Kim Comes for a Visit and My Last Day in Ghana

My good friend Kim, aka McGee, arrived on Wednesday June 10th to Accra. This was her first trip to Ghana and I did my best to give her a tour of Accra and the Cape Coast area before we both flew back to the US on June 16th.

Our first stop upon her arrive is a spot called Duplex, owned by a friend named Bob. We ate pizza as we visited with Vossie and Betsy. Then we hit the hay for our big day in Accra.

On Thursday we woke up, ate breakfast at Frankie's and then headed to the National Museum. It took three taxi's to get there (first one got lost, second one broke down).

The museum was educational and well put together. Above Kim stands next to a Kente cloth loom. We also saw artifacts from archeological digs. It was a worthwhile visit.

After the museum we visited W.E. DuBois's (an American, Pan-African civil rights leader) mausoleum which was also W.E. DuBois home in Ghana. A tour guide showed us around and gave us the background of the grounds which included W.E.DuBois's extensive library.

Below is where W.E. DuBois is lay to rest and our guide. It was interesting to find a Clark Atlanta banner that was on display on his grave.

After this day in Accra we made our way to the bus station to catch the 4:30pm bus to Cape Coast. We stayed our first two night in a hotel called the Savoy. First thing Friday morning we had "Brother" my favorite cab driver come take us to Kakum National Park, where Ellen, Tracy, and I visited in January. Kim braved the bridges and we made it through the forest safely.

Once we finished at Kakum we went to a Hans Cottage Botel (a hotel on a boat). The Botel was special because not only was the hotel and restaurant on a swamp area, but the swamp was full of crocodiles. Kim and I were able to touch one without feeding it a live chicken!

Once we left the crocs we headed back to my favorite place to eat- Assasa Paa in Cape Coast. I had a delicious tofu salad, vegetable pie, and tofu kebab. Yum!

After the lunch we headed to the Cape Coast Castle, where Ellen, Tracy, Obama, and I have visited before. It was education and moving.

We hit the hay after a this long day to be ready for our day of Workshops! I signed Kim and I up to attend a Batik (a cloth dying technique with the use of wax)) workshop and Drumming and Dancing workshop from the Women in Progress association. It was a very busy day, but amazing.

Above I am stamping my sheet with wax and below Kim dips her stamp in to the boiling wax.

My finally product is below! As well as our great teacher, Mary.

Below are our drumming and dancing teachers.

Kim drumming during our workshops.

When we finished our workshops we hoped into a cab and headed to Anomabu Beach Resort. This place was fantastic! A must stay if your are traveling to Ghana. It was on the beach and had fantastic rooms, serve, and food. I was so excited to see POTATOES! My first fresh potatoes since I have been in Ghana.

We left Anomabu and headed back to Accra. Once we reached Accra we spend the next few nights with the friends I had made at my time in Accra. Friends like Vossie from South Africa, Mario from LA, Lori from North Carolina, Gemma from England, and Avi from Ghana. We ate great food and did Karaoke at Duplex.

Above Mario and Kim break it down for the crowd at Duplex. Below Gemma and her friend Sharon, who was on holiday visiting, hungout to the wee hours for our (Betsy and I's) going away party.
Below Kim and I have Khebabs at Venus for my last night in Ghana.


George, Avi and Cindy met us out at my final dinner.

Since my flight left at 10am the next morning and Kim's left at 5pm, Lori (on left) hung out with Kim for her finally day in Ghana. This was my last picture of my dancing partner Lori...I hope to see her soon when she returns home to North Carolina.


I couldn't sleep at all my last night in Ghana (June 15th). Kim and I stayed up late talking and even got a call from the hotel manager because we were keep up guest...a first! I tossed and turned. I was worried about forgeting something and sleeping in. I was picked up at 7am by Vossie and he dropped both Betsy and I off at the airport. It was so hard to say goodbye to everyone, but the worst was Vossie. He has been a fantastic friend and it was hard knowing that was the last Vossie hug I would get in a really long time. Below is a picture from a few weeks before of Vossie and Betsy eating sushi at Monsoons.

Betsy and I got our baggage checked, found our gate, and waited for an hour longer than expected. Both Betsy and I sat silently as we waited to board our plane. Here is Betsy looking much more awake then I expected.

Once the flight began to board I felt overwhelmed with sadness and fear. I was sad because I have no idea when I will ever see my Ghanaian friend's again, or if I will ever be back. The fear was due to having no idea how it would feel to be back in America. Back to a overbooked schedule, overpriced items, and overwhelming lifestyle.

The flight home was long, but altough I was exhausted I couldn't sleep. As I flew for hours to New York City I watch countless movies that had been out in the US, but I had never heard of. I already felt as though the culture shock had begun.

June 16 around 5pm we landed in New York City and I exited JFK for my first trip to NYC. As I type these lines it ia August 5 and I can't believe that was months ago. I have been putting off this entry for months, because I haven't yet dealt this the fact I am really back in the US for good. I feel like I am just on some vacation.

I daydream about Agogo constantly and miss the sunsets over the mountains. I miss the children in the neighborhood that called me Madam Alice. I wonder what Ma and Josephine are talking about right now and if my favorite vegetable lady is still selling out of carrots by the end of market day. I even miss the packed tro-tro's and loud chickens that would wake me at 5am.

When people ask me, "How was Africa?" I don't know what to say. I don't think they have the time for me to accurately answer that question. One word will not do, and so far I can't find any words.

When people ask me, "Would you do it again?" I easily say "Yes". This experience has changed me in the best ways I know. I came to help teachers, but the teachers, friends, and coworkers I met gave me 10 times the amount of knowledge that I could ever give.

If you are planning a trip to Ghana or any new country to teach people...UNDERSTAND THIS- you are not there to teach....You are there to LEARN FIRST and help second. Africa is amazing place, but they don't need more foreigners coming the telling them what they need to do. They need support in their quest to better their own communities.

If you have been reading my blog for the last 9 months- I hope I haven't bored you to tears. I have had a great adventure and plan to keep having adventures....so stay tuned. And thank you for your support!

alison

Last Days in Agogo

Betsy and I left Agogo on Sunday, June 7th around noon. It was heart breaking to say goodbye to our coworkers, friends, and students without knowing when we will be able to visit again. On Saturday, June 6th we attended a graduation ceremony for the alumni of APCE (already in their teaching positions). During the graduation ceremony the faculty and students presented both Betsy and I with gifts. The students gave us both nice Woodin cloth (a very fancy English made cloth that is popular in Ghana). The faculty and staff gave each of us Kente cloth, the handwoven cloth originated in Ghana, dresses. We were flabbergasted by these amazing tokens of appreciation.

The hardest part of moving out of Agogo was having to say goodbye to the children in our neighborhood. Betsy spent time with Portia(2) and Vida(3) while I sat with Stephen(9) and Emmanuel(9). Many tears were shed, but I am hopeful that one day I will return to see them all grown up!

The vice principal, Papa, and our old principal, Ma, escorted us to Accra on Sunday. Here we are pictures outside of the IFESH office in Accra.

Broken Foot= New Friends

I didn't brake my foot, but on Tuesday, June 26th I thought I had. I took a step down toward my TRC and I slipped and fell on my butt. As I sat on the step while on lookers were gasping I thought...my foot really hurts. I got up and wiped off my bottom and walked down to the TRC where I put my foot up for 30 minutes before class started. The moment I stepped down on my foot to help a student a shot of pain crippled me. I haven't had the best luck in Ghana lately so I thought, "Even though my foot isn't swollen...I know it is broken". So after sitting down during our 2pm-3pm class I had Betsy take me next door to the hospital for an X-ray. We even had a driver drive us to the hospital, that is seriously next door to the college. The X-ray guy was closing up, but opened his office back up for me. My 10 cedis spent on my X-ray's showed that nothing was broken, but I was asked to wait to see a doctor.

I sat for three hours waiting. While sitting I saw a white girl about my age walk by, which isn't something you see often in Agogo. I introduced myself. Her name is Gemma and she is from the UK. She was spending two weeks in Agogo working at the hospital, but she is living in a village outside of Kumasi for the next few months. She was very friendly and told me that I could walk on my foot and that nothing was wrong....great- I felt really silly for freaking out. After meeting Gemma and met Jope and Floris from Holland. They are working at the hospital until June 23rd. So even though I felt silly thinking my foot was broken I was happy to make some new friends. Below is the crew (Gemma, myself, Floris, and Jope) eating dinner at my house the following Friday.

But before I get too far...let's go back...
Tuesday though I broke my left foot by stepping funny
Wednesday foot felt much better
Thursday I waved to a friend and stepped on a rock and hurt my right foot---IN THE SAME PLACE! This time I just iced it and took some Advil. My right foot hurt for a week.

Well more pictures with the new friends: Below Betsy and Gemma show off our favorite dinner- French Toast (or cinnamon toast for me).

Below is the last dinner we the crew which was two days before we left Agogo for good. It was fun..wish we had met them earlier!

More pictures to come of my new friend Gemma, because she came to Accra before I left (June16). I am now back in the US...but I will write more about my adventures prior to my arrival state side!

World Vision Workshops

Before the last break our students took, in early April, Betsy and I had visitors to the TRC. Teachers and administrators from villages outside of Agogo came to see the Agogo Presbyterian College of Education campus. This teachers, administrators, and students(primary-middle school) were able to see the TRC and hear about what we do. Betsy and I met also met a gentleman named Jonathan from an organization called World Vision. World Vision offices are throughout Ghana, and we have one down the road from us in Agogo. We discussed visited these village schools and hosting workshops for these teachers.

Jonathan was so easy to work with and arranged a trip to take use to seven of the schools of this farming communities. We were able to discuss with the teachers their needs and see their schools progress on utilizing TLMs. Some classes rooms held multiple posters and English labels for "door", "window", etc- while other schools held classes outside under a basic shelter with no walls. After meeting with teachers and administrators we decided that we would come back to a school in their community to teach a three hour workshop for schools in the surrounding areas. We asked teachers to bring rubbish to help in the creation of their own TLMs and ideas for topics of which their students are having difficulty.

When Jonathan and I returned to Magyeda on June 2 (Betsy had to visit a cocoa farm the same day...so we had to split up) teacher had done their homework! We had a great turn out of 22 motivated and attentive teachers.

The teacher above created a number line with positive and negative integers
from pieces of a cardboard box

All of the men, there were no female teachers in the area, worked hard to create one of more TLMs to take away from the workshop. I was amazed at the variety, creativity, and usability of the items made. This was the best workshop I did in the 9 months I have been in Ghana. I am so lucky we made this partnership with World Vision.

A teacher at the workshop breaks out a saw to get the job done!

On June 3rd Betsy, Jonathan, Stella (his associate) and myself ventured to Ananekrom for another beneficial workshop. We had a great turnout and were able to leave behind rubbish for TLMs in the future (examples: cardboard boxes for puzzles, waterbags for pocket charts, etc). I am thrilled by the positive feedback we received and hope that the next IFESH volunteer continues to strengthen the bond we have created with World Vision Agogo.

My partner, Jonathan, from World Vision
is pictures in the red and blue stripes to the left.

Weekends in Accra--May 15 & May 22

My bestest buddy in Accra- Vossie- had his birthday celebration on Saturday May 16th. Besty and I came down to start celebrating on May 15 and finished celebrating two weeks later. Saturday night Lori, a friend I have made that is orginally from North Carolina, and I decorated our favorite Accra hangout- Duplex. It was a night of dancing, visiting, and singing. Yes, Vossie loves when I TRY to sing "Ms. Jackson" by OutKast---so since it was his birthday I did my best job. The turn out was great and I think Vossie had a great birthday.

Sunday, Lori and I went to a beautiful pool in Accra at a hotel called La Palm. I believe it is the same hotel that Obama will stay in when he arrives in July. It was huge and over crowded because most of Accra was without power and the best way to cool down is to hit the pool. They had a huge jungle gym and a swim up bar. After the pool Lori and I met up with a peace corp friend of hers (Lori did peace corp in Togo) and a group of exchange students from University of Ghana. It was strange to meet about 10 Americans at one table. Also- one of the Americans I met was Haley Joel Osmont from the Sixth Sense (the "I see dead people" boy). He is grown up now and was very friendly. He told me that he has family in Norcross, GA. After that Lori and I stayed up by candle night talking like middle school freinds. It was a great day.

Monday, Betsy and I packed up and headed back to Agogo, but we returned the following Friday for Memorial Day weekend.

Memorial Day weekend was: watch TV, work on IFESH report, watch more TV, visit with my favorite Irish man Jimmy (who was leaving), watch more TV, sing karaoke, and watch more TV. Good times were had. And pictures will come later.

My Trip to the Western Region-April 30

Believe it or not- this was my last planned trip with a fellow IFESH friend. On Thursday morning I met Martha, a therapist and yoga teacher back in LA, in Kumasi for our trip to the Western coast of Ghana. We boarded the STC in Kumasi at noon and arrived in Takoradi about six hours later. Takoradi is a busy industrial city on the coast. It has many ports where goods are shipped in and out. We found our way to the tro-tro stay as night fell. We couldn't find a tro-tro to Beyin, but a gentleman told me he would drop with us and make sure we could get a cab. I expected to be dropped with him at a taxi station, but this wasn't the case. He had the tro-tro drop us at his uncle's house. His uncle, Ali, just returned two days earlier from Maryland, where he lives. His uncle gave us a tour of this new house he was building, gave us a water, a coke, and introduced us to the whole family. He was very gracious. He works traveling around the world, Afgahaistan, India, and many countries in Europe. He was home this time putting the finishing touches on a health center for this community, the Alhaji Nuhu Memorial Health care Centre, in honor of his father.

Muhammad called this cousin who is a taxi driver and took us all the way down a very bumpy road to the Beyin Beach Resort. This beach resort has the best place I have stayed in all of Ghana. It was a quaint resort (4 chalets and 6? smaller rooms). Beyin Beach Resort had hot running water, doors that open a wall up so that the beach less than 30 yards from your door step, amazing food (filtered coffee and for the none vegans -croissants and warm brownies), countless lounge chairs, and fantastic serve. It had a nice king size bed where I can hear the waves.

The Nzulezu village on stilts was interesting. We started out our trip wading through mucky water to our canoes. Once we said down our guides paddled us to a beautiful lake. Once we arrived at the village we got off our canoes and wandered around. After paying the caretaker a donation and 5cedis of a bottle of liquor he told use the history. All I remember is that they moved from Mali and settled many places until they came all the way to this lake where they built their houses on stilts. All children learn to swim early in life- since they could easily fall into the water. They fish the lake for catfish and do have farms on the nearby land.

After the village we paddled out to the nearby crocodile pond where there were no crocs to see, but it was still very nice. As we paddled back to the entry it was just getting hot, which was nice because the day before the people we saw that had gone were sun burnt and tired. My guide/ canoe man let me paddle for a bit after I bugged him enough.

Back at the Beyin Beach Resort I hate more amazing food- my favorite was fufu and light soup that was vegan- yum! Martha and I also met and extremely nice Dutch couple that were on a two week vacation in Ghana. They were even gracious enough to give us a ride to Elmina! That saved us so much time and headache that I will be forever grateful.

I had a great weekend!

Weekends in Accra (Easter Weekend and Jessie's Goodbyes)

The Wednesday before Easter Betsy and I headed to Accra for the long weekend. We stayed at our friends house...it was so nice not have to pay for a room. While there I had a blast. I had not been in the big city since V-day. Wednesday night we went to a place called Duplex where I had great pineapple juice and groundnuts. Thursday we ran tons of errands around town- the highlight was going to Max Mart to buy soft shell tortillas. Later we ate at beach bar and grill called Tawala. It was literally on the beach. As you sit at your table there is sand making its way between your toes. Their vegetable fried rice was fantastic. After Tawala- Lori, a girl from North Carolina, and a few other friends went to the US Embassy for a "Dress You Decade" themed party. It was fun to see what the US military in Ghana do for fun. The Embassy was really nice too. After this short outing we head to yet another destination- Bywells. It was an outdoor bar with a dance floor. I boogied down hard until a woman in high heels stepped down on my bare foot (I only wait sandals here). It was great night. Friday was Good Friday so most things were closed. Vossie, Betsy, Bruce & Rianna (a nice South African couple that the moved here for work), and Awa (Lori's child) spent the day hanging out at the mall. We even when to a MOVIE!!! I forgot how much I love going to movies in the theater. We saw Marley and Me and we all cried our eyes out- all except Awa (she has never had a dog). Later we went back to Duplex where I had a great veggie pizza and did KARAOKE! Could this weekend get any better? Well yes it can when you spend Saturday and Sunday watching TV(tons of rugby which I love), going out to a great hotel for pizza and swimming, ordering pizza delivery, sitting in the A/C and taking hot showers. We left Tuesday to go back to Agogo. I for once missed Accra.



The following weekend was Jessie's last in Ghana. Jessie and I did tons of great stuff on Saturday. We went shopping at the crazy and frustrating Cultural Centre, saw handmade crazy shaped coffins (a lion, tanker truck, camera, a crab, a chicken, a bible, and a Star Beer bottle), and visited Global Mama's for last minute gifts. Sunday we hit our friend's pool and Jessie got more tan to show off to her friend back home. The weekend was fun, but I already hate that she is gone- damn you Jessie!



Currently I am back in Agogo just reading and making TLMs.

My Trip to the BA- April 3-5

Many of my IFESH peers live in a region northwest of me called the Brong-Ahafo region (or the BA). On Friday, April 3rd I traveled to Bechem where my friends Karen and Jessie work at St. Joseph's Training College. The campus is much larger than ours, but there town was a bit smaller. It was fun to see their Teacher Resource Center and compare it to ours. The room is the same size, but they have a woman that runs the center so that students can come and go as they please. They also have a working copier, two working computers, two working printers, and a working laminator. The walls were filled with tons of TLMs . I was also jealous because of there wireless Internet! It was amazing. After visiting the school Jessie and I had dinner at the Orange Hotel with was on the outskirts of the town. I ate a plate of plain rice with a side of a pepper sauce. It was nice and the restaurant was interesting because it was an old hotel room that had been transformed into a small dining room. After dinner we went back to their bungalow for a good night's sleep before our big day.

The next day we took a taxi to Sunyani which is the capital city of the BA region. It is a nice sized town with a large, fancy hotel with a pool, gym, and restaurant with pizza. We meet up with Pamela, an IFESH volunteer that lives and teaches in Sunyani. She hired a mini bus for the day to take 12 of us to Kintampo Falls and the Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary
Kintampo Falls. On the way to the Kintampo Falls I made a new friend Samatta. She knew Karen and works in Sunyani. We sang camps songs and played games for the 2 hours that it took to arrive at Kintampo. We walked down over a hundred stairs to the the base of this powerful waterfall. It was fun to walk long the base and get pelted by the water.

We had lunch at a nearby Catholic Church that Father Vincent, Pamela's coworker, new of. I ate a mango, but learned that cutting it is much better then just biting it. Thank goodness Karen had floss. We also took a moment to take pictures at the Center of Ghana.

After the waterfall we went to the monkey sanctuary. It took us a few hours to get to there due to bumpy roads and bad signs. But once we made it we were able to be less than two feet from tons of monkeys. They are sacred monkeys that are even given proper burials. They live freely int he forest around this small town. Folklore says that during a time of war the people of this town transformed into monkeys as a form of protection and then many didn't change back to their human forms. So the monkeys are treated well. We also say many beautiful trees. One was hollow. It was my highlight of the day- I wish I had the pictures it was outstanding.

After the long day, we traveled from 8am-7pm, Martha, another IFESH volunteer, and I had great fun in Sunyani and then traveled to her home in Berekum. When we arrived to Berekum
her roommate/IFESH volunteer, Amyianna, was cooking salmon croquettes. There kitchen is twice the size of ours and has the largest variety of spices I have seen in a long time. We visited until midnight and then I passed out.

The next day I visited their TRC which was amazing. They have alot of space to work with and computers, a copier, laminator, and tons of TLMs. They even made TLM of a computer monitor, printer, mouse, and keyboard. It was also so much fun to see and talk to Martha and Amyianna. I left Sunday around noon and got back to Agogo aorund 7pm. It was a nice trip.

Bad News

There won't be many or anymore pictures from my trips in Ghana. My computer is no longer with me so I can't download my pictures from my camera and many of my old pictures have been lost. This is very sad, because I went on a fantastic trip to waterfalls and to see monkeys- but these pictures are gone. I am going to try and get some pictures from friends, but for now words will have to do.

sorry

TLM Contest at A.P.C.E. with prizes from the Schoolbox

The first update I have for my readers is that the school I work at has changed its name. It was called APTC – Agogo Presbyterian Training College, but now it is Agogo Presbyterian College of Education. So if you read my blogs now APTC is the same as APCE.

Now own to the contest. Months ago Betsy and I met with educators from KNUST in Kumasi and began a partnership based on the creation of TLMs (teacher learning materials). During out meeting we decided that students from KNUST should visit our TRC to get ideas for their own TLMs. They did visit our campus early last month. Next, Betsy and I brainstormed things that our students could do to share with the KNUST students. I came up with an idea of a TLM contest.

I asked a few of our APCE students if they would be interested in entering a contest where they would create a TLM and win great teacher prizes from the Schoolbox. The few girls I surveyed said that this sounded like a great idea- so I got to work. I created a flyer that listed the rules for the contest:
• Participates are able to enter just one TLM
• Your TLM must fit in one of the following categories:
-Mathematics
-Science
-Social Studies/ History
-Health/Physical Education
-Language/Literature/Reading
• TLMs must be created primarily from found objects (example: bottles, boxes, tubes, etc)- at least making up of 30% of the TLM
• No posters will be accepted
• TLM must also have attached a handwritten or typed sheet (no longer than one page) explaining the TLM use to teach a part of the Ghanaian curriculum
• Finished TLMs are due to the TLM teachers by 4:00pm Monday March 23

And I created a rubric that explained to the contestants that they could be graded on neatness, their explanation, creativity, grammar, usability, and learning styles addressed.

We decided to have the TLM contest coincide with the students S.R.C. week- which is a week that the students get to celebrate being students! They had a beauty pageant, dance party, clean up day, and sport activities. On Saturday, March 28 they would have a program where guests were invited from all around the community and beyond. This sounded like the best time to have our students’ finished projects out for viewing.

APCE first and second year students were invited to enter the contest. Students had three weeks to work on their TLMs. They could work on the TLMs during class time or during open hours. We hosted additional Teacher Resource Center (TRC) open hours times on Sundays after church and on Friday afternoons as well as extended hours on our regular days (Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays). The pupils that entered the contest worked countless hours on the TLMs that they submitted on Monday, March 23. It was nice to be able to give them help them get ideas to create TLMs that were much more interactive then posters.

On Wednesday, March 24, we began the first round of judging. This round was strictly for the “Kids Choice Award”. We had six children from the neighborhood come to give their expert input. This judges’ ages ranged from seven to eleven years. Each child took their duty very seriously and each had their favorite. In the end one vote put the winner over the others.

The second round of judging took place on Thursday, March 25. Earlier in the week I went around to multiple teachers and administrators in the community to deliver an invitation to the TRC to be the official contest judges. The judges, one head master of nearby school, one secretary of a primary school, and four teachers from lower and upper primary schools, received refreshments as they judges the projects with the rubrics provided. Each judge took their duty seriously and gave fantastic feedback for the contestants.

On Friday, March 26, Betsy and I had the contestants meet us in the Teacher Resource Center to find out the winners. Betsy took hours creating homemade 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place ribbons for the top winner.

Most of the prizes awarded (stickers, pencils, crayons, markers, pens, rulers, notepads, teacher tote bag, and a teacher resource book on creating crafts from found objects) were donations from a teacher supply store in Atlanta, Georgia called the Schoolbox. To find out more about the Schoolbox click here.

The first prize we awarded was the contestant that used the largest percentage of found objects.

Tina from class 2c had used cardboard, bottle tops, and water bags to create her Odds and Even number display with attached activities for the teacher.

Next we awarded Bernice the Kids Choice Award winner. Her 3-D intensive and extensive poultry farm was excited to the kid judges.


Finally we award the two honorable mentions. The first awarded was Cynthia from class 2d. She had created a pyramid from bottle tops.

The second awarded honorable mention was Irene from class 2c for her Ghanaian village diorama which included houses, a woman cooking over a fire, and pictures of two Ghana’s most popular crops, plantains and maize.


After honorable mentions we awarded Tina third place for her interactive displace of Odds and Evens.

Second place went to Bernice for chicken coop and chicken yard to show the different ways in which chickens are take care of.

Finally, first place was granted to Dorcas from class 2d. She worked hours on her project The Little Kingdom. Her 3-D diorama included over ten different animals, mountains, a river, a waterfall, and trees. The project included a corresponding poem that students would be asked to memorize. The most exciting part of her project was the added reward of a crown of the student to wear when they have correctly memorized the poem! She did a fantastic job on her explanation and creativity.


Participants were excited about their prizes and extremely gracious. After the ceremony Dorcas gave a heart-felt thank you to Betsy and I on behalf of all contestants that left few dry eyes in the room.

Although the projects never were displayed for the visitors on Saturday to see the judges, contestants, Betsy, and I were extremely impressed with the outcome of this contest. I hope that next year’s IFESH volunteer will continue this activity.

Scorpian and Runaway Horse

While walking to the TRC the other morning I saw this in the pathway.

It was dead and very big.

It was an interesting morning.

While walking to the bank on Thursday, March 12, down Agogo High Street (the main street in Agogo) Betsy and I saw a horse running in the lane with traffic. The horse had a lead, but no one leading it. It was galloping quickly toward us as we were walking median in the middle of the two-lane street. All of a sudden we noticed it was heading straight toward us. We stopped and the horse came right to us and then walked across the median toward on coming traffic. As soon as it passed I realized I had my camera and snapped the picture seen below. Both Betsy and I wondered if we should have tried to stop the horse and tie it somewhere safe, but we just hoped that an adult caught it before the crowd of school children chasing it.

After spending 15 minutes on our trip from the bank to town we came across the horse tied to a tree in the shade next to a tro-tro station. Betsy took a picture of me with it.

As soon as we snapped the picture a gentleman came up and wondered why were taking pictures of his horse. I said “Because I love horses”. So later, further in town, he finds me again and asks me to take his picture…not with the horse- just a picture of him. So I did.

It was an interesting day in town.

KNUST came to APTC

On Monday, March 9th Mariama and a fellow arts education lecture, and 29 Arts Education Masters and Doctoral students from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology came to Agogo Presbyterian Training College. During their visit we showed them our TRC and examples of TLMs that our students had created. It was fun to see these students get so excited about everything. The students and teachers traveling with them snapped pictures left and right. Papa and Ma paid our visitors a visit at the TRC.

After our introductions Betsy and I talked about the benefits of using TLMs in the classroom and how using found materials is cheaper and environmentally friendly. Then we let this art students show us their stuff by stepping back and letting them form groups and create. They came up with so many amazing TLMs.


Another great use for water bags...a small bag!

The following groups created a pencil holder/flower holder out of a toliet paper roll and the lid of cheese.

I also thought this Styrofoam house was a hit.

And what about this Styrofoam duck with a liquid pump head.

The movie screen for counting used to be a raisin bran box. How cool.

Here we have Shape Man. Can you name all of the shapes?

The group presenting below has a nice 3-D poster with water bags holding the words to match the Styrofoam shapes.

Here we have movable toilet paper rolls to demonstrate the primary colors.

This bottle cap match primary colors to make secondary colors.

Below is a basketball net for throwing words into. If you don't make the basket you have to write a sentence with the word.

This group created an interactive color wheel.

The group below used bottle caps to help students identify their colors.

It was so much fun to see what new ideas for TLMs could be made from toilet paper rolls, boxes, water bottles, and water bags.

After class we went to Agogo’s finest restaurant, Dollar Days Inn. Here Marima treated ups to delicious fried rice on the three-story porch over looking our beautiful town. After lunch we set them on their way back home. It was a successful and fun visit.

On the 28th of March APTC is having a celebration for the students and Betsy and I are going to put together an exhibit of the TLMs created for a competition we are having. We have invited the KNUST students back and we hope they can make it!