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.
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