Last Shipment to Blessing Baskets for Me

When I first came to live in my village I was involved in a

shipment of baskets for Blessing Baskets.  We had a scanner

and new tags to try and make sense of for all those that work

here in Ghana.

Now two years later and it is my last one. 

We worked 7 am to 7 pm (okay the guys spent

the night finishing up the leather while I slept and

I went home when they started loading the truck)

but I was there and working!!!

The leather men were

working hard to get the handles finished on the bags as

I got there that morning.

Here is a beautiful

basket, scanner in hand and look at all those behind me I

still have to scan (oh alright I had a helper).

As we were going

through the baskets a SECOND TIME I thought if I scanned

myself it could just quit, did not work.  When I complained

that we were scanning a second time to find missing baskets

Abdulai the director said hey you white people made the computer

and we can’t help it if it does not work.  Oh what can you say when

he is right he is right!!!

It is dark outside

and we have scanned all of these.  The truck is outside

but to dark to take pictures.  I was so tired, dirty and hungry

but I knew it was another last for me. 

30 more Days!!!!

My last Feast in Ghana

 

My last Feast in Ghana

Mercy and JaLem making rice balls for the ground nut soupl

 

Papee  is making the ground nut soup.

 

Field has just been picked and

corn dropped off so the men get together and shuck the corn.  That is

my bedroom window where the green leaves and ground nuts are stacked.

My room smelled good when I went inside.

Corn corn they will dry it in the sun

then they will push the kernels off then it will go to mill to make flour.

Parents are busy so we will take water

sachets fill our mouths full of water and spit at you.  See the cooler in the back

that will be full of food for the feast when they finish cooking.

Everyone in the kitchen waiting to

eat and sneaking bites.  Sounds like Thanksgiving at home.

Kids waiting for dinner

to be ready.  Peter in back got food somewhere but they did

not want him to share they were waiting……

Everyone had a wonderful Sallah and my last. 

Keeping Busy until the day of departure!!!

   What do you do when you only have 40 days left in Country.

Paint Maps on School walls sooo… Olivia and I started She lead, I was “gofer” since she has done

this so many time.  This is at one of our JHS in our village.                                                                             

 

Here is the primary school on the complete other side of the village.  Master

James has helped us get this together.  Our work platform did not show so here we are getting Olivia safely up into the

air..but since she could only reach so far we were not able to make as big of a map as we wanted.  This is Ghana also.

 

Getting lots of volunteers to help paint at JHS.  Did I mention it was

unbelievably hot today.  I know we were in the 100’s with humidity at 96 we sweated and were so hot that

we just ate a kind bar until we quit for the day and had a bath. 

          

Master James younger brother wanted to help

so we got a chair for each of them and they started going.  We ask him to take off his shirt

because he has just come from Church and we did not want it to get ruined.  He helped with

the WHOLE Map of Ghana.

 

 

This young boy came up.  He had made himself

a hat out of liquor sachets.  I was laughing so hard he started to leave but I told him I

was not laughing at him and the older kids told him it was okay that I take a picture.  Nothing

goes to waste it is either made into a toy, tool, or something to read!!!

 

We have another couple days of work especially on the world map.  If you do Facebook you

can see the beginnings. 

Oktober Fest

Won’t write much as you can see it was a very successful day.  Face paint took a while to get started

so I did it too.  Peace Corps girls were so wonderful in doing this.  Baskets, kente cloth from the kids
vocational class at the Deaf School in Volta Region where Kyndra volunteered at booth,

Food, (Allison and Dwayne my wonderful friends and family in Accra),  drummers, David with small
coin purses I bought, children learning how to play African

instruments.  My baskets craft men were very pleased with the days work, Scott from the School for the deaf, and Allison were very pleased with the turn out.

400+ people showed up.  Was well worth all the work they did and I was so pleased to be involved in the setting up.  We are all tired but very happy.