Hey everyone!
I hope I still have some readers out there. I should have been more on top of finishing my blog when I got back, but it's been hard to admit that the voyage is actually over. This isn't a blog that I wanted to have to end! However, here is a summary of the last three days of Ghana.
The ship traveled from Takoradi to Tema (Accra) overnight, so I woke up bright and early to catch the shuttle bus into the city. The drive is usually at least one hour, but it can take up to three hours depending on traffic. Our ride there took about an hour and a half.
There wasn't much to do right where the shuttle dropped us off. None of us had very much Ghanaian Cedi left, so we wanted to catch a taxi and go to the Accra mall, where we knew there would be some trustworthy ATM's, before heading out to the market and doing some more exploring. After locating a restroom, which was an adventure of its own, we found a taxi and asked the driver to take us to the mall. None of the taxis in Ghana are metered, so it's important to set a price with them before you get in. It can be hard to find a driver that won't try and rip you off if are a tourist, but we ended up finding a very nice guy!
The ride to the mall took about 25 minutes. Unexpectedly, the mall was actually similar to a mall that you would find in America. After walking around for a bit and grabbing some lunch, we found the ATM's.
That didn't go as planned. For some reason, my card wasn't working. Alexa's card also didn't work, and Corrie had left hers back on the ship. We were in the middle of Ghana, about 2 hours away from the ship, with almost no cash and no way to contact our banks or parents. We had no phone service and there was no WiFi anywhere to be found. We didn't have enough money to pay a taxi to take us anywhere. It was one of those moments that you pray is never going to happen. We desperately kept trying to find a place in or around the mall that had WiFi. All of sudden, we heard a voice behind us... "Leave it to you guys to find the mall."
We turned around and TOM JELKE, our Executive Dean, was standing right there! He could tell right away that something was wrong, and we explained the situation to him. Without even giving it a second thought, he pulled the ship phone out of his pocket and told us to use it to call our parents. He is amazing. I still can't believe he was there right at that moment. I was able to get in touch with my parents, and they said they would call the bank right away. Tom then gave us some cash to hold us over until our cards started to work again. Luckily, 20 minutes later, they worked!
After taking a few moments to catch our breath, we grabbed a taxi to the local Makola Market. It was very crowded, busy, smelly and loud, but it was an amazing experience! I'd never seen anything like it before! We spent about 45 minutes looking around, and then grabbed a taxi to a store called Global Mama's.
Global Mama's is a "non-profit and fair trade organization assisting women in Africa to become economically independent." The products they sell are made by the women, and all proceeds go directly to them. If you're interested in learning more, visit their website. I bought a few postcards, a pair of pants and a couple of headbands. It felt great to support this organization!
After Global Mama's, we started to head back to the shuttle bus. On our way back, I ran into the exact same guys that had given me such a hard time back in Takoradi. A lot of the vendors followed the ship. I honestly had a moment of panic when I saw them. Luckily, we were far enough from them to start walking quickly away, but they followed us and yelled the entire way back to the shuttle. I got on that bus very quickly!
It was about dinner time when we arrived back at the ship. We ate dinner on the ship and then went outside to look at all of the vendor's stalls that were set up right outside. I was able to find some gifts for my family! After that, we found Tom, payed him back and thanked him again before heading to bed.
I decided to spend the next day on the ship. I really needed it! I wrote in my journal, did some homework, worked out, slept and watched a movie in bed. :)
On our last day in Ghana, I went on a field program to the City of Refuge. It is a faith-based, grass-roots organization started in 2007 that rescues children in Ghana that have been trafficked, orphaned or abandoned and gives them a safe place to live, learn and grow in their faith. They particularly focus their rescue efforts on the children out on Lake Volta. Thousands of children are sold, often by their mothers, to fishermen out on the lake. They are forced to work 14-hour days with only one meal provided to them. Many of the children are physically and mentally abused, and they often can't swim. If they aren't rescued by the time they are in their early teens, it is very likely that the children themselves will grow up to be fishermen and buy children to work for them. It's all they know. It's a vicious cycle, and it is very important to City of Refuge to be very careful about how they approach the issue. They go into the fishing villages to negotiate for the children to be able to bring them to the home. This is sometimes easy, and sometimes not. Right now, they are working on educating both the sending and receiving communities about child trafficking.
City of Refuge is such an incredible place. I had an absolutely wonderful and eye-opening experience volunteering there. Recently, they opened a school on their grounds as well! They had many projects that we could sign up to assist them with. I chose to help in the library with entering grades into their electronic computer system. It actually took quite awhile, but I loved helping out. We also had free time to play with the children, which was, of course, the best part. :) If you're interested in learning more, please visit their website! They are always looking for support and volunteers.
We made it back to the ship in time for dinner, and I had a great time catching up and hearing about the experiences that my friends had in Ghana. Then the ship set sail for Morocco! It was also starting to near finals time, so I spent part of my evening studying before heading to bed.
Thanks!!!
I hope I still have some readers out there. I should have been more on top of finishing my blog when I got back, but it's been hard to admit that the voyage is actually over. This isn't a blog that I wanted to have to end! However, here is a summary of the last three days of Ghana.
The ship traveled from Takoradi to Tema (Accra) overnight, so I woke up bright and early to catch the shuttle bus into the city. The drive is usually at least one hour, but it can take up to three hours depending on traffic. Our ride there took about an hour and a half.
There wasn't much to do right where the shuttle dropped us off. None of us had very much Ghanaian Cedi left, so we wanted to catch a taxi and go to the Accra mall, where we knew there would be some trustworthy ATM's, before heading out to the market and doing some more exploring. After locating a restroom, which was an adventure of its own, we found a taxi and asked the driver to take us to the mall. None of the taxis in Ghana are metered, so it's important to set a price with them before you get in. It can be hard to find a driver that won't try and rip you off if are a tourist, but we ended up finding a very nice guy!
The ride to the mall took about 25 minutes. Unexpectedly, the mall was actually similar to a mall that you would find in America. After walking around for a bit and grabbing some lunch, we found the ATM's.
 |
| Alexa. :) This is actually the only picture I took the entire day. |
That didn't go as planned. For some reason, my card wasn't working. Alexa's card also didn't work, and Corrie had left hers back on the ship. We were in the middle of Ghana, about 2 hours away from the ship, with almost no cash and no way to contact our banks or parents. We had no phone service and there was no WiFi anywhere to be found. We didn't have enough money to pay a taxi to take us anywhere. It was one of those moments that you pray is never going to happen. We desperately kept trying to find a place in or around the mall that had WiFi. All of sudden, we heard a voice behind us... "Leave it to you guys to find the mall."
We turned around and TOM JELKE, our Executive Dean, was standing right there! He could tell right away that something was wrong, and we explained the situation to him. Without even giving it a second thought, he pulled the ship phone out of his pocket and told us to use it to call our parents. He is amazing. I still can't believe he was there right at that moment. I was able to get in touch with my parents, and they said they would call the bank right away. Tom then gave us some cash to hold us over until our cards started to work again. Luckily, 20 minutes later, they worked!
After taking a few moments to catch our breath, we grabbed a taxi to the local Makola Market. It was very crowded, busy, smelly and loud, but it was an amazing experience! I'd never seen anything like it before! We spent about 45 minutes looking around, and then grabbed a taxi to a store called Global Mama's.
Global Mama's is a "non-profit and fair trade organization assisting women in Africa to become economically independent." The products they sell are made by the women, and all proceeds go directly to them. If you're interested in learning more, visit their website. I bought a few postcards, a pair of pants and a couple of headbands. It felt great to support this organization!
After Global Mama's, we started to head back to the shuttle bus. On our way back, I ran into the exact same guys that had given me such a hard time back in Takoradi. A lot of the vendors followed the ship. I honestly had a moment of panic when I saw them. Luckily, we were far enough from them to start walking quickly away, but they followed us and yelled the entire way back to the shuttle. I got on that bus very quickly!
It was about dinner time when we arrived back at the ship. We ate dinner on the ship and then went outside to look at all of the vendor's stalls that were set up right outside. I was able to find some gifts for my family! After that, we found Tom, payed him back and thanked him again before heading to bed.
I decided to spend the next day on the ship. I really needed it! I wrote in my journal, did some homework, worked out, slept and watched a movie in bed. :)
On our last day in Ghana, I went on a field program to the City of Refuge. It is a faith-based, grass-roots organization started in 2007 that rescues children in Ghana that have been trafficked, orphaned or abandoned and gives them a safe place to live, learn and grow in their faith. They particularly focus their rescue efforts on the children out on Lake Volta. Thousands of children are sold, often by their mothers, to fishermen out on the lake. They are forced to work 14-hour days with only one meal provided to them. Many of the children are physically and mentally abused, and they often can't swim. If they aren't rescued by the time they are in their early teens, it is very likely that the children themselves will grow up to be fishermen and buy children to work for them. It's all they know. It's a vicious cycle, and it is very important to City of Refuge to be very careful about how they approach the issue. They go into the fishing villages to negotiate for the children to be able to bring them to the home. This is sometimes easy, and sometimes not. Right now, they are working on educating both the sending and receiving communities about child trafficking.
 |
| They are in the process of building a church! |
City of Refuge is such an incredible place. I had an absolutely wonderful and eye-opening experience volunteering there. Recently, they opened a school on their grounds as well! They had many projects that we could sign up to assist them with. I chose to help in the library with entering grades into their electronic computer system. It actually took quite awhile, but I loved helping out. We also had free time to play with the children, which was, of course, the best part. :) If you're interested in learning more, please visit their website! They are always looking for support and volunteers.
 |
| Hallway of the school! |
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| This little cutie stole my glasses. :) |
 |
| :) |
We made it back to the ship in time for dinner, and I had a great time catching up and hearing about the experiences that my friends had in Ghana. Then the ship set sail for Morocco! It was also starting to near finals time, so I spent part of my evening studying before heading to bed.
Thanks!!!
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