Fifth Day Thursday March 20

We left today to head to Akim Oda where my partner (Bonnie Ellis) and I will be stationed for the next week.  Our contact school is St. Francis Senior High Technical School.  Lots of interesting things to see along the way.  Upon our arrival we met our host for the week, Victor Tsegah.  We dropped our belongings off at our new home, the Ages Abba Hotel and were immediately whisked away to a retirement party for the outgoing Municipal Director of Education.  This is where I first start to get an inkling of what will quickly become my most favorite part of Ghana.  In this part of Ghana, and maybe all over Ghana, the people are very quick to hug and embrace, even strangers.  They are warm, welcoming, gracious, and full of enthusiasm.  They will also break out into song, dance, or prayer at a moments notice.  I LOVE the hugging and dancing.  Absolutely my favorite part of Ghana is the warm, friendly, hugging, dancing people.  So we watch the dancing, get hugged a lot, meet new friends, and taste more of the local cuisine.
After adjournment of the party we take off to visit the Largest Tree In Africa, the Baobab tree.  Their defining characteristic: their swollen trunks are actually water storage - the baobab tree can store as much as 31,700 gallon (120,000 l) of water to endure harsh drought conditions. There is one particular baobab tree in Akim Oda that has been designated the "largest" in Africa based on volume.  It has become a popular tourist attraction.  So we had to visit it.
Next we visited a school that is run by our host Victor.  It turns out that Victor is actually a very important man in his district.  He was recently promoted from math teacher at St. Francis to a district position, Director of Professional Development.  In addition, he runs a school that was established by his father.  It is a primary through secondary school.  The schools here make little to no profit, so running a school is basically a charitable act and contribution.  It takes a great deal of time and dedication.  Victor is a very busy guy!  Two key things I learned at the school.  First, bed nets and computers are both needed and used in Ghana, so any charitable group wanting to help could address either issue.  However, bed nets are more commonly given than computers and are only a temporary solution to the problem of malaria.  Computers provide education to improve sanitation, living conditions, etc, which lasts a lifetime and will better serve the citizens of Ghana over the long term.  Visors answer is that both are needed, but computers would be his first pick. Secondly, I learned that "chop" means to "eat" in Twi (the local language).  There is a room called the "chop box room" where the middle school students keep their boxes of snacks that they bring from home.  It is locked up to keep the students from eating it all at once.  Secondary students keep their chop box in their dorm room.
Then Victor takes us to visit his lovely wife Florence and their adorable little boy.  He is a sweetheart!

Note:  After arriving in Akim Oda, we find out that there will not be any Internet access available.  This is bad because we will not be able to spend time uploading pictures, writing blogs, and keeping everyone updated on our every move throughout the week.  But it is also really good because now we can actually fully enjoy our experience WITHOUT having to upload pictures, write blogs, and reveal every move we make.  Nice!  So the next week of posts are actually all being posted retroactively on the same day, Thursday March 27th from Cape Coast.