Ever since I was little, I've been especially vulnerable to silly obsessions. My first craze was probably my older brother (not to say I don't still love and look up to him). Next came aliens, dolphins, softball, chocolate, avocados, museums... you get the idea. Somewhere along the lines, I became incredibly invested in working with little children. I've actually known I wanted to work with kids since I first decided I wanted to be a social worker when I was about 15. So it probably won't come as a huge surprise that my latest obsession seems to be the children I work with at City of Refuge. And most every child I've interacted with while here, for that matter.
I'll start with the reality tour. When I got home from the reality tour, I went through all 400 squares the children drew. Again. And again. Each one completely fascinated me. After about the 6th time looking through them, I was picking up on all the patterns and decided to try to sort the images. There were several distinct categories. Some of the children drew a single image, others drew several images that had no relationship with one another, some simply scribbled and a small few drew integrated pictures.
Among the single images, many were birds, and many were trees. There were a few chairs, desks and books and the occasional car but very little beyond that. Most of the pictures that had multiple images were random assortments of the above list.
The most prominent image across the board, not surprisingly was the human image. This came in single form, multiple form and picture form. It was really interesting to see the way the children portrayed themselves and the world around them in small bits. Also, many of the children had never been to school or taught how to hold a pencil, so that added another element to the project I hadn't necessarily anticipated initially. Teaching some of the kids how to create original designs with the magical sticks of color, I tend to think of as pens, was pretty miraculous. The looks on their little faces as they realized they could move the marker around to create whatever they wanted on the fabric was so special. It's no surprise that the little things in life are the ones that count because they're the things that add a personal dynamic to every day life, no matter what that life may be.
Each and every one of the kids at City of Refuge is incredible and sweet and fun. They just got a new baby at two weeks old who was found abandoned in a plastic bag and brought to the hospital where he was then brought to John and Stacy. His name is John and rocking his little body in my arms, feeding him and watching his little eyes drift to sleep was one of the more precious moments ever. He already has parents but it'll be about a year before the adoption is processed and they'll be able to take him home.
I want to go into detail about every child there but that would take up a lot of time and may get a little boring for some of you. But they're all playing a big role in my life and I can't even imagine how much I'm going to miss them all when I leave.
On Wednesday I went in for the kids' performance in downtown Doryumu. It's the end of the school term as all public schools go on a break for the next few weeks and as a final project, the school put on a program with plays, songs, dances and poetry. Not only did each of the children perform wonderfully but it was so great to see them achieving something so special to them. They were all so proud, and rightfully so. It was really great. And the turnout was pretty good, too. That was also important because the City of Refuge is opening the first public senior high school in Doryumu in August so it's really great that the town gets to know the school in that setting, hopefully inspiring kids to attend.
During the performance, four little girls became infatuated with me. I'm getting pretty tired of standing out and looking forward to being another anonymous face in the city. Getting called to by men, yelled at and begged for money every time you leave home gets pretty frustrating and exhausting. These girls made me really appreciate the attention, in that moment, however because they were all really great. Three of them were younger and did not know much English but got so much joy just playing with me that communicating with words was sort of unnecessary.
The fourth girl was older and spoke perfect English and was so unbelievably insightful. She asked me all about the United States and why I liked Ghana and concluded that people always yearn to go somewhere else and to learn about new places. She said if she came to the U.S. she would love it at first no matter what because it would be different and exciting. So many Ghanaians that I meet beg to come to the U.S. without even thinking about it. Like today, for example, we were filming for our documentary and a woman came up and asked what we were doing while interviewing tro-tro drivers. She couldn't fathom why these people were participating and cooperating. She kept asking "but what's in it for me?" Eventually proving to only be interested in the film if it meant she got to come to the states completely serious, without even considering the option of what happens after the honeymoon phase.
Children are just so amazing and inspirational, combining beautiful imaginations with a grounded outlook. This whole semester has been filled with great experiences. While I've learned a lot about myself and much of it is completely new, I'm glad to have confirmed something I already knew; working with kids is my passion. Or at least one of them because one of the things I've learned is there is certainly no reason to be limited to a single passion. And with more and more experience and knowledge of the world to be passionate about just one thing may be simply impossible.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
How to Help
Stacy and Johnbull run the organization City of Refuge Ministries, whose work I detailed in the blog below. If everyone who reads this goes to their website http://www.cityofrefugeoutreach.com/ and donates $10 online, it can help hundreds of enslaved children. It costs $500 just to rescue a kid from the lake which is before the costs of school admission, school uniform, food and housing in the children's new lives. If everyone contributes just a small amount, it can completely open a door to a new, positive life for enslaved, innocent, youth.
You can also see more pictures, get more informaiton and help spread the word by liking their facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/City-of-Refuge-Ministries-Ghana/182518605109380
You can also see more pictures, get more informaiton and help spread the word by liking their facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/City-of-Refuge-Ministries-Ghana/182518605109380
Monday, April 4, 2011
A Trip that Took "Life-Changing" to a Whole New Level
Looking at the 400 drawings by kids in Bejamse, a fishing community in the Volta region of Ghana, I can't help but feel overwhelming moved by the experience of the past weekend and the art work of the children. This weekend, City of Refuge (the organization I work for that works to put an end to child trafficking) took a group of students up to the Volta Lake for the Reality Tour. The trip allowed us to see the inner-workings of the organization itself and understand, first hand, the process of rescuing children and introducing social justice to communities. While you may have heard about other NGOs that work to stop child trafficking, I encourage you to read this posting as City of Refuge is unique and I have truly never felt more inspired than I do after what I experienced this weekend. I'll start from the beginning (and I know this is long, but please bear with me, as this was truly the most life-changing experience of my entire life):
We left Accra Thursday night and after about seven or eight hours of driving, got to a city called Dumbai where we got on a ferry to cross the lake. Once on the other side, we drove for a couple hours to Bejamse, where we were staying. Bejamse borders another part of the lake. The communities that lie on the water tend to be fishing communities with high populations of fishermen. These fishermen, unfortunately, tend to use enslaved children as workers. Many of these men have their own children and put them in school but purchase humans from other villages to work, from the age of as young as two for, potentially, their entire lives unless freed. The fishermen also tend to move around, living in one village, marrying a woman, having children and then fleeing, continuing the pattern and never looking back. This series of events leaves many women stranded as poor, single mothers. With no other means of supporting their children, much less themselves, the women have no opportunity for income and often fall susceptible to selling their own kids, thus providing fishermen with workers who have small enough hands to untangle fishing nets.
City of Refuge, prior to the excursion, was working with 7 villages in the Krachi District. On our first day there, we entered a new community. I had no idea what to expect of this, as John and Stacy (the founders of City of Refuge) had mentioned that the process was case-by-case and varied immensely between chiefs and villages and no two political or social systems were identical. We took a small boat across the portion of the lake Bejamse sat on, to the bank of the new community. While on the river, we passed several fishing boats full of children. We stopped to talk to them and met a child with two adults who informed us that the boy's master was in town but his parents were not. John asked the boy if he wanted to go to school and he timidly nodded his head. After handing him a lollypop, John promised he would get him into school soon and we rode off.
When we got to the village, there was music and dancing to celebrate the birth of the Chief's third grandchild. Filled with positive energy, we sat down and met with the chief and elders. John and Stacy do all their work and negotiations based on relations and trust alone. Many NGO's around the lake, however, free children with money, paying slave-owners to release their children which in turn continues the cycle of exploitation by creating a market for slaves. NGO's became impatient with the fishermen when they would not immediately agree, and began using force with the fishermen. This tactic resulted in 27 child deaths on the lake, as fishermen would beat their workers to hide the truth.
City of Refuge works in an opposite fashion and thus once we sat down with the chief, John explained the issue of child trafficking, why we were in the area, who it hurts, and how. The chief said he understood but that there were no enslaved children in the area, and all children attended school. He sent a school teacher with us to give us a tour of the town and the school itself. While on the tour, the teacher revealed that there was, in fact, a relatively high slave population among the children and the need for help. Just a few feet beyond the surface and music and dancing, we saw a different side of the community. Children were tying fishing nets, boys were as strong and built as athletic men, children were showing signs of malnutrition--bulging stomachs and skinny limbs (also a result of parasites), some children had irregular skin and hair (parasites) and some children were simply disabled. John and Stacy asked for the parents of the children, and tried to determine who was there wrongfully and who to contact about the sale of the children and thus how to rescue them.
Because we did not enter the village as the enemy, and came openly with information rather than aggression, we were able to enlighten many slave owners. Unfortunately, the process is incredibly cyclical and once enslaved, many children do not understand any other form of life. John told us a story of an interaction he had with a slave one time where he asked why the slave owner kept this child out of school. When the master responded that that was how he grew up, John asked how it made him feel. This direct relationship and personal question broke the master down and he realized there was a way to end the process, and let hid enslaved children free. Thus, many of the slave-owners, are not actually terrible people, although participating in terrible activity. By the end of our time in the community, people were coming up and admitting to owning slaves and asking what to do next, not wanting to keep these children from free, fair lives. In order to enhance the strong relationship within the community, John and Stacy agreed to donate desks and chairs to the school to ameliorate children's education and schooling experience. In response, the village gave us sodas to drink to reciprocate the generosity.
The community itself was somewhat twofold, which struck me as interesting. While one step farther into the community was injustice and cruelty, the outer layer was still filled with joy and dancing, which at the time, drew much of my attention. Here, I'm somewhat torn. It was so easy to respond to the positive energy but the images of the malnourished children have already started haunting me. I'm still not entirely sure the circumstances of the children we danced with, but regardless, it was fun to play with them and bring such joy and excitement to their faces.
After a delicious Waakye dinner and good nights sleep, we woke up for a busy day.
The morning was filled with preparation for a day camp and a feed. For the day camp, I was running an art program with about 400 kids (I'd estimate ages 1-12). I gave each kid a marker and a square of fabric and instructed them to draw something that was important to them. Many of the children had not been exposed to much art and were confused not only how to express themselves but, many were even unfamiliar with how to approach the technical aspect of art, even such fundamental tasks like how to open the top to a pen. Despite this, I am now sitting in my room with 400 beautiful drawings. Some have reflective representations of the self, or family, others drew trees, bibles, crosses, boats, and birds. While some kids did not know how to do much other than scribble, giving the children an opportunity to create something was really magical and they all really seemed to enjoy it. With the fabric squares, I plan to create a giant tapestry to go in the research facility City of Refuge plans to build in Bejamse, so all the children can view their work and the piece can stand as an inspiration for the future. My friend came up with a great plan with the students at New Horizons Special School putting the tapestry together in their workshop, so hopefully the quilt-making process will benefit another population and hold a powerful meaning as an entire piece.
As this was being prepared, food was simultaneously being packaged into boxes with deworming medicine and registration papers, to be taken to Gruby, another village nearby. That afternoon, we went about twenty minutes away and fed, registered and dewormed 300 kids. The registration process helps John and Stacy keep track of the children in the village so they know who lives there with their families and who has been trafficked and needs help getting out.
Completely overwhelmed with powerful experiences and intense emotions, we had a really successful debriefing that night. My peers and I discussed our interpretations of the weekend, which was interesting in and of itself as we're all from different backgrounds and, naturally, had different outlooks on the weekend. John and Stacy explained, in depth, more about their organization and their goals for the future. In order to truly achieve a paradigm shift, they need to work at the root of the problem, essentially then, the single mothers who are vulnerable to selling their children. To achieve this, they are starting several companies to employ and empower single women. One of the companies is a pure water company which will employ 28 single women.
Water in Ghana is sold in small plastic bags called sachets, but there is currently no company producing purified water within a 30 minute drive of where we worked this weekend. Thus, not only will the company bring pure water to those who need it (hopefully minimizing illness brought on by the parasites in the lake) and employing women but also spreading awareness about the harms of trafficking as the plastic the company will use has information on the issue.
Additionally, John and Stacy are starting a fair trade company where women can produce jewelry, art, bags, etc. for profit, especially in the states where the profit will be greater.
Working towards a stronger future, John and Stacy hope that through these companies, over the next ten years, child slavery can be completely abolished from these communities as well as the 8 additional communities they foresee entering. While the Freedom Center (the orphanage City of Refuge runs in Doryumu, Ghana--where I work) currently is at capacity, a new facility has been under construction since December which will be up and running by August. The new site will have a school for the children of Doryumu as well as the children at the freedom center (schooling 300 from pre-k through 9th grade), a basketball court, futbol (soccer) field, art center and summer camp as well as additional children's homes. In August there will be room for about 15 more children, as well as land for crops so the organization can not only be self-sustainable but also provide food for other orphanages. Over the course of the next few years, there should be six children homes on the new land which is called the Children's Village. All of the future plans for City of Refuge aim to bring a high quality of life to those who may otherwise be less fortunate and living in horrible circumstances. I hate to sit here begging those of you in America for money but although there are tons of great projects aligned for the organization, the funding is not there. If you could donate, or spread the word, as awareness and positive thoughts are equally valued and important, I know the entire organization would be greatly appreciative and grateful.
City of Refuge, as an organization, is so unbelievably generous and selfless--rather than collecting personal profit, John and Stacy prioritize the health, safety and happiness of others over themselves (for example: agreeing to donate desks to a school, when their own school hasn't even been completed, and teachers have not yet been hired). Growing up, I'm sure you've heard that one person truly can make a difference and change the world, and John and Stacy are on their way to doing that. If everyone learned from their example and work, imagine the progress the world could see. To learn more about the organization or make a donation, visit online at http://www.cityofrefugeoutreach.com/
We left Accra Thursday night and after about seven or eight hours of driving, got to a city called Dumbai where we got on a ferry to cross the lake. Once on the other side, we drove for a couple hours to Bejamse, where we were staying. Bejamse borders another part of the lake. The communities that lie on the water tend to be fishing communities with high populations of fishermen. These fishermen, unfortunately, tend to use enslaved children as workers. Many of these men have their own children and put them in school but purchase humans from other villages to work, from the age of as young as two for, potentially, their entire lives unless freed. The fishermen also tend to move around, living in one village, marrying a woman, having children and then fleeing, continuing the pattern and never looking back. This series of events leaves many women stranded as poor, single mothers. With no other means of supporting their children, much less themselves, the women have no opportunity for income and often fall susceptible to selling their own kids, thus providing fishermen with workers who have small enough hands to untangle fishing nets.
City of Refuge, prior to the excursion, was working with 7 villages in the Krachi District. On our first day there, we entered a new community. I had no idea what to expect of this, as John and Stacy (the founders of City of Refuge) had mentioned that the process was case-by-case and varied immensely between chiefs and villages and no two political or social systems were identical. We took a small boat across the portion of the lake Bejamse sat on, to the bank of the new community. While on the river, we passed several fishing boats full of children. We stopped to talk to them and met a child with two adults who informed us that the boy's master was in town but his parents were not. John asked the boy if he wanted to go to school and he timidly nodded his head. After handing him a lollypop, John promised he would get him into school soon and we rode off.
When we got to the village, there was music and dancing to celebrate the birth of the Chief's third grandchild. Filled with positive energy, we sat down and met with the chief and elders. John and Stacy do all their work and negotiations based on relations and trust alone. Many NGO's around the lake, however, free children with money, paying slave-owners to release their children which in turn continues the cycle of exploitation by creating a market for slaves. NGO's became impatient with the fishermen when they would not immediately agree, and began using force with the fishermen. This tactic resulted in 27 child deaths on the lake, as fishermen would beat their workers to hide the truth.
City of Refuge works in an opposite fashion and thus once we sat down with the chief, John explained the issue of child trafficking, why we were in the area, who it hurts, and how. The chief said he understood but that there were no enslaved children in the area, and all children attended school. He sent a school teacher with us to give us a tour of the town and the school itself. While on the tour, the teacher revealed that there was, in fact, a relatively high slave population among the children and the need for help. Just a few feet beyond the surface and music and dancing, we saw a different side of the community. Children were tying fishing nets, boys were as strong and built as athletic men, children were showing signs of malnutrition--bulging stomachs and skinny limbs (also a result of parasites), some children had irregular skin and hair (parasites) and some children were simply disabled. John and Stacy asked for the parents of the children, and tried to determine who was there wrongfully and who to contact about the sale of the children and thus how to rescue them.
Because we did not enter the village as the enemy, and came openly with information rather than aggression, we were able to enlighten many slave owners. Unfortunately, the process is incredibly cyclical and once enslaved, many children do not understand any other form of life. John told us a story of an interaction he had with a slave one time where he asked why the slave owner kept this child out of school. When the master responded that that was how he grew up, John asked how it made him feel. This direct relationship and personal question broke the master down and he realized there was a way to end the process, and let hid enslaved children free. Thus, many of the slave-owners, are not actually terrible people, although participating in terrible activity. By the end of our time in the community, people were coming up and admitting to owning slaves and asking what to do next, not wanting to keep these children from free, fair lives. In order to enhance the strong relationship within the community, John and Stacy agreed to donate desks and chairs to the school to ameliorate children's education and schooling experience. In response, the village gave us sodas to drink to reciprocate the generosity.
The community itself was somewhat twofold, which struck me as interesting. While one step farther into the community was injustice and cruelty, the outer layer was still filled with joy and dancing, which at the time, drew much of my attention. Here, I'm somewhat torn. It was so easy to respond to the positive energy but the images of the malnourished children have already started haunting me. I'm still not entirely sure the circumstances of the children we danced with, but regardless, it was fun to play with them and bring such joy and excitement to their faces.
After a delicious Waakye dinner and good nights sleep, we woke up for a busy day.
The morning was filled with preparation for a day camp and a feed. For the day camp, I was running an art program with about 400 kids (I'd estimate ages 1-12). I gave each kid a marker and a square of fabric and instructed them to draw something that was important to them. Many of the children had not been exposed to much art and were confused not only how to express themselves but, many were even unfamiliar with how to approach the technical aspect of art, even such fundamental tasks like how to open the top to a pen. Despite this, I am now sitting in my room with 400 beautiful drawings. Some have reflective representations of the self, or family, others drew trees, bibles, crosses, boats, and birds. While some kids did not know how to do much other than scribble, giving the children an opportunity to create something was really magical and they all really seemed to enjoy it. With the fabric squares, I plan to create a giant tapestry to go in the research facility City of Refuge plans to build in Bejamse, so all the children can view their work and the piece can stand as an inspiration for the future. My friend came up with a great plan with the students at New Horizons Special School putting the tapestry together in their workshop, so hopefully the quilt-making process will benefit another population and hold a powerful meaning as an entire piece.
As this was being prepared, food was simultaneously being packaged into boxes with deworming medicine and registration papers, to be taken to Gruby, another village nearby. That afternoon, we went about twenty minutes away and fed, registered and dewormed 300 kids. The registration process helps John and Stacy keep track of the children in the village so they know who lives there with their families and who has been trafficked and needs help getting out.
Completely overwhelmed with powerful experiences and intense emotions, we had a really successful debriefing that night. My peers and I discussed our interpretations of the weekend, which was interesting in and of itself as we're all from different backgrounds and, naturally, had different outlooks on the weekend. John and Stacy explained, in depth, more about their organization and their goals for the future. In order to truly achieve a paradigm shift, they need to work at the root of the problem, essentially then, the single mothers who are vulnerable to selling their children. To achieve this, they are starting several companies to employ and empower single women. One of the companies is a pure water company which will employ 28 single women.
Water in Ghana is sold in small plastic bags called sachets, but there is currently no company producing purified water within a 30 minute drive of where we worked this weekend. Thus, not only will the company bring pure water to those who need it (hopefully minimizing illness brought on by the parasites in the lake) and employing women but also spreading awareness about the harms of trafficking as the plastic the company will use has information on the issue.
Additionally, John and Stacy are starting a fair trade company where women can produce jewelry, art, bags, etc. for profit, especially in the states where the profit will be greater.
Working towards a stronger future, John and Stacy hope that through these companies, over the next ten years, child slavery can be completely abolished from these communities as well as the 8 additional communities they foresee entering. While the Freedom Center (the orphanage City of Refuge runs in Doryumu, Ghana--where I work) currently is at capacity, a new facility has been under construction since December which will be up and running by August. The new site will have a school for the children of Doryumu as well as the children at the freedom center (schooling 300 from pre-k through 9th grade), a basketball court, futbol (soccer) field, art center and summer camp as well as additional children's homes. In August there will be room for about 15 more children, as well as land for crops so the organization can not only be self-sustainable but also provide food for other orphanages. Over the course of the next few years, there should be six children homes on the new land which is called the Children's Village. All of the future plans for City of Refuge aim to bring a high quality of life to those who may otherwise be less fortunate and living in horrible circumstances. I hate to sit here begging those of you in America for money but although there are tons of great projects aligned for the organization, the funding is not there. If you could donate, or spread the word, as awareness and positive thoughts are equally valued and important, I know the entire organization would be greatly appreciative and grateful.
City of Refuge, as an organization, is so unbelievably generous and selfless--rather than collecting personal profit, John and Stacy prioritize the health, safety and happiness of others over themselves (for example: agreeing to donate desks to a school, when their own school hasn't even been completed, and teachers have not yet been hired). Growing up, I'm sure you've heard that one person truly can make a difference and change the world, and John and Stacy are on their way to doing that. If everyone learned from their example and work, imagine the progress the world could see. To learn more about the organization or make a donation, visit online at http://www.cityofrefugeoutreach.com/
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