Returned AgriCorps Fellow: Mark Rippke Placement: Buipe Senior High School, Buipe, Northern Region, Ghana Class: 3 (2016-17) What are you up to now? Tell us about your day-to-day duties. I’m currently working seasonal jobs in wine production. Last fall, I worked at Alta Colina winery in Paso Robles, California and currently working at Sileni Wines […]
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As I sat in the staff room at my school one afternoon just after classes closed for the day, the sound of students playing outside and the hot, humid air surrounded me. Not surrounding me, though, were three of the four 4-H advisors who agreed to meet with me that day so we could discuss […]
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It was the first day in almost three months where I hadn’t begun sweating by 10:00am. The clouds were holding back the sun, the air was dry, and the breeze was active. At first break of the school day, the 4-H club executive team and myself met under the tree in the schoolyard, its exposed […]
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The temperature has finally cooled to a breezy 27 ℃ after it had reached its peak of 32 ℃ earlier in the day. The sun is starting to set and the golden hour is upon us. The way the sun makes everything glow only makes me fall more in love with Yamoransa and I feel […]
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On the night after returning from a long trip back to Koforidua from the Centre for No-Till Agriculture (CNTA) in Kumasi, I took some time to gather all my thoughts and reflect about the events that took place over the past week and how much knowledge I have gained from that experience. I went outside […]
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As I am making my daily trek up the mountain to get cell service, my shirt is soaked from the beaming heat of the afternoon sun and the stifling humidity. Feeling absolutely miserable, I begin to hear my phone’s familiar “ding” as the once patiently waiting messages now begin crowding into my inbox, and I […]
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Here I am, lying on the bed of my room, starring at my broken leg in Yamoransa, Ghana. As I stare at my broken leg, I have been wondering how much more challenging it has been to carry out my goals here in Ghana. The doctor told me to put no weight on my leg […]
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Is foreign aid all bad? These days, it seems like almost everyone has something to say on the matter. Though I’ve personally maintained my silence for as long as I can suffer, today I will confess that I am no exception. Allow me to explain. I’ve spent the last 14 months living with, learning from, […]
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It was one of the first class periods I was teaching on my own. I had spent hours meticulously working on my lesson plans, making sure each aspect of the lesson was planned out and properly prepared. My class period was to be held from 12:50 – 2:00pm, in the heat of the day. I […]
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When I first set foot in Mensah Dawa, so many questions ran through my head simultaneously. I wondered how my life would look here, if the people would treat me well, and will the students thrive under my instruction? As we came to my small house behind the school, we passed through the primary school […]
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