So a couple of weeks ago I took my last tour around Ghana. I went up thru Tamale, staying with some friends on the way. I got to go to Kumasi and then town to Takoradi. It was a great trip on the way to COS conference! The conference was fun and it was really good to see everyone together for the last time. My plan was, after COS confenece, to be at site and not ride in a car again, but well am in Accra again bc of an infection on my leg. A little bummed about being here bc stuff is going really well at site. Everyday we have volleyball practice- the girls come at 4 and we play til 5 or whenever the boys show up. Its alot of fun, alot of silliness, esp bc the girl have never played before. When the guys come it gets serious and we play until dark! Im also in the middle of a big mosquito net and soak away pit project. We had a big community meeting where the womens group I work with did some eduction on Malaria for the community and then taught them how to make soak away pits. People here have outdoor bathrooms/ showering places and the water doesnt drain so well. Since most houses have like 10 or more people, the water collects making a perfect breeding environment for mosquitoes. So basically people are digging holes and filling them with stones so that the water drains out easier. The next day people were busy digging. Throughout the day I had people coming to my house asking me to come and see if their hole was ddep enough or if they had enough rocks.
When I come back from Accra, ill have about 8 weeks left at site. Ive decided that for the last two onths Im going to teach 4th grade since we actually have 2 teachers at our school. I have a few projects left but things are quickly coming to an end! COS trip planning is going well. I bought my ticket, going thru Dubai to Paris. From Paris Ill travel thru Sevilla, Spain to Barcelona where Ill join 13 other RPCVs on a two week cruise to Galvestion. Yeah exciting! Ill be home just in time for Christmas!

New trainees and Camp!

So I'm on my way back to site after spending a wee kin Kukuruntumi with the trainers for the new group of trainees coming to Ghana. There is a group of 67 coming the first week of June so I'm excited about being involved in training again! This week was a little crazy with schedule planning but was a nice break from site and planning for the leadership camp we are having next week in Nkwanta. This week I'm going to be in Nkwanta on Monday, following up with some final issues for camp. Logistics seem to be a problem here but a local NGO called WYDP (Women and Development something...) is helping us to get housing (aka mattresses to put on the floor) and food. We are having one day at the World vision Office, one at the NGO, one at the District Hospital, visiting the police station, the bank, the secondary school etc so ill be busy following up wit make sure our reservations haven't gotten lost (which seems to be common here). One Tuesday I have a Moringa project going on at the primary school and on Thursday I am going to one of the outreach villages to do a family planning drama competition with the local football teams. I also need to go and weed my farm. Ive been told that my maize and groundnuts are getting "bushy".

Its hard to believe that I only have about 5 more months here in Ghana. Though at first the two years seemed really long, it has gone by so fast! I'm still considering extending and looking into other options like grad school and teaching positions when I get home.

Moringa, PEPFAR and Camp

Pic from Ofusu's HIV event where the PCVs and HIV Volunteers took on the town team on soccer!

<--------

Things in Azua are going well. Since my trip to Tamale I have been at site except for a trip to Nkwanta. Last year when school was out I struggled to find things to do but this year is has gotten busy! We are doing a moringa project in Azua. Moringa a a tree found in many parts of the world that can be used for many things. The best thing is that the leaves have really good nutritional value and you can dry them or eat them fresh in stews. We made a garden (to keep the goats out) near the clinic, had a cooking demonstration and lesson on how to grow the trees.

In other news the new group of trainees is coming to Ghana the first week of June. Everyone at PC is busy preparing for them. This is the first time that the education and OMNIBUS (health, buisness and environment) volunteers will come at the same time so it should be interesting. The same week of their arrival, the volunteers in my area are puting together a youth leadership camp called Camp GGLOW (Girls and Guys leading our world). Our major focus is HIV and other skills to help empower young people and create more gender equality in this genderation. Im really excited about the camp but have alot to do over the next month to prepare for it!

One last thing... the education volunteers in Ghana are putting together an art show and are still looking for funding. Here is a note from one of them. We would really appreciate any contribution you could make!

Junior High Deaf School and Senior High Students Art Show
This project aims to hold an Art Show that will be organized by Visual Arts Education Volunteers and their Ghanian counterparts working throughout the country. The program will involve a total of 12 volunteers and counterparts, half of whom are working in schools for the deaf. Each volunteer will select two of their brightest visual arts students to represent their school in a week-long exhibition and creative workshop in Cape Coast. During the week, students will participate in an art exhibition hosted by the Cape Coast Castle, where they will display their works as well as those of their fellow classmates back home. The exhibition will be open to the general public as well as invited members of the Ghana Education Service and its Special Education Division. Following an opening ceremony and cultural performances, attendees will have an opportunity to browse the exhibit and purchase any of the items that might be for sale. Throughout the remainder of the week, students will participate in two different art workshops aimed at improving student’s vocational art skills. The workshops will engage students in hands-on activities in the disciplines of batik fabric-making and screen-printing. Towards the end of the program students will have the opportunity to visit Elmina’s Castle and Kakum National Park, two premiere attractions in Ghana’s Central Region that will inspire the children’s creativity. Overall, the project aims to provide the participants with the opportunity to visit areas of their country they might otherwise never have the opportunity to see, engage with students from other schools and, in the end, come away with knowledge and skills that improve their capacity for attaining income-generating employment when they are finished with school.
To donate go to:
https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=641-259

To see pictures from last years show go to:

www.flickr.com/photos/peacecorpsartshow

Christmas in Azua

Surprize... children in Azua actually own clothes... they wear them on Christmas!

hot season is here...

Time has flown these past few months! This past fall I was busy in training and then had an awsome trip with my parents and brother to Spain and Italy. After we were there they all came to join me in Ghana for about a week and a half. It was great to travel with them becasue I got to see alot of places in Ghana I havent had the chance to visit. We went to Wli waterfalls outside of Hohoe and went hiking there, we got to stay by the Akosombo Dam and visit the slave castle in Elmina. They also got to come and visit my site and meet all the people I am living and working with. We had a busy trip but also got to do alot!
Since then we had an All-Volunteers conference, I got to experience the Presidential Elections here in Ghana and we celebrated Christmas in Azua (on Jan.2, not sure why). I look at the things I have accomplished since then and it doesnt really seem like alot, but everything in Ghana just takes so long. Traveling is a pain becasue of waiting for the car to fill can take half the day, meetings can take hours just because people dont come on time and you have to keep waiting for ppl to show up, just buying groceries takes a day of biking to market, interacting with each individual market women, "enjoying market" with friends and then a hour bike ride home again. The pace of life is definately alot slower here! Im now filling my days with HIV programs at the schools in the surrounding communities, working on a literacy project at the local primary school, meeting with the women's group, helping to find new sites in the area for volunteers and organizing education about and planting Moringa in the community.
It's hard to believe how fast the time has gone and I know these last 8 months or so will go by even faster! I cant wait to see everyone and always love getting updates from home. Thanks for all the cards and notes, especially for Christmas! Take care and hope I can write more soon.

Ghana updates...

So this whole blog thing doesnt work so well when it takes me a full day to get to the internet but I hope I can update u all a little. Im am still enjoying life in the village. I love the people there and feel like slowly slowly things are getting done. I have gotten buys these past few months with a malaria/ mosquito net project, farming, PEPFAR HIV conference, HIV days at our differnt sites in the district, teaching at the school and a painting an HIV mural and huge world map with the students. We also did a big program on family planning with the local football teams where the teams made up dramas to teach ppl about family planning.

I am also really excited that two students from Azua made it into high school and are leaving this week to go to school. We also have 4 girls going to middle school this year- up from 0 from the previous year. I love working with the students- mainly because they speak english and are so helpful. They are also alot of fun and always wanting to learn.

The rains have come these past few months which has made life so much more bearable- it also saves alot of fetching water time.

I am also a trainer for the new group of PCVs who have just arrived in country this past month. This week and the next few weeks I will be with them in the new trainging site, Kukuruntumi. Its interesting to be in the south. Things in the South of Ghana are alot more developed and western... while its nice to have internet and nicer roads somehow I like the village alot more!

So thats all my time for today... coming up... trip to Spain and Italy next month with my family and then their trip to Ghana!

HIV DAY

In the district there are 8 PCVs. Together we are working on a big HIV/AIDS project. We have events planned for a day and are traveling to each out our each villages/towns to hold the event. In the morning, we have a program at the school—with the help of the teachers we teach the students about HIV using different games and activities. There are four stations—one teaching about the spread of HIV, one is to demonstrate what happens when a person gets HIV and the immune system is weakened, one teaching about the ABCs of HIV (A abstain B be faithful C Condom Use) using a activity called narrow bridges. The last station is showing a video about HIV, written by and for African students. After the groups, a nurse from the nearby hospital came to talk with the students. We had a quick lunch and then brought out the speakers! In the small villages having “jams” (music) on the big speakers is a huge event and draws a lot of attention. So with the dancing and speakers which brought in the crowds we had stations with a HIV/AIDS myth and fact game, pictures to lead to discussions about HIV and a condom demonstrations for the community members. The nurse gave them a talk as well and we continued with a football (soccer) game. The PCVs and the teachers teamed up against the town football team for a fun match. During half time, a group of students did a drama/ demonstration called clinking glasses to show how easy it is to spread HIV and to teach community members about protecting themselves from HIV. In the evening, we finished up with a free video show that was a great hit. Using the Senarios from Africa videos again, we showed short videos about HIV to the village.

So far, we have done the program in two of our villages. We still have 6 more plus a big finale in the district capital. Though it’s a tiring day, the two so far have been great sussesses! Most of our funding is coming from a PEPFAR (Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) proposal we wrote but we are also getting funding from the Peace Corps Partnership Program. The PCPP program is a way for people at home to contribute to PCV projects. Check out our project at www.peacecoprs.gov Go to Donate now, and then search under the Ghana projects to find it. Its under the name Joe Pierce, one of the PCV in the district. Thanks so much!!