Cape Coast

It’s Day 7. I can’t believe I’ve been here a week already! Today, Mike and I rode bicycles up the road to watch two of the vocational children weave Kenti. After the trip, I taught the children in the class math problems, and had them trace letters. After school, the 5 of us boarded the tro tro for the trip to Cape Coast. The drive here was 9 hours, and we stopped in Accra for pizza and soda…the pizza was probably mediocre, but tasted like heaven. We got stopped along the road several times to be checked for passports/visas and to ensure we weren’t being trafficed. We arrived at Cape Coast late, and toured the campus of Africa One. Each bungalow here has a theme, ours being Isis and Osiris. We figured the cost of our vacation-including 2 nights bungalow, and two 9 hours trips (to and from Hohoe). 107 American Dollars. Can’t beat that! We had to push two twin beds together, and the three of us slept in “the bed” which had a huge crack down the center. Also interesting about our room is this powdery substance which was in a ziploc bag on our bed, but then also on the floor and toilet in the bathroom…we have yet to ascertain its purpose. Our hotel, One Africa, is right on the ocean, has a “Hall of Remembrance” which recognizes African History and it’s people. The hotel was started by a family from Brooklyn, NY, who decided to return to Ghana. Their restaurant (which takes 2-3 hours to prepare food, so order ahead of time) offers pizza and veggie burgers, as well as local dishes like kenkey and banku. The menu is extensive, but they seemed to be out of quite a few things.
Day 8 We woke early to travel about 30 mins from Elmina to Kakum National Park which is host to one of seven canopy walks in the world. It was funded by USAID and constructed by 2 Canadians and some locals. The canopy walk was great, but I was so focused on my footing that I didn’t enjoy the view as much as I could have. We also decided to stay after for a more elaborate guide of the forest. After our canopy walk we ventured back to Elmina to tour Elmina Castle. The history behind it is very elaborate and sad. It was originally built by the Portugeuse in the 1400’s and transitioned through a variety of possessors and purposes, the most famous and disturbing of course was the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade. After our tours, we tried to find Global Mama’s; driving all over Cape Coast to 3 different “former” locations to find that it was closed. My roommies and I returned to One Africa for an american dinner and some brew.
Day 9 A few people in the group wished to tour Cape Coast Castle as well, but 3 of us sat out, instead talking to some locals and patronizing their shops. That ended our stay in Cape Coast and we traveled about 3 hours back to Accra to Global Mama’s there. I met a group of women who are rescuing children from fishing villages in the Volta Region. Some are orphans who are sold into the trade at a very young age and are treated like possessions. I took the card of the exec. director, as she lives in DC, and plan to stay in touch with her. Tomorrow is my birthday, I’m planning to get up early to get to my placement by 6am, and help the 2 house mothers ready 91 children for school.
Day 10. I went to my placement early today to help ready the children for the day. It was a great opportunity to interact with some of the younger children. I also witnessed their process of cleaning and bandaging cuts. I had to ask the house mother to cover the wound of a child that was just covered in flies. The children are very unaware and have quite a lot of small bumps and bruises everywhere. I’m finally getting to know the kids by name and they ask me for help with their math and writing. I really enjoy spending time with them, their spirits amaze me, and despite their disabilities they are very happy, respectful, and eager to learn. Sasha and I went to the market after lunch and met up with a local boy who likes to show us around. We grabbed “minerals” since it was a scorcher, and then headed to Beatrice’s Batik making shop. She taught us the process of Batiking, which is stamping fabric with wax and dying it. We even made some of our own. As I type this, it’s raining and very windy outside, and the electricity has been fading in and out. The other ladies (Sasha and Susan) and I are trying to decide what to do with our upcoming weekend.