AN AFRICAN SUMMER…
It’s September! Fall is on its way in and summer is just about over. And it was a great summer! Our team of twenty (from the U.S.) recently returned from our August journey to Ghana, West Africa. We held our 3rd annual Wechiau Girls Conference in the upper west region of the country. It’s a very remote area – some places just received electricity last year, although very many villages still don’t have any electricity at all. The nearest major city, Kumasi, is about 8 hours away… and the journey is not an easy one to drive. (In 2009, can you believe there are still places in the world without some of the basic things we take for granted here in the U.S.? We have a lot of work to do.)
MORE THAN EXPECTED
The conference had girls in attendance from at least 19 different villages. Before our team arrived for the 5 day event, we had 375 girls officially registered. When the conference began, almost 500 girls showed up! Word about African Initiative Mission and the annual Wechiau Girls Conference we created, continues to spread. We had to travel to the nearest town of Wa., in order to purchase additional supplies to provide for the new girls.
As difficult as it was to make adjustments for over 100 extra girls, we knew it was necessary. Some traveled hours on foot, braving the extreme summer heat to get to the conference. Others scraped together what little they had in order to pay for transportation, because they lived so far away. We didn’t want to turn anyone away. If it was within our power to help them, then we would do what we could do. After all, we had traveled thousands of miles and crossed the Atlantic ocean to be there, and our time with them was limited to several days. But every act of kindness had the potential to expand each girl’s life exponentially!
They have a saying in Ghana, coined by one of their previous presidents. “If you educate a man, you educate an individual. But if you educate a woman, you educate an entire nation.” We want to help educate nations…
JOURNEY OF A LIFETIME…
For 4 days we held classes for these girls: Literacy, Health & Hygiene, Arts & Crafts, Music, and Physical Education. For 4 days we fed them breakfast, lunch and dinner (around 1500 meals a day). Because of a lack of resources in the area, most families only eat 1-2 times a day. For 4 days we taught them… and they taught us. We talked and laughed with them, dreamed with them. We listened to their stories about their families, struggles, hopes, fears and aspirations.
On the 5th day, we fed them breakfast, ended the conference, and said goodbye… or rather… see you later. Many of the girls did not want us to leave. They were thankful for the class teachings; for the conference shirts, other clothing and flip-flops; for the book bags and school supplies; for the food and for us taking the time to care. One girl asked a question that was probably on many of their minds. “You come all the way from America to Ghana. Why did you not stay in Accra or Kumasi (two major cities that most tourists visit), but chose to come all the way here to Wechiau? We have nothing here.” But we came to this area for this very reason, because a lot of focus was already on the well-traveled areas of Ghana.
RETURNING TO GO AGAIN…
So we left to come back to America, in order to work and raise both provision and awareness, so that we can return back to Ghana and do the conference again next year. These girls have genuine dreams. They want to become doctors, nurses, lawyers, and accountants, pilots and judges, teachers and world travelers. They want to be these things so that they can help their community. With such great dreams, they also face fierce obstacles. The remoteness of where they live hinders the quality of education that they receive… while the world continues to move forward in so many ways. Yet, these girls thirst and strive to learn more. And we are determined to help be a bridge that connects their reality to their dreams.
It takes the full attention of our U.S. team and our Ghanaian team – about 30 altogether – to successfully carry out an event of this magnitude. And yet, we still need more people to travel with us to do the work in the future.
September is here… it’s time to get to work. How are you making a difference in the world?