Ghana Make A Difference

Grandpa, Val, Sharee and Laura took 8 of the high school aged kids to Ghana to spend a week at Ghana Make a Difference.  We worked with GMAD to help bring supplies to them in the form of our checked luggage.  Between all of us we got a lot of stuff to Ghana.

Unfortunately, flight delays meant that the Boise crew spent their first night in Chicago and got to spend a day at the Field Museum and the Shedd Aquarium before they finally flew to Ghana.

They finally arrived a day late but ready to party with cousins and help with the GMAD kids.

Kate and Andrew both loved playing with the kids.  Andrew especially loved the basketball and soccer.

They had a service day where the girls helped pass out eye glasses from a previous medical trip.  The evaluations had been done and the kids brought the glasses to Ghana in those big tubs and then helped pass the glasses out to the people who arrive on buses like this.  The people waited for hours with no complaint as the girls tried to get everyone the correct pair of glasses.

Meanwhile the boys were tasked with filling these planter boxes with dirt.  Which required shoveling, wheelbarrowing and dumping.  Apparently, the dirt came from an area far enough away that they had to push and pull the wheelbarrows up and down hills - hard muddy work.

When the girls finished their work they came and helped the boys.

It was hot and luckily Hattie brought Crystal Light packets to flavor the water or Andrew would have been dehydrated because he thought the water tasted weird.

One day they took a field trip to the Kakum National Park to see a rainforest and do a canopy walk.  The kids loved it in spite of the rain. 

They grabbed lunch after the wet walk and the kids voted for KFC - they were ready for familiar food.  Kate and Andrew thought the Ghana KFC chicken was more flavorful than in the US.  

After lunch they visited Cape Coast Castle one of forty the "slave castles" built on the Gold Coast by European traders.  

These castles were used to hold enslaved African before they were loaded onto ships and sold in the Americas.  This "gate of no return" was the last stop before they were forced on ships bound for America and the Caribbean.

They all felt humbled after the castle tour - it was a moving experience and a highlight for the kids.  Having enjoyed a little break from the kids they were excited to get back to the compound for more play time.

As part of our service the Dame Foundation donated the money necessary to take all the kids to the beach for the afternoon, about 20 mins away.

They packed the vans full and enjoyed the ride singing Ed Sheeran songs.

The kids loved being buried.

Locals pegged our white kids for tourists and found some willing buyers of their trinkets.  Laura said, "Your kids were definitely the most adept at navigating persistent salespeople".  I guess all our travel has given our kids some skills.

While the kids played on the beach Grandpa and one of the GMAD employees spent the afternoon searching for a new ping pong table to replace the broken one.  Their efforts paid off.  Grandpa bought them a new table and everyone put it together when they got home.

This is where the kids slept.

Our kids were treated like climbing poles 😉.

There was a specific area where the babies were kept to keep them safe from the other kids.  Kate loved spending time in the "baby room."

Church on Sunday was held right on the compound.  

The girls made hundreds of bracelets for the kids while they were there.

A few days after getting the soil ready the kids planed some plants in the boxes to complete their service project.

Some of the ladies put braids in our girls hair.

Sophie met her match in ping pong.

And the week came to an end.  Kate wished she could stay longer.  She and Andrew both loved their time in Ghana with GMAD.

Now for the long flight home...