Archive for the ‘Volunteering in Ghana’ Category

The kids are starting to respond to positive reinforcement

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010

By Kelsey Wolf

The best part about working with the kids here is making them smile. For the past five weeks I’ve been working with four kids from stage three who were very far behind on reading. We started out with the alphabet. The first two weeks went very slowly and I was easily frustrated. The kids didn’t always listen to me and they never did the little homework that I assigned to them.

With perseverance and some help from the kids everything clicked one day. All four of them did their homework and they were excited to start our session. I was so excited that they were excited they thought I was weird because I couldn’t stop smiling and yelling "good job!" at them.

volunteering in Ghana has its rewards!The best part about working with the kids here is making them smile. For the past five weeks I’ve been working with four kids from stage three who were very far behind on reading. We started out with the alphabet. The first two weeks went very slowly and I was easily frustrated. The kids didn’t always listen to me and they never did the little homework that I assigned to them.

With perseverance and some help from the kids everything clicked one day. All four of them did their homework and they were excited to start our session. I was so excited that they were excited they thought I was weird because I couldn’t stop smiling and yelling "good job!" at them.

They fed off of the positive feedback that I gave them and they started doing even better. Everyday at the end of our session I talk about how they did for the day, what they need to work on, and, my favorite part, that they did well. I go around the table and give all of them a high five then I say "good job guys!" and give them two thumbs up. They think it’s funny that I give them thumbs up so they started doing it too. Whenever I do it they all drop their pencils, put their thumbs up, and smile.

The high fives and thumbs up have moved outside the classroom. Whenever I see the four kids outside they give me a high five and two thumbs way up.

Note: Kelsey is volunteering at the Bishop Forson School for 8 weeks. She is tutoring and conducting a workshop. 

Shifra’s Journal – December 15, 2009

Friday, December 18th, 2009


There are no signs leading to Airfield Community. From the main road you would not know that anyone live in the bush. An airport was planned for the area, but will probably never be built. Land was available and 400 people settled in the area. They came from the coast, from the north or escaped Togo, in search for farming land. They have small farms, mostly for the family consumption.

 

 

Last Sunday we went to visit the homes of the people of the Airfield Community. I got on the back of Eric’s motorcycle, riding in the "bush", following narrow paths through cassava and corn fields. We stopped at ten family compounds. Each compound had about seven mud homes with straw roofs.

I walked into the “homes”: Clutter of wood, boxes, baskets, dry corn and cassava, and not much inside. Adults were separating the corn kernels from the cob, removing the stem from the chili peppers, removing the beans from the pods. It was special to meet the kids at their homes with their families. They were shy. They call me “Madam Benny”. I found out that Eric, 11, the brightest child in school, live with his grandparents. His parents and the rest of the family are in another village. Lizzy, 12, in torn clothes live with her mother and younger sister. Lizzy asked me for a school bag. With Judy’s donation we are getting seven school bags. Beautiful babies and toddlers, future students at the new school.

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Building the Airfield School – update from Shifra Raz 12/5/09

Sunday, December 6th, 2009

Friday was a national holiday, "Farmer’s Day". Farmers compete for the best crops, livestock, fishery, and can win tractor, bike or farming equipment. In 1997 Bishop Forson won first place in his district for his Timber (teak wood) and Palm Oil Farms.

Due to the holiday, work was not scheduled for Airfield Community, but they all decided to work anyway. I counted 40 community workers. Foundation blocks were already cemented in the trenches. Women running back and forth, large cement blocks on their heads. "blocks", "mortar", shouting form the site and the women ran to deliver the goods.

75 years old Kofi Gamo does not have kids in school and his grandkids graduated years ago, but he is the first one in the morning and the last to leave. He does not walk, he runs. He does not stop to rest and is a great inspiration for all of us. He is also the leader of his church.

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Update from Shifra Raz on Thanksgiving 2009

Saturday, November 28th, 2009

10th day of construction: excavation of the foundation in the hard clay soil was completed, marking the outlines of the two long classroom buildings connected by the administration building. Steel pillars (all handmade by the steel bender) were cemented into the ground, supported by the poles that the children cut and carried to school. The women were pouring mixture of stones, sand and cement into the ditches from head pans and wheelbarrows. More trucks unloading sand and stones and cement bags. 

Gary, 50, from London, is traveling Ghana on his bike. A challenge with all the pot holes on the roads. He came to Ho for one day, and decided to stay for a week and help build the Airfield School. He was digging alongside the community, his white skin shining among the dark bodies and clay. Back in the hotel, sore body, he collapsed on the coach. On Friday he declared, "I am done with physical labor, I am too old for that." We miss "yavu" company. It was nice to have him around for a week. He wrote me a sweet card for my birthday. 

On Monday, Benard, the contractor, informed Benny that the community decided to split into two groups and work on alternative days. That would cut the work force in half. That was not the original plan.

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About Pagus:Africa

Our mission is to strengthen poor rural communities through targeted projects in education, health and poverty reduction. We believe the most effective ways to facilitate long term sustainable change is through education of children and through working with adults to build self reliance and sources for sustainable income. We seek to empower communities to improve their schools, water sources and health conditions.

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