Book Walk

Share |

The volunteers involved in our “Read and Play” session of Summer Serve and Learn have recently arrived in Humjibre and are thrilled to hit the ground running.  “I just want to help out in any way I can.  Even if it’s just one person and it’s something as simple as helping a kid read a book,” said Anna, a volunteer from Pennsylvania.

The “Read and Play” session runs in coordination with the ongoing ReadAthon and has our volunteers running outreach programs to local schools, teaching reading skills as well as how to take good care of books. 

The volunteers have been teaching their young pupils the concept of a “book walk.” 

This starts with an overview of the book itself, examining the cover, its author and the back cover.  With the younger kids they’ll then take a look through the pictures, while with the older students they’ll read through the synopsis, glossary and comprehension questions to guide them in their reading.  The “book walk” serves as a learning tool for these enthusiastic students by improving their comprehension skills, but also gives students the ability to seek out the books they’re actually interested in reading.

 

To help the children retain these instructions, the volunteers have made use of a catchy little song:

Time to take a Book Walk

And see what we can see.

The cover words and pictures

All tell us what might be.

We’ll use our imaginations

Guess what the characters might do

Then we’ll read the book itself

And see if it comes true!

When asked about what they expected from their two-week program it was evident that our volunteers knew that this would be as much of a learning experience for them as it is for their students.  One volunteer, Pearl, from Southern California, had this to say: “I have a feeling I’ll learn a lot about the culture and lifestyle here in Ghana through teaching the children.  I think this will really put things into perspective in terms of what we take for granted back home.”

Another volunteer, John, from Minnesota, remarked: “I expect to meet some great people here in Ghana and really experience their culture.  I’m looking forward to learning more about child literacy so that I’m able to draw comparisons to some of the literacy programs I’ve worked with in Peru as well as the United States.”

Our volunteers are also kept busy creating a series of questions for the participants of the upcoming Quiz Competition, in which primary and junior high school students from around Humjibre will compete in reading comprehension of selected texts, as well as trivia questions about Ghana and Africa.

We at GHEI are delighted to have such a passionate group of volunteers, each making meaningful contributions to our efforts in improving literacy.  Keep up the awesome work!

Read and Play volunteers Anna, Phil, John, Ally, Akshat and Pearl

Share |

Avid Readers

Share |

It’s just before 2 pm and a crowd of excited school children have gathered around the doors of GHEI’s library.  They chatter and laugh, some kicking around a soccer ball, others playing jacks with pebbles.  All of these children have finished their school day, but are here eagerly awaiting the start of the daily ‘Read-a-thon’.  The Read-a-thon is GHEI’s month long program which encourages the kids to do some extra reading through two separate two-hour reading periods each day at the library.  The aim of the Read-a-thon is to improve reading skills and to foster an interest and joy in reading amongst these young students.

It’s remarkable how eager they are to hit the books.  When the library doors finally open the kids try to rush through all at once, getting caught with little shoulders wedged against the door frame.  Nevertheless, GHEI Library Administrator Lawrence Donkor runs a tight ship and keeps things orderly, insisting that everyone signs in while entering.

I’ve had the chance to help out around the Read-a-thon by monitoring the kids and it’s been a really enjoyable process.  It’s satisfying when a student approaches me to ask the pronunciation of a word. “Con-clu-sion” I say.  She rushes back to her friends to teach them the correct pronunciation with pride. It’s also good to see a young boy totally absorbed in his "Clifford the Dog" book, and funny to think that a story about a massive red dog is as entertaining to Ghanaian kids today as it was to my Canadian classmates and I twenty years ago. 

That being said, the North American context of many of these children’s books has proven to be an obstacle when trying to improve literacy.  They often include concepts that the kids have no prior knowledge of, which can be detrimental to reading comprehension. GHEI addresses this challenge with an intake of stories written by African authors featuring a more familiar context for our young readers.

Two hours is a long time for some of the younger participants to concentrate and things can get a little hectic in the closing minutes.  I’ve defused a few small quarrels, and even had to break up some fisticuffs that broke out over a coveted piece of reading material.  I confiscated the book in question and not wanting to compromise my disciplinarian façade, contained my laughter in seeing that it was a picture book of WWF wrestlers.  Go figure!  Fortunately, for the most part everyone is well behaved and focused on their reading.

To motivate the kids, Read-a-thon is something of a contest.  Each junior high school student is awarded a point for every thirty minutes spent reading in the library, while younger students are given a point for every twenty minutes of reading.  At the end of the month we will tally up the points and award prizes to the students with leading scores in the different age groups. 

 In addition to this GHEI will hold a quiz competition that will see Humjibre’s various schools competing against each other in the categories of lower primary, upper primary and junior high school.  Each school has been given books to study based on reading level, and contestants will be quizzed on their reading comprehension as well as their general knowledge of Humjibre and Ghana.

Next week GHEI will welcome our second group of Summer Serve and Learn Volunteers who will help out throughout the rest of the Read-a-thon by reading to the children for story time, assist in creating the quiz competition as well as assess the students final performance.  We look forward to their arrival!

Ready to read!

Share |

Running Water for Humjibre

Nana Kwadwo Twum II

The Summer Serve and Learn volunteers and myself recently had the privilege of meeting the Chief of Humjibre, Nana Kwadwo Twum II.  We filed into the palace led by GHEI Education Manager Enock ‘Happy’ Nkrumah, going around the room greeting and shaking hands with everyone in attendance.

The Chief’s main spokesman made a ceremonial prayer thanking God for bringing us together and asking for wisdom and guidance in our work.  As he prayed he poured out libations of Castlebridge gin on to the palace floor as an offering to their ancestors.

Next they passed around the bottle of gin, starting with the council of elders.  I noticed that most of the men were drinking about an ounce of the gin, pouring out the last drops, while others abstained and poured out their full servings.

The bottle worked its way around the room and soon I was offered my drink.  I knocked back my shot and managed to avoid wincing in front of my gracious hosts, pouring out the last drops.  Nothing like a shot of gin to start my morning!

We were informed that the Chief rarely addresses the assembly, usually communicating through his spokesman, but in a demonstration of his warmth towards his guests he spoke to us directly in his closing remarks.  He wished us God’s blessing in our work and welcomed us to his community.  He also ensured our safety in Humjibre, promising to protect us throughout the duration of our stay.

GHEI Country Director Clement Donkor then announced to the elders that the water borehole that GHEI had sponsored the construction of was now complete, and that we wished to formally hand the keys over to the Chief.  Together we walked to the site of the new borehole.

Previously people in Humjibre would use water pumps to collect their water, which is quite a laborious task.   Since most residents of Humjibre don’t have running water all the water for daily living had to be obtained in this way. This new borehole features four faucets fed through an elevated Polytank, making life that much easier for the surrounding community.

 

In the United States the average water used per person is between 250 and 300 litres of water (65 to 78 gallons) per day for drinking, cooking, bathing and watering their yard (Pacific Institute).  Imagine for a moment that you had to pump your entire daily water supply by hand, then transport it back to your home in a bucket carefully balanced on your head.  At those rates it would take more than one trip!

Before handing the keys to Nana Kwadwo Twum II we bowed our heads in prayer, asking for God’s blessing on the use of the taps and all those they will serve, followed by the pouring of more libations on the ground.  The faucets were turned and each of us cupped our hands under the brisk running water, splashing our faces to cool off under the blazing sun.  I took a big sip of water, which I had been craving since my swig of gin.

GHEI Country Director Clement Donkor hands over the keys to the borehole to Nana Kwadwo Twum II

Share |

We Are The Future

GHEI’s Girls Empowerment Club usually meets twice a week throughout May and June to promote girls’ education, discuss self-expression and build self-esteem amongst other things. Recently the girls have made an extra push, meeting every night to practice new songs and run through plays in preparation for their big welcome performance for the first group of Summer Serve and Learn volunteers.  After hours of rehearsals, the Girls Empowerment Club gave a memorable performance for both their community and the newly arrived volunteers Wednesday evening.

The crowd stirred impatiently with anticipation as they waited for the show to begin.  As the young women trotted out to the beat of blaring dance tunes, the crowd could not contain themselves.  Parents pointed out their daughters with pride, and the audience was immediately won over.

The audience was wowed by a night of singing, dancing and short skits, all delivering a message of gender equality.  For some spectators this was an unfamiliar message that challenges the status quo in rural Ghana.  For others, it is a new reality for the younger generation in which girls are given the same chances as boys both academically and socially.

Satisfied with their performance the girls bustled off the stage. The thundering applause gave way to an all out dance party as the DJ blasted ‘high-life’ music and the crowd erupted into an undulating mass.  Meanwhile backstage the girls celebrated and congratulated one another on a job well done. Their message was sent loud and clear.

Our volunteers were thoroughly impressed by the unforgettable performance and are very eager to work alongside the Girls Empowerment Club in developing leadership skills, building self-esteem, teaching business and money management, and discussing safe sex and family planning.

We at GHEI are extremely proud of the Girls Empowerment Club for their diligence and perseverance.  Way to go girls!

Share |

Songs of Hope

One by one, the young women of GHEI’s Girls Empowerment club file into the classroom. Smiling and joking with one another, their enthusiasm is unmistakable. Tonight’s session will have the girls learning and practicing new songs for their upcoming performance for the first group of Summer Serve and Learn Volunteers.



GHEI staff members Aggie Obeng and Enock ‘Happy” Nkrumah lead them through the new material, and at first the girls are bashful, singing just above a whisper. Within moments they have found their rhythm and are singing in unison, as though they had known the songs for years.

These are no ordinary songs. The lyrics depict a bright future for these young women, a future in which education will be their key to a rich and fulfilling life. In a country that often favours boys’ pursuit of schooling, these girls deliver a simple message. They are perfectly capable and incredibly passionate in seeking the same academic opportunities that will enable them to blossom into the next generation of Ghanaian leaders

Educate Your Girl Child

Educate your girl child, in the area of empowerment;
Send her to school, she may be great,
Don’t waste her time, don’t waste her talent, this is the time, send her to school.
Teachers we need, your girl child may be one, Engineers we need, and she may be one.
Lawyers we need, your girl child may be one, Nurses we need she may be one.
Miners we need, your girl child may be one, Pilots we need, and she may be one.
Doctors we need, she may be one, Oh yes, don’t waste her talent, send her to school. Send her to school!