So here I am... back in Malta, and I have to add, 'sadly' back in Malta. It's not that I don't want to be with my family and all my great Malta-based friends and colleagues. Rather, it's that I simply didn't want to leave Ghana. Can you blame me?
So anyway, in the last update I let you know more or less what happened in the second week of my trip to Ghana. That second week also coincided with the end of the Summer camp for the children. You may therefore be wondering what I was doing in the remaining two weeks.
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| Children playing in the oratory |
In the first week I continued going to Tema New Town on a daily basis in the afternoons. During these days there was the oratory where the children could play with puzzles, games and footballs. They could also, as some of them did, think I was a human tree and climb all over me, or alternatively sit me down and sit around me and on me. Again it is clear that these children want to be loved. The only downside is that sitting next to me or on me made them prone to getting tickled!
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| More games |
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| Children waiting to come in to the oratory |
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| Who said that puzzle pieces are for solving puzzles and not for building? |
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| More learning opportunities |
As for the mornings, I organised the few thousand photos and videos, and I also reinstalled the operating system on each of the computers in the computer room. Some of the computers were in a desperate need for the attention...
The following weekend, which was incidentally my last one in Ghana, saw me get my first bit of travelling. Together with the German and Croatian volunteers, we hopped onto the trotros and made our way to Cape Coast, where we visited the Cape Coast Castle, as well as Kakum national park. I already went to the park last year, but the 'walkways' (rope bridges) are worth it any time. The pity is that the only monkeys we saw were ourselves...
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| Cape Coast Castle... a sad place in the history of humanity |
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| Kakum National Park walkways |
The trip wouldn't have been complete without going into the rain forest to get up close and personal with nature, and of course get some good pictures in the process. Thankfully, after nearly two years I am finally getting used to my camera so I was able to snap some decent pics!
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| My friend the lizard |
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| Jurassic Park IV |
Great pics were however not the only thing I got out of the weekend. For the first time in three weeks I got a running stomach (and I'm saying this to avoid using the d-word). This also meant that I was unable to go to the oratory on Monday, and I spent the while day indoors. I did however get to have a traditional remedy, made by boiling some leaves. The result was a very bitter drink, but at least it worked.
On the other days I went to the artisan market, Akosombo dam (which provides clean energy annd accoints for 70% of Ghana's energy needs), the Shai Hills nature reserve, and once again, Ada Foah, which is the most wonderful beach I've ever been to.
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| At the Akosombo dam |
Sadly, that brought me to Friday, the day of my departure. This was a very sad day indeed, as I really didn't want to leave so soon. To be honest I didn't enjoy packing one bit. Knowing that I'll be spending 11 hours transiting through Libya didn't help either. In fact, as I am writing, I am in the airport trying my best to stay awake, and furthermore to while away the time. I will however post the update once in am back in Malta.
I can't close off without thanking those who have helped to make the experience what it was, namely my friends at SPYS, the Salesians in Ghana, the German and Croation volunteers, all those who donated money or soft toys, and Air Malta for the excess baggage allowance I was given.
That's all for now. I hope you enjoyed the updates!!!
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