adults made their way home, while the youngsters hung out.  Yes, it was in Sefwi, but when I heard words like "Female Condom", I hung around.  Like an educating pinball, GHEI staff bounced to different groups of young people, answering questions and destroying myths.

We also took the time to let everyone know that you can get condoms at highly reduced rates at GHEI (and now at drink spots throughout town). "So later, you can get some for me?" I was asked.  "Yes, and anyone one of us will.  No matter what."


Stats from here and here and here and from Mensah, Aggie and Carly. Good reading to be found here. 

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