Below is a quick recap on what happened during 4H last week, brief description of what we did on the farm, and how 4H and soccer went today. My heart wasn't broken until today, so read through to understand why:
4H 7/8: A Week of Answered Prayer
Last Sunday, I arrived at the school 10 minutes early to meet with the 4H club members. I wanted to take time to get things set up before the students showed up at 2pm and set an example for the students. I figured they'd all be late despite my asking they be there early. I must say I was completely shocked and super excited when I saw the 4H student leaders at the school when I got there. They arrived early just as I had asked of them! This, I felt, was a huge step in the right direction for maintaining a standard in the organization of the club.
Jon and I spent some time dreaming and labeling the necessary values that need to be instilled in this group of students. Timeliness is one of them. We also thought that a constructive form of competition would be extremely beneficial as well. I realized how much I have taken for granted the level of competition that is instilled in us as Americans. Not only do we experience it in the early years with trying out different recreational sports, we also see it everyday when we get older- our capitalist economy thrives off of competition. The other key value that I realized we need to implement is creativity. Creativity is not something that can be taught; it must be experienced. I thought a day coloring would be a great way to gauge the level of creativity in the group, so I brought paper and crayons with me last week.
My excitement during last week's meeting was sustained for most of the time there. The students were responsive to my teaching on what is corn, how does it grow, what does it need to flourish, etc. When it came time to color, I gave simple guidelines: write the 4 H's (head, heart, hands, health) and be free to decorate as you like. Wow was that tough. I had to quickly color several examples to give them the understanding that the only instruction was to have the 4 H's. Some of them got it, others just copied one of my examples. But it was a great exercise! They eventually had fun with it, using different colors, looking at each others' drawings of heads and hearts, and talking amongst themselves. It was a step towards encouraging creativity. Below is a collage of some of their work:
4H 7/13: A 34% Attendance Rate
Man was I excited for 4H earlier today! We had a fun week on the farm (as you can tell) and I had a plan that would set the ball rolling for the weeks to come. Since it is our goal to empower the students to create their own school garden, several steps must be taken before we start planting. For starters, we need to find a place to create the garden. That was the plan for today until I got there. I was four minutes late for our 2 o'clock start time and was not happy with myself. (How can I demand timeliness when I'm late?) Much to my surprise, the crowd from last week was not present. Only three students and Francis, the teacher, were there. By 2:30, ten students had shown up. I was not only annoyed, confused, and frustrated, but I was sad, too. I have quickly grown to care for this project and get excited during the "wins." I was not expecting a loss so soon after last week.
My heart broke as I allowed myself to examine the growing cycle before me. These children are not instilled with a culture of commitment. It will carry the men to the point of abandoning their pregnant girlfriends and cause the women to drop out of school. As I focused back on the students before me, I realized how quickly the innocent faces will change when they are asked to commit to something far more serious than a school club. Trying not to lose a grip on myself, I channeled my emotions into creating a new plan for the day.
I decided it was important to stick to the 2pm to 3pm timeframe, so I shortened the plan. Instead of a recap of last week, garden description, garden location choosing, then net ball, we would only do the garden description. I took some time to explain to the students why I was there. I told them (in broken English since they understand it better), "I come from America to do 4H with you. I am here today for 4H with ALL of you. If you do not want to be here, that is fine- I will return to America." I told the president of the club that it is his job to encourage the other students to come each week and to be on time- that without their attendance, we won't get anything done. I let it sink in for a minute and then proceeded to conjure up a laugh by promising "spankings" the next time they do not show and told them I would bring something special for those that came this week.
We had a productive rest of the meeting during which I explained in full what our plan is for the school garden. The students and I brainstormed what kind of seeds we want to plant in our half-acre garden plot. Our ideas ranged from pineapple to tomatoes to casava- all great things to plant here. The students were also able to wrap their heads around the big picture: the plan to cultivate, plant, grow, harvest, sell, repeat (emphasis on the sell). We want to expose them to the farming market cycle beyond what they are used to seeing (grow, harvest, eat, repeat). We stopped at 3 since several of us had a match to attend!
Football in Agbokpa (sp?)
First off- I am SO mad at myself. I forgot to put my battery in my camera after charging it! Today was not the day! With that, I will only have one picture to share of my experience on the field (no videos today, dad)...
The match was set to begin at 3:30pm. I arrived at 3, thinking I would miss the warm-ups and such but was surprised to find no one was there yet. (Why do I keep expecting some level of timeliness?!?) By 4 some people started to show up and by 5 a crowd had formed. I had an awkward encounter when trying to find out if I was for sure playing or not. Through the language barrier I found out that they did not know I was on the team but wanted me to play anyway. By 6, I was in full uniform on the field, starting at striker.
I quickly evolved my position to an attacking midfielder since there seemed to be a constant gap between the offense and defense. The opposing team was strong, fast, and united. They were from Kotoso, the major village across the lake that I have talked about before. After about 20 minutes, we were down 1-0 and only had one or two looks on the net. The coach's words kept playing through my head, "You will staht at strikah. You can score fast and they will be no good to win."
I did not touch the ball often, but when I did, I made sure to do something with it. Whether it was a through ball to a striker, a driven pass to a wing, or a simple pass, I tried my best to prove myself on the field so that the other players would trust me with that scoring opportunity. I never received that perfect pass despite my efforts to stay open, so I decided to create the opportunity.
My right wing was racing down the sideline, passing each defender. He makes a move for the inside and stumbles, misplacing the ball. It bounces high enough for him to head it to the middle. I receive it on my right thigh and drop it to my foot. I can hear the women screaming on the end line- they want a goal! The defender behind me slashes at my ankle as I keep the ball in the air. I chest the ball forward to play a volley, but the ensuing defender pushes me from behind. The ball moves too quickly and I swing in desperation. I hope to connect and send the ball to the back of the net but my foot only finds dust-filled air and I fall to the ground. So much for that all-star white kid on the field...
4H 7/8: A Week of Answered Prayer
Last Sunday, I arrived at the school 10 minutes early to meet with the 4H club members. I wanted to take time to get things set up before the students showed up at 2pm and set an example for the students. I figured they'd all be late despite my asking they be there early. I must say I was completely shocked and super excited when I saw the 4H student leaders at the school when I got there. They arrived early just as I had asked of them! This, I felt, was a huge step in the right direction for maintaining a standard in the organization of the club.
Jon and I spent some time dreaming and labeling the necessary values that need to be instilled in this group of students. Timeliness is one of them. We also thought that a constructive form of competition would be extremely beneficial as well. I realized how much I have taken for granted the level of competition that is instilled in us as Americans. Not only do we experience it in the early years with trying out different recreational sports, we also see it everyday when we get older- our capitalist economy thrives off of competition. The other key value that I realized we need to implement is creativity. Creativity is not something that can be taught; it must be experienced. I thought a day coloring would be a great way to gauge the level of creativity in the group, so I brought paper and crayons with me last week.
My excitement during last week's meeting was sustained for most of the time there. The students were responsive to my teaching on what is corn, how does it grow, what does it need to flourish, etc. When it came time to color, I gave simple guidelines: write the 4 H's (head, heart, hands, health) and be free to decorate as you like. Wow was that tough. I had to quickly color several examples to give them the understanding that the only instruction was to have the 4 H's. Some of them got it, others just copied one of my examples. But it was a great exercise! They eventually had fun with it, using different colors, looking at each others' drawings of heads and hearts, and talking amongst themselves. It was a step towards encouraging creativity. Below is a collage of some of their work:
I left the meeting feeling energized and encouraged by our time together. Over 30 students came and most of them were on time. That was a win in my book!
The Past Week on the Farm
Hamza and I helped out on the farm again for the week. Much of our involvement is learning, watching, and providing "professional" insight into how that piece of dirt should be placed (I'm probably being facetious). We have a great time doing it and always end the day with a smile. Ghanaians love to laugh! And I'm so thankful for that.
We planted more corn this week and realized that birds have figured out how to pluck the planted seeds out of the ground and consume them. This, obviously, is not ok since we're trying to grow those seeds. While trying to discourage their eating habits, quickly learned that slingshots are not accurate, a bow and arrow is not effective, and there was only one shot gun shell in the ammo box. So we decided to "hire" two more employees for the farm to stand guard night and day. The best part is they don't require pay! Below is a series of how we managed to find these amazing employees:
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| Step 1: Cut grass and get clothes |
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| Step 2: Stuff clothes with grass. Remember to smile. |
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| Step 3: Sew shirt to pants with dental floss |
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| Step 4: Assemble employees for Afram Gothic photo shoot |
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| Step 5: Pose with Elvis |
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| Step 5.5: Pose with JLo |
Hopefully you can tell the different level of scarecrow creation abilities between Hamza and I. We spent about the same amount of time on them and his looks amazing! I decided to leave the bottom half of Elvis out of picture since he is fairly self conscious about his image...
Man was I excited for 4H earlier today! We had a fun week on the farm (as you can tell) and I had a plan that would set the ball rolling for the weeks to come. Since it is our goal to empower the students to create their own school garden, several steps must be taken before we start planting. For starters, we need to find a place to create the garden. That was the plan for today until I got there. I was four minutes late for our 2 o'clock start time and was not happy with myself. (How can I demand timeliness when I'm late?) Much to my surprise, the crowd from last week was not present. Only three students and Francis, the teacher, were there. By 2:30, ten students had shown up. I was not only annoyed, confused, and frustrated, but I was sad, too. I have quickly grown to care for this project and get excited during the "wins." I was not expecting a loss so soon after last week.
My heart broke as I allowed myself to examine the growing cycle before me. These children are not instilled with a culture of commitment. It will carry the men to the point of abandoning their pregnant girlfriends and cause the women to drop out of school. As I focused back on the students before me, I realized how quickly the innocent faces will change when they are asked to commit to something far more serious than a school club. Trying not to lose a grip on myself, I channeled my emotions into creating a new plan for the day.
I decided it was important to stick to the 2pm to 3pm timeframe, so I shortened the plan. Instead of a recap of last week, garden description, garden location choosing, then net ball, we would only do the garden description. I took some time to explain to the students why I was there. I told them (in broken English since they understand it better), "I come from America to do 4H with you. I am here today for 4H with ALL of you. If you do not want to be here, that is fine- I will return to America." I told the president of the club that it is his job to encourage the other students to come each week and to be on time- that without their attendance, we won't get anything done. I let it sink in for a minute and then proceeded to conjure up a laugh by promising "spankings" the next time they do not show and told them I would bring something special for those that came this week.
We had a productive rest of the meeting during which I explained in full what our plan is for the school garden. The students and I brainstormed what kind of seeds we want to plant in our half-acre garden plot. Our ideas ranged from pineapple to tomatoes to casava- all great things to plant here. The students were also able to wrap their heads around the big picture: the plan to cultivate, plant, grow, harvest, sell, repeat (emphasis on the sell). We want to expose them to the farming market cycle beyond what they are used to seeing (grow, harvest, eat, repeat). We stopped at 3 since several of us had a match to attend!
Football in Agbokpa (sp?)
First off- I am SO mad at myself. I forgot to put my battery in my camera after charging it! Today was not the day! With that, I will only have one picture to share of my experience on the field (no videos today, dad)...
The match was set to begin at 3:30pm. I arrived at 3, thinking I would miss the warm-ups and such but was surprised to find no one was there yet. (Why do I keep expecting some level of timeliness?!?) By 4 some people started to show up and by 5 a crowd had formed. I had an awkward encounter when trying to find out if I was for sure playing or not. Through the language barrier I found out that they did not know I was on the team but wanted me to play anyway. By 6, I was in full uniform on the field, starting at striker.
I quickly evolved my position to an attacking midfielder since there seemed to be a constant gap between the offense and defense. The opposing team was strong, fast, and united. They were from Kotoso, the major village across the lake that I have talked about before. After about 20 minutes, we were down 1-0 and only had one or two looks on the net. The coach's words kept playing through my head, "You will staht at strikah. You can score fast and they will be no good to win."
I did not touch the ball often, but when I did, I made sure to do something with it. Whether it was a through ball to a striker, a driven pass to a wing, or a simple pass, I tried my best to prove myself on the field so that the other players would trust me with that scoring opportunity. I never received that perfect pass despite my efforts to stay open, so I decided to create the opportunity.
My right wing was racing down the sideline, passing each defender. He makes a move for the inside and stumbles, misplacing the ball. It bounces high enough for him to head it to the middle. I receive it on my right thigh and drop it to my foot. I can hear the women screaming on the end line- they want a goal! The defender behind me slashes at my ankle as I keep the ball in the air. I chest the ball forward to play a volley, but the ensuing defender pushes me from behind. The ball moves too quickly and I swing in desperation. I hope to connect and send the ball to the back of the net but my foot only finds dust-filled air and I fall to the ground. So much for that all-star white kid on the field...
They subbed me off shortly before half to "give me a break." As I sought water, the Kotoso team scored again and the sidelines turned into a mess. Fingers pointing, faces sweating, the men next to me screamed orders. Before I knew it, it was halftime and I was waiting for the coach to bring us in a huddle. My scattered teammates stayed scattered and I stood back to watch and wait for someone to take charge. Random (random to me at least) men from the sidelines sought out specific players and recommenced the yelling. I turned to my new friend George and asked him what they were saying. He answered, "They tell the players what they do wrong." I turned back to the small pockets of my teammates faced by yelling men and my heart broke for the second time today.
I realized that the focus of the game was on how each individual played. The men from the sidelines had a stockpile of the specific plays that each individual failed to make the best decision or failed to perform correctly. I still stood waiting for the coach to bring the team together and address them as a whole. He never did.
Engrained in this African culture is the value of self. It is an excellent value to maintain and strengthen but it is debilitating if it is not accompanied with the value of a team. My "team" never played as a team the way I define it: a group working together to achieve a desired goal. Yes, each player worked towards the desired goal (winning) and at times we experienced seamless spurts of collaboration, but at the end of the day we were never addressed as a team and never played as a team.
I'm not talking through this to make a point about soccer nor did my heart break from the outcome of the meaningless game. I saw how this inability to work together is arguably a learned trait from their prominent and political leaders. A nation with potentially endless resources is stuck in a state of underdevelopment because influential leaders, entrenched in the value of self, find corruption as a means to benefit themselves.
While all of this raced through my head on the side of the field, I felt a tug on my shorts. Innocence (yes that is his name), the son of one of the women that works on the farm, was looking up at me with a blank stare. I realized that not only was Innocence looking at me but innocence was, too. The mind behind the eyes of each one of these children here is constantly observing, listening, reflecting, and mimicking. Innocence will be lost in this world all too quickly as the values of the surrounding culture mold the mind. I can't help but look into each one of their eyes and wonder what they see, how they perceive it, and whether they will decide it will be good to model or not...