EIL Intercultural Learning

All is going well here starting to settle a bit.We stand out every where we go and everyone shouts 'hey white person' at us!!Funny at the start but stating to get a bit annoying now!The family Im living with are really lovely,very friendly and trying hard to welcome us.The mother is a really good cook so Ill be coming home a fattie!The food was hard to get used to at first,all fried in fat and everythings very rich and spicy.They eat rice for ever meal of the day!I cant bring myself to eat it at 7.30am!I have porridge instead.The traditional Ghanain dishes are not my favourite but edible for now!
 
The school Im in is about 15min walk away and we start at 8am.Im awake at 5.30am each day as all Ghanains are up at the crack of dawn doing chores....Like sweeping around the house,preparing food for the day,fetching food and water,cleaning washing etc so it really busy.Its a far cry from home .thats for sure.Im sleeping on a matress with loads of holes on the floor with cockroaches,spiders mosquiteos everywhere,but its fine for now.We have a cold shower that just dribbles water and doesnt always work!
They have goats outside our window and they never stop screaming all night long!
 
The school conditions are horrendous,never seen such poverty.No running water,no electricity,no doors or windows.Hens roam freely around the classrooms leaving a dirty mess everywhere.There are 130 kids in the school and 70 in one room and 60 in the other.Myself and Mairead the other volunteer with me have split up the classes.Im taking 30 cramped into a small room and she is taking 10.They have no tables and not enough chairs.There is a big rubbish pile outside the door and the children walk through it.
 
The kids think they have seen the whole world when they meet a white person.So you can imagine its like having the real Santa Claus in the class when we are there.The cant stop touching us and hugging us and are always so excited to see us.Too much so because there are riots when they charge and run to welcome us in the morning.There was not one toy in the entire school apart from a burst ball.Yesterday when we gave them footballs,skipping ropes,flyimg saucers, bubbles,and other games all mayhem brought out because they had never even seen them before let alone know what to do with them.
This afternoon in class when I gave out colours and colouring pages they did not know what to do with them I had to show them how to colour!So sad to see.They are in their bare feet and its so smelly and unhygenic there.Alot of them are sick and wet themselves and they are just left in it for the whole day.
 
They had no school books,copies,or any reading material of any kind.We bought alot of books,copies and general supplies like dettol,washing products,toilet roll,wipes ,first aid kits.They had nothing.So now each of them have a book each and they cant believe their eyes.But there is no where is even store them.A few of the children hid the books and tried to bring them home.They try to take everything as they are afraid they will never see them again.Its heart breaking to see.
We have organised to get lots of tables chairs and shelves and presses made for all the classes so that will be a huge help.We have asked a local carpenter to put up doors to keep the hens out and the children in!!There are only 2 teachers there and one of them is permanently on crutches.Saint Patrick is his name.I swear Im not making it up!!He said he had prayed for help and knew it would come!!!!He is so good with the children and does as much as he can but it is no where near enough.
What we are able to do for them now will be of huge benefit.
It is really disturbing to see but hopefull we can make a bit of a difference for them.
 
Thats all my news for now,
Chat soon,
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