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!!

more pics... im trying

Building the chicken's house... you cant really see the house (made from mud and cow dung and sticks) but these are the helpers.

My behind the house neighbors-- Joshua and Nasandi (and baby Lena in the back). I absolutly love their family. The father speaks english too so thats always helpful.

The cheif and elders and a bunch of random people at my naming ceremony. So they gave me a name in the local language-- Kokomba so everyone calls me Bintreme, not Becka. No one really even knows my real name, its kinda funny.

site...

Me and my Landlord's wife... shes awsome


Beautiful little girls! Sitting in my compund playing a game.

So its been a long time!!!

Wow... so this is the first time ive gotten the blog to work since Ive been at site. Im not really sure where to begin. First of all thanks so much for all the birthday messages, letters over the past few months and packages. Though we dont get our mail delivered too often up here, I am always so happy to hear from people at home!!
Ive been living in Azua for exactly 4 months now and have really enjoyed it so far. Ive started to get busy with projects recently so thats good. My closest PC neighbor got moved to South Africa, so that was sad, but I still get to meet up with other PCVs in Nkwanta every few weeks or so. Nkwanta is the old district capital (they just split the disctict into 2 and i now live in Nkwanta-North) the closest place to use a computer. There is a World Vision Office here and they let us use them. Im getting to work on some projects with World Vision and am really happy about that. After sponsoring a kid through them when I was in high school, its really cool to see the money they raise being used for projects in the community.
So i ride my bike alot here! The cars that come by where i am arent really relable plus its expensive, so its alot easier to ride my bike. I travel around to the surrounding villages alot as well as working in Azua.