Ghana, where ANYTHING can be carried on your head...

Just wanted to mention how remarkable I think it is that the men and women here in Ghana carry so many things on their heads. Many of the women carry things on their heads while even carrying babies and young children on their backs, not to mention they are not just walking to the corner store, but may be walking for miles. They walk for long periods of time on uneven surfaces while carrying all of this weight in the heat, probably without any water. AMAZING....

 YES that is a 32" TV!

Akwaaba HOME

So I'm home, and I must say, I feel torn. I'm happy to be home and everyone was so inviting, yet I still MISS Ghana. Now looking back, I wish I could have stayed an extra couple of days...::sigh:: But now that I'm back, it's the return to the daily grind. Getting ready for my last semester of coursework is definitely something great to come home to, and I can't believe that I've made it this far. I have to admit, I am PROUD of myself. Here are my final thoughts on our Ghana intersession abroad:

I was hoping that the course would have been a little more disability focused, instead of just thinking about accessibility. Perhaps actually spending a day or two volunteering at local organizations that we visited (Veterans' Rehab Hospital or Autism Center). That would have definitely made our visit more purposeful and given us a great deal of experience to bring back home with us. I appreciated the fact that after a while, accessibility was kind of engrained in our minds, everywhere we went we thought about whether or not Ghanaians with disabilities would be able to have adequate access. It was nice to think about life using another's perspective.

I appreciated all of the cultural components to this trip, it was nice to learn so much on traditional medicine, family structures, religion, music and dance. It would have been hard to leave these components out of this course, because Ghana wouldn't be the same without them.

Adequate free time is always nice in a foreign country, just to take a day or two and go venture off on our own to a place of our choice, or maybe back to a place we had already visited. After all, this trip was a little expensive, but we had little freedom and even less leisure time to do what we wanted.

A longer stay perhaps could have compensated for less free time, I couldn't believe that we did not even stay a full two weeks in such an extraordinary country! That's a real bummer!

Afia Beach Hotel was a great place for us to stay, the accomodations were very pleasant, as was the staff there. I was just hoping for more of a "student experience," such as staying at NYU Accra campus. But I do understand the undergraduates were coming in and no one should be inconvenienced, although I did feel for the money that we pay for the short amount of time we stay in Ghana, we should have been at least considered this option.

Finally, about this 10 page paper! I understand this is a course and coursework is required, but I think there should be a choice to either write a paper or complete a journal, or maybe a shorter paper, perhaps 5 pages. I just feel so rushed to complete the coursework and sometimes feel we are not very prepared to write such a paper.

Farewell Ghana, Hello America

Not really looking forward to leaving. Everyone seems so sad to be going home. Not one smile all morning. Our stay should have been longer. Everyone is not happy about leaving Afia Beach and Kingsley. Goodbye carefree living. Perhaps we shall all return one day, soon? hopefully? in the near future?

On the other hand, my family and boyfriend miss me dearly, and I am excited to see them as well. The thought of returning to classes (although I enjoy them from time to time) is exhausting alone.

Well, FAREWELL GHANA, thank you for having us.

Photographs: Students at Morning Star School in Accra, Ghana waving goodbye.

Farewell Dinner at Headlines Hospitality

Tonight we had our farewell dinner and everyone looked BEAUTIFUL. Most of us wore our dresses that Marjorie (our personal seamstress) made us. They were just gorgeous, and she is a very talented woman. She was able to remember at least 30 orders without writing any of them down!

We ate our last meal together and took plenty of pictures. We danced and drank and danced some more, somehow trying to stretch the night, savoring the precious last moments we were spending with each other, wishing the night wouldn't come to an end. What an experience this has been and I'm so lucky to have traveled with an AMAZING group of people. Everyone, although different in many ways, was so accepting and tolerant of one another. We were able hold mature discussions about our trip and life, everyone adding their own personal touch to the conversation. I am truly blessed to have had this opportunity and I only pray that I can have many more like these filled with the same type of people.

Morning Star & New Horizon Special School

There is so much that happened here today. I will keep it nice and short though. We arrived at the Morning Star School and were greeted by the daughter of the founder and welcomed with hugs and smiles! They even had a "Akwaaba! NYU" sign outside of the school:

The children were so pleasant, attentive, and obedient. This is a private school and the parent's of the children pay a fee to enter the school. We visited multiple classrooms where we were greeted the same way, "Hello visitors, how are you?" Just ADORABLE. Their motto is the cutest thing ever, "Morning Star" the head mistress states, "RISE AND SHINE!" the children answer back:

The classrooms range from kindergarden to 8th grade. We visited an array of classrooms, from computers to cooking classes to mathematics and science classes. We talked to many of the students in each classroom to ask them how much they liked the subject they were learning, I don't think anyone answered "no." I can tell they are much better students than I am! We watched them during their PE class in which they have set on an open area next to the most beautiful tree that I seen in Ghana:

We learned just how much energy the woman who built this school put into its foundation. I mean this entire school, started in her living room! Amazing! We were served snacks and soda, and treated with so much hospitality, it was so unexpected! We did ask about how children with disabilities are educated in this school. There is a little girl with some type of disability (was unclear to me) who has a special seat in one of the classrooms and we were told she is a VERY BRIGHT girl, we were happy to hear she was being accommodated. As for other children with disabilities, such as learning disabilities, they are referred for special tutoring, and extra help, I believe outside of the school, which is also a good thing. We didn't want to leave! They even performed for us, and this we enjoyed sooo much, we even danced along side them! Beautiful! 

And before we knew it, we were running late to our next visit, The New Horizon Special School:

This school is dedicated to young adults who have special needs. Most of the students there have Down's Syndrome. I was surprised at how social these adults are and I almost feel as though the United States is behind in this aspect. I feel that many of our schools are so worried about handwriting, computers, reading (these are essential components) but I think they forget that these children also have social needs. We walked into the school for a brief tour before heading out to their gazebo for a dance performance. The students performed some of the traditional Ghanaian dances that we had learned a couple of nights ago from Kingsley, Rosemary, and the other CRAs at NYU. They performed them so well with so much effort and we having fun at the same time. It was really a breath of fresh air. They were laughing and really getting into their roles. It was exciting to see them so excited.

As we were leaving we approached their shop where they have items for sale such as jewelry, and the profit is given to fund the school's resources. I bought two sets of a necklace and earrings. Shopping always puts the icing on the cake for me. I also took a picture with one of the employees who works at the school with the students, and it just goes to show how welcoming Ghanaian people truly are, as she wrapped her arms around my waist and waited for the picture to be taken:

The photos pictured on the right side of my blog were taken at this school, and they were so beautifully presented to us, that they are some of my most cherished pictures from the trip.

Post Office & Interview and Accessibility Assessments

Today we visited Accra's post office. Nothing really special about today, I think this may have been my least favorite trip/activity, mainly because I was just having one of those, "don't feel like doing anything," days. We were assigned the task of conducting an assessment of the post office, other local shops, and the interviewing of a local worker in town. Not much to say, we interviewed a local shop woman who sold fabrics in her shop. We did have an interesting run in with a man who was "boozed," as the shop owner described. This is something I am used to seeing at home but never thought I would see it in Ghana. Coming from where I live, there are liquor stores within a 4 block radius of each other, thus making liquor more and more accessible to those who abuse it. I asked the woman if this was something she sees a lot of. She just stated that it usually happens when there is an increase in temperature, "When it gets hot, people like to drink in order to deal with it." I wasn't totally understanding her point but did not want to pry any further. She stated that people come from other regions during the dry season to Accra to cope with the weather as it gets extremely hot in other regions. As we were waiting for other students to join us a woman who worked at another shop offered us chairs and bench to sit on while we waited. I was so moved by this, she went around other shops borrowing chairs just so that we would not have to stand. It was so thoughtful, that would probably never happen at home.

But on the other hand, we did have a great time at "Reggae Night" on Labode Beach! We met some interesting people, listened to some great music, and watched the beautiful ocean <3

Traditional Medicine in West Africa-Professor Kodjo Senah

The best lecture we have had our entire stay in Ghana I would say...Here are some interesting statistics:

- The average Ghanaian experiences Malaria at least 2x's a year.

- There are 500, 000 HIV/AIDs cases in Ghana.

- Between the years of 2006-2010, 6,000 Ghanaians have died in road accidents.

- Out of every 100,000 births, 750 women will die either during labor or after delivery.

- Number four reason for death in Ghana is road accidents.

- Twenty-four percent of Sickle-Cell disease cases come from polluted water.

Average number of persons per doctor in the following areas in Ghana:
1) Central Region: 15, 325
2) Northern Region: 43,357
3) Greater Accra: 2,860
4) Volta Region: 15,775
5) National Average:8,554
6) WHO Recommended: 5,000
7) # Currenty at Post: 2,211

Professor Senah was very knowledgeable in his lecture and with his information. Just by sitting for his presentation, I could tell he dedicates his life to the health and education of his people. He comes from a village where he had to fight to receive running water. He talked about many of diseases the people in Ghana face today, diseases that haven't occurred in the US in decades, diseases we no longer really know how to treat because they haven't been treated in such a long time. He spoke of traditional medicine and modern medicine and how the people in Ghana may use one or the other, or both for particular needs. He stated, "Only when all else has failed, do the disabled seek a traditional healer." So it is clear that many disabled people seek medical help for their issues before they consult with a traditional healer for herbal medicines and other supplements. He spoke of how important it is to have clean water and how polluted water causes so many diseases to spread so easily. ((I learned about the "life straw" today during a conversation with the public health students from Syracuse, in which a person sips through a straw and the straw itself filters the water, an innovative water purification system).It was very interesting to listen to him speak and he had great pictures in his slideshow presentation. I wish we were able to have a copy of his presentation since it was so well put together. He showed us pictures of the many people affected by certain diseases and what work he has done in villages to help his people.

Here are some pictures of the LifeStraw I mentioned earlier, I think this is FABULOUS idea: and can you believe it only costs about $2.00 USD when sold individually!