Today I did Habitat for Humanity in a village 3 hours away from Accra. The landscape completely changed on our drive out to the village. It was incredibly green with plantain trees everywhere and mountains too. We got to the village around 10am and were quickly set to work carrying 30 pound mortar bricks that they had made in advance. It was completely exhausting and I got scraped up a bit with a few bricks that crumbled in my hands, but I hung in there as long as possible. Mychaela and I decided to sneak away for a bit and explore the village to meet some locals before finding the other group to help with their duties. We met a few children and used the words that Fred had taught us the day before to greet the people. We even stopped to talk to a few children and ladies carrying water on their heads. Everyone was incredibly friendly and happy that we were there to help. Once we found the other group shoveling buckets of dirt into another house structure we decided that this job would be a good change because our forearms were completely scratched. For the rest of the day we worked with a pick, shovel and tin pale to transfer earth into a house and bring the floor level up to the same height as the brick. Again, it was hard work but a welcomed relief from our morning duties. For lunch we had traditional rice with spicy sauce and plantains. I absolutely love the food here- it is so flavorful!
After lunch I saw a little boy that I had met coming back from school earlier in the day. I went to talk to him because he was shy and standing back from the group a little bit. One of the adults told me that his father had passed away several days prior due to sickness. Julian, was 10 years old, the youngest of three children, so intelligent, loved math, and wanted to be a ‘bank money man’ when he grows up. I brought with me a teddy bear wearing a Semester at Sea t-shirt to give away and this was the perfect opportunity. I think Julian really liked it. I wish there was some way that I could help him more.
After finishing a long day’s work and covered from head to toe in dirt, we headed back on our 3 hour drive to the ship. Mychaela and I did a speedy turn around and went to grab dinner in Accra before meeting our friends. It was another fun, exhausting day in Ghana!
No comments:
Post a Comment