Operation Ghana

Monday May 12, 2008

If yesterday was the longest day ever, today was the shortest day ever. I woke up, showered, had a protein shake, then Deb and I met up with marco to walk to town. It was already 3:00PM. Curry, Erin and Michelle went to Accra this morning to meet with folks at the Department of Special Ed., talk through the agenda and to make sure everyone expected was going to show up. Brian and Amy went to the internet cafe. The internet cafe is now just up the road at the YMCA! It costs 40 cents for 30 minutes.

We stopped by the internet cafe but did not see Brian or Amy. I hopped on-line and sent out a few email messages - to Aaron, Emilie and my mom. I tried to blog but the site would not load. I could only get on yahoo. The funny thing was not all of the keys on the keyboard were in the correct places, so if you are someone who looks at the keyboard to compose a letter, you are hosed!

Deb, Marco and I walked to town. Deb bought a bath towel. Actually Marco bought it, on Deb’s behalf. We bought oranges, mangos, and bread. Marco bout the things he needed for his dinner that night. While he bought his groceries I asked the woman there if I could take a picture of her store. She said, “no.” Oh well.

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Sunday May 11th 2008 - Evening

Today has been the longest day ever! It is hot and humid! Actually it is SO hot and SO humid! The tro-tro picked us up at the airport. It was interesting to take the drive to Mampong again. It wasn’t so foreign this time.

When we arrived, Marco was waiting. He helped us unload our bags. He had already set up the bunk beds for us. Everyone settled in and took naps. It is really hot… did I already say that? We are sweaty and yucky!

After the nap we went up to see both headmasters and let them know we are here. As we came up the road, the children came running. I don’t even know that they necessarily recognized me. I just think that they hug first and ask questions later. I wish I remembered more names. There were a few name signs I magically pulled from the deep recesses. They didn’t all remember my name - so I guess we are even. Remember the little girl who took my hand and led me up to the classroom where the picture was of me and Alex and Leah? She ran up to me. I asked her name. She showed me her name sign, a “T” tapping at her hip. She doesn’t know how to finger spell her name and her name is not written on her dress. I asked her age and she looked away. Another little boy told me, “She is new. She doesn’t know sign.” (SIGH) I smiled and told him, “Good! You can help her learn!” “T” tapping at her hip stood in front of me, then turned her back to me and wrapped my arms around her so she could swing from my arms. I’ve spent hours thinking about her, trying to figure out what it would take to give her a useful and meaningful vocabulary. I guess like always I would need to show her the sign, the word and the image.

We stopped by Dora’s. She wasn’t home.

Right as we returned to the cottage, it started to rain. Then it started to pour! I heard a familiar but unidentified sound. The sound was like an Australian didjeridoo. It was familiar because it had kept me awake a number of nights in January. Turns out it’s a frog.

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Sunday May 11th 2008 (morning)

I am happy to report we landed and other than the outburst of applause it seemed pretty normal.  Come to think of it, is it normal for everyone on a flight to hold their breathe simultaneously?  I guess not.

This time there are seven of us.  Curry and Erin are the founders of Signs Of Hope International.  Brian is head of Deaf Studies at UVU.  Two past SOHI volunteers are here, Michelle and Amy.  Amy is here through July.  She is arriving a week before the rest of the volunteers.  Then there is me and Deb.  Deb met up with us at JFK airport.  She flew in from Washington DC.

We just had breakfast on the plane.  We will land in Accra in one hour.  DonKwa will be there with the tro-tro.  I have to smile!!  No, it wasn’t just a dream last January.  It was, and IS real!

May 10, 2008

This morning I left for Ghana. I stayed up until 3 or 4 in the morning packing. I am only going to be gone for 6 days, but you should see the size of my suitcase. It weighs over 65 pounds, mostly because of the Signing Time books and flash cards I am bringing.

The toughest thing about preparing for this trip has been making sure that Leah and Lucy are covered after school, Monday through Thursday. We are in production on new shows, so Aaron, my husband is booked solid. We have a tight schedule and he is responsible for a number of areas on top of editing.

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It is official!! I am going back to Ghana this Saturday! Are you floored? So am I. A few months ago I was invited to return for a meeting with a number of worldwide organizations to discuss what is working, what is not working and how to sustain the successful programs in the future. When I got the invite I was so excited, I checked the dates and saw that even though my May was pretty full, I could make it work if I left for Ghana on May 10th and returned the 16th.

The idea of such a short trip with such LONG flights was a little daunting, but when I thought of the future impact for those children, there was no question if it was “worth” so an express time zone turn around. Then I looked at the finances of it. When we went to Ghana in January we raised just enough money. There was no extra. Now what? I will be honest with you. I felt silly coming back to the hundreds of you who donated a few months ago to say, “Well shall we do this again?” I just didn’t think I could handle the stress of fundraising while in the middle of producing some new shows.

I sent an email saying I would not be able to attend, unless someone could somehow pay for my airfare.

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