Yet another life changing experience (First day volunteering)

I woke up last Wednesday morning completely unsure of what to expect, with not much else on me other than some handwritten, potentially unclear directions. I managed to make it to the tro-tro station (the bus system here, which is really just a van-type vehicle that gets packed with people) and figured out which one to take AND got off at the right stop. It was a great sign to start the day with, because, knowing myself, and transportation in Ghana, it easily could have gone completely haywire. From that stop, Stacy and John picked me up. We talked the whole way to the site and every part of the conversation furthered my strong belief that they're two of the most amazing people in the world.
They're working really hard to stop child trafficking, and aiming for the heart of the problem, and trying to help women who are impoverished and susceptible to selling their children for survival. John and Stacy are starting their own water company, not for personal profit but to employ 28 single mothers and bring filtered water to an area that doesn't otherwise have access to any. They find as many ways as they can to employ single women (training them in business, exporting some of their crafts to the states so the women can make greater profit, etc.) as well as local members of the community who otherwise cannot find work.

When I got there, I went right to the school where I was given a computer program that's designed to teach English. I began the day by tutoring the kids one-on-one which was really great. Each one was so eager to learn, not only the program but have a chance to use the computer-many of them had no idea how to use it. Each kid got to do two lessons but many of them continued to crowd around, wanting more. One of the girls sat next to me when she was done with her school work and watched all the other kids go through the program. Even though I was busy and couldn't play with her, looking over at her big smile every few minutes made me smile every time.
We worked on that for the whole morning which was really nice. There are cooks in the house who make lunch every day, a few of the children go to the house and bring the food back. I wasn't expecting much, I was happy to be fed but the food was actually amazing! I ate with the other teachers, Aunty Autumn and Uncle Mark and it was really nice getting to know them, Mark gave me one of the best oranges I've ever had after lunch. Not only was I happy, but my stomach and taste buds were beyond pleasantly satisfied :)
Several of the students were missing, training for a sporting event they had the next day, so they were missing from school. Because of that, they decided to end school early and finish the day with an art project. We were drawing pictures of landscape together and it was really fun, two of the girls I was sitting with (one of whom was the girl I was sitting with earlier) were trying to copy my picture, one of them got really upset when I wouldn't draw her picture for her but she ended up making a beautiful picture in the end. The other one was eagerly learning how to add to her picture, and seemed to be having a great time. The teachers gave out starburst and she insisted I have her red one, it was really adorable.
After the project, we went back to the house where I hung out for a few hours. All the children were there, the younger kids and the kids who had been away training came home so the house got busy very quickly. Two of the boys asked me to help them with their homework, two of the younger rascals were climbing on me and tickling me, one of the boys was playing tic-tac-toe with me and learning how to draw people with me. By the end, he drew one by himself and told Aunty Autumn "Look! I Did it by myself! Aunty Elizabeth taught me and I tried as hard as I could!!" He was so proud of himself and couldn't stop beaming. It was such a small but warming moment. I loved being able to do so many different things with so many different children at the same time, I felt I was truly getting a full experience and I doubt this description can even come close to accounting for my feelings. I came home truly feeling like it was one of the best days of my life (and there was still a Bob Marley birthday party at reggae night on the beach, so the day was only bound to improve).

John and Stacy drove me back to Tema where I took a shared taxi home. I think in the future I'll be doing some one on one art therapy with the students. The staff expressed the need for a counselor and they all loved doing art, and one on one attention is always good, so that'll be really fun and rewarding. I'll still work in the classroom like I did the first day though and do some group projects as well. I'm also excited for the reality tour we do at Lake Volta when we visit the village because Stacy told me last year they had a day camp that was really successful for 200-300 children in the area. She asked me to lead a group art project so I'm currently brainstorming and trying to figure out how to supply that, but I think it could be really incredible. I'm going back early tomorrow where some kids from Semester at Sea will also be volunteering because City of Refuge is going to a village to feed over 1000 women and children (I'm telling you, these people are the most incredible and selfless humans on the planet!). Apparently it's a really intense dash for the food and difficult for the volunteers, so I may have some stories for the next post about this experience.

I'll write another post about our incredible trip to Cape Coast and all life outside of volunteering, so feel free to check back to read about that tomorrow!

I'm going to be obnoxious and post another link to City of Refuge just in case any one is interested in donating to this amazing organization! If you want to donate to the arts specifically, put "Elizabeth Tulsky Art Program" as the Memo. Thanks so much! http://www.cityofrefugeoutreach.com/