Poor Boy: A True Story

By Isaac Akwabeng (GHEI Community Health Worker) - Humjibre, Ghana - Kofi was born from a poor family. He is very intelligent, but Kofi came from a poor family. Kofi started his education in Humjibre primary school. When Kofi started his education he lost his father; what a sad story. Kofi’s mother was incredibly sad when her husband died. Kofi came close to his mother and he said, “stop crying, everything will be alright. Mommy I will fight for you while I am alive.” Kofi told his mother, “I am going to live in a big city.” Kofi’s mother was sad. She said, “you are just a little boy. I don’t want you to suffer.” Kofi’s said to his mother, “I am a little boy but I can fight for you so don’t worry.” Kofi said, “Mommy, I will be leaving tomorrow morning.” And Kofi’s mother said, “Kofi Goodbye, may God take you there.


Now Kofi is in a big city. He saw a rich man. The man asked him what his problem was now. And he told him to go home. Kofi said that he was am okay, but that he did have a problem. He told the man that he was a very intelligent guy, but at the time he started his education, he lost my father. He spoke of how his my mother is a poor woman, so she cannot afford his school fees and books, so he decided to come to a big city to find a job. The man said, “Kofi I will help you. I have everything so I will help you.” Kofi said, “Thank you very much, I am grateful. I will do everything that you ask me to do.” The man told Kofi that from now on he was going to start his education. Kofi completed Junior High School. He continued to Senior Hight School. Now Kofi is in university. He has become a surgeon doctor. He has succeeded. He can now return to look after his mother. Kofi took his mother to visit the good man, the good Samaritan. Kofi’s mother said, “Papa I thank you very much. You saved my life and my son’s life”.

Fufu Films

By Laconia Koerner - Humjibre, Ghana - Fufu symbolizes West Africa. Food is a communal activity here. When you “take” your fufu you are always taking it with someone. For me it is symbolic of a collective effort and experience. Pounding the fufu takes a lot of hard work. You cannot do it alone. Fufu Films proudly produced “United Against Malaria” in March 2010.

Films are still incredibly novel here; they really attract people from Humjibre and beyond. When we want to gather people, we show a movie, and try to intersperse it with programs. While movies are often used as hooks, they are truly a wonderful teaching tool. Films, along with the Community Health Worker’s live theatre and radio dramas, really get the Humjibre community tuned in. The performances have now traveled to other communities as well.

“United Against Malaria” is an instructional narrative. It is a progression of our outreaches; more than the direct education with lectures, posters, and flip-books. The culture here is more responsive to story telling than just the telling, so we, the community of Humjibre, have collaboratively produced a film for education and outreach against the deadliest disease in Western Ghana, malaria.

Chicka-Chang: Theatre and Film in Humjibre

By Laconia Koerner and Logan Krochalis

In February and March playwright Laconia Koerner taught drama classes to junior high school Form 1 and Form 2 students (roughly ages 12-16). Each form met for two hours once a week. During the first weeks students learned several trust exercises and theatre games designed to encourage them to interact using their bodies and voices in a structured yet spontaneous and playful way. Class favorites were Zip Zap Zop, the Circle Dance, and what came to be called “Chicka-Chang,” a game where students rapidly pass a sound and movements and/or gestures to each other in a circle. By March it was not uncommon for Laconia to hear her students cry “chicka-chang!” from the street as she walked to market.

Before leaving the U.S. for Humjibre, Laconia adapted a selection of fables written by Arnold Lobel for the stage. The students worked with three of the fables before it was decided that,“The Mouse at the Seashore” would be most appropriate to focus on for a performance, as it was reminiscent of the students’ recent trip to the beach in Accra. The students quickly memorized a simplified text of the play, a process that was conducted during class time where emphasis was put on correct English pronunciation and the meanings of several unfamiliar words. On Sunday, March 28, six groups performed versions of “The Mouse at the Seashore” for their families and friends, as well as GHEI staff at the Humjibre Community Center. A celebration followed complete with rounds of the Circle Dance and the infamous “Chicka-Chang.”

In addition to her work with the Form 1 and 2 students, Laconia wrote and directed a half-hour-long narrative film called United Against Malaria. The film stars, and is to be used by, the current Community Health Workers (CHW) of Humjibre as a teaching tool about the symptoms, treatment, and prevention of malaria. Originally written in English, the CHW’s worked tirelessly (in tandem with bed net distribution) to translate the film into Twi, as it is the most widely understood local language and will allow the film to be used in villages outside of Humjibre.
    
“It's powerful to see your everyday type life in the context of a staged performance. There gives a meaning to your life. And if other people see it becomes a common experience. Its hard for me to articulate the benefit of it, but even the simplest thing….something personal becomes universal when you and your peers act it out on stage.” - Laconia Koerner

“The kids have so much work to do, labor, studying, and so on. This is a playful outlet that is also challenging them to use what they are supposed to be learning. Theatre gives kids a voice, not that to answer a teacher or give a correct response; it literally gives them a voice. Kids don’t know who they are yet, and performing allows kids, and adults, to play with who they are.” - Laconia Koerner

“The kids in Humjibre grow up by the age of five, they are so mature. I don’t know if they ever get to experience the emotional psychic experience of children elsewhere. Theatre is spontaneous and structured. Its playful. With rules. Nothing here is all work or all play.” - Laconia Koerner

GHEI is an extremely positive influence on students in Humjibre

According to Bibiani district data, pass rates on the exam following junior high school have drastically increased in Humjibre since GHEI's founding.  From 2001 to 2009, overall pass rates increased from 24% to 99%.  Even more impressive is increase in the pass rate for girls: 4% in 2001 to 98% in 2009.

Passing the Basic Education Certification Examination (BECE) is a prerequisite to enter senior high school.  Even if students do not continue their schooling in senior high school, passing the BECE is increasingly required by employers for many jobs.

We are proud of our students and GHEI's staff who have enabled Humjibre's students to excel.

GHEI Welcomes Christina Gyening as Youth Education Teacher

Christina Gyening joined our education team in February as our new Youth Education Program teacher. She is orginally from Kojina, a small village adjoining Humjibre. She is 23 years old and completed Senior High School in 2006. She then taught in a private primary school at Anhyiam near Sefwi Bekwai for a year. We welcome her to the GHEI team!

GHEI recruiting Education Program Coordinator for 2010 - 2011

Education Program Coordinator / March 2010 to March 2011

Ghana Health and Education Initiative is currently recruiting for a Education Program Coordinator (March 2010 - March 2011). Applicants should have an undergraduate degree and some previous experience in education/teaching. Please see Program Coordinator Info document on the "Work With Us" page of our web site for more details, or contact GHEI's Recruitment Officer at ilona@ghei.org.

GHEI recruiting Health Program Coordinator for 2010 - 2011

Health Program Coordinator / January 2010 to February 2011

Ghana Health and Education Initiative is currently recruiting for a Health Program Coordinator (January 2010 - February 2011). Applicants should have an undergraduate degree and some previous experience in public health/reproductive health/development work. Please see Program Coordinator Info document on the "Work With Us" page of our web site for more details, or contact GHEI's Recruitment Officer at ilona@ghei.org.

Previous Health and Education Coordinators run for GHEI

Previous Health and Education Coordinators Ilona and Luke recently ran the Madrid marathon to raise funds for GHEI. Having nearly reached the £2,000 mark, can you help them get over the line? See their fund raising page at www.justgiving.com/ghei

Katrina Ortblad awarded the Dickey Center Dartmouth Class of 1954 Award

Katrina Ortblad, an intern with GHEI's malaria program this winter, has been awarded the Dickey Center Dartmouth Class of 1954 Award for her work with GHEI in Ghana. Congrats to Katrina!

First GHEI Summer Read and Play program a success.

Friends,

We are really happy to report that the first ever, GHEI Summer Read and Play program was a huge success.

We worked with 40 kids from the local public schools. They're all first graders, but age varies greatly here because schooling starts whenever parents decide (or can afford) to send their child to school. The program ran in two sessions. Mornings were from 8-10:30 and afternoons ran from 2:00-4:30. Marielle Chamas ran the morning session, which also served as a model for "Happy" Enock Abeyie Nkrumah, who ran the afternoon session. Our days included Table Activities, Read Aloud, Songs and Poems, Learn Together, Snack, Word Work (Fundations) and Choice Time. Many of the kids had never held a book before. Everything we did with them was invaluable, and they loved it. They are so attentive and eager to learn. We read books, learned songs, danced, played, drew pictures and colored. We even had 10 Giant African Snails as class pets.

Summer Read and Play is just the beginning. We are going to continue working with the kids through the school year and follow them up through the years.

Warm Regards,

Happy and Marielle
GHEI Education Program Coordinators

See more photos here: Summer Read and Play Program Slideshow