Wednesday 29 June 2011
The last Hoorah
We will go to a local tourist market soon for some last minute retail therapy and then return to have lunch and prepare for our journey to the airport and onward to Amsterdam and Dublin and Galway.
Thank you for keeping track of our journey on our blog. I hope that it helped you to share in this wonderful privelege that we all have enjoyed.
KoSa Beach Resort
Monday 27 June 2011
The Tourist Trail
Under the Coconut tree
Saturday 25 June 2011
The Entertainment
A full programme was laid on for us of dancing and singing and poetry reciting and our girls got a great reception as they played and sang and as Lucy danced. Rachel and Jenny were dressed in local cloth including head gear and they strutted their stuff in the fashion show.
This was followed by closing speeches, presentation of gifts and warm goodbyes.
A simple "thank you" seemed totally ineffective for all the kindness and the warm welcome that we have enjoyed this past week but as we said in our speech it is not really goodbye but just farewell for now as we hope to return again.
The girls met their own classmates and there were many hugs and promises of letters and facebook connections and we all returned to our hotel a bit deflated but with the warm glow of having many new friends.
The Royal Visit
It was explained that all were wearing black because they were in mourning. A local mechanic had died and his funeral was in process outside, a procession of motor bikes and clapped out bangers backfiring and making as much noise as possible to give him a good send off.
Very graciously we were welcomed to Fiapre, the district name and told to think of here as home, as Galway. The Chief wished us good health and that the tropical climate would not be unkind to us and a safe onward journey. We were given our leave humbled and very honoured at being given a presence at court. The girls were in awe of it all and truly enjoyed the experience. I can only imagine the distraction we must have caused for those gathered to have their cases heard. I'm not sure if we hightened their anxiety or distracted them for a while from the job at hand.
Imagine then our surprise when in the evening as we prepared to go back the the school for the final evening celebrations when I got a call through the door
"margo, come quick, come quick" from Eileen. I automatically thought one of the girls was hurt when the next line came (the slight delay was due to the 2 flights of stairs) "the Chiefs, the Chiefs are here". I descended the stairs trying not to look too surprised and greeted our visitors. Whatever about attending court it was quite a shock to see the robed men sitting on the foyer couches. Maria arrived soon after me and as she rounded the bottom of the stairs her eyes were like saucers to the merriment of our guests.
Again the linguist took charge and explained that it was custom to reciprocate our earlier visit. We realised that the Chief himself did not have to visit but again that we were being honoured. The other girls joined us moving right to left shaking hands with the assembled party. This time the Chief was happy to converse in English and we enjoyed a pleasant conversation.
I'm afraid that I was reprimanded, I disgraced our party by crossing my legs and was told I could not do so in front of the Chief. Thankfully the Chief was not insulted as he said he understood that this was not our custom.
The Chief then placed a traditional scarf around each of our necks and with final good wishes they took their leave. We were left a bit in awe at what had just happened but delighted at the experience.
Friday 24 June 2011
Day 4 - In School...
Thursday 23 June
This morning gave a good insight into Rachel and Claire's study habits.
Rachel came to breakfast with sheets of paper in her hand saying cool as a breeze that this is my maths homework and I haven't got it finished.
The others helped her to put some shape on it and off she toddled pretending it was all her own work.
Claire got into the car with the text book in hand and crammed for her English test trying to ingest the definitions for "personification, irony and oxymoron". In general the girls are quite in awe of the level of teaching and learning, some of the curriculum is familiar but some is at a higher level or taught differently.
Myself and Eileen visited the 1st year classes and talked to them about Ireland and our school system. There is great interest in our history and our school rules with questions like do we allow mobile phones and what kinds of punishment do we use. .
At the end of the school day 4 of the teachers gave of their time to give us a talk on Ghanaian culture and customs. We enjoyed this very much.It was good to hear about the Chief of the region as we have been invited to visit the local Chief tomorrow morning.
At 4pm we returned to the school for the sports session. This included trying out the traditional games which involved much clapping and dancing. Seamount girls took on Notre Dame in a friendly Ireland v Ghana basketball match and did Mr Cuddy and Ms Feehily proud. The final score did not reflect effort in the blistering heat and after consuming about a gallen of water each they were ready for more,
Staff night out
A very pleasant evening was enjoyed by all hosted by Monsignor on behalf of Bishop Matthew who is in Germany at present and included the school staff.We thanked the Monsignor and the Diocese for allowing this project to happen and conveyed the good wishes of our Board of Management and warm greetings from Bishop Martin. Again, our girls did us proud and produced the instruments and sang and danced to the utter delight of all present. Even our 2 drivers tried to copy some of Lucy's nimble footwork.They are now all tucked up in bed and are very aware that tomorrow brings with it their last day in school. I think i'll be bringing the tissues.
Day 5 - Last day in school
Plan fot the day
· Attend 1st class
· Go to visit the Chief
· Back for the remaining classes
· In the evening return to school for the entertainment and the closing ceremony
I expect the girls to be tired this morning as there was a ferocious thunder storm again last night, one rumble of thunder seemed to roll into the next with a few cracks thrown in and what could only be described as strobe lightening that should come with a warning for those affected by bright lights.
Tomorrow morning we begin our journey southwards towards the coast and the Atlantic ocean. I kid you not mothers but the girls are saying they can't wait for Mass on Sunday morning, all 2hrs plus of it! There may be a break in communication as we are not sure of connection as we move about but I will continue to write up the blog and post it when i can.
Sunyani market: Wednesday 21 June
After school a couple of the teachers came with us to the Wednesday market, the big shopping day in Sunyani, basically Dundrum Ghana style. It was huge with lines and lines of stalls stretching away as far as we could see. Our guides took us to the areas we would find most interesting and we could have bought anything from jewellery to deodorant to a new bra, freshly made peanut butter, rope, yams and fish looking up at ye for dinner and for starter a lump of cow-hide to make soup !. The colours, the noise, and the smells enthralled us all and we caused great merriment in our gaping and pointing.
We had already decided that we would have no evening event today but that after dinner we would come together to reflect all that we had seen to date and maybe to answer any queries that have arisen.It was fitting to have this space to take time to talk about what had happened in St James' and to pray for the boys who had died, their families and their teachers. We talked to each other our highs and lows and our impressions of life in Ghana. There was good sharing among the group and we all enjoyed this time on our own.
Friday June 24 phone call
I'm just off the phone to Anne and everyone is well and happy. There is however no internet connection at the moment so they haven't had a chance to update the blog.
It's Friday and the girls are currently in class for their last school day in Notre Dame. I'm told they're practicing very hard for their big performance at this evenings entertainment event at the school.
Blog entries have been written for Wednesday and Thursday and as soon as there is internet again they'll be posted to the blog for us all to read and enjoy!
Hope everyone at home is keeping well.
All the best for now,
Fran
(Aidlink)
Wednesday 22 June 2011
Some sad news
Beannacht De lena n-anam.
All in school
I just spoke to Anne on the phone from Notre Dame Secondary School. The girls are in class and Margo and Eileen are teaching.
They'll post later in the day.
Thanks,
Fran
(Aidlink)
Tuesday 21st June
One of the most fantastic days ever and i'll start at the end.
Its 10:15pm. There is an almighty surround – sound – fireworks - display of a thunder and lightening storm raging around us.
I've just sent the girls and the mature adults that I am traveling with upstairs to shower as they have just been dancing in the rain in full thunder and lightening tecnicolor to the amusement of the hotel staff singing and doing the moves to Mamma Mia in full voice. They are dripping wet from head to toe.
Previous to that we have just returned from dinner in Samuel's house. Samuel was in Ireland on the St. Mary's trip and his parents wanted to have us all to dinner. it was a very kind and generous offer. Fr Alex joined us and brought Samuel with him home from boarding school for the couple of hours. This was an enormous treat as during term time he usually sees his parents when they are allowed to visit once a month.
This afternoon was a particularly memorable occasion and especially for Eileen and the girls on their 1st visit to a poor village. Today we learned the meaning of “absolute poverty” - when the people are so poor that they do not have either the financial or the human resources within themselves to see a way out of poverty. The people were poorly dressed with no English living in mud thatched huts. Some adults and children had a bad cough and many of the children had pot bellies showing signs of worms and/or malnutrition.
We saw development work in action. We had come from the training centre where young farmers were trained to breed rabbits and grass cutters {like bushrats} and where training on mushroom growing took place. The women of this village had been trained as mushroom growers with the help of Aidlink. When questioned about the mushrooms the women explained that the project was not working because of the lack of water. The water borehole was in place but not working. Anne discussed with the village elders what needed to be done and how the people themselves could contribute. This shows that development projects need to be continually monitored and evaluated to see if they are working and to sustain them.
The girls although shocked at the conditions made friends with the children and were truly humbled at being invited into the privacy of a rural village and allowed to share in the life experiences. Very poignantly the women wanted to ask what was it the girls were looking to learn when they say that they are coming to learn in Ghana – a hard one to answer simply.
This visit opens up many questions for all of us and we will try to sit down tomorrow afternoon so as to discuss some of the thoughts and questions that we all have.
This morning the girls attended classes which for Rachel and Jenny included PE. They are getting on so well with their classmates who cannot be more friendly and welcoming. While the girls were in class myself and Eileen and Anne with Madam Margaret, the principal went to meet the District Director of education to get an overview of education in the area. The main problems are lack of government funding and lack of personnel to carry out the duties demanded by the inspectorate....sound familiar ??
So, all in all a very busy day. I am writing this at 11.50pm. I got up this morning at 6.30am and will set the clock now for 6.30am again.
Thankfully, the storm is now a distant rumble.
Oiche mhaith !
The comments are so lovely. The girls (internet permitting) will get a chance to view the blog tomorrow afternoon so add your comments before then. Margo.
Tuesday 21 June 2011
Monday 20th June: 1st day at school.
The girls excelled themselves today. Although they were nervous they embraced the chance to be part of the school day in Notre Dame. We were welcomed by the tricolor flying and a cead mile failte banner and the beating of drums. Everyone introduced themselves, everyone shook hands - all very formal and proper. A quick tour of thr compound and the girls went to their individual classrooms. Jenny to science, lucy and maria to business and clare and rachel to arts. All students are divided into these 3 areas in which they chose 4 electives as well as 4 common core subjects.The girls were major hits and made many friends on day 1 and answered many questions about their own lives and no doubt more will continue tomorrow
In the afternoon a drumming and a dancing teacher arrived and to the general hilarity of our bus drivers and any passers -by we deemed to keep a beat and strut our stuff. Lets just say some succeeded better than others without naming names... A thoroughly exhausting and thoroughly fun time.
This evening dinner was at the kind invitation of the Notre Dame sisters in their home, lovely conversation and sharing of school systems and structures.
Sunday 19 June 2011
The last blog finished abruptly, technical difficulties but bear with us we are trying to communicate. The hotel has installed wi-fi this past week and we certainly plan to test it out. ignore spellings, grammar etc. i try to post as quick as possible and before Ms Fitz takes out the red pen as English teachers love to do.
The girls have been sent to bed to be ready for breakfast at 7.15 and off to school.
8 teachers from Notre Dame called to see us this evening and to discuss the week's extensive itinerary and the learning objectives. Ms Donkor, school principal gave a talk on the school rules !! and you thought Seamount was strict. no-one has been frightened though and all are very excited. This is the heart of the programme and the girls are well prepared.
The highlight so far according to the girls has been Sunday Mass.
Oiche mhaith....
Saturday 18 June 2011
Hi everyone. We are all in great form having slept peacefully in the Spiritan house in Accra. We will now head off to Sunyani where we will be based for the next week. We received a céad míle fáilte Ghanaian style and it is lovely to be met and greeted. Weather is warm and sticky but bearable. All are drinking their water and keeping hydrated.
Today all are looking forward to the journey and seeing the Ghanaian countryside as we go.Hope the connection will remain with us as we go.
Margo.
Friday 17 June 2011
Stargazing ....
Thursday 16 June 2011
The night before
I'm also looking forward to the plane door opening and feeling the blast of heat, seeing the vibrant African colours, hearing the cacophony of sounds, experiencing the hustle and bustle - people everywhere, everyone walking along the roads, never silence.
I'm going to miss the girls and Brendan and hope they enjoy their holiday time and they'll keep their diary too so that we will have so much to catch up on when I get back.
I hope we all get to savour each day and have a great time together.