It’s easy to get lost in the sea of of new information, new people, and new problems that I am facing on a daily basis. Sometimes it’s easier to just put my head down and either get lost in the situation or simply bury my head in the sand. In the first few weeks in […]

I stood there on a mound of blood red soil overlooking Chief John’s farm. No large buildings were in sight. As a matter of fact, no other people were in sight. There were no other signs of human life as Anna, Bindu, and I looked out over the surreal landscape. Light green hills covered by […]

Throughout training I learned basic phrases in Dagbani, I learned about Ghanaian agriculture, and I was introduced to the Ghanaian education system. At the end of each day, however, I had my American colleagues with whom I could discuss my observations. Noting a prominent cultural difference—timeliness—I can remember thinking to myself It’s really for the […]

Walking through a very “bushy” school farm today I see something that looks very familiar, the purple and green leaves of a sweet potato vine!!! Us North Carolinians pride ourselves on this “dirt candy” and love to eat our top commodity in a variety of ways. However, unlike North Carolina, these sweet potatoes had somewhat […]

Forty women circle around a metal box bound by four separate padlocks. Many of them have children with them, either secured to their backs by a colorful wrap or, if the children are old enough, they play outside of the meeting place with the other children. These women are here to invest in their village […]

As I climbed the gray speckled marble steps up yet another floor, I clung closer to the damp concrete wall beside me, always keeping one hand flat up against the cold surface. The stairs were slippery from the rain water that had fallen earlier that morning and there was no railing for me to hold […]

The wind gently rustles my light blue camp staff shirt as I watched the sunset ahead of me. While I sat on top of my family farm’s grain elevator, the sun-baked gray steel is serving as a perching point for not only myself but all of my thoughts and ideas. Tonight was the last time […]

Whack! Whack! The sound of an ax smacking into wood rang in my ears as I walked up to the farm only a quarter mile down from my house. A woman dressed in her colorful Ghanaian dress effortlessly picked up the ax again and swung it at her feet into the old tree. The large […]

If we are being honest, sometimes Ghana takes its toll. Projects can take a long time to start, bush fires during Harmattan make it rain ash, going to the market means attracting a lot of attention, exposing teachers to new ideas can be challenging, the churches are loud, the market is loud, the eating spots […]