Center for Global Perspectives

There and Back Again

2008-06-23T11:55:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this final blog is actually coming to you from the United States. Yes indeed, the end of the most challenging experience of my short life has finally come. As I knew I would, I completely fell off with my blogs towards the final weeks of my time in Ghana. Because of exhaustion? Because the difficulty I was having in realizing I was leaving? Or because I simply could not find the words to share my emotions with you?

So before I get into the emotions allow me to just give you a run through of the events and occasions that took place during my final weeks.

Saying goodbye to people in Ghana is a long process.(At least for me it was.) I suppose it was my own fault for mentioning to people how little time I had left. Once that was said it was usually followed by the following suggestive statements: “I know that you will remember me when you go to your country.”, “What are you giving me before you leave?”, or “I must give you my address…so that you can send me money.” Kind of disappointing that that was their main interest, but I was expecting it. (I gave my number and address out to way too many people.)
During my final weeks I did my best to visit all my closest friends and prepare them for my departure since on the last few days nothing is done properly. So I visited with John, Tony, Peter and his family, Philomena, Milicent, Richard, the expatriate workers, some of the Sisters of the Holy Cross from the area, and my friends from the local restaurant/bar that I go to.
It is hard for me to describe for you how it felt during those final weeks. Sometimes I was in denial of the fact that I was leaving. Sometimes I was really excited to get back to the States. Sometimes I felt like I find a way to stay longer. Feeling like a failure. Feeling proud of what I did….I think you get the picture.

The hardest thing for me to do was to say goodbye to my students. Although I didn’t get to say proper goodbyes to all of them I did get to give them a kind of farewell speech that I somehow made it through with dry eyes. I told them to remember what I taught them. I told them to be strong when hard times come and to have the courage to always do what is right and true. Keeping it short was a must since we were all crammed into the boiling hot electrical workshop so before I knew it I was giving them all awkward hugs goodbye and watching them walk out of the school for the last time.

Br. Daniel gave me the last week off of teaching before I was to catch my flight. I had planned to use the time to rest, relax, catch up on my writing, and discover new insights through prayer and meditation. Naturally, I didn’t do any of that and rather just got myself pulled around all over the place by people who just couldn’t say goodbye. I suppose I couldn’t either. ;)

On the weekend before I was to leave the Brothers held a going away party for me at our house in Butumagyebu. Most of the Brothers came except for some who were away in Kumasi and those who were stuck in Sunyani. Also in attendance were most of the teachers from the Skills Centre and some of my friends from Takoradi, Sekondi, and Kojokrom.

It was a great party with tons of food and drink and lots of laughter. At the very end it was my turn to get up and give my farewell speech. I didn’t want to take too long so I kept it short. I thanked everyone for being so kind to me and for being so patient with me when times were tough. I told them that this was definitely the most challenging thing that I have ever done. I explained that it was the most complex task that I have ever undertaken and that it was only a success because of how we all made it work.

I talked about how it seems like some of the strongest things have been forged by fire and this first year of the Holy Cross Service Corps has certainly been like that. When I think about all of the effort, the emotion, all of the successes and failures, the lessons learned, the pain…just putting it all together to make up one year of the HCSC. I explained that I truly believe that the continuation and improvement of this program will only result in positive change for the District of West Africa and Holy Cross College.

It was a wonderful experience full of adventure and challenges. My experience has come to an end now, but my work has not. It is now time to build the program and give it a solid structure so that our future volunteers can accomplish more each year. My experience has to be shared so as to inspire others, to help them understand that they can make a difference in the world. They can be a part of the solution. We will move forwards in developing the Holy Cross Service Corps and it will be successful.

At this point I would like to thank all of you who read and contributed to this blog. Your comments meant a great deal to me during some of the hard times. For those of you who are students I hope that you will pursue your interest in the Holy Cross Service Corps.
In August I will being working at Holy Cross College as the Assistant Director of the Moreau Center for International Programs. Mainly, I will work on developing the Holy Cross Service Corps as well as assisting in the coordination of our International Experience Programs.
If anyone has any specific questions that you would like to ask about my experience in Ghana or how you can have your own international service experience feel free to ask through this blog.

Thank you very much! Maydasi paaaaaaaaaa!

Jay Dunne
Inaugural HCSC Volunteer

Nyame Adom

2008-05-06T13:14:00.000-07:00

Now I am nearing the time of my departure from Ghana. Nearing the end of the most challenging experience of my life. It is going to take many attempts for me to be able to effectively synthesize and dissect this past year, but I think I am going to enjoy every moment of that. I can hardly believe how quickly the time has passed by. (Well, actually I can, but we must respect the formalities.)

Looking back on this experience from where I am now one thing is quite apparent if it were not for the spiritual growth that I underwent in the first three months I don’t believe that I would have had the strength to complete. But that is the whole thing!

My spiritual development in Ghana came from reading great spiritual works from Merton, Chardin, and St. John of the Cross. It came from learning to pray the Liturgy of the Hours in the morning, evening, and at night. It came from going to Mass every day and becoming dependent on the Eucharist. It came from developing a longing for prayer. These things could have happened anywhere at any time, but they happened here.

If I were in the US right now doing some other kind of work would I have read those books? Would I be going to Mass everyday let alone once a week? Would I be committed to my personal prayer life? Would I have the mental and spiritual strength to love others when I am hurting inside? Would I have the ability to even be honest with myself about the times that I fail to serve selflessly?

My preparation for this experience was about 26 days in Ghana over the course of two international experiences while I was a student at Holy Cross College. Both of those experiences were with groups of 26 and 10, but this time I was going to be in Ghana for a year virtually on my own. Besides my own personal reading and research I had nothing else. (But that never really bothered me.) I was not required to pray with the community nor was I assigned books to read and discuss with any spiritual director.

I was inspired to do it. I chose to do it.

I reflected long and hard on themes of seeing Christ in the face of the poor and the ignorant, being aware of the presence of God everywhere I was, being aware of God as the ultimate source around which all life revolves, and internalizing the idea that “there is no greater proof of love than laying down your life for your friends.” Another of the most important things that I often reminded myself was that God’s graces are always there for us; but it is up to us to accept them.

From all if this newfound insight I was able to discover a strength within myself to endure whatever struggle or trial that would come to me. I accepted that I could not do it by myself and that is how I overcame them.

Also, if it were not for reading the psalms on a daily basis I would still find myself a slave to a host of vices, mainly the power of my ego. I had a hard time in the beginning of my experience accepting my ministry. Constantly looking for a way to involve myself in something else that seemed “bigger and better” than teaching high school age boys English and Religious and Moral Education I was blind to the fact that it was my ego, my selfish desire to serve others on my own conditional terms, that was causing me such torment. In the beginning, I used to dread going to school and facing my students.

It wasn’t until I realized that it was my own ego that was causing me these problems that I was able to fix the problem. It got to a point where I was even considering requesting for another ministry to participate in or the unthinkable, give up entirely. I was able to recognize my selfish ways and correct them. I don’t think that is something I have done many times before. It was an action that saved this experience. Of course, as I said back in December, even during the worst times when I was considering giving up I knew that I couldn’t.

The past couple months, the “home stretch” if you will, has been equally difficult, but for a host of different reasons. So much of what I have struggled with has been due to the great need that exists here in Ghana. I am still just beginning to comprehend the magnitude of the different global and humanitarian issues that need to be addressed in the developing world and in Ghana. As I begin to better understand them I feel helpless when so many come to me in need. That is something that will never go away. While recognizing that you cannot help everyone you still cannot help but feel frustrated when you do not have the resources at your disposal to more actively deal with these problems.

How has it affected me? I feel burned out. I feel helpless. I feel like I have done nothing. Has that affected the way I interact with Ghanaians? Somewhat. But if it were not for my new spiritual strength I wouldn’t even be dealing with this. I would be back in the States…probably feeling lost. If it were not for what happened all those months ago I wouldn’t have the vigor to keep going, to still smile, to listen, to give freely, or to tolerate the incessant catcalls of all the villagers just to visit a friend’s home(ha ha). Although at times I feel a bit numb, cynical, or hardened I am fully committed to this work.

It has all been "nyame adom"...by God's grace. Before I was inspired to pray with the community or read those books I don't think I was ready to deal with what I have. There is a good chance that I would give up. But I was inspired which tells me that I think I am on the right track.

Getting Some Help

2008-04-29T13:34:00.000-07:00

A while back I was informed that my cousin Mary Kate, a student at Prospect High School, was a member of an organizing committee for their charity organization the Knight's Way. She informed them that she had a relative serving at a technical school for high school age boys in Ghana, West Africa and that the school could use some assistance.

I was really suprised when I found out that the school had decided to help us. We are a private Catholic institution and they are a public high school. From what I gathered they really did play down the faith aspect of the situation, but thanks to the hard work and determination of Mary Kate it all worked out.

First thing I made sure to do was to send out some pictures of the school for the students to see what the place looked like. I decided that I wanted to try and get some new things for all of the different departments (Auto, Electricals, Building and Construction, and Carpentry). I wanted each department to buy some new textbooks to teach with and also to purchase some new tools for their practicals. I also wanted to put up white boards in all of our classrooms so the dusty blackboards that we could be rid of those nasty old blackboards.(Painted onto the wall BTW) I would also want to get some new things for the English classes as well, mainly dictionaries and text books.

Well, after a long while we received the money raised by the students, about $3,000. I was so excited to get to work and bring some new things to our students and teachers. I was also informed that three boxes of dry erase markers (for the white boards), dictionaries, and Knight's Way t- shirts were on there way to Ghana. I was so happy.

We immediately went out and bought the materials necessary to make the white boards and I divided the funds up between the four departments so that each department received nearly 600 Ghana Cedis. Over the next few weeks the department heads went about buying different tools, new text books, and making plans to begin new projects using parts of their money.

I was able to go and buy new English textbooks and a host of new reading books for the boys. They were all very excited to be receiving all of these things. I made it quite clear that it was all for them and no one else.

It wasn't until just recently that we received the materials shipped from the US since they were hung up in Accra with customs. Thanks to the National Catholic Service Center we were able to clear things up without any major problems.

All in all things went very successfully and the students are pleased with their new supplies and the teachers are glad to have some new resources for their lessons. We at the Skills Centre are so grateful for the generous gifts given by the students and staff of Prospect High School.

I would especially like to thank my cousin Mary Kate. Without her efforts none of this could have been possible. It is quite a rarity for a public school to donate to a Catholic one, but because of your determination to make a difference in the lives of these young men, Mary Kate, you made it happen! God Bless You!

Enjoy the pictures!

Another Story

2008-04-14T07:39:00.000-07:00

Back in February I brought you just one story of one Ghanaian. Now I am bringing you another. I met this particular friend at The Last Stop drinking spot and restaurant in Fijai not from Moreau House in Butumagyebu.

Amos – 22 years

“At the first place, I am a young man and I am living with my parents. I schooled at St. Mary’s Boys Senior Secondary School in the Western Region when I was 18 years old.”

“When I was in school, I had an argument with my teachers in school. Having finished not knowing that the teachers had seen us. So they called us and we pretended as if we had not done anything wrong. We tried to defend ourselves but they still sacked us from the school. When I came back home I decided that I would not go back to school again.”

Amos got himself involved in some other bad activities. While he was at St. Mary’s school he became a habitual marijuana smoker. He also told me that he drank alcohol regularly during his first and second years of school.

It was what Amos did after he was sacked from school that really grabbed my attention. Instead of trying to find a way to get back into school or even go somewhere else he decided that he would leave Ghana behind.

In our conversations he would tell me how much he loves Ghana, but then when we talks about Europe or the States he dismisses everything that he previously said.

So one day, after much planning and exchanging of money, Amos jumped ship just off the coast of Takoradi and was headed for Spain, or so he thought. The ship ended up stopping in Abidjan, The Ivory Coast. Luckily he was able to stay on board, but at the next stop he was not as lucky.

Amos, a few other Ghanaians, and a few Nigerians were discovered and thrown off of the ship at Monrovia, Liberia during Liberia’s civil war. Amos spent a few days hiding in the bush before he could get back on another ship. He didn’t want to talk much about his experience there, but he just said that people were dying all around him. He didn’t know how he had survived. He told me that he didn’t sleep for the entire time that he was there.

After his miraculous escape from Liberia Amos finally made it to Spain. He was in Madrid for three days before he was caught by immigration and deported. He told me how depressed he was when he had to return to Ghana. He said, “I no go back to that ****** poor country man!”

“The reasons why I would like to go to Spain and leave Ghana is that staying in Ghana is not easy. You will struggle before you prosper or gain what you want. I know that all human beings struggle before he/she will prosper but staying in Ghana to get something is not easy… In the future I want to be a surveyor to help mother Ghana and also my family.”

About three or four weeks after I met Amos he quit his job at the bar/restaurant. Amos refused to do something that his supervisor asked him to do and then he walked out. At his job he was being paid 60 Ghana Cedis a month and was also put on the National Health Insurance Plan. Many young Ghanaians would do anything for a job like that.

It has been about a month and a half since I have seen or hear from Amos.

Last week one of the other workers at the place gave a me a sheet of paper and said it was from Amos. It was his reflections on some of the things that we talked about, but he left no phone number to call.

A Good Friday and a bad Friday

2008-04-07T08:27:00.000-07:00

I should apologize for not keeping this up as well as I should have, but our internet cable was stolen again two weeks ago and Ghana Telecom is still deciding whether or not they are going to replace it.(We think that they might finally place an armed guard out there.) So that makes it five times in the past four months I think.
Anyway, let me tell you about my Holy Week and Easter. We decided as a house that we would attend all of the masses and services during Holy Week at St. Peter’s Regional Seminary in Pedu, Cape Coast. I had heard of the place many times, but I had never actually seen the place.(For the group that came here last July-August the Seminary was right down the road from the Church that you attended for the Fante Mass.)
So we traveled out to Cape Coast on Thursday afternoon for the 8pm Mass at the Regional Seminary. When we arrived on the campus it was dark and you could see all these seminarians walking around in quiet contemplation. I remarked to Fr. Bob that they looked like ghosts floating around in the night wearing their white cassocks.
It was a beautiful night with a nice breeze blowing every now and then. The moon was full and the stars were out in their numbers. We took our seats in the back of the chapel since the rest of the seat were going to be full of seminarians. I found out that the Seminary currently has about 277 seminarians. I think Moreau Seminary at Notre Dame has about 25.
So eventually the place was full of the young seminarians and in the back five rows were all of the visitors and Roman Sisters. I leaned over to tell Jude, one of the young men in the pre-novitiate for the Brothers, that is was pretty inspiring being around all of these pious men.
Well, I think that was the reasoning behind going to the seminary for Holy Week. The liturgy was flawless and traditional. The singing was superb. The experience was wonderful.
I do not have many memories of going to stations of the cross or veneration of the cross on Good Friday, but the memories I made form this past Good Friday will be very important ones for my future.
Some people out here call Good Friday crying day. It was definitely an emotional day for me. I kept thinking throughout the stations if I would be one of the people who condemned Jesus after welcoming him joyously into Jerusalem. Would I have had the courage to cry out against the murder of an innocent man? These kind of questions ran through my head all day long. It made me feel like crying since I wasn’t sure if I would have stood up for Jesus. He gave his life freely for me and for all…how have I said thank you?
I kept thinking about that subject for the next couple days. I began to apply it to my life and my work here in Ghana. Am I doing everything I can out here? Am I standing up for those marginalized? How much am I really giving of myself? Am I seeing Christ in the poor, the afflicted, and the sick?
It was this kind of critical reflection that honestly made me feel that so much of what I do is selfish and inadequate. So on Easter Sunday I resolved to myself to change all of that. I will give even when it hurts. And when I fail in doing this I will try again and again.
I will prepare myself to risk much for the well being (spiritual and physical) of my brothers and sisters around the world.(It is funny how this all worked out.) I resolved that I am going to prepare myself for a life of selfless service.
So the following Friday the day started out rather strangely. I came out of my room at about 5:30a.m. to see a mad man running up our hill to the house. He was screaming, “I’m not crazy Teresa! Hey, white man! There is a dead body down there. Come and get the body!”
Now ever since the Damien Mental Health Clinic in Fijai shut down many of their former patients have not been receiving any medication so they have really been losing control and wandering all over the area since their families refuse to care for them. On more than one occasion they have come to our house. There isn’t much we can do for them when they come and sometimes they are so hysterical when they arrive that we just have to send them away. It’s a sad situation.
That morning at school I heard that two of our students got into a fight. One boy badly injured the other after hitting him in the face with a t-square. We took the wounded boy to the hospital and the other boy was nowhere to be found.
At around Noon that same day I heard a loud ruckus outside the school library where I was working with a student. I turned to see a few students running across the assembly area towards the canteen just outside the campus grounds. As I walked out of the room I saw about a hundred of our boys gathered around the canteen outside the campus.
I knew what it was before I got there. It was what I feared…Ewee. In the Fante language Ewee means thief. Now why does that cause me to fear? Stealing in Ghana, or in Africa, for that matter is a pretty serious crime. The thing is thieves aren’t turned over to the police, in fact, the police sometimes don’t ever hear about the incidents. When a thief is caught he faces mob justice which usually ends up with the thief being beaten, humiliated and then lynched, drowned, or burned to death. The general justification for such brutal punishment is that to steal something that someone has worked their whole lives for is like taking that person’s life; so you should be killed for doing such a thing.
Anyway, the story is this. A young man was caught trying to steal a TV. antennae in Anaji, where our school is located. The small mob stripped the man naked and beat him severely. They walked him down the road humiliating him in front of all who were present until the thief ran toward our school for some vain hope of refuge. His accusers continued to beat and insult him outside our school grounds.
When I finally got to the scene I was overcome with anger. There were my own students laughing, insulting, and encouraging the other men to beat the thief. Once of the students ran up to me laughing like a jolly fool, “Hey Bro…look look Eweeo!” I shoved him to the ground and started screaming at the tops of my lungs for the students to go inside. I don’t think they ever saw me that angry because they all scattered and ran inside. One of the teachers came out behind me and helped me to get the rest of the boys back inside.
I turned back to see the thief crying and begging for his life whilst bleeding all over. His accusers stood over him holding big sticks and shovels. They were shouting insults in the vernacular and slapping him across the face.
They wanted to kill him. I felt sick. I couldn’t stand it so I stepped up to the accusers and begged them to let him go. At first they didn’t mind me at all. Almost as if I wasn’t there, but eventually they began to move away from the thief until there was only one man left. He still stood there holding his stick threatening the thief by slamming it on the bench behind where the thief was sitting. I looked at the man and told him he was sick.
All of the students were still watching from inside the campus. I had to do something for the young man. I took off my undershirt and gave it to the poor naked criminal. We made eye contact for about one second before I turned and headed back inside the school.
As I walked back into the school all of my students with impatient tones demanded to know why I would do such a thing. “Bro why would you give that man your shirt? He is a thief.”
I was so bewildered by my mixture of rage and discouragement that I could hardly speak, but I did manage to answer their question. “Because I am a Christian.”
I don’t think they understood me.

A Series of Unfortunate Events

2008-03-11T13:04:00.000-07:00

Last week on Monday I was coming home from school with Br. Daniel when we made quite an interesting discovery. I noticed as we approached the base of the hill, aptly named Roman Hill by the villagers, that the men had come to empty the large rubbish container located off the side of the road.

It is nice that they come to take away the rubbish, but honestly they only come about once every three months and most of the rubbish is found on the ground around the container. The workers are very good at sticking to their duties: remove and empty the container. They were never told to clean up the rest of the rubbish, so they don’t. The place never looks like it is being cleaned up.

Anyway, so this one day we drive by to find the semi-empty container sitting on the road up to our house. Rubbish was scattered all over as if the workers had quit in the middle of their job. It turns out that is what happened. In the process of removing the container they managed to knock down one of the cement electrical poles on a knoll next to the dump.(I still don’t know how they managed to do it.) Instead of calling the police and notifying them of the accident the two men jumped into their truck leaving a lot of rubbish and live electrical wires on the ground.

The wires were directly connected to our house and our house only. So luckily we were the only ones effected. We had no light and our water was soon to run out since our pump was shut off. I have found myself without light a million times here, but never because of something like this. My fear, which was shared by Fr. Bob and Br. Dan, was that this is something that might not be able to be fixed for weeks or months, which would not be nice at all.

Fr. Bob acted quickly and went to visit the Electric Company of Ghana (ECG) to see what could be done. Although nothing was done the first night, we were told that if we hadn’t reported the incident right away like we did then we would have been without light for at least a few weeks.(Not really sure why, but you don’t give these people attitude.) So we had no light that night.

The next day I had a great story to tell people at school, but I was worried about the situation. On this day Fr. Bob went back to ECG in his habit to visit one of the big bosses, who is a Catholic, to convince him to fix our pole and give us light. Well, by about 5p.m. we had light again and for a low price, too!

Unfortunately for the two workers who caused all this trouble our gardener, who was taking a “break” from work, witnessed the whole event. It turns out he knows the two workers and where they live. So pretty soon they can be sure that a few of Ghana’s men in blue will show up at their house.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………....

About four months ago we lost our Broadband internet connection and telephone service, which is provided by Ghana Telecom. After making some inquiries as to what the problem was we discovered that it was a theft. A theft? Yes, a theft. Some individuals, not far from our village, dug up and cut the cable in one spot and walked about 20+ meters another direction and did the same. They hooked the cable up to their vehicle and pulled all of it out of the ground. Why? Simply because they want to sell the copper inside the cable.

It took Ghana Telecom a little over three weeks to replace the cable and restore the internet and phone service to our area.

So about a month and a half ago this whole scenario happened again, but this time it was replaced very quickly by Ghana Telecom. In less than two weeks they restored everything.

Two weeks after they replaced the cable was stolen out of the ground again in the exact same spot. We were without internet and telephone service for about three weeks. Just the other day did we get everything restored.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

I think I said in a previous blog that many of my students here could benefit from some professional counseling and that even though none of us are trained professionals we try our best. You have to understand how difficult this is.

One of my first year students, Philip, isn’t exactly a great student. He talks during class. He is always late. He often doesn’t come to school at all or leaves during lunchtime for reasons unknown to me. He is a handsome young guy and he always tries to look fresh, even in a school uniform. You can see the fairly short boy walking around always wearing his “tough-guy” expression on his face.(He can never wear it for too long when I come around though.) He tries to be the guy who isn’t affected by anything...the whole macho man, men can’t cry kind of guy.

His English is horrific. He can understand very little of what I say to him so I have had to write down my comments or questions on paper for him to read and respond to when we have one on one discussions. At first I was irritated by him and his behavior. I would always call him a punk, of course no one besides myself understood the word. After a while I saw that he was really trying to change his attitude. He was putting effort into his work and was paying attention in class. I would call on him often and he really tried to participate; but, he was still late for class.

The past two weeks however, he came to very few classes and the ones that he was present at he was as silent as silent could be. In the middle of last week I approached him to see what was wrong.

With tears welling in his eyes he said, “Bro..my mother…dead….”

That is what he told me. So what do you tell a poor Ghanaian boy who lives with his Grandmother, whose father is working and living in Cape Coast, and whose Mother has died. What can you do to help the boy who barely understands your language? How do you comfort a young boy who, with the grief of losing his mother on his heart, has to walk five miles to school with an empty stomach day after day?

I talked to him and told him not to feel sad because his mother is in heaven. I told him not to think about his loss, but rather about what his Mother has gained. I said and wrote a lot of things hoping that something could help him. I listened, even though he could not express himself. I tried my best. Imagine someone giving you an opportunity to talk about something that is causing you great pain, an opportunity that doesn’t come up too often for people out here, and you cannot express how you feel.

I just wanted to tell him that it is ok to cry.

GHANA, The 08 Experience

2008-02-27T15:02:00.000-08:00

Ghana is Holy Cross's longest running trip. In fact, not only do we have a trip there, but we have a graduate from one of those trips who has gone back to serve a year there as a teacher. He is Jay Dunne, and is the first member of the Holy Cross Service Corps. If you look to the left you can see a bit more about the Corps. Then below that you will find out some basic info about the summer trips we offer. This year, we will have the usual trip, arounf July 19 - Aug 8, depending on the best tickets. But we ALSO are working to arrange a smaller trip that will be hosted by Jay Dunne while he is still in Ghana. That would take place from mid May to early June. If you are interested in either option, be sure to contact Mr. Griffin. And to learn more about what Jay, who will host that trip, is doing in Ghana, read the blog entries below. In them he describes many of the amazing experiences he is having. So enjoy!

Just one story

2008-02-23T02:36:00.000-08:00

So many times I have difficulty thinking of what to share with all of you on this Blog. There is so much to talk about, good and bad. So much. I have not done a great job thus far sharing with you the stories of some of my close friends out here. So I figured I would allow my friends to let their lives speak for themselves. I had one of my closest friends here answer some questions for me in the hopes that you will learn a bit more about life in Ghana.

This is just one story...

I am a man of 23 years. I grew up in a community in the Western Region of Ghana. When I was growing up I thought life was fun and simple, never thought of anyone having problem and needed someone to help them. The reason was that my parents were providing for my needs, but as time went by things started to change especially when I was in the Junior Secondary School because my father lost his job and life became very difficult. I would sometimes go to school without food not too mention with no money to pay my school fees or registration fees for my final examinations. By the grace of God and through the struggle of my parents, I paid the registration fees and wrote my exams when I was fifteen in 1999.
My exam results came and I was amongst the first five students who did well in my school! All the schools that I chose selected me but there was no money for me to continue my schooling. I was sad because since those who did not do as well as I did started school and I was staying in the house thinking of what I could do to become an electrical engineer – since that is what I decided I want to be as my profession in life. My father tried all the means but to no avail, he decided to take me to a friend of his as a apprentice to learn a trade as an electrician. I went and the saddest part was that my father was told to pay an amount of 20 Ghana Cedis (about $20) for me to start but he could not provide that money. My master had pity on me in the beginning but sacked me on several occasions and commanded me to do a lot of extra work like washing his clothes, including his wife and children’s clothes. I would also have to walk everyday from my community to wash his car at 5am. I would sometimes walk from my place to Takoradi with no food in my stomach and in the evening too. I completed the apprenticeship and served for another two years making it five years total. (The additional two years were because we could not pay the money in the beginning.)But eventually my Father paid the money and I was given a certificate and now I am a master. Interestingly, I never thought of people suffering in this world and never thought of what I can do to help those people who were suffering.
When I completed I decided to go to a Training Centre to learn more about electricals. Now this is when life became very difficult since my father totally lost his job. I had to walk from the house to school(about 5 miles) with no food to eat, but I was determined to achieve my goal and succeed in school. I had no money to pay my school fees or my registration fees. Several times I was sacked from school but I returned secretly to sit in the classroom and study. When I was about to finish my schooling things started to get worse. My father became very sick and was forced to sell all of the things he had worked for over the years, but to no avail. Since I was the oldest among my sisters I decided to get a job to help my father to get well. I got a job in my Auntie’s shop and she was paying me 50 pesewas a day. (about 50 cents) After work instead of using this small money for food and transport costs I would go and buy corn dough from the market for my family to eat because since the morning time they had had nothing to eat. Due to this my sister who was in her second year had to stop schooling and stay in the house to take care of my father. I went on working like this for some time until one day I came home to find my father dead on the 6th of July 2006. I was very disturbed since we didn’t have enough money to bury my father. But God was good to us and through the help of my father’s friends we were able to provide him with a perfect burial. During the funeral many people gave our family money so that we might not suffer, but my Auntie took and spoiled all of it. I was furious with her because when my father was sick my mother went to her for help and she gave us nothing.
From that time on I started to experience what life is. Life has not been easy at all and I am really struggling to take care of my mother and two sisters. I sometimes sit down and ask myself if I was born to suffer. I decided that I would stow away on a ship to anywhere and if I died I died and if I survived I survived.
Fortunately, I ended up getting a job at the school I attended where I make 30 Ghana cedis a month. (about 30 dollars a month) It isn’t enough to survive but by getting other small jobs I am able to provide for my mother and sisters, both of whom are schooling. Even though life is difficult, I know that my redeemer lives and with God all things are possible to those who believe in Him. Though this life is difficult I have finally realized that there are many people who are facing problems which are more difficult than mine, and now I try to spend my time thinking of how I can help those people…I know a time will come when I will be able to help those people.

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What I love about Ghana is the natural beauty of the place and the peace that exists between all its people.

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I am proud to be a Ghanaian, because this is the country that God has made me part of. Since I was born up to this time there has been peace. All people who visit Ghana experience the great sense of hospitality exhibited by all Ghanaians. This makes me proud.

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Some of the things of which I don’t like about being a Ghanaian are that a lot of people have money mainly politicians, so called religious men, and well to do business people who have the means to help those who are in need, those who are helpless and they do nothing. Sometimes when these helpless people show up at their door they throw them away and humiliate them.

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I have always wanted dreamed of becoming a God fearing man and secondly to continue my education and achieve my aim of becoming an electrical engineer and thirdly to help those who are in need, the helpless in my society.
The major obstacles in my way is the fear that I will not be able to achieve my ambitions since I don’t have the money and this is the main problem I am facing now. And I will take this opportunity to ask you something. Please, my friend I need an amount of 5 million cedis, about 500 dollars to further my education at Takoradi Polytechnic. I will need this money by around August-September this year, so please if you can help me or if you know of someone who can help me to achieve my aim I will be forever grateful. If through your help I am able to get to Polytechnic I will never look down upon anyone who needs help, and I know that God will bless you abundantly.

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If I could teach the people of America one thing in life it would be not to look down upon the poor people of Africa and thinking that they are worthless. Because people think that when you are poor you are nothing, you are of no use whether old or young, and nothing good can come from you. When I experience this I can’t stand it because I think something good can come from anyone if somebody is ready and willing to help those people.
And I believe that help is giving to the poor is not wasted because the Bible says “if someone gives something to the poor that person has given it to God and He will pay that person more than what he gave in kind.” So we must do all we can to help these people.

Just Beyond Hamattan

2008-02-23T02:33:00.000-08:00

About a few weeks ago the Hamattan season finally came to an end. The Hamattan is the dry season here in Ghana. Let me tell you it was dry! In the beginning it was wonderful. The winds started blowing from the North and everything was cool. I mean I would find myself shivering at night and after my morning shower.(BTW my classrooms at Skills were often times smelling rather foul because the boys didn’t want to bathe in the cold air. It may have saved them some discomfort but in the long run we all suffered.)
Of course it was pretty darn funny that I found the weather so cold when it never really got colder than an average Fall day in the Mid-West. I realized how good it is that I will be returning to the U.S. during the summer. I think I would die if I came back in the winter, or just get sick immediately.
Unfortunately, there is a downside to the dry season. Yep, you guessed it! It is unbelievably dry. Because the winds bring with them tons and tons of dust from the dunes of the Sahara desert. This dust blows over all of West Africa and even reaches over the ocean to parts of South America. The dust gets everywhere. You can wipe your window clean and five minutes later there will be a brand new layer of dust there. When you drive around town you can’t believe the condition of some of the cars, the ones that are out of commission. They look as if they have been just recently exhumed.
Everybody suffers from colds during the dry season. You will see people using all sorts of products to keep their nasal passages moist, but most of the time it is all in vain. Everything just dries out and you end up with bloody noses and cracked lips. It can be a dreadful ordeal depending on where you live. The further north you go in Ghana the worse it will get. On days when the Hamattan was heavy all the way down here in the Western Region I could only imagine how the people suffered up in the Northern Region as well as the Upper Eastern and Upper Western Regions.
All the while during this wretched weather school was going on and things were going well in the classroom. It is so funny how in the beginning I never thought I would learn all the names of the students, but now I know so many, more than some of the other teachers I believe. Of course, it took time. Because of the new reform I am spending much more time with the first years. Instead of having English once a week we now have it three times a week. On Mondays we do reading and spelling work, on Wednesdays we do grammar, and on Fridays we do reading comprehension and essay writing. I am pleased with their performances, but it will take an act of God to get all of the assignments in on time.
The problem is so many of the students miss at least one day of school a week. Some miss whole weeks of school without notifying anyone. We have no idea why they miss school sometimes and when I ask I assume they are telling the truth. Sometimes they have to leave and work for a while so they can pay for school or so they can help out their family. Sometimes they just don’t feel like coming to school. Most times they are sick. It is quite a slap in the face when you realize how difficult it is to learn when you are sick so often. But we use the time we have together as best as we can….I think they enjoy themselves.
I did a couple of small projects earlier this term. I brought a world map from home and I purchased a Ghana map, a West Africa map, and an Africa map to put up in the Library/Staff Room. With the help of a couple of the Carpentry teachers, Br. Mathew Sabogu and Mr. Paul Damoah, we were able to make the inexpensive maps look quite nice in some glass enclosed frames. (I wanted to make sure that they last through a few Hamattan seasons.) I try to make use of the maps in my classes as much as possible. The boys really love looking at those maps and gaining a more accurate picture of how the world is arranged.
My other project was to refurbish the small library that we have for our students. It is made up of fiction books that I read during high school. From what I understand they were all donated by Br. Tom Dillman. We also have a rather large selection of reference books including a complete set of Encyclopedia Britannica. Unfortunately, the reference books are all dated and are not in the best of shape…but it’s something. So after reorganizing the library at Skills I began distributing books to all of my different English students in Forms one, two, and three. Some might think I am crazy to give these boys the books since they aren’t famous for their responsible behavior, but it’s better than letting them just sit there to collect dust.
I think that the boys have become quite used to my style of teaching. They ask questions freely now, which is great, whereas before they we just sit in silence and say “YES BRO” “NO BRO”
I have never been interested in discipline, but sometimes I have no choice. Mainly I have resorted to corporal punishment and made the boys do push-ups like crazy. Other times I just throw them out of class and tell them that if they want to come back they need to write me a letter explaining why they think they should be allowed in back in the classroom. One time I threw a kid out and gave him those directions. He looked at me with his puppy dog face and begged me to let him stay, but I sent him out.(He deserved it don’t worry.) Anyway, I wondered where he went to so I walked outside the classroom and he was nowhere to be found. I walked past the next classroom down and there he was sitting in the empty classroom writing his letter furiously. It was a great feeling.
These boys can definitely be troublesome, but one needs to realize that they do need extra attention. Many of them could really benefit from some professional counseling(true of us all) and although none of us are licensed counselors we try our best to help these boys who are underdogs in every sense of the word.
It is almost March now and the weather is HOT! We haven’t had any rain for about three months save for a couple showers here and there.(When I say a couple I really mean it.) Time is flying and I have become immersed in the life here it is sometimes hard to imagine what it was like back in the U.S. I try not to spend too much time thinking about that now; there is still quite a bit of work to do here. Quite a bit.
Thanks for reading.

GES and the Ghana Catholic Conference of Bishops

2008-02-05T07:41:00.001-08:00

Ok, so I took quite a long time to deliver this blog regarding the new reform issued by the Ghana Education Service to all Senior Secondary, Vocational, and Technical education institutions. I did mention in the past that this new reform had been causing some commotion among the Catholic Community here in Ghana. These concerns were voiced by the Ghanaian Bishops many times over the months leading up to the commencement of the new reform.
So what was the big problem? Basically, the government attempting to control Catholic educational institutions. Catholic institutions around the world have all experienced the pressure from education ministries or government agencies at one point or another. So at one point or another all Catholic educational institutions have to stand up and say, “We are Catholic!”
At the Holy Cross Skills Training Centre, we teach a class called Religious and Moral Education(RME). Although, it is taught from a Christian perspective the class strives to explain the concepts of religion and morality in an objective way. As a Catholic institution we hold this class in high regard and stress the importance to our students on a daily basis. However, when the brand new and improved reform came out the RME class wasn’t anywhere to be found. What was there, however, were two new classes: Entrepreneurial skills and Information and Computer Technology. I found it quite interesting that all schools would be required to follow this reform even though they were given only 3 months notice and no financial assistance for the changeover.
Furthermore, since the new reform takes effect in January, and only for the First Year students, schools will be forced to be open all year round, not to mention they will have to function with two different class schedules. In fact, the oversights and issues created by this new reform have really showed me how detached the Ghana Education Service is from the actual condition of educational institutions in Ghana. Schools are overcrowded and understaffed. Schools don’t have the funds to obtain the technology needed to teach the ICT classes. Not to mention the fact that proper syllabi have not been made available in a great quantity or in a timely manner.
There was also a big row over GES appointing non-Catholic, and even non-Christian, headmasters at Catholic Schools. There have been many complaints from teachers that these headmasters are eradicating the Catholic identity of the schools. I wish I could give you a more detailed report about this issue, but this is all that I have for you right now.
Amidst all this conflict and confusion I will applaud the efforts of GES to reform Technical and Vocational schools. The greater emphasis on English, Math, Science, Entrepreneurial Skills, and Information and Communication Technology is an obvious effort to create a more holistic education for our technical students. I truly believe that this liberalization of technical education will create many opportunities in the lives of these young men. However, none of this will be able to happen unless technical and vocational institutions are able to equip themselves properly for this new reform. Meaning that all teachers need to take time to think about where this new reform will be taking students, all schools will somehow have to find funds to purchase computers and internet connection. Also, this kind of material might be over the heads of many young technical students some of whom can barely read, write, or speak English. In order for the reform to succeed schools are going to need to be staffed with highly devoted teachers who consider teaching their vocation not just a way to pay the bills.
We at the Skills Centre solved the RME problem quite easily. We just added it to the new reform. However, other schools have discontinued it entirely just because the “big” GES people removed it. GES also went as far as to say that Religion and Morals should only be taught in the home and in Church and that morality and religion are in no way academic subjects! WHAT?!
It is quite easy to see that there is a wide gap between what GES perceives the situation of technical and vocational education to be and what the reality of it is. Either that or they just don’t care. In the meantime, teachers and schools do the very best they can to provide students with the skills and knowledge to achieve something positive while education ministers drive around in luxury cars, paid for by the government, and sit in air conditioned offices.

It is important that you should remember that wonderful things happen in classrooms all over Ghana everyday! Good things are happening, however, improvements must be made.

(The opinions expressed in this article in no way reflect that of the Congregation of Holy Cross nor the Holy Cross Skills Training Centre.)

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

2008-02-05T07:36:00.000-08:00

Ok…so there is an epidemic of Football Fever in Ghana right now. 16 teams from all over Africa have gathered for the African Cup of Nations Football Tournament. Teams from Morocco, Egypt, Sudan, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Benin, Mali, Tunisia, South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Guinea, Senegal, Angola, and of course the hosting Black Stars of Ghana are all competing to become the Champion of the continent.
The excitement has been mounting for many months, however, it seems that all the preparation was in the last minute. You could see the main roads improving during the last year and of course the construction of the incredible new stadiums were finished on time, or close to on time, but as for the thousands of streetlights put up, all of the clean-up crews picking up rubbish all day long, and the new paint jobs on all the moldy buildings those were all done one month or less before the tournament began. In fact they were still putting in streetlights a few days after the tournament began.
It is quite obvious that this major cleanup process which spans most of the country, since there are stadiums in Accra, Sekondi, Kumasi, and Tamale, was only done to impress the Cup of Nations visitors. The money was always there to clean up the country, or at least parts of it, it just wasn’t being done. Interesting eh? Even more interesting to see which improvements are sustained.
Anyway, for a long time I was the one always saying how ridiculous it was for Ghana to be hosting this tournament, spending hundreds of millions of dollars on football when there is still a significant number of people dying every year from easily treatable diseases. Spending hundreds of millions of dollars on football while children are crammed into public school classrooms 2 to a seat. Spending millions of dollars on football and boasting of Ghana becoming a middle income country when there are still significant numbers of Ghanaians who are illiterate or are just struggling to survive because of so few options when it comes to social assistance.
However….
the opening ceremony and the performance of the Black Stars thus far (3-0) has been really exciting. It really has been refreshing to have all the visitors around from all corners of Africa here with us. Many times during the tournament I have found myself feeling quite proud to be in Ghana at this time. It is a wonderful feeling to watch Ghana in the limelight. The place that will always have a special place in my heart. The place that has helped to shape me into the person I am is getting some attention from the world in a big way. It is a wonderful feeling when you see everyone gathered around a small television set at a kiosk watching the Black Stars or when you hear the villages singing all through the night after a big victory. This tournament is an excellent opportunity for Ghana to become more proud of herself. It is an excellent opportunity for Ghanaians to realize their potential and what they can offer the world.I am sure some of you would say that what I have shared is oversimplified, perhaps. Which perspective do you identify with?

Happy New Year!

2008-01-15T06:44:00.001-08:00

I hope all of you had a great time bringing in the New Year! I didn’t really do anything for New Year’s Eve. People in Ghana, at least most people, spend their New Year’s Eve in Church. I could hear the different Churches doing their own countdowns to the New Year. “1 hour left! You’ve got to pray! You’ve got to pray! Only 1 hour ‘till the New Year!” It didn’t sound like the normal services, but more like three hours of prayer at a lightning fast pace.
So instead of participating in a Mass that would last about 4 hours I decided to sit on the rooftop of the District Centre, drink a few Star beers, and lose myself completely in memories from 2007. Ha-ha Wow, it wasn’t exactly the best New Year’s Eve ever, but it will be one that I will never forget.
At the stroke of midnight I screamed HAPPY NEW YEAR! (I am pretty sure that I woke up a lot of the reverend sisters that were sleeping at ICF.) And for some reason I started feeling a whole lot better about everything! Another year to do good things, another year full of ups and downs, another year of life! For the rest of the night you could hear the joyful music from all the different Churches. Small fireworks sounded throughout the villages.
So on that wonderful note I began 2008.

A Funeral - December 28th, 2007

2008-01-15T06:21:00.000-08:00

People in Brafoyaw and at the District Center wanted me to come back for a few days during the Christmas Holiday so I decided that I would bring in the New Year there. In all I spent four days there relaxing and catching up on a lot of internet browsing. Unfortunately, my time there began in a rather sad way.
For those of you who don’t know, there is a small community of Jesuits that live on the same property that the Holy Cross District Center and the Institute for Continuing Formation are located. On the 24th of December they lost one of their young Scholastics to cancer. He was 27 years old. So on the night that I arrived in Brafoyaw they were going to hold the wake keeping in our chapel.
I spent some time helping to set up the chapel with extra chairs since the number of family members and well wishers gathered had far exceeded the capacity of the chapel. When the Mass finally began there were a number of people forced to sit around the outside of the chapel, myself included. There were other Jesuit priests present from Accra and also some that had come from as far as Nigeria and Zimbabwe. Also, the Jesuit Provincial Fr. George was present.
Fr. John Ghansa gave the homily and used the opportunity to tell everyone about his experience with Alexis, the deceased. Alexis was your typical Jesuit candidate, a true scholar, a man who lived in awe of God, a man who left a loving impression upon all he met, anything but average really. The most wonderful part of Fr. John’s account was when it came to the times of suffering. He recounted the times when Alexis had to travel to Nigeria and back to Ghana amidst the agony of his illness, but he always tried to smile. The most moving part of his testimony came when he was by Alexis’s bedside the night before he died. Alexis was given his ‘final’ mission which was to pray for the Society of Jesus. On that night before he died he was praying for all the Jesuits that he knew by name. He died in peaceful suffering.
After the Mass there was a viewing of the body at the Jesuit chapel on the other side of the property. After a few short prayers, led by Fr. Donald Henfie, there was a short period of silence. It was after this silence that the sounds heard at most Ghanaian wakes were heard. The women of the family wailed under the night sky which showed few stars. The men sobbed with their faces in their hands as they moved out of the chapel. The scene was so dramatic it was as if their wails and their cries could have been easily organized into an African poem of lamentation. The sorrowful moaning tugged at my heart.
The funeral Mass was said the next morning by the Jesuit Provincial who was incredible. Everyone was prepared for another day of sorrow, but Fr. George wasn’t about to allow it. I remember when said with such incredible enthusiasm, “No more tears of sorrow for today is Resurrection Sunday. Today is Easter Sunday.” With such conviction and joy in his words he reminded me and all of us that Alexis was a young men of great Faith and that he is with the Lord in paradise.
After the Mass we processed out to the burial site just off to the side of the entrance to the property. There were at least 200 or so people gathered around the grave. There was a large pile of earth next to the open grave and a small canopy over it. It didn’t take long for the challenging event of watching your child be lowered into the ground to overwhelm the mothers there. Once again the wails were heard and the tears flowed. It was a completely different kind of grief.
I stood with a few others as the gravediggers began to finish their day’s work. Eventually, the only people left were me, a few Jesuit priests, and two boys. These two boys were the youngest brothers of Alexis. They watched with deep sadness as the Earth consumed their brother. Fr. Donald Henfie went up to each of the boys and whispered in their ears. I am sure he told them exactly what they needed to hear at that moment. I know what I would have said.

So this is Christmas…

2007-12-31T07:38:00.000-08:00

So it was my first Christmas on a different continent let alone away from home. The materialistic side of Christmas was almost completely absent, save all the people who kept coming up to me and asking for their Christmas present, which is no different than usual. Life was not visibly different in Sekondi-Takoradi…well I will take that back. On New Year’s Eve day I ventured into Takoradi town with Fr. Bob and John, our security man aka ABO!, and the place was more congested than I have ever seen. Where once was a sidewalk there were hundreds of market women with their goods spread out all over. The police men that used to guide traffic were nowhere to be seen.

There were people yelling and shouting all around. There were tourists walking through looking confused and a little anxious. Basically it was a chaotic scene with the occasional shop selling Christmas garland, which was a nice sight to see. Other than that life went on in Ghana as normal. People have to work to live. Most families cannot afford gifts for each other, but many do get together and have a special meal.

It wasn’t until after we finished decorating the house in the late afternoon that I began to feel the warm, Holy feeling of Christmas. It was different this time however. Instead of celebrating Christmas the whole month and having all those silly images of Christmas gifts and Santa costumes in my head I was preparing myself for something much more joyous, the birth of our Savior, the birth of my Lord.

I spent a lot of time meditating on the great faith of Mary and Joseph which eventually led me to something wonderful. Why is it that they call Christmas a season of wonder? Think about the obscurity of Mary and Joseph, a poor, humble, young girl and a humble, honest carpenter on the outer rim of the Roman Empire. Two very simple people who knew the fears, frustrations, and pains of life just as we do, but who trusted God always. And God chose them. Obviously there is so much to be expanded upon here, but you see how much wonder can be found around the birth of Christ.

So for Christmas Eve Mass we went to Star of the Sea Cathedral in Takoradi at around 8pm for carols. Fr. Bob sat up close to the altar with the other priests and I found my seat by myself. The choir was wonderful. They sang in Fante and in English, thankfully. I closed my eyes and prayed and the beautiful voices carried me away. On many occasions tears were close ‘cuz believe it or not it was hard being so far away from my closest of loved ones at that time.
Mass began at 10pm and was entirely in Fante except for a portion of the Homily given by Arch-Bishop John Martin Darko. I have been to so many Masses in Fante that I can easily follow along and even say some of the responses, but still you aren’t as connected as you would like to be.

There was a second Mass immediately following our Mass, a Mass at dawn I believe it is called. No one went up for communion so it lasted about 20 minutes. I didn’t understand what was happening at all, but I gathered later that it was part of a very old tradition.

We got out of Mass at around 1 in the morning and after dropping someone off at their home we made our way back to Moreau House. On the way back I watched out my window in silence the people wandering the streets late at night. They were headed in no apparent direction, some may not have been up to anything good. It made me feel somewhat sad.
We turned on BBC radio and listened to a story about Christians in Gaza celebrating Christmas under Hamas.

I spent the remainder of my evening making a couple phone calls and sitting in our chapel with the lights off. The tree that we put in there glows just like our tree did at home, in the US. I hummed “All through the night” and went to sleep.

On Christmas morning, I felt sad. After morning prayer and breakfast we began our journey to Cape Coast for Christmas Mass with the rest of our community. I wrote in my journal a bit and then I fell into a light sleep for a while.

It was during Mass that my spirits began to rise. In fact, through the words of Fr. Bob’s homily and the Eucharist I was even filled with joy. I realized that although I miss my family and friends very much this is no time for sadness.

So after Mass, renewed, I joined everyone at our big Christmas feast. We were all very happy and the smiles were endless. I felt at peace.

On the way back home and for the remainder of that Christmas Day I sang my family’s favorite carols and remembered scenes from our favorite Christmas movies. After a long talk with my family I ended my Christmas Day in the chapel…this time it was “Silent Night”.
Merry Christmas to all! And may God bless you in the New Year!

The First Term at Skills in Review

2007-12-23T11:57:00.000-08:00

Well, the first term of the school year has come to an end. In three months I would have to say that I have come a long way. Back in October I was so full of anxiety about being prepared, which I wasn’t, and now I feel so comfortable with the boys.
I wasn’t sure if I was doing things right. I wasn’t sure if I was doing enough to pave the way for HCSC. I felt like I wasn’t making a difference. There were even times when I felt that I couldn’t continue, but I never gave up. Whenever I was having a rough day at Skills, something would happen to keep me going. Just when I thought I was at the end of my rope something brought me back to life.
I had heard so much about how the Skills boys are different. They are stubborn. They don’t respect. They don’t learn. And I think I let that affect me too much in the beginning. It took some time, but I have come to know them better. I know that they can learn. I know that they are all good boys…they just need someone to show them. They need someone to show them compassion and commitment.
Whenever I do get frustrated with them I don’t hesitate to discipline, but I always remember that I was just like them once. I have made a lot of mistakes in my life, and I have learned from them all. Sometimes you have to allow them to make mistakes…you cannot force them to be saints they have to choose it…that’s all. However, if no one is there to teach them about making that choice, about committing themselves to a certain path in life then they are indeed in danger of falling into meaninglessness. There is much more than just learning a Skill.
So the exam scores were not so great, but I know that they tried. I have spoken to many of them one on one about what they need to work on. One boy can barely read…I told him I will teach him if it kills me. Another boy approached me about becoming a Brother…I will do my best to guide him. One boy isn’t proud of being a Ghanaian and would rather be white…I will do my best to counsel him. And so many others come to me for their needs. The tasks are many and they aren’t easy, but I will try.
There were times in the past months when I let my frustrations get the better of me and I wanted to be angry, but I could never stay angry for too long. I know now that even when I wanted to give up I never could. There is something else guiding me, and that something is much greater than me. Because I have allowed God to guide me I have been able to go far beyond the limits of my own strength. I think it is appropriate at this stage in my experience to say that God’s will has become my strength…but there are still many times when I am weak.
Even when reading those words to myself I feel foolish. After all I am just teaching at one school in Ghana, West Africa. How much of a difference am I really making? How much pressure am I really under? How difficult can it really be? Am I making a big deal out of nothing? Well at this point I guess my rebuttal would be that anyone who wants to make a difference globally had better learn to first see the sacredness and the importance of service to others in the smallest most personal of ways. Otherwise you are bound to end up serving yourself rather than others in the future…I have no audience here.

Pilgrimage to Nauli

2007-12-23T11:54:00.000-08:00

Once a year the whole Arch-Diocese of Sekondi-Takoradi is asked to go to Nauli, a town deep in the Western Region very close to the border with Cote D’Ivoire, to celebrate at the large shrine devoted to our Lady of Fatima. So for three days thousands of people from our area flock to Nauli to pray to the Blessed Virgin and celebrate Mass.
So all us at Moreau House decided that we would go on the last day of the pilgrimage. I wasn’t sure what to expect. In fact I had just arrived back to the house after being in Cape Coast for a few days to spend time with Br. Richard, so it was a big surprise to hear that we would be traveling.
We would be spending most of the day out in Nauli, which is about a two hour drive from Takoradi, so we packed food and drinks the night before so that we could nourish ourselves while there. We were all pretty excited when we went to bed the night before, except for the fact that we had to get up at about 4A.M., anapatutu “early morning” in Fante.
4 a.m. came pretty quickly. I threw on some clothes. We packed the car and then we were off to Anaji to meet up with Br. Joachim, the electrical teacher at Skills and missionary brother form Bangladesh, so we could set out together. The interesting thing was that none of us were exactly sure how to get there. Br. Joachim had been there before, but even he wasn’t totally sure. So we set out on the main highway , the official West African highway, and hoped Br. Joachim remembered everything.
Br. Joachim was actually bringing some of the boys from the Home of Hope, the residence for some of our Skills students, to Nauli and he didn’t have enough room for them all so we took a few. So after that we finally set out.
It was turning out to be a beautiful day. I once again learned why the Western Region is the region that brings in the most money for Ghana. The vegetation is so thick and the resources are plenty. I just stared out my window as we drove past the different rubber plantations at the endless rows of rubber trees.
It was a very peaceful drive except for the occasional oversized semi that likes to run all the other cars off of the road. Don’t ask me why. The road isn’t exactly large, but still these drivers seem to enjoy making the hearts of other drivers skip a beat.
We only made one wrong turn during the whole drive. The place was definitely off the beaten path, which for the purposes of a pilgrimage is a good thing I think. We drove our van down a very bump dirt road around a small curve towards the entrance of the place. It was a narrow road that led to the entrance and everybody that was arriving was trying to find a decent parking spot, and there were very few of those. Of course, the majority of people had just taken a tro-tro or “207” to Nauli and walked the rest of the way.
The best way that I can describe the place is like the grounds for a county fair and an amphitheatre placed very naturally into a valley.( I hope the pictures can do it for you.) The were a good number of people there when we arrived and it was obvious that it was turning out to be a very hot day.
After walking around the place for a while we, the Skills boys, the pre-novices, and myself, found a place to sit high up towards the top of the concrete steps that led up the valley opposite the open ended chapel where Arch Bishop John Martin Darko would be celebrating Mass shortly. It was difficult to see who was who from where we were, but at least we would have shade for the longest possible time. I said the Rosary to myself and observed the layout before Mass began.
The open ended chapel was in the middle of the valley on a flat piece of land. On the second floor of the chapel was a balcony with a small room where people could go adoration. Just behind the chapel there is a steep rising hill and at the top of the hill is a massive crucifix. Many people walked up that hill to pray at the feet of Jesus all throughout the day.
Once everyone got settled there were probably about 1,000+ people gathered. The procession at the beginning of Mass was quite impressive. It began on our side of the valley down to the chapel. The Mass servers were looking very sharp, carrying the crucifix high as they made their way down the hill. Following them was an honor guard of Girl Scouts, a large choir, the Knights of the Church ( I am unsure which they were), just about every priest from the diocese, and of course Archbishop.
The Mass went for about 3 ½ hours, by which time there was no shelter from the sun. Unfortunately, the Mass was in three languages none of which were English. In our diocese Fante is the vernacular but in this part of the Western Region Nzema is the vernacular. Also, since there were a considerable amount of people from Cote D’Ivoire present French was also spoken. And since there were only three non-Africans present, Fr. Bob, Br. Joachim, and I, English was left out.
With the help of those around me and from my extensive experience with Fante I was able to follow along with the celebration, I use the word celebration because there were a lot of things added to the Mass. Of course there was an incredible amount of singing and dancing which took up most of the time. I didn’t really partake in the dancing, but I just admired the beautiful scenery and watched the people rejoicing under the sun. I moved myself out from under the shade and into the sun for a while to try and absorb some of the energy. I felt completely contented, so comfortable amongst the people….”I know these people, we danced together, we sang together, we rejoiced in the presence of our God together…peace”
With these kinds of thoughts running across my mind I was unable to come to my senses and realize that I was being burned to a crisp! HAHA
So after the Mass, we all headed back to the van together to have some lunch. I laughed when I stood back and realized it was like a Holy tailgate! We gathered around the van eating and drinking and laughing and enjoying each other’s company. It was very nice! Many people laughed and smiled as they past us by on their way home.
I tried my best to stay awake for the ride home, but eventually I fell into a deep sleep. When I awoke the feeling of peace had never left.

Jubilee Day and The Day of Thanksgiving – December 1st and 2nd

2007-12-17T11:57:00.000-08:00

On Saturday the 1st of December we all gathered at St. John’s to honor our pioneering Brothers who devoted so selflessly many years of loving service to the people of Ghana, especially at St. John’s School.
It was a very hot day from the start when we gathered down on the playing fields to watch the honor guards from St. John’s and St. Augustine’s College. I don’t know how they survived marching around that field in their thick uniforms under that sun. I was sweating like mad just watching them.
It was another very long ceremony, probably about 3 and a half hours or so. The best part of the whole ceremony was hearing from the “old boys” of St. John’s School. These were the men who were taught by our American brothers who came all those years ago. It was just like hearing speeches from Notre Dame alumni…their funny anecdotes just dripping with nostalgia. But in every man that spoke you could sense the deep gratitude in their voice. Many of these men came to St. John’s knowing very little english had a lot of trouble understanding the white Brothers; but because of their efforts these young men were able to become some of Ghana’s greatest citizens. They are great business men, they have positions in government, they are community leaders, they are advisers to the President of Ghana, but most of all they are honest men.
Whenever Br William Gates was acknowledged I heard all the “old boys” behind me exchanging words…pss pss pss OLD WILLY! Pss pss pss. It was quite obvious to me that Br. William who has stayed all these years, longer than any other, has made an incredible impression upon these men…and he continues to every day.
The ceremony helped me to realize that St. John’s School is truly one of the greatest in the whole country. It has produced so many successful men over the years. We must remember that this great institution was the first home of Holy Cross in Ghana and the positive results of our Brothers’ presence can still be seen today.
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The final day of the Jubilee Celebrations was on the second day of December. It was 50 years ago this day that the first brothers stepped off of their ship and onto Ghanaian soil. Today we would celebrate fifty-years of tireless effort, fifty-years of selflessness, fifty years of educating the hearts and minds of young Ghanaians. Also, we celebrate the 40th anniversary of Br. Joseph Tsiquaye Religious Profession and the final profession of six Holy Cross Brothers, all of who’s names should be very familiar to you HCC students who have been here. The Brothers are: Ebeneezer Prah, Paul Bukaryi, Nicholas, Kenneth Goode, Patrick Osei-Bonsu, and John Affum-Badu.
We held the ceremony at Our Lady of the Star Cathedral in Takoradi. The place was completely full with about 1,000 people in attendance. Everyone there was dressed beautifully in a mixed array of traditional dress and western suits. There were more brothers, sisters, and priests there than I have ever seen with my own eyes. There was a wonderful feeling of love and appreciation for Holy Cross in the Cathedral that poured out of everyone through embraces, smiles, and song.
I was so excited to be able to be present at such a momentous occasion for the Congregation of Holy Cross, such a momentous occasion in the lives of these young Brothers whom have become so dear to my heart. I know there are so many students who have only spent a couple weeks with some of these Brothers and the impressions will remain for a lifetime. To be able to represent those students at this celebration of six young men turning their lives over to God was a great honor.

It almost brought me to tears to watch these Brothers whom I have spent so much time with make such an incredible commitment to God. It was wonderful! Right after they made their final profession they allowed people to go up and congratulate them. They tried to keep people from going up, but the congratulations lasted for about 15 minutes. It was wonderful to see so many people supporting Holy Cross.
What really stuck in my head from Fr. Hugh’s homily was something simple, love. He talked so much about commitment, work, tirelessness, humility, and faith. What stuck with me was that at the foundation of all of that is love. In order to commit your life to the service of others then you must do everything out of love. In order to find joy in working tirelessly for others then you must do everything out of love. “There is no greater proof of love than for one to lay down his life for his friends.” What we need to realize is that all the people on Earth are our friends.
We might not all end up as religious men and women, but trying to use every moment of our lives to help our “friends” is something we can all strive for. I think it was this that really renewed my strength…every moment that I have here in Ghana or anywhere else in the world I have the opportunity to do something incredible, something that changes the world, something that transforms the world….I can show someone love. And it seems real nice and romantic, but as I have learned in the past months that loving others isn’t easy, making an act of solidarity, isn’t easy! But the goal is that when it all goes down I can say, “Well, I don’t know what I accomplished. I don’t know if I really made a difference for anyone, but I did give all of myself. Oh God, I really tried.”Fr. Hugh definitely had the rights words to help begin another 50 years for Holy Cross in Ghana.

Holy Cross Skills Center @ 25 – November 29th, 2007

2007-12-17T11:56:00.000-08:00

It was on this day 25 years ago that the Holy Cross Skills Project was begun in Ketan, Sekondi-Takoradi. It was quite a modest project in the beginning with one simple goal: teach young men with no other options a skill. Now we have a good amount of land in Anaji, large classrooms, big workshops with decent equipment, a full staff, and about 300 hundred students.
On this we day we all, including all of our visiting brothers, students from the nearby vocational and technical schools, and a host of dignitaries from the Western Region. Our local chief was even there. But the person that I was most excited to meet was the Superior General of the Congregation of Holy Cross, Fr. Hugh Cleary. I believe that the figurehead of a Catholic Congregation should be the best representative of the ideal that the Congregation stands for. With this in mind the real reason why I looked forward to meeting him was because of my need to renew my strength.
After talking with Br. Richard Gilman I asked if he could introduce me to Fr. Hugh. He is not a physically imposing man at all. In fact just from his handshake and his greeting one could tell that he is a truly humble man. A gentle man who isn’t always fond of the administrative work. A man who will not abandon an ideal. A man who prefers not to roam outside of the spiritual sphere of life. A man who sees and understands.
I will tell you right now that the words I exchanged with Fr. Hugh were not many, but I feel that we communicated a lot more without them.
So all in all it was a crowd of about 300 plus people. We brought in a “high life” band for the event to help to spice things up. Basically, the event was about three hours worth of speeches, music and awards given to the great benefactors of the Skills Center.
There have been many people over the years that have given so much to make the Center possible. People who donated the overalls for the auto department. People who paid for the power tools that are used. Funds raised to put up the Home of Hope and keep it running each year. One man paying the salary of all the teachers for years when it could no longer be afforded. People who donate books for the library. People who provided free medical attention for our students.
So many people have provided to make the school possible it gave me more inspiration to give the students all that I could. So many people who wanted to take part in this project, to help in the formation of good and honorable young men, to help give these boys some hope for their future…well I can honor their charity by adding to their gifts the best of my efforts in the classroom and around the campus.
The real fun didn’t begin until much later that day when we had a records dance for the boys. Initially, we were going to bring in a live band for the boys, but they said, “Bro! NO NO NO…and they somehow brought in a DJ. Which meant giant speakers blaring Hip Hop and Hip Life all throughout Anaji.
We had the dance outdoors in between the workshops and the administrative block on the flat gravel lot. The boys were going wild and having a great time kicking up dust all over the place. A couple of the boys sneaked in with their “girlfriends” in the back of the crowd…Br. Daniel was keeping a close eye on them. ;)
They were playing some music that took me back to those ridiculous nights at Club Fever or wherever else they play that stuff and I couldn’t help but to smile, tap my feet, and before I knew it I was dancing like a fool in the middle of my students…and it just made them go even more wild.

The time came for a little dance competition and let me tell you some of these boys can dance…I mean wow! One of the boys was sliding around on the gravel like Michael Jackson. He was great. Another could do this dance were it looked as if he were moving in slow motion. The boys were good.
What they were not so good at was free styling which is what they did next. Luckily that kind of faded out quick and it was back to dancing!
So after showing the boys my pathetic version of breakdancing, meaning the worm and a one armed hand stand which received quite an ovation from the boys, it was time to go home and call it a night.
I got some good pictures of the boys from the dance…I think it might help to paint the picture a bit better for you. Enjoy.

Holy Cross Skills Center Symposium – November, 28th, 2007

2007-12-17T11:53:00.000-08:00

Once again forgive me for being late, but please allow me to finish off the Jubilee Week celebrations.
On the 28th we had a symposium at the Skills Center for our students and all students from the local vocational and technical schools. It was a nice day and about 150 students came to hear the Regional Coordinator of the National Vocational and Technical Institutes for the Western Region of Ghana, Mr. Martison Osei and an internationally renown business man and devout Catholic Mr. Eddy Prah.

Br. Raymond Papenfuss was present for the occasion. I sat down to have chat with him for a while before everything began. Some of my students came over to greet me and I introduced them to Br. Raymond the FOUNDER OF THE SKILLS PROJECT. Before long a large group of students had gathered around to see Brother. Br. Raymond starting asking them what they knew about Akan proverbs. They didn’t know much…so Br. Raymond, who spent 30 some years in Ghana began to tell them the proverbs IN FANTE (the local language). It was great! The boys’ mouths dropped. They were so surprised. After Br. Raymond finished teaching the boys about their culture it was time for the symposium to begin.
Mr. Osei had come to speak to the students about the most important aspects of a technical/vocational education, especially the importance of the English and Moral education classes…YEAH FOR ME! All during Mr. Osei’s speech there were things that he mentioned that I had spoken about the my Skills boys. I mean it was almost the exact same words used. It was very funny and reassuring when I looked over at my Skills boys to find them looking right back at me smiling. They remembered what I told them in class. I just smiled and looked back sending them a “I told you that was important and that you should remember it” kind of look.

Unfortunately for Mr. Eddy Prah we did not have a projector, a screen, or a computer for him to do a PowerPoint presentation which is exactly what he needed for the kind of speech he gave. It was a great talk about the importance of developing business/entrepreneurial skills so that they can use the knowledge of their trade to the fullest.

All in all the symposium was a success, but at about four hours or so in length it might have been a bit too long for most of the students. It was very good to hear Mr. Osei, a man high in the ranks of NVTI, stressing the importance of the classes that I am teaching. So often it feels like I am just superfluous. I always encounter people that say…just teach them the skill and let them go…don’t waste their time with that stuff. I know it’s important and my boys do too…which reminds me that I still have to tell you all about the big conflict between Ghana Education Service and the Catholic Conference of Bishops…don’t worry its coming!

OOPS!

2007-11-30T05:35:00.001-08:00

Forgive me for putting my posts up backwards! You have to forgive me. Enjoy. (11/30/07)

November 24th, 2007 The Beginning of the Golden Jubilee Celebrations

2007-11-30T04:44:00.000-08:00

I hope most of you are aware that 50 years ago this December 2nd three Brothers got off of a boat from the U.S. in Takoradi Harbor in the newly independent Ghana. Since then they have devoted all of their lives to educating the hearts and minds of young men in Ghana. They have made an incredible contribution to the Ghanaian society as well as to the entire world. All who come to Ghana and work with the Brothers, or even just experience their hospitality, experience something truly wonderful, something great, something that will change them forever.
There are only three American Holy Cross brothers left in Ghana now and one American Holy Cross priest. The community of Brothers has grown and the Congregation is now more fully represented by the presence of the Sisters of Holy Cross. The work of the Brothers has spread and I snow changing more lives than ever before.
So in the 50th year of independence in Ghana we celebrate 50 years of tireless service provided by the Brothers of Holy Cross. During this week we come together to celebrate just one wonderful part of the joyful and awesome whole that is the Congregation of Holy Cross.
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Ah, November 24th, 2007, yet another day that I will never forget. Another day that I will remember forever…a memory that will only strengthen my commitment to and my love for the Congregation of Holy Cross.
Today was the first day of the Golden Jubilee Celebrations for Holy Cross in Ghana. I wasn’t exactly sure what would come of this day, but I knew it would be something big…and oh how it was!
We all got ready and spruced up this morning for Mass at St. John’s School with Bishop John Martin Darko, Bishop of the Arch-diocese of Sekondi-Takoradi. After cleaning myself up and ironing my shirt I came downstairs to collect the pre-novices so that we could prepare to leave.
We had to move these giant bags of Holy Cross Jubilee polos and silk scarves, all in blue and gold the official colors of the congregation. When we came outside to load the things into the car Br. Tony Dadzie pulled up having just arrived from Cape Coast with a car full of American brothers. I was quite excited to meet all of them.
So the first Brother that I met introduced himself…I am Br. John Paige. O WOW! The Vicar-General of the Congregation. This is the man that Griff and Brenda had a meeting about HCSC all those months ago. He didn’t remember my name, but he knew why I was here. I didn’t expect seeing him so soon…I was taken aback. Then next Brother I met was Br. Donald Allen. Br. Donald was one of the pioneering Brothers who actually left the Holy Cross Mission in Bangladesh to come to the mission in Ghana. He is 83 years old and is in very good health. Next was Br. Lawrence ( ) another pioneering Brother who was one of the first three to step on Ghanaian soil. He spent his time teaching science at St. John’s School. And last but not least was Br. Richard Johnson who spent a number of years teaching in Ghana and will actually be staying a few months with us into the new year. Fr. Bob seemed very happy to see some of his close friends of old back in Ghana where so many of the fond memories they both share were birthed.
After many warm greetings and introductions we piled into the van and hurtled down the hill towards Sekondi and St. John’s. We blasted the A/C since we were all sweating profusely all ready since it was turning out to be a tough day under the relentless African sun.
We pulled into the visitors lot at St. John’s and right next to us was Br. Paul Mensah, District Superior, who also just arrived. So we unloaded our things and carried everything into St. Joe Hall where we found Br. William, Br. Matthew, Br. Steven(Arthur and Aidoo) and all of the candidates hard at work preparing for the luncheon to be held there after the Mass.
Many smiles, many laughs, and much work to be done. People bustling about and chatting about all the things that needed to be done before all the “big people” meaning all the founding Brothers and leaders of the Congregation show up. Indeed, there was plenty to do, but nobody was really worried that things would go wrong…a great thing about Ghana.
Eventually, I made my way over to the other residence for the Professed Brothers on the St. John’s Campus where many visitors, who are all staying in Cape Coast, had been arriving. The first people that I met were the visitors from the District of East Africa. Fr. David(Overseer of pre-novices and candidacy program), Fr. William(post-novitiate director), Br. Kaganga(Novice Master), and the District Superior Fr. James Burasa were all there. The men from the District of East Africa represent Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda even though most everything is based in Uganda. It wasn’t long after that when I was reunited with Br. Raymond Papenfuss(Assistant Provincial of the Midwest Province of Brothers). It had been a long time since I had seen him last in a meeting at Holy Cross College.
At last the greetings came to an end and we all gathered together to celebrate Mass in the giant dining hall. In all there were about 400 people gathered for Mass. Most of them were students from St. John’s, St. Augustine’s College in Cape Coast, and of course my beloved Holy Cross Skills boys. Also, in attendance were the many friends of Holy Cross in Ghana.
This was my first experience with Bishop John Martin Darko after having had experiences with Cardinal Turkson of the Archdiocese of Cape Coast, the Papal Nucio Kochery of the Archdiocese of Accra, and the beloved Bishop Sarpong of the Archdiocese of Kumasi. His homily focused mainly on the importance of active moral development in the classroom and thanking the Brothers, young and old, for doing exactly that. Educating the mind and the heart of their young students.
The Mass was being recorded by the local TV station(Skyy TV) to be shown later this week. It was a great opportunity for the Bishop to speak against the new reform issued to all Ghana schools by the Ghana Education Service. The new reform does not include Religious and Moral Education in the curriculum at all and is saying that ALL schools must adhere to their directives. Well, Catholic schools in Ghana don’t like being told what to teach. So there is a big conflict arising and the fundamental problem is the how much autonomy should the Church have over its schools. More on this next week!!!!!!!
After Mass we took some time to eat, drink, and relax. The calm before the storm. Our next event for the day was going to be a parade through downtown Takoradi and through Sekondi and back to St. John’s school. The parade would consist of a couple vans carrying the visiting and pioneering Brothers, two flat bed trucks carrying small brass bands, and a huge crowd of 300 rowdy young high school boys ready to dance their heads off under a scorching sun! An odd recipe for excitement!
When it came time for us to leave St. John’s and head to the beginning of the parade route I adorned my blue HC jubilee polo, tied my gold scarf around my head, jumped in the back of the Skills pickup truck with four other Brothers and we zoomed off towards the Takoradi Harbor singing, yelling, and waving at all the people we passes: “Rise up! Rise up! Rise up! Be quiet and don’t be silly, we are the famous Holy Cross, we never say die!” We made a lot of noise.
We arrived at the parade starting point to find an enormous crowd of students from all the schools save the Skills Centre…the whereabouts of my beloved Skills boys were unknown. So we began singing songs, dancing, and causing commotion while we waited for the brass bands and the vans to arrive.
Eventually we were ready to begin and the boys nearly killed each other as they stormed onto the back of the flat beds…not all of them made it on. So right when the trucks started moving and the bands began playing I turned to see about 100 rough looking boys shouting and sprinting towards me like a charging Calvary who forgot their horses at home. It was the beloved Skills boys making an entrance that put all the other schools to shame! The parade could now begin...and boy did it!
For the next three miles or so we put the activity of Takoradi to a standstill thanks to our Police escorts. The climax was when we arrived at Market Circle where our joyful riot collided with the congested mess that is Market Circle. The result? Lots of staring, shouting, singing, dancing, and tons of laughter and confusion since our parade doubled in size…1/2 the people being strangers on the street who felt like participating in a parade at that moment.
When the brass band started playing “you are the most high God” which is a very popular song here in Ghana among well everyone..I thought the world would come to an end! Everyone! I mean everyone was singing at the top of their lungs and twirling their scarves in the traditional Ghanaian way, all while dancing furiously. It was an amazing sight to behold. One that only deepens my love for the people of Ghana. One that only strengthens my love for the Congregation of Holy Cross.
The second leg of the parade, through Sekondi and back to St. John’s, I spent in an A/C’d van. I had been sweating so hard and for so long it was like I had been sweating constantly since birth. I was scorched. So I relaxed and watched the parade through my window.
The students pretty much wore themselves out in the first leg but some were still going strong. Over all the parade was a complete success and no one was injured thank God! It was an excellent beginning to the Jubilee Celebrations!

November 26th, 2007 Clean-Up Day at The Damien Center

2007-11-30T04:41:00.000-08:00

For those of you who may not know, there are three major anniversaries in Ghana this year. 50 years of independence, 50 of Holy Cross, and 25 years of the Holy Cross Skills Training Centre. So in the midst of celebrating the Golden Jubilee we are celebrating the Silver Jubilee. So as a part of both Jubilees we held a clean-up day at The Damien Center.
The Damien Center is one of the few mental health care facilities in Ghana that is run by the Hospitaller Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Unfortunately, for reasons unknown to me, they have been unable to do the work that they once did. So until they can begin that work again they allowed their facility to be used as a health clinic of the community of Fijai, where all this is located, very near the Skills Centre in neighboring Anaji.
The place was in dire need of a clean-up. This was a place where people came for healing and it was surrounded by overwhelming grass and weeds, shards of broken glass and concrete, and rubbish all over the place. Now don’t get the idea that the Sisters let the place fall to ruins. You try to run a health clinic in Ghana with a small staff and not enough funding. Then tell me about the problems you face.
So, Skills staff and students to the rescue. We showed up that morning to clean everything up and to enjoy ourselves while doing it. All of the staff form the Skills Centre, most of the students, the pre-novices, Fr. Bob Gilmour, the candidates from St. Joe Hall, and our media/documenter Br. David were all there for the event.
We broke all the boys up into groups and gave them assignments. I wasn’t sure what I should do so I just picked a group of boys and we began working together on clearing away some weeds and broken concrete out of the courtyard of the center.
It was hard work. It was hot. It was early, but we enjoyed ourselves. I could tell the boys were happy that I was working with them, getting dirty with them. We laughed and worked for three hours straight and I can safely say that we accomplished more than most other groups on the site.
I always made sure to positively reinforce them for a job well done. Towards the end of the morning we sat in the shade, drenched with sweat, tired, but satisfied by a job well done, satisfied with each others’ company. We sat sharing our water sachets and laughing until Sr. Iovnna from Poland came out to thank us for all the hard work. She took me into their kitchen where she pulled out some big containers of juice boxes that she wanted to give the boys. So I carried them all out and handed them out to the boys individually. Sister was so pleased at the work we had done…the place really looked so much better. I just watched and smiled at my students.

November 27th, 2007 Games Day @ St. John’s School

2007-11-30T04:38:00.000-08:00

Today was the day of the great Games Day where St. Augustine’s College, St. Theresa’s, Skills, St. Augustine’s Secondary School, St. John’s, and the Holy Cross Brothers would come together for a football tournament.
The whole event was scheduled to begin at around 9:30am. Br. Richard Gilman, Pres of HCC, was going to be coming out from Cape Coast to attend the games and to meet with me. I wasn’t planning on participating in the games, but I had a sneaking suspicion that I might end up playing so I threw some shorts into plastic bag before we left for St. John’s. I thought I might be able to get some typing done while I was watching the games so I brought my computer and my notebooks.
Of course I didn’t get any work done at all. Shortly after meeting up with Br. Richard I ended u changing clothes and warming up with the team for the Holy Cross Brothers. I didn’t have any shoes to play in since I lent mine to Francisco, a pre-novice, so he could play. Anyway, long story short…After the incessant cheers and chants from my Skills students to put in Mr. Dunne I eventually got out to play. Oh yeah, my students also threw a pair of soccer cleats from the highest row of the grandstands for me to wear so I could play. The games started much later than we expected and we were playing directly under the infernal midday African sun. Despite the “inspirational” cheers and jeers from my students in the span of about 5 minutes all of my athletic energy was zapped from my body. I mean the sun just killed me…I was done for the rest of the day. WOW, the equatorial sun is ROUGH!
We tied that game 0-0 and lost the next one to none other than The Holy Cross Skills Training Centre! I couldn’t have been happier(Our team was terrible BTW). After getting some refreshment and changing back into my other clothes…ps this is when I collected my “Christmas” gifts from home and from my good friends at HCC…. THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE CARDS IT MEANS SO MUCH TO ME AND DON’T WORRY KP I AM NOT GOING TO GET ANY MORE TYPHOID!....I went back down to the field to watch the rest of the games.
My Skills boys were playing brilliantly. They might not be the best students, they might not be the most polite, they might not be rich, but they are my boys! They were playing very well against schools more than 5 times their size and they beat them. In the semi-final match however, they lost to St. John’s in a shootout…ps then St. John’s beat St. Augustine’s 3 nil for first place. The skills boys were downcast.
I went around and told them how happy I was with how they performed and how proud I was of them and before long they were their happy, rowdy selves again. They are a great bunch of guys and they stick together. They are the underdogs in so many way. Anyway, there were some great athletic performances this day.
Another day in the Jubilee week gone by and once again I am realizing that I am getting quite attached to my Skills boys.

Finally, the pictures from my adventure up in Northern Ghana!

2007-11-30T03:00:00.000-08:00

My friends from the bus station in Tamale, (L-R) Yachman and Alado

This is what the seating is like on a "207" bus. Public transport in Ghana is the best way to experience the country. By the way this is from my journey from Sunyani (Brong-Ahafo Region) to Tamale in the Northern Region. The girl on the right is the one tried to get sick out the window and failed. I forgave her don't worry! ;)

On the way to Tamale I noticed the change in the style of houses. In the Northern Region you will often find round houses which is quite different from what you will find in the Brong-Ahafo, Ashanti, and Central Regions. This style of housing actually came down from Burkina Faso.
You will also see a drastic change in the landscape. In the Northern Region the vegetation is not as thick and the hills of the Ashanti Region are long gone.

Passing over the White Volta River just into the Northern Region.

Passing over the Black Volta River.

The great Central Mosque of Tamale. At night you can hear the prayer caller throughout the entire city, louder than all the other mosques. Trust me its loud.

One of the magnificient minarets.

Downtown Tamale early in the morning. Just wait untill it gets later...you will have a hard time trying to cross this street!

Giving the camera some love while chillin' at AlHassan's Hotel in Tamale. I won't show you what the room looked like...

Tamale town. A nice view I'd say.

So I decided to walk all the way to the stadium with a buddy. As you can see it was far.

After walking right past the angry old security man to geta closer look at the new stadium that was built for the African Cup of Nations.The place is really nice I am telling you. I couldn't believe I got in.

Michael Essien eat your heart out...this is my territory!

Examples of what people mean when they say that the North is completely different from Southern Ghana. These picturesque villages have don’t even have access to potable water. But wow they are beautiful. When you see these things you being to realize the obscurity of your situation.

And now!!!! The Mole National Park Experience!

Bush Boy!

Well, I hope that you will all go back and look at all my old posts. I think some of the pictures might make reading the posts more interesting! Enjoy!

What I have been doing!!!! November 21, 2007

2007-11-21T11:33:00.002-08:00

So I began teaching at the Holy Cross Skills Training Centre in October and we are now coming to the close of our first term. So in all this time that I have not kept up the blog what have I done? What have I been doing?
Well my schedule looks like this. On Mondays I teach English to the First and Third year students. On Tuesday I teach Religious and Moral Education to the Second year students. On Wednesday I teach Religious and Moral education to the First year students and English to the Second year students.
I am also teaching a class on Catholic Social Teaching to the pre-novices at Moreau House(where I live) and to the candidates(young men in the phase before pre-novice) at St. Joe Hall, at St. John’s Secondary School in Sekondi. I teach these classes on Thursday and Friday respectively.
The boys at Skills are a handful, but they are fun to teach. You have to keep in mind that the main goal of the school is to teach young men a trade (block laying, construction, carpentry, electrical, and auto mechanics) so that they will not be a burden on their families or communities. Basically, these boys are at the Center because they did not have the grades to enter regular secondary schools. Many of the boys come from needy families or broken homes. The bottom line is that the majority of the boys are more than anxious to just get out there and start making money so that they can assist their families or become their own independent men.
While keeping this in mind know that I am at the school to teach Moral Education and English. These classes are seen, by many of the students, as unnecessary since they do not contribute to their knowledge of a trade, put simply it isn’t going to put more money in their pocket right away. So I do my best.
Knowing that I cannot make them learn I have been doing my best to do whatever I can to help them. In our English class we have been studying the parts of speech and are now getting into the basic structure of a sentence. I have been giving them essay topics every week to write on as well as new vocabulary words to study. Resources for teaching English are scarce. In our moral education classes instead of just telling them that underage sex is bad and that AIDS is a killer(both being very true) which is what many people have told me to talk about, I have begun with the foundations on moral living. People need to understand why they should live a certain way not just do it. I will be turning my focus towards real life situations in the next term, but for now we are sticking to the basics. Why should we believe in God? Why should we love ourselves? Why should we love others?
More important than anything have been the conversations I have had with the boys outside the classroom. Listening to what they have to say and advising them as well as I can with their day to day problems. This is when I feel that I am truly making an impact in their lives.
As for my other classes, they have been great! We have great discussions about sensitive contemporary issues. It is like a class with Michael Griffin, sometimes I am afraid that he has worn off on me…jk Griff.
The year is coming to a close very soon. We all know that each year goes by faster than the last so I need to fully prepare myself to complete the list of goals I has made for the new year. Before I know it I am going to be back on American soil wondering what just happened to me! So before I deal with that I need to get some good work done! I will be sure to let you all know what I have planned after…Oh I forgot!!!
Right now I am recuperating from Typhoid. I came down with it about two weeks ago and I had to take some time off of teaching to get well. So what does Tyhpoid feel like? Well it isn’t nice. It just completely exhausted me. I have been feeling weak all over my body, even the hair on my arm ached. Chills at night, headache, and a cold have been all the other crummy things. Anyway, after two trips to the doctor I think I will be able to get rid of it. It is pretty serious though…so they say ;) I figure though I should just take the rest so I won’t have to do this again and waste more time.
Well that is all for right now! I hope to hear from all of you soon. As always I will do my best to update more frequently.

Going Around Town

2007-11-21T11:33:00.001-08:00

I try my best to get into Takoradi every week to go to the internet café, walk around market circle, or go down to the beach area to relax. I rely on taxis for the most part which is much more expensive than using tro-tros, but saves plenty of time.
From my past travels into Takoradi I have a whole phone book of taxi drivers willing to come and pick me up from the house and take me to wherever I am going. Yeah, sure, it’s nice. But there are times when I just have to ask them to let me walk part of the way. Why? Because if I didn’t actually make an effort to walk around the village where Moreau House is located then I wouldn’t know anyone down there.
Anyway, the internet café I go to is actually inside one of the nicest office buildings in town, the SSNIT building. The café is always swarming with young Ghanaian professionals, university students, and foreign NGO workers. It is a buzzing atmosphere. I enjoy it.
The café is air conditioned so well that I often have to step out for a few minutes to warm up my body. I mean the place gets cold! The computers are dated, but the connection speed is very good. It’s a nice place and I have been able to meet some interesting people there.
Market circle is the heart of activity for Takoradi. Takoradi’s market circle has been described in Bradt’s Travel Guide as “a rat infested, smelly dump”. A very harsh description that was fairly accurate from my experience last year, but I must say that they have done an incredible job of cleaning the place up for Ghana @ 50.
What were once spaces covered by market women and their goods have now been cleared to provide ample walking space for pedestrians. A year ago there was a large, overflowing dumpster that made the whole place stink, but it has been taken away and for the most part the air is free of any stench.
Things can still get very congested in market circle, which is the main reason why I enjoy being there. I like to walk around the circle and observe. People fighting over prices, people laughing together on the job, the traffic cop attempting to do his job, market women bellowing, young men working hard and sweating profusely under the midday sun not saying a word, the black market money changers lurking in the alleyways, the driver’s mates calling people into their tro-tros, the Lebanese family that owns the electronics shop, the sanitation workers all of them looking like amateurs, and the school children hard at work. There is much to see.
So when I don’t feel like throwing myself into the buzz I find myself at the African Beach Resort enjoying a Guinness and chicken kiev while the sun sets over the ocean. There are some other places that get really exciting after dark like Poloma Beach Hotel and the nearby Beach Sports Club, but since I am usually a party of one I keep it quiet. It is nice to reward myself with a nice cold Guinness every now and then. It also gives me a good opportunity to read over my journal entries from the previous weeks and dissect my thoughts.
Although I do get into town and I am able to experience the society I want to do more. There is so much more I can learn and there are so many more people that I can meet. Ugh! Between teaching at Skills, teaching at Moreau House, teaching at St. Joe Hall, further developing and planning for the future of HCSC, and continuing to deepen my Faith there isn’t much time left over. But I will try…

My four legged friends

2007-11-21T11:32:00.001-08:00

Here at Moreau House we have three dogs living with us. Peace, Roger, and Ronny are their names. Peace is the most docile of the three, go figure. He is closest to Fr. Bob. Peace spends most of his time sleeping at various locations in the house, he doesn’t get out too often.
Do you remember that movie “All Dogs Go To Heaven”. Well, I think I finally met the dog that might. Peace spend a lot of his free time in the chapel. Sometimes we find him in there by himself and other times he comes and sits down behind us for evening and night prayer. He doesn’t make any noise nor does he move around. He is quite reverent. We often joke about Peace being the only dog on Earth that practices silent adoration.
On the other hand Roger and Ronny are quite a handful. Roger is a handsome dog. He is all black save his white paws. His tail is quite bushy and he has a lean figure. Unfortunately, Roger had some abusive keepers in the past which has affected him severely. There are only a couple people that he consistently trusts, and it takes years to gain his trust. Personally, I think he is bi-polar. There are times when he loves you and only desires your attention and there are others when he wants to kill you.
Just when you think you have got him as your friend he turn on you. His growl is one of the most disturbing and ferocious I have ever heard. He will sometimes even attack you, but he never locks his jaws around you. Poor Roger. You just have to make sure that he knows you are not afraid of him. Our cook, Elizabeth, has not learned to do this so she never goes outside unless Roger is locked up inside.
Ronny is a timid girl. She is always giving way to Roger. She allows herself to be dominated by everyone that comes past. Sometimes she can be quite rambunctious, but for the most part she just lays around and follows Roger wherever he goes.
An important thing to remember is that these are African dogs. When these dogs spend time outside they are dealing with a lot more than squirrels, skunks, and garden snakes. But rather monitors, tsetse flies, and cobras. It is dangerous out there and these dogs survive. I would definitely say that they are brave animals, but its not like we treat them like parts of the family. They don’t sell health food for dogs like we do in the States.
Anyway we all agree that the dogs definitely bring character to the house and they always keep things interesting.

You are still not in Kansas anymore

2007-11-21T11:30:00.000-08:00

It is really strange sometimes when I remember that I am on the African continent thousands of miles from home. I have become so accustomed to my surroundings that the sights, sounds, and smells have become part of me. What I once saw as extremely different, what I used to be in awe of I now take in stride. Of course, this can be expected after a certain amount of time for most people, but I am also realizing that the more accustomed I become to life here in Ghana the longer it will take for me to get used to life in the U.S again.
A few months ago I could clearly picture the places I was familiar with back in the U.S. now these pictures have become somewhat cloudy, obscured by my day to day sights. It is strange indeed. I am realizing that I will need a good amount of time to kind of debrief myself and reintegrate myself into American life. It should be interesting, but there is still much time that must pass before I do this.
I am exactly where I need to be right now.

Time Goes On (on missing the change of seasons)

2007-11-21T11:29:00.000-08:00

A brief reflection from October 31st, 2007 Halloween
This is the first year of my life that I have not been experiencing the changing of the seasons. So although I have been here in Ghana for a while I have nothing to compare it to really. I am so used to equating the passage of time with the changing of the seasons.
I have to say that as much as I do enjoy the beautiful sunshine and the whole tropical environment I do miss the brisk winds of October. The colorful trees and the crunch of the leaves under my feet.
I am not too dismayed though for I wouldn’t rule out the idea that I will learn to complain about cold weather again. It will be even stranger come Christmas day.
I know you are jealous.

September 19th, 2007 – The Meeting

2007-09-21T09:56:00.000-07:00

Today after morning prayer, Mass, and breakfast Br. Daniel and I drove to the Skills Centre where many young men would be taking their placement exams. The weather looked bad and we knew that rain was imminent, but nothing could dampen my spirits. It was so wonderful to see all these things that we had planned in the past actually happening. All those meetings for HCSC with just Griff, Brenda, and I in little V-195 at HCC are now paying off.

We arrived at the Centre to find a small group of young men gathered around the front gates waiting to enter and begin taking their test. I walked with Br. Daniel to his office where we both sat down, I made some notes regarding my syllabus and he organizing his desk.

Before long many people were popping their heads in and out of the office. Some young men seeking directions to the classroom where they would take their test as well as some of the other teachers. Eventually the familiar faces of Br. Kenneth, Br. David, and Br. Patrick came into view. Warm greetings and small talk followed their arrivals.

After doing some small paper work for the Brothers I was able to sit down with Br. Patrick and Br. Daniel to discuss what exactly they wanted me to do in the classroom. First, I discussed what I wanted to do in the English class. What I broke everything down to goes like this:

What are the goals to be achieved:

- Educate hearts and minds.(Naturally)

- Improve use of the English language

- Introduce liberal arts education

- Hone special skills ( I hope this sounds familiar to some of you reading this.)

How to accomplish these goals:

- Problem-posing education

Why are you here?

What is learning?

What do you want to accomplish?

What do you stand for?

Who are you?

How do you intend on accomplishing your goals?

- Assignments

o Essay / letter writing

o Paraphrasing / summaries

o Grammar / Vocabulary building

- Projects

o History of Ghana paper

o “Know yourself” paper

o Personal statement paper

o Creative stories

o Oral reports

- Activities

o Newspaper analysis

o Q & A sessions

o Journaling / Observation writing

o World News Updates/ discussions

It is easy for some of you to see that I very unoriginally borrowed many of the ideas from the HCC curriculum. Of course, I will have to adjust it. I know that the boys will have difficulty understanding all of my English let alone my American accent. Br. Daniel told me that many of the boys will not understand and often times they will not admit that they don’t understand and just let things move on. This can present quite a problem to a problem-posing education! In those difficult times I pray that the Holy Spirit will inspire me to say the right things and inspire my students to speak up.

Overall, they were pleased with what I had drawn up and indeed it was quite similar to what Br. Patrick had been doing in the past. Funny since I hadn’t really even discussed content with him before! I also found out that I would be teaching a Moral Education course, which will address the religious, moral, and social development aspect of a Holy Cross education, truly holistic even at a skills centre!

In the end it was decided that I would teach the second and third year students English and teach Moral Education to the first years; while Br. Patrick will teach English to the first years and Moral Education to the second and third year students. What further I can do at Skills will be determined after the beginning of the term at the beginning of October. I can already see that I will have some extra time during my days for other work besides class preparation.

Things are really beginning to take form inside and out.

September 17th, 2007 – Moreau House

2007-09-21T09:55:00.000-07:00

Today is my second full day at Moreau House, “the house on the hill”. The house itself is built much like many other retreat centers except for the fact that it is at the top of a very steep hill. The view is wonderful!

I have organized my room and settled in nicely since my arrival on the night of the 15^th. There are three pre-novices living here at Moreau House along with Fr. Bob and Br. Daniel Dardoe. The novices are Francisco, Steven, and Jude. They are very friendly young men and so far we have gotten along just fine. Our cook is Georgina whom I just met today.

We begin our day with morning prayer at 6am which is followed directly by Mass. When possible we meet for midday prayer at Noon before lunch. We also have evening prayer at 5:45pm and night prayer whenever we are completely finished with the day’s activities. The chapel at Moreau House is small and ascetic. I find great comfort during the different periods of the day that I have the time to pray there. I know that I will spend as much time as possible there over the coming months.

Fr. Bob has a whole program that he runs for the pre-novices. How I fit into this small family will be discussed in the coming days. Things are very busy here at the moment and many of us have urgent tasks to be completed. As for myself, I very much need to speak with Br. Patrick about how things will go at the Skills Center and Home of Hope. I have many ideas that need clarification and the opening of the school is just around the corner!

So far I feel very comfortable here and I think that this will be an excellent place to continue the first successful year of the Holy Cross Service Corps.

- JD

September 15th, 2007 – The Beatification of Venerable Fr. Basil Moreau

2007-09-21T09:54:00.000-07:00

The excitement had been growing for weeks, and really for years for some of the members of the Congregation of Holy Cross. Finally, the day had come for our Venerable Fr. Basil Moreau to become Blessed.

I was not sure how to prepare myself in the days prior to the celebration. When I woke that morning I knew exactly how to feel. Wonderful! Today I would celebrate with all my heart the life of the man who changed my life. Fr. Basil Moreau founded the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1837 and the institutions that sprouted from the Congregation continue to change lives while following the teachings of the founder.

It was not until I transferred to Holy Cross College that I was able to pull my life together after a couple years of doubt, apathy, and lack of meaning. The themes of my education at Holy Cross College were the competency to see and the courage to act, borrowed directly from the Constitution of the Congregation. It was not until I came to a Holy Cross institution that I found meaning in my life.

So the way I look at the founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross is like this: it is because of him and the wondrous works that the Lord did through him that I was able to become the person that I am today. With all of this in mind I was more than ready to celebrate with my professed brothers and sisters.

It was a big day. I spent my morning packing my things together for I would be leaving with Fr. Bob Gilmour that evening for Sekondi (Butumegeybu). Little did I know that what was awaiting me in the coming hours would be the best transition I could have hoped for.

Shortly after lunch everyone started to arrive. Cars carrying Brothers and Sisters from Cape Coast, Sekondi, Takoradi, and Kasoa all came. All of the Brothers were wearing their bright white habits and looking very pious in the late afternoon sun when we began the celebration.

The chapel was decorated nicely with gold ribbons and after a short while almost all of the seat were filled save the seats reserved for the Cathedral choir which would be arriving shortly. We began the celebration with an hour of adoration, prayers and singing. It was solemn but joyous.

During the whole time that I prayed I kept thanking God for the life of Fr. Moreau. I uttered many prayers of thanksgiving for the work of the Congregation and for the actual Beatification of the founder who has had a hand in the transformation of the lives of so many. During the hour of prayer I became quite emotional once I began to grasp the magnitude of what Fr. Moreau has done during and after his life. It is truly wonderful! His teachings are brought to the world through the wonderful men and women of God year after year, generation after generation. By providing the world with the competence to see and the courage to act they are preparing its transformation to the kingdom of God.

My heart was in my throat almost the whole mass. I sat towards the back of the large group of Brothers on the left and the choir took up most of the spaces on the right hand side. Fr. Bob Gilmour was giving the mass and many of the other Brothers participated as well.

It was one of the most wonderful experiences of my young life. My heart swelled with joy as the mass moved closer and closer to the time of Holy Communion and the time when the Beatification of Fr. Moreau would be made official.

When the time came for the official proclamation of the Beatification and the bestowal of the title Blessed to Fr. Moreau, the presence of the Holy Spirit was so strong in that small chapel no one could contain their joy. It burst out of us all in song and dance, in great smiles and clapping of hands, in warm embraces and outstretched hands reaching for the heavens. There are few other times in my life where I have been so full of the Spirit.

When you see the Brothers dressed in their habits you see them almost as magnificent statues, solemn and still; but on this occasion they were very much alive and full of Spirit! Seeing Brothers Augustus, Vincent, Paul, Robert, Tony, and Kenneth, the Brothers whom have become so dear to my heart over the past year, in the back of the chapel dancing nearly pushed me over the edge.

The climax of all this was when the official proclamation was made. The beautiful portrait of Blessed Fr. Basil Moreau, painted by our own Br. David, was unveiled and carried around the chapel as we sang the Holy Cross Anthem!

After each time we finished the anthem the singing grew louder as the portrait, carried by two of the novices, made its way slowly around the chapel. O Holy Cross, Spes Unica! Work for all! Proclaim to all! Crux Ave, Spes Unica! I could hardly hold back tears of joy and I threw my hands up to the sky and danced. I don’t think anything on this Earth could’ve removed the smile from my face at that point. I felt such unity with the global Holy Cross Community. It felt as if all the people in the world who consider themselves a part of the Holy Cross family put all of their joy into one heart that we all shared at that moment! Oh, the Spirit was present!

The joy spilled out into the feast following the Mass. Everyone was happy and there was much rejoicing. I don’t think I have felt closer to the Brothers and the community of Holy Cross than that night, except for how it grows each passing day of course. The laughter never ceased and the smiles never faded even when it came time for me to say my goodbyes.

I didn’t expect it to be hard to say goodbye to the Brothers in Cape Coast. I seemed to have overlooked the fact that this was yet another of life’s transitions. It had come time for me to continue my work here in Ghana at another place. It was hardest of all to say good-bye to Br. Augustus and Collins. I do miss their company very much and I pray for them often.

As we drove out of the Center, out of Brafoyaw, and eventually out of Cape Coast I realized with quiet confidence that there was a reason for me leaving on this day. On the day when the Spirit had reached me so deeply, on the day when our founder became Blessed Fr. Moreau, on the day when I felt closest to the Brothers in Ghana. I had been made ready to continue my time here. I was renewed in Spirit and strength.

In the days following the Beatification I have felt a sense of peace, brought on by consistent prayer and steady awareness of the presence of God, that I have never known. It is not an overwhelming feeling, but calm and consistent.

I believe that something special happened to me on September 15^th.

September 7th, 2007 – Staying Focused

2007-09-21T09:51:00.000-07:00

I was glancing back at my journal the other day, where I keep my more intimate thoughts, and I saw that I was having some difficulties on this day. I thought I would take the time to go back address it in the blog rather than skip over it completely. Without further ado…

Today I spent a lot of time thinking about my friends and family. I spent time remembering the good times and the bad, but mostly just the smiling faces of the people I love danced across my mind. Thinking of the special people in my life definitely brings comfort to me at times, but it is also a red flag. I cannot allow myself to live in my head. I have to be where I am.

It is funny when I think about it though. I think about friends, family, and familiar places often, but I never think of going home, of going back. This may be a pleasing idea for some people, but those who know me best understand that I could never do that. I said I would devote a year of my life to furthering the mission of the Brothers here and I will do exactly that.

Even though it seems instinct not to give up, I watch over my thoughts and make sure that they never dwell too long on the idyllic images of home.

During evening office I prayed for a way to use these thoughts and the emotions they evoke to inspire me to go the extra mile while I am here. I prayed that during the times when I am discouraged and feeling lost I can think of the people I love and find the strength to move on and continue my work. Instead of succumbing to the paralyzing feelings of nostalgia when I imagine my closest friends enjoying a night at the pub I can feel inspired to work harder, to make the extra effort when I think I have nothing left.

The love I have for the people I cannot see will keep me strong. So know that even though we are far apart you are with me. My love is with you and yours is within me.

-JD

In the classroom with the Brothers

2007-09-15T04:32:00.000-07:00

September 4th, 2007

I am sorry that I keep bringing you back in time, but there are some things that I really should cover that have happened. Also, we all know that we can understand things better after we have had time to reflect upon them. So without further ado, the blog.

On this day I was invited to attend a class with the Brothers at the Holy Cross Center where I live. All the Brothers in temporary vows were there including the Brothers staying at St. Augustine’s College in Cape Coast. Br. Paul Mensah, the District Superior, started things off with a short discussion about the general dynamics of the community life, more specifically the community of Brothers. We tossed around a lot of ideas. Words like transparency, communication, support, acceptance, empathy, prayer, commitment, and respect. We kept coming back to respect. Over and over we arrived back at that word.

The question before us was how can you respect someone if you do not respect yourself? And if you do not truly respect others than how can you live in a stable mission driven community? The bottom line is in order to truly respect others, to accept them as who they are as continuously evolving human beings, you must first become aware of yourself. You must accept yourself and love yourself for who you are before you can move forward in community life. It seems like a very simple concept, but at the same time what a challenge it really is. Accept who you are. So often in life we compare ourselves to the person next to us and upon finding differences we see ourselves as lacking something rather than just respecting the difference.

It is because we so often fail in respecting the differences of others, of our fellow man, that we turn life into a confusing and intimidating mess. Our minds become so clouded with insecurities, fear, and eventually anger that we miss the beauty in our humanity. If we could just realize that while respecting our differences we can still work together and make something of this life things would be much simpler. Of course, this is the whole idea of a religious community and positive results of the presence of these communities can be seen all across the world.

It is almost funny to think that this deep topic that yields much talk is at the very root of such a humble and easy-going community of Brothers. Truly, it is wonderful. Our discussion was cut short by the arrival of our second lecturer Fr. John Gansa S.J.

He was going to address the topic of Prayer Life and Spiritual Growth. How delightfully appropriate for the one American lay person who often struggles with his prayer life to be present in that room at that very moment. (Coincidence I think not.)

The main question we put before ourselves was if we could track spiritual growth. Fr. John presented us with a model of friendship used to track spiritual growth developed by Fr. William A. Barry S.J. When one looks at their relationship with God as a friendship then it can be easily understood. In order for the relationship to thrive it must follow the same rules as any other friendship. It must be nourished through a strong and consistent life of prayer, just like with a friend you must communicate with them regularly to show that you care. Now of course communication includes listening, and how often do we LISTEN to God? We talk and we talk, but often times we forget to listen for His reply. Think also of the rules of disclosure that we follow in our own friendships. The better you know the person the more you reveal to that person. The more you entrust to God the more He shall reveal to you. It is important to remember that all of this is done through prayer.

Next we further examined the model of friendship using three factors: companionship with Jesus, companionship with others, and apostolic commitment. By constructing a simple line and on the left end was written cold, distant, highly stylized and on the right end mystical union with God we were able to cover many of the different types of relationships that people have with God. This spectrum is another tool one can use to figure out where they are in their spiritual growth but only after assessing these three factors.

So the first one we discussed was the companionship with Jesus. When we learn that Jesus loves us even when we sin we are attracted to Him. We want to learn more and become closer to Him. As you become closer you have to nourish the relationship through consistent prayer. You must ask yourself if you truly believe in the power of prayer? Do you communicate openly with Christ and do you listen to Him? Do you listen to Him when he calls you to move forward, to follow?

The next factor is companionship with others. Here is where the real challenges begin. Everything always seems perfect in our minds until we have to go an deal with people. Things are always more difficult when they involve other people, but what would life be worth if we didn’t interact and work together? So this is when your relationship with God through Christ must be strengthened for to stay close to God in our world means taking the road less traveled. It takes a lot of work to stay strong and keep hope alive in our world. It is easy to be pulled away from God in life when interacting with others in daily life, but if you are able to continuously strengthen your relationship with God you can pull others towards Him instead. (I am realizing right now how I am really cutting this short and am missing a lot of important information, but I hope that you will forgive me for doing so.)

The last factor we discussed was apostolic commitment. When your friendship with God through Christ becomes so strong that it transforms you, you know that it is something that must be shared with the world. God can do great things through us, things we never thought we were capable of. You will realize that what God has done for you is truly wonderful, but it only happened because you opened yourself up completely to Him. You are ever conscious of the presence of God in your daily life. With this knowledge you will desire to engage the world and through your efforts attempt to transform those living in it, or at least open them up to the idea of being transformed by the power of God’s friendship. You will allow God to touch the lives of others through you.

Of course, most of us will never get to the right end of the spectrum of spiritual growth, a mystical union with God. I see that as being so involved in your friendship with God that it is no longer your life that you are living, but God living through you, aka sainthood. Even though we may never reach that union with God, what a beautiful struggle it really is to fight to bring yourself closer to God. I don’t think there is anything else more wonderful in this world to work towards. The whole discussion really put things in perspective for me. Even though times are tough and we get discouraged in our apostolic work, we can always continue if we trust in our friendship with God. It isn’t supposed to be easy!!!!!

"The Recap" - August 30th - September 1st

2007-09-11T04:03:00.000-07:00

I am realizing at the moment that I am typing this that I am too far behind in my blogging than I should be. So I am going ot do my best to combine the last two legs of my journey, since unfortunately there wasn't much adventure.

So I bought a bus ticket for 120,000 cedis to Sunyani from Wa, which isn't too far away. Anyway, I should have asked for a refund. I was sitting in the very back of the bus. I had no leg room. I couldn't sit with my back against my seat because the man sitting next to me was too large. (Let me explain the bus has a line of seats along each window with an aisle in the middle except for in the back row where it sat five people all the way across uncomfortably) Also, the A/C didn't work at all, but instead blew hot air. Fortunately for me, there was a window that opened right next to me. This came in handy once we got to the unpaved road. Almost as soon as we began down this long stretch of unpaved road dust started filtering in through the front of the bus. Before long, everyone was coughing, wiping their faces with handkerchiefs, or just complaining. Luckily I could send some of the dust out my back window, but I was covered with it.

Anyway, after a brief stop for refreshment and another stop to aid a broken down bus. A man sitting in front of me began to talk to me. The usual quesitons at first, "Where are you from? What are you doing here?" But then it got bad...really bad. I noticed that he was reading the autobiography of Malcom X and knew what was coming. He started asking me if I have traveled to other countries and I mentioned the ones I have visited. He then told me that he thinks I am Mexican. He said he could tell by the way that I talk. I couldn't believe it. I told him that I was born in the U.S. and have Irish heritage. "No. I think you are Mexican." His confident response was infuriating and hilarious at the same time. I hoped that he would stop talking to me, but then he dropped the bomb. "Do you know who this man is?" , pointing to his book. "Yes I do." And from there it went wild. This foolish man was telling me the history of my country and making even more ridiculous statements. I will tell you a few. "Lincoln cars in the states because they have the name Lincoln." "A Lincoln Navigator costs $500,000." "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a hypocrite and nothing compared to Malcolm X." "What country will be the next world power? AFRICA!" "Robert Mugabe is the best African leader since Kwame Nkrumah!" and last but not least "The U.S. is colonizing Japan."

This abusrd argument ended abruptly when I screamed at the bus driver to stop nd let me off. We were in Sunyani. The bus was going to continue all the way to Accra, but not me, not with that fool on the bus! Of all the things I wanted to say to this man all I could think of was,"Keep on truckin'!" I laughed out loud as I stumbled down the aisle and off the bus. I didn't look back once, but made my way downtown and eventually into a taxi.

I decided to stay an extra day again in Sunyani with Br James and Br. Raymond. We had a good time chatting about my trip and all the adventures. On my last day with them we went to mass and then I was off on a 207 to Kumasi. From Kumasi I would have to find another car going to Cape Coast.

The trip into Kumasi didn't take long at all, but once we got into the city our driver stopped every minute to drop someone off. I yelled out loud,"This is ridiculous!" I grabbed my bag and jumped out of the bus and ran for the nearest street corner. The man sitting next to me joined me and we grabbed the first taxi to Kjetia Station in the middle of the city's booming market place.

30 minutes later I was on my way back to Cape Coast packed into the very middle seat of this giant purple bus. All the way back to Cape Coast without being able to lean back in my seat. All the way back to Cape Coast down the horrible road that was still being constructed. I LOVED IT ALL OF IT!

I remember finally getting off the bus at Agrey Junction and looking around at the familiar scene and thinking to myself, "You did it." I had just completed one of the most memorbaly experiences of my life!

"The Recap" - August 29th

2007-09-08T05:40:00.000-07:00

Morning came. I slept in until about 7am. I was hoping that I wouldn't run into the manager when I left my room to see what kind of day I had in front of me. When I entered the t.v. room there he was collapsed on the couch with two empty bottles of beer on the table in front of him. He was drunk. But he was freshly drunk. The man had been drinking already that morning. He addressed me and I told him that I was just going outside to do some writing.

Of course, he followed me. He didn't mind disturbing me at all, I guess writing isn't important to him since he cannot neither read nor write. He kept telling me that he was a poor man and made the most pathetic puppy dog face. I could understand about every third word that he said, but laughing, nodding, and saying YO! was enough to get past him. He didn't really want to listen to me at all, but rather talk and talk. It was one of the most uncomfortable conversations I have ever sat through.

I was very relieved when a man came out of the t.v. room to join us. Immediately the attention of the drunk manager was diverted to this man. I learned very soon that he was actually a paramount chief of the Tumu area in the Upper West Region, the highest position a chief can have among his area. In other words, he was a big man! He was very pleasant to speak with and was keen to speak with me. I enjoyed his company very much seeing as how he could speak English very well. I told him about myself and my purpose in Ghana and made sure to hide nothing. It was an honor to be in his presence.

I just kept wondering what he was doing at this terrible hotel. A question that became even more important when I learned there was another chief traveling with the paramount chief and was staying at the hotel also.

Before I knew it I was sitting with two chiefs and one drunk hotel and manager out on the veranda. A shabby looking poor man came into view and the manager told him to sit and wait until he is called. It turned out that there was some kind of argument the previous night between this shabby man, the manager and the paramount chief. The shabby man, in a belligerent state, had insulted the manager after disobeying the request of the paramount chief. HE WAS IN BIG TROUBLE!

I didn't realize that I was sitting amongst the judges that were deciding what should be down about this man. They talked and talked and talked about this incident and how they felt disrespected. Finally, it was time for these great men to pass judgement. The deliberation climaxed with the paramount chief asking the shabby man to apologize to the hotel manager. I couldn't believe it! I was expecting a slap in the face or something exreme, but instead it was just a simple apology, which the manager refused because he thought the man didn't actually mean it. It was very serious business of course.

After that whole ordeal we had a couple hard boiled eggs and some sodas and spoke of other things. Eventually, the chiefs had to leave for a meeting with the Inspector General of Police and I was going to explore Wa. I walked out of the hotel and down the street with the Chiefs who received many greetings from those who recognized them. We parted ways and I walked down a street that I didn't know.

I came to a large and fairly modern looking mosque and stood there for a while debating whether or not I should try and find the Imam. I decided against it and continued walking through the streets. My presence went unnoticed for the most part. People were just going about their business and not minding me at all. It was nice.

The sky was looking ominous and I could already here echoing thunder in the distance and I realized that my explorations had better speed up. I waved down a taxi and asked the driver if he could take me to Nakori and back. After reading about the ancient mud and stick mosque there I decided I would go and visit it.

We drove for a short while South and out of the city limits until we approached the village. The mosque stood at about two and a half stories high. It was easy to spot I can say that. To make a long story short. People were amazed to see me visiting there, apparently not many travelers stop there. I made my way up to the mosque right when it began to rain. I asked the Imam, who was sitting in front of the mosque moving his prayer beads slowly through his very dry and callused hands, if I could enter the Mosque and perhaps climb onto the roof. He was very welcoming and led the way up to the roof. The view was very nice except for the rain which was coming down steadily now. I made sure to thank him and I gave him a small bi of money for his troubles and jumped back into the taxi with my impatient driver.

Because of the rain I was stuck in my hotel for the rest of the day. Before I went to Nakori I was able to purchase my ticket back to Sunyani. The ticket was 120,000 cedis. Very expensive. Although I discovered that the bus was air conditioned and was unlike other buses that crammed everyone inside like a can of sardines. I had lunch with the manager again. We had fufu, but not the kind i was used to. I was made out of yams instead of casava. It was much tougher, but the taste was great especially with my favorite ground nut soup.

After lunch the manager decided he was going to try and get some sleep, so I also escaped back to the sanctuary of my room for a while and did not emerge until the evening. It was at that time that I met another man staying at the hotel who was actually from Cape Coast. He was a fireman. He had been transferred to the Upper West region to develop their fire department.

We actually began talking after we saw a bit on the news about the situation in Darfur. I made a comment and he responded. He said that his heart aches for those people. He said he knew what it was like. It turns out that he was originally from Sierra Leone and was there during the war. He told me that he saw some horrible things and was in one of the worst spots during the chaos.

He told me that because of his experiences he has learned of the great importance of maintaining peace and resolving conflicts. He said life is much to precious to live with anger and hate in your heart. I was amazed at this man. He told me that he weeps for the people around the world who live in war. I could see that he was on the verge of tears just thinking about all of these things so I decided to change the subject. We spent the rest of our conversation discussing what it is like to be a fire man in Ghana. What did I learn? Its dangerous and the people don't always give you the respect you deserve. Hmmm. Most of their work is putting out bush fires which can be quite difficult from the wildfires in the States.

Before I went to bed that night, I thought to myself that there was one good reason for me to be at that crummy hotel. I met one of the most interesting men that I have ever encountered here in Ghana. Full of awareness and genuine concern for the people all over the world that suffer he continues his work of teaching fire safety and prevention. He continually puts his life on the line for others. It was a blessing to meet him.

So much to think about that night. I had to be at the bus station the next morning at 6am for the second to last leg of the journey back to Sunyani.

"The Recap" - August 28th

2007-09-06T03:46:00.000-07:00

Once again, after waking several times in the night to check the time on my camera, I arose to head to the station at around 3:45am. This time the streets were truly deserted. Nothing was moving.

I arrived at the station to find a fairly large, but silent crowd of people waiting for the bus. I stood alone for a while under a tree since it was beginning to drizzle. A teenage boy approached me and started a conversation. He spoke like a Rasta-man and mostly talked about rap music from the States. However, I did manage to learn that he was on his way to Wa to stay with his family after having worked in Tamale for a year. Although, I was semi-conscious it was a good way to pass the time before boarding the bus. It is a long process to fill the bus with people, especially when they are bringing many things with them. We didn't get out of the station until nearly 6am!

My seat was at the back of the bus where the bumps are felt the worst. But I would soon get a break from that since our bus broke down just on the outskirts of the city. I couldn't believe it. Luckily, we came to a halt right in front of a mechanic who worked on large vehicles and he had us back on the road in about 30minutes.

I knew what was coming though and I wasn't looking forward to it. I don't think anyone else was either since the bus was filed to capacity and there were people standing near the back door next to my row of seats. To get to Wa from Tamale oyu have to take the same road to Mole except you have to take it all the way across the region. It was an unpaved and brutal road all the way to the town of Sawla, nearly four or five hours away.

Shortly after we began our journey down the road from hell, a man stood up in the front of the bus and began speaking, shouting, to everyone. I took off my headphones and listened. The man was one of the Reverend Doctors that you often hear about here in Ghana. He was selling some of his herbal remedies as well as preaching. He quoted the Bible to strengthen his sales pitch. At first I was annoyed and angry with the man for pretending like he was bestowing blessings on people and all the while making a profit, but then I was just laughing.

The bus was rattling so loud as we journeyed down the road that the man could barely be heard from the back of the bus where I sat. The man just started yelling louder and louder, putting emphasis on certain words. Still, all I could hear were loud shouts. I was a hilarious scene, but I was the only one laughing. I tried to hide it and bury my face in my hands, but the people around me wanted to know what was so funny. I explained it and then we all started laughing and didn't stop until he did.

More people tried to board the bus when we arrived at Damongo, but as the bus doors closed one man who had already been standing the whole way wouldn't allow his space to be further partitioned. He refused to grant the new passenger space and instead pushed the man into such an uncomfortable position that his face was pushed against the door and his hat was falling of his head. Everyone laughed at the sight of this struggle. Eventually the man gave up and got off the bus to even more laughter.

The rest of the journey was no laugh though. The other half of the road that I had yet to journey on was even worse than the first half. There was no sign of construction here and the villages along the way appeared more and more destitute. Somehow I managed to fall asleep for a while an not long after I awoke we were at Sawla. From there on we were driving on paved roads.

As we continued I noticed another change in the style of houses around me. The roofs here were flat and made of clay and mud as were all of the walls. I also saw that many of the Mosques in the villages were made of mud and sticks. They were very interesting structures to behold.

I spent a short time studying the city map of Wa so that I could make my way around town when I arrived, but there was a problem. When we finally did arrive in Wa it was raining. I quickly hired a taxi and made the decision to stay the the Numbu Hotel. The driver laughed when he heard me and said that his father owned the Hotel. I felt good about this discovery, but I didn't know what lay in store. The hotel was sort of off the beaten path and looked in decent condition. I enetered and was shown to my room by a beautiful but rude woman he demanded 65,ooo for the night. I was too tired to argue so I just paid and then went back to the room I entered through where there were a couple of men sitting there watching television. One man was quite drunk which was alarming seeing as it was right around 1pm.

The drunk man told me that I was welcome and soon began a conversation with me. HE WAS THE OWNER! I will say this now that in my two days in Wa I didn't see that man drink anything besides alcohol. I wondered how this man could possibly have the money to run this Hotel when all he does is drink. I felt sick to my stomach when I thought about the decision I had made to stay there, but it was too late to back out now. I wasn't sure if the place was even safe to stay at.

The drunk manager invited me to eat lunch with them and seeing as how I don't want to see the drunk manager to be an upset drunk manager I said yes. We ate tezet, which is a food common ot the Upper West and Northern Regions. It was a shared meal. Everyone sticks their hands into the tezet and then dips the tezet in the sauce. It wasn't the most repulsive thing I have ever witnessed, but it was hard to swallow down the food. I nearly lost it though when the drunk manager skipped the tezet and cupped his hand into the slimy sauce and brought it to his mouth. The slime dripped down his chin and it was at tha time that I noticed all of the flies that were swarming us as we ate. I gagged on my food and nearly threw up everywhere, but I held strong and can still maintain that I have a stomach like the rock of Gibraltar!

After I ate I decided to escape the Hotel and the awful manager to see some of the town. People were very friendly and didn't take much notice of my presence, which is always preferred to being stared and shouted at everywhere you go knowing that each movement you make is watched and judged. For the most part Wa is a sleepy town. Traffic wasn't bad and the streets were not overcrowded with market women or kiosks. I walked all the way back to the station where I figured out how I would travel back to Sunyani from Wa. After doing that I slowly made my way back to the Hotel and went immediately to my room.

I couldn't help but to put myself in a different place. A safe, comfortable, familiar place. I put my headphones on and listened to Sufjan Stevens and thought of my good friends that I missed so very much. Eventually, I slept for a long time.

"The Recap" - August 27th

2007-09-06T03:05:00.000-07:00

If it wasn't for the driver that knocked on everyone's doors that morning I doubt that I would have got on the bus back to Tamale. I quickly arose and packed my things in one my small backpack, which was really beginning to smell from my unwashed clothes. I went out into the still pitch black night to see a cloud moving to unveil a large moon. Just as soon as it appeared it disappeared behind another cloud.

I joined the group of tourists waiting to get on the bus and spoke to my American friend. Before long we were going back down the dreadful road. We made frequent stops to pick up more passengers along they way. By the time we left Damongo the bus was completely full and the sun was rising. It was a spectacular sunrise.

I talked with my American friend the whole way back to Tamale, which really helped me to ignore the bumpy road. We had some more great conversation and I was sad to have to say goodbye when we alighted back at the Tamale station. We parted ways and I made my way back to my old bench and greeted the familiar faces who worked at the station. Alado was not there though. I knew from the prices that I paid at Mole that I owuld not be able to go to Bolgatanga the next day and decided that I would go to Wa straight from Tamale. I was somewhat upset that I would not be able to go to the Upper East region and the last major city in Ghana before reaching Burkina Faso. I told myself that I would be able to visit another time as I approached the ticket office to by my ticket to Wa.

Then a shudder of anxiety went through my whole body. I couldn't hear anything in the busy station. I could not find my wallet!!!! I was searching my bag when I realized I had left it on the bus when I went to buy something out the window on the way back form Mole. I had to get it back. I didn't leave all my money in there, but there were some important things that I needed. I turned to see that my bus was gone and was now pulling out of the station.

Quickly, I threw my bag down and asked my friends to watch it for me and ran out of the station. I jumped on the back of motor bike taxi and told the man to follow the bus. It was my first time on the back of a motor cycle. We weaved in and out of traffic as well as the many people that roamed the city streets that Monday morning. We were nearly hit twice by passing cars during our pursuit. Finally, the bus pulled into the filling station and I ran to the driver and demanded to get on the bus. By the grace of God I found my wallet lying on the edge of my seat with all of the money still inside. Besides being relieved, I was so proud of myself for what I had just done.

After buying my ticket to Wa I made my way back to the same hotel that I had stayed at before. Went to my room to drop off my things and then visited Tiah and his friends at the space to space kiosk where I called Br. Paul to let him know that I was ok and back in Tamale. After some conversation, I collapsed in bed and rested until the afternoon.

RAIN. I woke up to the sounds of the rain pounding against the flat roof of the hotel as if Niagara falls was above us. Because of the weather I was confined ot the hotel for the rest of the day.

I thought a lot that day about my journey so far. Things had gone very smoothly and I had met some great people. Armed robbery is a major issue for people traveling alone here in Ghana, but it had barely entered my mind all the time that I was traveling. I truly felt the prayers from all of my friends and family. I used the rest of the day to journal and rest since I had to be back at the station at 4am the next morning to continue my journey to Wa in the Upper West Region.

"The Recap" - August 26th

2007-09-06T02:17:00.000-07:00

I woke up at about 3:30am because of the great amount of noise being made by a few people in th dormitory getting up to catch their bus that was returning to Tamale. I dreaded the fact that I would have to be getting up that early for my return trip. I slept for a couple more hours and awoke around 5:30am. I got dressed and made my way out to the dining/pool area where there was a viewing platform that looked out over the park. There was a steep bluff in front of the viewing platform that gave people a bird's eye view of any activity going on down there.

There were two water holes in sight and I couldn't believe me eyes when I saw an elephant taking a morning bath. I watched it for a long time reminding myself that it was real. After a while I noticed a bunch of noise coming from a nearby tree. It was full of monkeys. In the next moment a couple of them had jumped out and were coming towards me. Unbelievable! They made their way right past me and over to the next set of bushes. I was able to snap a few pictures of the action that I will be sure to put up soon.

Time passed and soon I made my way over the group of tourists gathered around the safari office. We were eventually divided into groups and given a guide. His name was Deke. A middle-aged man who looked quite strong with his rifle slung over his shoulder. He gave us a short introduction to the park and what we were about to see. He tried to learn all of our names and then we set off. HE told the group as we were walking that if anything happened I was in charge of getting people back to the motel. There was a long moment of silence and then I said to the group, "Don't you feel safe now?" The group erupted with laughter.

I could write a small book about the beauty of the land an d the things that I saw, but I will let the pictures do the talking. ( Trust me they are coming.) As we made our way through the bush I couldn't help but think about all the fun times I have had in the past hiking through the woods with my friends Kevin Carter and Chris Loeber. We never followed the path. I smiled thinking about it. Of course, this was no hike through a forest preserve. There was real danger here, no guarantee that you will come out alive.

The whole thing was surreal. We saw monkeys, baboons, exotic birds, bush buck, water buck, forest deer, crocodiles, and warthogs. We had walked for nearly three hours and had not seen any elephant yet. I said to myself that I could not leave the park without seeing any elephant. It didn't look good. There was a serious moments when our guide would stop in his tracks and so would we. He would look at a print in the mud, markings on a tree, or would just stare into the bush seeing and hearing things that we with our untrained senses could not. At one point the guide called us to look at one print. I didn't know what to make of it. He said very calmly but with great seriousness, "Lion...couple days old." No one spoke and fortunately we were spared of meeting any lions on foot that day.

Our guide was frustrated and told us that he would be happy to take us back out later when the elephant came. So we made our way back through the forest towards the motel when it happened.

We came to a clearing and there he was. A giant elephant slowly lumbering towards the water hole. He took no notice of us until we drew within about 50 feet. He turned and began lapping his ears, grunting, and stamping his foot. The ranger told us to get behind him as he quickly swung his gun off his shoulder and into his hands. The elephant must have known this scenario because he quickly turned and made his way into the bush. We were all so excited, but dared not to say a word. Deke took us back to the waterhole where there were another four elephants bathing in the water. We stopped at the bank across from them and watched for about 15 mintues. I was quite close to the water and checked it frequently for any signs of an approaching crocodile, which there wouldn't be anyway. I kept my position and tried to document as much of the scene as I could.

Without knowing he had left, we turned to hear Deke returning from the bush to inform us that another group of about 5-8 elephant had appeared in another spot. We all followed him and saw it to be true. These elephant seemed much bigger even from a distance. I watched with amusement as another tour group appeared very near to these elephant and the same scenario happened with them that happened with us. Eventually, the time came and we made our way back to the motel after spending 3 1/2 hours under the sun searching for animals. when I returned to the motel I got a large bottle of water, sat at the viewing platform, and tried to take in what had just happened.

After taking a long nap I awoke and showered, a bucket shower that is. I realized that I was incredibly burned from my morning in the sun. I changed clothes, grabbed my journal and made my way out to the dining area for some refreshment. There were many young people there from England, Holland, and Germany. They seemed quite satisfied with their own company and I was also with mine. I watched the beautiful scenery as the sun began to set. Very much at peace with the world, I sat and wrote in my journal.

I sate dinner that night with my American friend and some young ladies from England. It was nice to have some good conversation about "western" things. As frivolous as they may be I still enjoyed it very much. We stayed up much too late laughing, drinking, and chatting with our Ghanaian friend Jerry who worked at the Motel. Before I knew it it was 11pm and we all had to get up at 3:30am for a bus that left at 4am. After everyone had departed I took one last look into the now pitch black void and listened for the different animals. I dared not go back down there now. My experience at Mole Park gave me the true understanding of wildlife.

I also want to take time here to tell you that if you have any questions at all please ask by using the comment tool below this post. I would love your feedback.

"The Recap" - August 25th

2007-09-04T08:52:00.000-07:00

Well, I woke u at about 5:30 in the morning and washed up before heading out into the nearly deserted streets of Tamale. I was surprised to see such little activity, but then again it was Saturday morning. I arrived at the station to fine it pretty quiet. I approached the ticket office and was quickly turned away and told to wait until around 7am to buy my ticket. I wasn't incredibly mad seeing as how I didn't have an alarm clock I couldn't really have slept longer.

I grabbed a seat on an old wooden bench where many people were sitting waiting for their bus to arrive to Techiman. They were surprised to see a white man sitting with them. I guess most white people tend to hang together when traveling. Soon after I sat down a familiar face showed up. I neglected to mention that I went back to the station the day before to inquire about the bus to Mole Park and got all the information I needed from a very friendly young man named Alado.

I was under the impression when I got to Tamale that I would be taking an OSA bus to the park, but soon learned that OSA no longer existed. It was Metro Mass Transit that was now doing OSA's old routes. Minor details of course. So I sat and talked with Alado and his good friend Lokman. We chatted for a long time and, like most Ghanaians I meet, they could not believe I was only 22 years old. They kept pointing people out to me and telling me that that individual was older than I was. Quite amusing stuff. They invited me to share breakfast with them at the station on the bench. We ate bread and eggs and I bought them the small bags of water that you see everywhere in Ghana. Afterwards I bought my ticket, bid them farewell, and made my way back to the Hotel to checkout.

After checking out I decided to explore as much of the city as I could before I had to return to the station to catch my bus to Mole Park. I first walked out to see the Catholic Cathedral and then made an unsuccessful attempt to find the Tamale Cultural Center where I thought I could buy some souvenirs. After taking a peak at the Gulpka Na's Palace I decided to try and venture out to the brand new soccer stadium built for the African Cup of Nations to be held in January 2008.

As I changed my course a teenage boy kept pace with me. He eventually asked me where I was from. I answered him. And then he asked, "Do you use the Bradt Travel guide to Ghana?" I couldn't believe it and stopped in my tracks. "Yeah, how do you know about it?" " I am in it!" , the boy responded. Sure enough Soaliu Al-Hassan was in the book. He was one of the nephews of a man that owned a guesthouse by Mole Park renown for its great hospitality to travelers. Eventually, we got off the subject and got to the big question. Where was the stadium at?

He decided to join me on my quest and we walked for about 30 minutes at a fast pace, since my time to return to the station was drawing near. It was midday when we arrived at the construction site and there stood the beautiful, modern stadium built by Ghanaian and of course, Chinese workers. Without hesitation, we both pushed open the gate and made our way closer to the stadium until the security man shouted at us and demanded payment. I waved and smiled as I said, "Thanks, we are okay!" We eventually walked up to a gate where a security man stood watch and I waited a m young companion spoke Dagbani to the man. He told him that I was in the Peace Corps and that I really wanted to see the field before I left the country. He smiled and opened up the gate and allowed us to walk into the stadium. It was a beautiful sight to see, but I was more amazed that we were even able to get in! I snapped a bunch of pictures walked onto the field and then glanced at my camera which told me that I needed to get back to the station.

After running past the angry man at the first gate we hired a taxi and got back to the station with time to spare. Almost as soon as I showed up I was being yelled a by my friend Alado whom I ate breakfast with all those hours ago. He invited me into a storage room where a bunch of men were gathered. They greeted me warmly and invited me into their discussion. We spent the next hour or so talking about global issues, life in the states, and the future of Ghana. I also learned that there was a large population of Lebanese people living in Tamale. Quite odd. Anyway, we had a great time chatting. We finally ended the conversation when my bus showed up about an hour late. I said my goodbyes and boarded the bus. Another window seat thank God! The bus we were on sat two on each side and then there were chairs that folded down in the middle of the aisle to fit a maximum number of people. Wow, it was packed!

There a number of Europeans on this bus; of course all of them headed to Mole Park as well. The bus moved quickly out of Tamale and I was headed back down the road that I had just come in on the day before. We got to the Fulfusu junction and turned onto the worst road I have ever encountered in Ghana. No pavement, huge pot holes, and dust flying through the air for about 2 and a half hours. It was wonderful. The scenery however was gorgeous. The sun was heading towards the horizon and the clouds loomed in the distance. We passed a number of humble villages full of round clay houses with thatched roofs, no sign of electricity or water wells. I was able to snap a few pictures while we sped by. I swore that our bus would fall to pieces before we got to Damongo, the last major town before Mole Park.Luckily we made it there still intact. Almost all of our passengers got off their to meet friends, go home, or catch a tro-tro to somewhere else. I got off to stretch and before I knew it was greeted by a tall blond haired young woman. "You are American?", she asked. "I am indeed." Now God forgive me for not remembering her name, but she was a PhD student in African History at the University of Wisconsin. She had a special focus on Ghana and this was her first time there! As my good friend Matt Rochette would say, "HA!"

We got along well and conversed all the way to the entrance to Mole Park. We talked mostly about Ghana, the people, the culture, the things that made us laugh, and about home. The next thing I knew we were at the ominous gates to the park, it looked like a scene from Jurassic Park, and a ranger had boarded the bus brandishing a rifle, he also came to collect money from us for a one time entrance fee. Without hesitation I handed over my money to the man with the gun. (He was there b/c no one is allowed to enter the park without a ranger accompanying them. The animals roam quite free you know. No fences.)

It was dark out when we arrived at Mole Motel. I paid a ridiculous 70,ooo cedis for a bed in a dormitory and made an order for dinner. After setting my things down in the dorm that had no lock on the door, I went straight to the bar to reward myself for a long day of traveling. There were tons of Europeans, or just a bunch of Brunis as I saw it, mingling, eating, drinking, and struggling to make their orders in English to their Ghanaian servers. I sat alone at the bar and spoke with the few Ghanaian men there until i saw my American friend sitting alone at a large table.

I joined her there and immediately we began talking non-stop about school, Ghana, foreign policy in the US, global issues, and of course Harry Potter. A young European man had to come over to our table to ask us not to say anymore because he was very behind in his reading. I laughed for a while a that on with the help of a couple Gulder beers. We ate and we drank and finally after almost everyone else had gone to bed we called it a night.

The next morning would be the safari walk at 6:30am. It was then that I would have my date with the wild elephant!

"The Recap" - August 23rd and August 24th

2007-09-03T08:51:00.000-07:00

It turned out to be a great idea to take an extra day in Sunyani because I was still fairly sick the next day. I slept in the next day 'till about 8am or so. I didn't do much that day besides go into Sunyani town with Br. James to figure out the best transportation to Tamale. While we did that we walked all over the city and made a stop at Christ the King Catholic Cathedral right off the main road leading into the city.

It was a beautiful Cathedral. We went inside to pray for a short while before returning to the city streets. It was pretty quiet everywhere we went. Even the stations were quiet compared to the other ones that I have experienced. Besides children calling out to me, "Bruni, Bruni! How are you? I am fine! Thank you!" the only funny thing that happened was a woman that ran out of her roadside kiosk to ask me if I would marry her sister. Br. James stepped in quickly and told her that I am a professed Brother of Holy Cross. Thanks James I didn't know what to say!;)

We decided that the best thing for me to do was to take a taxi to a small city called Techiman about 45 minutes from Sunyani and from there take a "207" to Tamale. After having completed our primary objective we decided to return to the house where I spent the rest of the day resting until Br. Raymond came back from school at the Catholic University. By that time I was finally feeling much better than I had the previous day. I was ready to continue the journey.

At around 10am the next morning I was riding in a taxi with Br. Raymond and Lydia, their cook and housekeeper, to the old market station to catch a taxi going to Techiman. We walked into the station area to find a fair amount of hustle and bustle. We quickly found a taxi going to Techiman and before I knew I had said good bye and I was on my way out of Sunyani.

My driver barely spoke English and the 4 woman crammed into the back seat were still giggling at the sight of the white man in their car. I was a little nervous about the change of cars that I had to make in Techiman. I didn't know much at all about the small city or even where the bus stations were in town. The only stop our driver made was to buy some grasscutter that some young boys were selling on the side of the road. For those of you who don't know, grasscutter is a fairly large rodent that many Ghanaians indulge in. Our driver inspected the freshly killed rodents that were swinging by their tails right outside my window. He shook his head and kept on driving. I was thankful that I didn't have to aid in the transaction.

It was a dark day and looked as if it could rain at any second, but the scenery as always was beautiful.

It didn't take long until we were at the outer limits of Techiman. I then told the driver that I needed to go to the Tamale Station. He looked at me in surprise and said, "Tamale station? Oh!" I realized that if I had not mentioned this to the driver that I might have found myself in quite the pickle. He quickly adjusted his route and dropped me off at a different station where I hired another taxi to take me to the Tamale station.

When I arrived there it was easy to procure a ticket to Tamale and I boarder a big old orange bus. Withing 30 minutes the bus was fulled and once again I was pushed up hard against the window with my backpack in my lap. There was a big argument before we left though. The men who were selling the tickets sold more tickets than there were seats so everyone had to show their tickets to prove that they had actually bought one and of course one man could not find his ticket. There was a lot of shouting, laughing, moving about, and then more shouting. It was a pretty funny sight to behold. When the man found his ticket he realized that he paid 50,ooo cedis which is 7,000 more than everyone else paid. After being told that he should get his change he shouted, "Forget it. Lets get out of here!" Everyone laughed and we pulled out of the station.

I was very excited to be heading to Tamale. Arguably the third largest city in Ghana I had always wanted to visit it. I was curious to see how different it was from the rest of the country. I knew that the majority of the people there were Muslims and that showed as we entered the Northern Region. In almost every large village there were a couple of mosques to be seen from the road.

It was a three hour drive to Tamale and I spent every moment observing my surroundings. I watched as the landscape changed around me. The land became completely flat and the trees became shorter. The vegetation was very thin with large meadows of the most brilliant yellow-green color I have ever scene.

However, disaster was about to strike. The young girl in front of me was looking very restless and she moved around in her seat constantly. All of a sudden, before I could react, saw that she was going to be sick and she leaned out here window and threw up. Of course, it all flew back in the window and onto my face and shirt and the person sitting behind me. I had tried to duck, but i still got hit pretty well. I just cringed for a moment telling myself not to freak out. Thankfully, the woman accompanying the sick girl handed me a towel almost immediately. It was quite disturbing, but I remained calm and did not lose my lunch. Moments later another girl threw up. This time into a plastic bag. Praise the Lord!

After these unfortunate events I turned my attention back out the window to notice how the architecture of the houses in the villages were changing. People were living in small A-frames with thatched roofs and also small round houses with thatched roofs. The walls were sculpted out of clay. Of course there were plenty of buildings made form concrete and wood, but in many of the small villages this is what I saw.

Time passed fairly quickly as our old orange bus blasting Bob Marley sped closer to the Tamale city limits. I took one last glance at my Bradt guide map of Tamale to make sure I had my bearings straight, but not long after we entered the city I lost my sense of direction immediately, quite unusual for me. Anyway, we drove through the very busy city and I could see that most of the people walking around town were wearing Muslim style clothing. There were more motor bikes speeding around than I have ever seen in any city in Ghana. After looking around the city we pulled into the chaotic bus station filled to the brim with all kinds of vehicles, travelers, and vendors. I could barely make my way through the crowd off of our bus. I turned around the help a woman carry her bag to a taxi, partially because I just needed a minute to figure out what I was going to do next.

Of course, that was only one minute to think. She thanked me and without any hesitation I walked out of the park and into the busy Tamale streets. I decided on the way there that I would stay at AlHassan's Hotel which was much closer to the station than the other hotels. I did my best to remember the map and made my way through a small market area filled with woman getting ready to pack up and go home for the day. I crossed the street and walked towards a large intersection, probably the largest in the city besides the one further North along the Bolgatanga road. I walked passed many blind men led by little children as they begged for money on the large median strip. I knew exactly where I was going and felt a rush of euphoria. With an extra something in my step I smiled to myself as I realized that I was doing really well on my own.

I was caught in the middle of traffic, stuck on the median with many other pedestrians. I looked one way and then the other. I saw the largest mosque I have ever seen in my life, Tamale Central Mosque. This structure looked right out of the middle east, and that's probably where the money came from to build it. Eventually, traffic slowed to a halt and I made my way quickly through the maze of vehicles and clouds of exhaust to the other side of the street which led to the hotel.

After checking in I went out to make a phone call and while doing so I met some very friendly young men, university students. We talked for a long while and I told them how I felt about Tamale so far and that I was excited to hear all of the prayer callers for sunset prayer, although as I was speaking the power went out and I would be hearing very few callers that night. One of the guys, Tiah, invited me to see his Mosque and to watch them pray. I figured he was a nice enough guy and I had some time to get back to the hotel before dark so I went with him through some back alleys near the hotel and eventually to a small clearing.

It was a small humble Mosque, nothing like the Central one. I followed him around to the door and he invited me in, of course after taking off my shoes. I couldn't believe it. He turned to me and said, "Just do what I do." I nearly laughed out loud when the word INFIDEL came into my head, but I went along for the ride. Everything went smoothly and I must say it will be an experience that I will not soon forget. Don't worry though, I am not planning on converting yet! JK!

I ate dinner at the Crest Restaurant on the roof and watched the sun set over the city that night before I made my way back to the hotel. I had to be at the station the next morning at 6am to buy my ticket to Mole National Park, the next destination of my journey. My phone was worthless and couldn't even tell the time anymore so I had to rely on mental alarm to wake up, which did so successfully about 8 times that night.

"The Recap" - August 22nd, 2007

2007-09-03T07:12:00.000-07:00

The night before I began my journey I was feeling very ill. My body was sore all over and I had a fever. I didn't say much about it to the Brothers because I really wanted this trip to happen. Becoming very ill while traveling on my own in a developing country does seem like a worst case scenario for most people, but I am prepared for anything. After three visits to Ghana I have never traveled any further north than the city of Kumasi. I have not seen the country at all. I wasn't going to allow myself to miss this opportunity.

So naturally when the morning came I felt even worse than the night before (not to mention that my excitement alone was doing a number on my stomach). I was bustling about feverishly all morning making final packing decisions and making photo copies of my passport to bring with me, which was quite a battle in its own since power went out three times in about 30 minutes. But when the time came I said my goodbyes and made my way into Cape Coast town with Br. Ebenezer. He dropped me off at Tantry Station where I bought my ticket for a "207", a vehicle slightly larger than a conversion van, that was headed from Cape Coast to Sunyani.

I purchased my ticket and was offered a front seat. I wasn't so lucky in the future as you will later learn. Anyway, there was a woman half inside the bus shouting praises in Fante and quoting the Bible in English to all who would listen in the very cramped seats.

It was incredibly muggy inside the 207, I thought I was coming down with malaria, I was crammed up against the window, and there was a woman behind me screaming praises to God...let's do this!

The journey was a long one! It takes about four hours to get to Kumasi and about another 2 hours to get to Sunyani from there. I struck up a conversation with the young man sitting next to me, Peter, who turned out to be a third year student at University of Winneba. He is majoring in Education and was quite interested in talking to me. We spoke mostly about the economic situation in Ghana and often compared it to the situation in the U.S.

He had been traveling all night from Winneba to Cape Coast and now to his home in Sunyani. He had not had any rest and was very tired. I felt just as bad as he did as my body ached even worse after every pothole that we hit. I thought to myself how much more HCC students could learn if given the opportunity to use public transportation in Ghana. I thought about the Ghanaians who have no choice, but to use this very uncomfortable and often times unreliable, and in other cases unsafe form of transportation. It is different from the U.S. One very quickly learns patience here.

We were stopped at several police check points where our driver very strategically slipped 1 Ghana Cedi into his driver's license and handed it to the officer so that we may pass without any further delay( in other words without some kind of safety inspection). I had made the journey t Kumasi many times and as always it was very beautiful when you are driving past the thick vegetation and then the great rolling hills.

We arrived in Kumasi, the urban capitol of the Ashanti Region, in the early afternoon to the usual traffic jams and great crowds of people going about their business in the market places. We were stuck in traffic for a while behind a local tro-tro, a mini-van that serves as a taxi, that was driving very slow leaving large gaps in front of him while trying to pick up passengers. Our driver was furious and screamed out the window at him as well as half of the passengers, but he didn't budge. Out of nowhere, a police chief appeared. He was irate and was screaming a the man in the tro-tro. I saw the chief wave his hand and two other police men came up pulled the man out of his vehicle and then commandeered it. Before one could bat their eye they were driving off with his car to who knows where leaving the bewildered driver on the median with the chief still screaming in his face. As we slowly drove passed the scene, all of our passengers pointed out the window and jeered at the tro-tro driver like school children saying, "Ha Ha BUSTED!" It was hilarious.

Shortly after that we were stuck in traffic once again and I looked out the window at the thousands of people bustling about, not one "bruni", white person, in sight. I laughed out loud at the absurdity of my situation. Here I am the graduate of a small Midwest college, thousands of miles from home, crammed into a bus driving through a busy African city. "I am nuts!"

After a brief stop for stretching and refreshment we continued our journey northwest to Sunyani. As I entered the Brong-Ahafo region for the first time ever I noticed that the vegetation was becoming a little less thick than before and that the land was becoming flatter. There were beautiful puffy cumulus clouds in the sky and I was loving life, save my aching body.
It didn't take long for us to reach Sunyani. At first sight it was a very clean and well organized city compared to some of the others that I have frequented in my time here in Ghana. I alighted soon after we entered the city and quickly met up with Br. James outside the old market station. We grabbed a taxi back to their brand new house where they will begin forming a new Holy Cross Community about 5 minutes from the center of town.

By the time we got back to the house I was so exhausted I could hardly speak or move. I just went to my room after a short tour of the house and collapsed for the next three hours. I thought I was going to die of exhaustion and was perfectly happy with the idea of not moving ever again.

It was then that I decided that maybe I should take an extra day in Sunyani to get healthy and then continue my journey to Tamale. I think it was a sound decision don't you?

Time for an adventure!

2007-08-21T04:57:00.000-07:00

I want to apologize for not posting sooner, but the continued power crisis has prevented me from using the computer as often as I would like.

Plenty has happened since the last time that I posted. I have spent much of my time getting to know the people of Brafoyaw. Br. Augustus and I often take walks into the town center to pass the time with the different persons gathered there. Each time that we go there I learn more and more about the Ghanaian culture and simply how Ghanaians interact with each other. Always following these short excursions is an enlightening conversation with Br. Augustus. We talk about issues facing the Ghanaian society on the national level and also in those that are often faced in the villages. I learn everyday how similar the problems faced by Ghanaians are to the ones people face in the States. More on that later though.

Because I have been delayed in keeping up this blog an important date is now about to arrive. Tomorrow morning I will be embarking on a long journey to visit the Northern parts of Ghana. I will be visiting places no Holy Cross student that has visited Ghana has been. My trip will first take me from here in Cape Coast to Sunyani, located in the Brong-Ahafo region, to stay with some of the Holy Cross Brothers that are beginning a new community there. After that I will journey on towards the booming city of Tamale in the Northern Region. From there I will backtrack to the famous Mole National Park where I will be able to see some large animals, like elephants and hippos, up close and personal. After returning to Tamale I will head up to the last large city before the Northern border with Burkina Faso, Bolgatanga, located in the Upper West region. After a day there I will leave for the city of Wa in the Upper East region. From Wa I will travel all the way back down to Sunyani and then back to Cape Coast to seal up this ten day journey.

I will be going alone on this journey and I am terribly excited about it. I will do well to take as many pictures as possible and also to jot down all of my thoughts onto paper so that I can eventually transfer them onto this blog.

I know that I am about to encounter places that will be vastly different from the Ghana that I have become so accustomed to. This experience will be one for the books I am sure. I will ask that you all keep me in your prayers while I am on this journey. And until I return...Nyame Inshirawu!...God bless you!

Just The Beginning

2007-08-10T01:40:00.000-07:00

10 August 2007

The 2007 Summer International Experience in Ghana has come to end for the Holy Cross College students and they have now returned to the states. As I watched them walk into the airport after saying our goodbyes I knew that my experience was just beginning. It will not be a 2 1/2 week immersion into the culture of Ghana, but rather a year of my life devoted to the mission of the Holy Cross Brothers in Ghana. I can no longer find shelter from a large group of my countrymen. I recognize that I am a foreigner here. Ghana is not my home, but as a lay member of the Congregation of Holy Cross I am a part of a community to be found here.

Each day that I pray, eat, converse, work, and relax with the Brothers I am pulled closer to the vision of the Venerable Fr. Basil Moreau, founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross. A vision of life where professed religious and lay persons form intimate relationships and strive together to fulfill their mission of educating hearts and minds as well as the greater mission of preparing this world for the kingdom of God.

Of course to keep this in mind all day every day is quite a difficult task. I am an individual who struggles to stay consistent with my prayers and to always keep God in my thoughts. However, this is one of the greatest aspects of being close to the Brothers. Their commitment to prayer and service inspires me to work harder each day and to consistently keep God at the center of my life.

This is just the beginning of this experience and I have much more time to reflect and prepare before I begin teaching at the Home of Hope in late September. I shall do my very best to update this blog twice a week to keep all who are interested informed as to what the experience of a Moreau Fellow, or HCSC member, is like. So until next time Nyame Inshirawu! God Bless you!
- JD

Final Post from Ghana

2007-08-06T04:15:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Brother David presented information on African art. An extraordinary artist, he showed us pictures of pieces he has painted as well as art from previous periods in Ghana's history.

We then separated into three groups: painters, dancers and drummers. Br. David worked with students to paint three distinct symbols used in Ghanian art. The other groups met with Ghanian performing arts instructors who taught us dancing and drumming techniques.

Yesterday the group traveled to a neighboring village, Pedu, to participate in Mass at a local parish. The Ghanian people have a very lively Mass with an abundance of singing and dancing. The priest, who spoke both in English and Fante (the local language), welcomed us and thanked us for participating in the liturgy.

Last night Dr. Annan Prah spoke to the group regarding the Church in Ghana.

This morning Br. Paul Mensah led the group is a discussion regarding our experiences in Ghana.

Tomorrow morning we head back to Accra to prepare for our departure tomorrow evening. Several students will continue to travel to various places across the United States. The group traveling to South Bend should arrive at Holy Cross College around 6:00 PM.

Emancipation Day in Ghana

2007-08-02T04:31:00.000-07:00

The people in Ghana celebrated Emancipation Day yesterday. In the morning, the group traveled to a place where slaves were taken after walking for several weeks with little or no food or water and no chance to bathe. The slaves, still bound in chains, were led to a river where they were able to bathe prior to being sent to the dungeons in a "slave castle." There are several memorials dedicated to remembering all of those who were enslaved, especically those who persished.

Yesterday afteroon we traveled to a nearby slave castle where many people from Ghana and surrounding areas paid tribute to their ancestors who were slaves. The program began with numerous chiefs, many of whom sat in chairs carried by their subjects, parading the length of the viewing area. Those chiefs who were walking were escorted by a person shielding him with an umbrella. Numerous "queen mothers" also accompanied the chiefs. After numerous songs and prayers, the chiefs performed a cleansing ritual remembering those in Ghana who particpated in the slave trade.

This morning Br. Paul Mensah, Superior of the District of West Africa, addressed the group about the Congregation of Holy Cross in general and the district in particular.

This afternoon and tomorrow morning, we will be helping the local community with several projects: helping to prepare meals and fabricating cement posts that will eventually be used to mark property that the Brothers have acquired to build a school.

Ghana Update

2007-07-31T03:40:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we traveled to a rainforest, Kakum, where most of the group embarked on a walkway constructed high above the tree tops. Suspended by a series of steel cables which stretch from one tree to another, the boards are connected to the steel cables by rope. During the evening a group of dancers and drummers entertained us for several hours. Most of us joined the dancers for the final number!

The group traveled to Kamasi, a village about a 3 hour trip by bus, on Sunday. While in Kamasi, we took a bus trip to Lake Bosomtwe, a very large lake in central Ghana. Several members of the group took a boat ride while the remaining members reamined on shore talking to the villagers.

Yesterday morning we toured the grounds surrounding the palace of the King of Asante. In the afternoon we visited the Archdiocese's Cathedral after which we made our way through the crowded marketplace on way to the zoo in Kamasi, where we saw a variety of native animals.

After two days of treveling and sightseeing, today is a day of rest and recuperation!

Ghana Recap

2007-07-27T13:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning the group heard from two instructors from Cape Coast University regarding health care issues in Ghana. The points included the delivery and type of health care services especially in remote areas and the role of the national, district and local organizations in providing health care services especially for those who are too poor to pay for adequate health care services.

During the afternoon the group traveled to Elmira, the site of a "slave castle" where millions of Africans were imprisoned before waiting to be transported by ship to various parts of the world.
During the evening the group gathered to attempt to assimilate and articulate what we've experienced thus far. Many of us spoke about our reactions to the fishing village through which we walked the first afternoon. Many of the group had not previously witnessed such extreme poverty; however, many commented on the joy, exuberance and delight of the children despite such conditions.

This morning we listened to an instructor from St. Augustine's College in Cape Coast regarding the history, geography and demographics of Ghana. The instructor also presented information regarding current political structure, and societal and developmental issues.

The afternoon we traveled to Cape Coast, where we experienced the cacophony of cars, trucks, motorcycles, pedestrians, and people selling wares such as dried fish, candy bars, bread and even sunglasses, most of which were carried on their heads in large baskets or platters. We also toured Cape Coast Castle, which was similar to Elmira.

The day ended with a trip to an African festival.

The electricity remains intermittent and unpredictable.

The weather continues to be a bit overcast with light rain showers throughout the day. Although the days have been warm and humid, the nights have been rather cool.

Greetings from Ghana!

2007-07-25T13:35:00.000-07:00

We arrived around 12 midnight.

We spent yesterday morning in orientation sessions and hiked to a fishing village. Today we spent the entire day touring various CSC institutions.

Ghana is experiencing periodic, random power outages due to a lack of hydroelectric power - thus the cursory information.

Money and more...

2007-07-19T11:04:00.001-07:00

First, Bro Paul just wrote me with a good tip: "Let me draw your attention to the fact that Ghana re-denominated its currency starting July 1, 2007. Now the value of the Ghanaian cedi is worth more than the US dollar. For example $1 is equivalent to 92 or 93 pesewas depending on the exchange rate. It means that with $1 you don't get GH¢1. My experience is that many students will spend between 100 and up. I am writing this so that they can prepare otherwise they may not be able to buy much if they bring little money."

Second, I want to make sure you know now of the fact that Holy Cross College, of course, pays the Brothers for all of your food, lodging, and fees in Ghana. The one thing the school will not pay for is your alcohol. It is not that alcohol is evil, just that we do not know how each of you handles alcohol. So here is the deal:
Now, in terms of alcohol, the arrangement is simple: yes, you can provide alcohol. We suggest that the basic guide would be:

-you will not have alcohol with meals, except on particular festive occasions
-on those occasions, the Brothers will provide alcohol, but only enough for one or two per person.
-You will give Brother Chris a buck for each beer you had. It will not be an awkward pay-at-the-moment thing. Rather, using the honor system, you will give him the $ later.

Lastly, just let me urge you to know yourself. If you can enjoy a beer, fine, but if you tend to want more and more, avoid it. We do not want to be the Ugly Americans who come in like Frat Boys or Party Girls and spend in a night of drinking what it takes many Ghanaians a month to earn.

The Time to Meet at HCC

2007-07-16T12:36:00.000-07:00

Folks, I just talked with Dr. Devetski and she says that all those leaving from South Bend MUST ARRIVE here at Holy Cross College at 2:30 pm sharp this SUNDAY. Be there or be, well, left behind! Sign off that you read this.

Just talked with Brother Paul

2007-07-13T12:25:00.000-07:00

The Ghanaian Bros are super excited to receive you. He did say that sheets, pillows, and one towel provided, but that often students like to have one towel of their own.

Also, the currency exchange rate is a bit lower now, so our dollars have a bit less earning power. So whatever you planned on bringing for your own spending money, maybe add 10 - $20 if you want. And my comment is: yes, do buy some cool stuff, and get some Ghanaian clothes, but remember that Ghana is more than an exotic shopping mall.

Keep the Blogging Going

2007-07-11T14:46:00.001-07:00

Okay now we're talking, folks are responding. Keep it up. Make sure all respond to each post below, beginning with The Final Countdown and moving up. On some you can just put your name. For ex, note how Tim H responded to the post below, which is a reflection from Jay Dunne, who was in your shoes and now will be on your trip in a different role. So read and acknowledge all the posts. ONE MORE THING: when you put your name, start using also your Ghanian name. You can even start that on this post here. (If you don't remember, go here). Believe me, getting into the mindset like this helps you prepare!

Am I prepared?

2007-07-11T10:55:00.000-07:00

My name is Jay Dunne and I just recently graduated from Holy Cross this past May. I have traveled to Ghana twice in the past year and like many others I found it to be one of the most incredible experiences of my life. During my first trip, however, something happened inside of me that not all students can expect. I was united with my purpose for living. I realized during that trip that my purpose in life is to use my God-given talents and accrued knowledge to serve the marginalized peoples of our global society. It was this realization that propelled me into my senior year exceling in the classroom and working to bring social justice issues in the developing world to the attention of the Holy Cross campus through the Africa Faith and Justice Network and The Cross and Anchor Workshops and the development of the Holy Cross Service Corps.

I knew all along though that I needed to return to Ghana and in a little over a week I will be. This time I will be the inaugural Moreau Fellow for the Holy Cross Service Corps (HCSC). I will be spending one entire year working with the Holy Cross Brothers in Sekondi at the Home of Hope. I will be assisting the Brothers in teaching english and in whatever other duties they might need my assistance with.

After an extremely busy career at Holy Cross College I have graduated and come home to take some time off before I leave for Ghana. I did not realize that after so much work that taking a vacation would feel wrong, but it does. I am very much looking forward to returning to Ghana, but I cannot help but feel anxious. There will always be thoughts creeping into my head questioning whether or not I am prepared for such an evdeavor. I know though that there is a lot that can come out of my experience, least of all for me. It is my hope that a successful year of service in Ghana would open up a door to all Holy Cross students to devote themselves to a year of service with the Congregation of Holy Cross. It is this idea that I must remian focused on! For we shall truly be bringing about the kingdom of God by providing that kind of opportunity to our graduates.

Remember this is a Course!

2007-07-11T08:17:00.000-07:00

Okay, make sure to read the post below on packing, and make sure to respond to EVERY post with questions, to simply share where you are at in trip prep, or you can even just sign off that you read the post.

I also want to remind you of the course requirements for the trip. It is titled Theo 390: Eyes of Faith. This may be the most impactful course of your life, so give it all you got! I already gave you the requirement sheet, and you can get another copy in Ghana, but the basics are this: 1/3 participation, 1/3 for a 7-10 page essay due September 14, and 1/3 for a public presentation (can be done in group of 3 or less). So as soon as you arrive, start thinking of topics to learn more about.

Also, Dr. Devetski and Bro. Chris will explain that you all are going to take turns each day doing a short report for this blog. This will be a way to get news of the group and all your adventures back to all your families. It also will cut down on email need. Remember you are going there to experience Africa, not Microsoft or Apple! So give out this blog address to all you know and tell them to check the blog each day for updates.

Reminder of Flight Itinerary

2007-07-10T15:24:00.000-07:00

Here again for you and your folks is the schedule. Make sure you have told Dr. Devetski is you are meeting the group at O'Hare (British Airways flies out of Terminal 5, so I would assume that is where you would be meeting) or whether you are on The Bus leaving HCC. Also, if you have any other questions about baggage, etc. go to the British Airways website.

July 22 Depart Chicago on British Airways # 298 8:20PM
July 23 Arrive London Heathrow 10:00AM
Depart London Heathrow on British Airways # 81 2:15PM
Arrive Accra, Ghana 8:10PM

Aug. 7 Depart Accra on British Airways # 78 10:35PM
Aug. 8 Arrive London Heathrow 6:40AM
Depart London Heathrow on British # 295 11:40AM
Arrive Chicago O’Hare 2:10PM

Final Countdown

2007-07-10T14:29:00.000-07:00

Okay, so this is the first of the final countdown posts. It goes back over some practical stuff. Much of what is below actually came from Bob Kloska, the founder of this course. And as far as packing, we will continue his time tested practice of limiting you to ONE suitcase and ONE backpack. In your response, post any additional ideas or questions.

Bring :
• Underwear and socks.
• One comfortable, but more dressy outfit (for more formal occasions).
• One pair of blue-jeans or casual long pants.
• 2 pairs of comfortable shoes; a good choice is sandals plus sneakers.
• 2 or 3 pairs of shorts.
• Comfortable casual shirts (t-shirts are okay, but no offensive slogans on them)
• lightweight hat or cap.
• a poncho or some type of rain jacket, esp for the day in the rainforest.
• Something light to sleep in, but which covers legs and arms for extra protection against mosquitoes. Rooms are not air-conditioned, but have excellent ceiling fans and a good breeze that time of year. Also, you will be sharing rooms so make sure you sleep in enough clothes to not make your roommate feel awkward.
• Some sort of travel money pouch to tuck into your pants or under your shirt. You will carry your airline tickets, passports, and money in these.
• Personal hygiene items (things that keep you clean, healthy and not too smelly)
Optional:
• A small portable backpack to carry cameras, food, water, etc. when we take day trips.

Don't Worry About:
• Towels. You do not need to bring towels, sheets, and pillows to Ghana.
• Toilet Paper. You do not need to bring toilet paper. Though many Ghanaians do not use it, it will be available where we are staying.
• Laundry Detergent. Part of the Ghana experience is to use their detergent!

Clothing Concerns
Remember, you will be in a hot and humid climate for two weeks. On most days, shorts, sandals, and casual shirts will be the norm. Things are a bit more formal in Ghana so when in Rome, do as the Romans -- we don't want to dress down too much. Also, any t-shirt you do bring should not have more than a few words on it. Carefully evaluate the writing on every single piece of clothing.
Remember, the people of Ghana have a stronger sense of modesty and decency. There should be no high or low-cut shirts or high-cut shorts/skirts. What seems harmless to you might be considered offensive over there, even if they won't say anything.

Food
I recommend that you bring some snack bars (I like PowerBars) for airports and those very rare occasions in Ghana when the food is less than appetizing.

Money
Do not bring much money. You won't need it. There isn't much to buy and you won't have much room to carry anything home. The more money you carry, the more you will have to worry about it. You probably shouldn't bring more than $200. You could probably get by on as little as $75. Also, travelers checks are not needed. We get Ghanaian money by exchanging U.S. dollars through the Brothers.

Cameras
Bring them if you wish. 35 mm film is available for purchase in Ghana. Video cameras may be a burden, but perhaps a couple in the group can bring them. Check on electrical conversion items needed.
Also remember: cameras will help us memorialzie the trip, but we are there not simply to get good pics for showing back home. We are there to EXPERIENCE. So there will be times when we will not bring any cameras, to ensure we see Ghana through our own eyes and not just a lens.

The New Scoop on Vaccinations

2007-04-16T15:17:00.000-07:00

The first thing to do is find out what insurance you have. It is on the health form I gave you today. Or ask your folks. Then contact them and tell them about this trip, that it is required, and ask where you should go. Now, most docs cannot, cannot give the Yellow Fever shot. So you need to go where you can get everything. There is a doc here who can do all this; find out if he is in your network. His name is:

Curtis Gongwer, M.D.
(574) 288 1200
He is located just north of
St. Joe Hospital in
Medical Pavillion 1
Click here for directions

When you find out what insurance you have, also call his office to make sure the insurance works there and to set up an appointment.

Now, the cheaper route if insurance looks like it may not cover it is the St. Joseph County Health Department. You can go there individually or in small groups, to receive the vaccinations. Then you can get the anti Malaria meds at a nearby pharmacy. Here are their phone numbers. Health Department for shots: (574) 256 6233 You can tell them you are with the Holy Cross group going to Ghana. They are located at 219 Lincoln Way West, Mishawaka IN 46544.

The pharmacy is locally owned Merrill Pharmacy. The person there will help you select the right Malaria med. Their number is (574) 255 2988. They are at 606 North Main Street in Mishawaka, near the Health Clinic. My suggestion is to go there after getting your vaccinations. The people at the Health Clinic can help direct you.

To Get Mapquest directions to Health Clinic from HCC, CLICK HERE.

Here are the recommended shots and prices at the health clinic. For those getting them elsewhere, this is the list, but the prices will surely not be this low.
Hepatitis A $33
Hepatitis B (most have had it; but if not, then Hep A and B = $50
Yellow Fever (required) $80
tetanus $8
polio (only for those 21 yrs and older) $37
MMR $50 most have had this
typhoid $58
meningitis $97 many have had this for college

Malaria medication: all depends, there are 3 options that you need to consult with a pharmacist or a doctor about. On Thursday, I will have for you an official letter that will help getting insurance to reimburse for this. But I would get started RIGHT AWAY in setting up appointments.

Ghana 2007: July 22 - August 8

2007-04-12T13:40:00.000-07:00

As this summer's trip gets closer, this blog will be updated to make sure all details are in order. This is a place that you and your family can find quick info on the trip.

One thing all can do now is make sure they have a Passport or have ordered a Passport. All info needed to get a Passport can be found on this link.

Yes, there will be postings here from Ghana, so your family and friends can follow the trip!

For now, all those going on the 2007 trip should introduce themselves. One thing you can also do NOW is tell us what your Ghanaian name is (along with your American name, of course!). The Ghanaian name simply comes from the day of the week on which you were born. To figure out the day on which you were born, go to this link.

Okay, so share who you are, your hopes and fears for the trip, and any questions you have.

FANTE: Lesson 1

2007-04-12T11:17:00.000-07:00

Here are some basic words from the tribal language in Cape Coast, Ghana, where the Bros host us. Of course, they speak English too. But Fante is more fun! Ignore my spelling, because I wrote their words how we will SAY them:

Thank you = maydasi; your welcome = may su medasi
No thank you = may n dasi
Good morning = mah chi
Good afternoon = mah ha
Good night = mah jwi
upon entering a room/house = ah go; response is ah may
How are you? = oatsay den? or eti sane?
I’m fine = bokoh or eh yeh or me hoye
By God’s grace = Nyame ahdome
Welcome = Akwaaba; response: yoh
Other greeting responses = ya nya (equal) ya ejah (elder)
What’s your name = wo hoatsay den? or ye fro o sehn?
My name is = ye fremi…
I like... = maypay…
Do you like… = wo pay…
A lot = peeeee or papaapa
A little bit = kiti kiti kiti
x is beautiful = x ye fay
You are beautiful/handsome = wo hoye fay
God bless you = Nyame inshirawu
After a sneeze… = inkwa (to your health)
Yes = inyo; No = oho or dabe
You are my new friend = oye maydanfu
I don’t understand = may n tsesi
I have no $ = may nyishka
I have returned = mah bah
I am tired = mahbray
Sleep well = Da iyay
I slept well = maydah papaapa
Where are you going? Erekwohin?
I’m going… = May reko…
Look! = tshay!
Dance! = Sah!
Water = nsu

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY GHANA!!!!!!

2007-03-06T05:36:00.000-08:00

Today marks 50 years of Independence. Ghana led the way for "Black Africa" to emerge from colonial rule. And 50 years, too, for the Holy Cross Bros in Ghana. Happy Anniversay!

So the big question is whether this photo is of the one of the Brothers? The answer, for those who have not been there, is that it very well could be, but the absence of the Cross and Anchors logo gives away that, alas, it is not a Bro.

An Experience worth having - don't miss it!

2007-02-21T14:02:00.000-08:00

When I first organized the "Through the Eyes of Faith: Holy Cross Ghana" program in Ghana in the Summer of 2000, little did I know that this program will develop into what it has become now: an experience changing for many students who come to Ghana on such trips. Every student group that comes to Ghana is different. They come with possibilities, excitements and challenges but in the midst of those possibilities, excitements and challenges, God uses them to touch the lives of the students and non-students alike on such trips. That is the beauty and workings of God. Through faith we discover how God is at work in our lives. With openness of heart and mind, through thoses experiences we have on such trips, we encounter God through the people and the events; meanings are embedded those experiences. It is those meanings that become a changing experience for most of us; it helps us discover a bit of about ourselves.

Let me share an experience with you. I just came back from Dunkwa on Offin through Kumasi this evening (Feb 21, 2007). I brought a 17-year-old young girl to school. This girl is given reason to hope for the future through the generosity of one of you. I see this kind gesture as God responding to the needs of this needy young girl through you. What a difference you have made in keeping this girl's hope alive. I thank you on behalf of her.

To those who are exploring the possibility of coming to Ghana or to go to Peru, don't be afraid to venture into that unknown path. Ghana and Peru are different countries with different cultural, and economic backgrounds that have possibilities and challenges. This year, Ghana is celebrating its Golden Jubilee as an independent country from Britain. Holy Cross is also celebrating its golden jubilee of ministerial presence in Ghana. Ghana as a country is going through a period of peaceful development in economics, structural and social change. We in Holy Cross are also developing along with Ghana. We are excited about it and we want you to be part of our dream of creating new ministries through education where educating the hearts and minds of our peoples becomes paramount. Our new Holy Cross school is gradually becoming a reality as the land is secured. Come the next five years you will not have to travel long distance on your first day in Ghana, our school in Kasoa will be ready!

To the students and parents who want to experience Ghana and its people, I will urge you to come. You have nothing to be afraid of. Ghana is a save place. The people are hospitable and friendly. We the Holy Cross community in Ghana will do our best to ensure that your trip is memorable one. Your welfare while in Ghana is our greatest concern and we do well to ensure that. You are welcome to Ghana, Akwaaba!

Memories

2007-02-20T15:46:00.000-08:00

We landed in Accra after about a 10 hour flight from New York. I thought to myself, "I am in Ghana." I could not comprehend the impact the next few weeks would have on my life. Sitting back at Holy Cross in April, we were learning so much classroom material about Ghana, I thought the day would never come that I would actually be there in a few short months. I am sure many of you have heard this and have probably even said it, but it needs to be said again and again. It is a truly eye-opening and impacting journey.
The people I met, the friendships I made, not only with the Brothers down there, but the students I went with, I will carry with me. I still miss the smell and the sight of driving along the road by the coast and taking it all in. Even the market, which was a unique smell, will sometimes creep into my memory as I sit and class and miss Ghana.
I truly hope that anyone who gets a chance takes the opportunity of a lifetime, to change their life, build friendships, and live with our brothers and sisters in Ghana for a few weeks. I promise you, a piece of Ghana will always stay with you.