Today, we went to the canopy walk in Kakum National Park. Some of us had a fear of heights while others experienced a bit of vertigo, but we all had a great time carefully maneuvering ourselves over the rope bridges forty meters above the rain forest.



This evening we are relaxing before we leave for the capitol of Accra tomorrow for some souvenir shopping and goodbyes as we return to our homes on Tuesday. Below are some pictures of the slave castles, the fishing village of Elmina, and some of the wonderful people we have met along the way. It is needless but important to say that we are humbled by our experience here and will remember the people of Ghana with a deep fondness. We hope that, in some small way, we have made their lives better. We know that they have done so for us.

The internet server is not the best here, so downloading pictures is slow and difficult. These few will have to do for now.

We finished our build on Friday, dedicated two houses with their new owners, and celebrated with the villagers until the only source of light in the village was the small incandescent bulb used by the DJ. The chief of Kyekyewere was present for the dedication, in full costume, (pictures tomorrow...if possible), flanked by the elders of the village, and covered at all times by a large ornate umbrella.

It was difficult to say goodbye to everyone. You'd be surprised how quickly you become attached to people in such a short period of time, most especially the children.

We are currently enjoying some much deserved rest in Cape Coast, a coastal resort along ocean. We spent today visiting the slave castles and then enjoying the beach, including a lunch that was by far the best meal we have had. The slave castles are an enlightening and humbling experience and, at times, a bit frightening. We descended into the dark dank dungeons in which thousands of slaves were kept before they were sent on ships across the Atlantic.

Nearby, dozens of boats were returning from the sea as hundreds of fishermen unloaded their catch for sale in the market. It was an unimaginable sight and one that can only be experienced to be understood.

Tomorrow, we are headed to a canopy walk north of Cape Coast and a visit to a local university. More to come.

Nearing the End of Our Build

Here is a picture of our first day in Kyekyewere with some Habitat workers and a few of the village representatives. This was taken briefly after we all drank gin and schnapps together as part of the welcoming ceremony. Although it is difficult to imagine, we are nearing the end of our build. Tomorrow we dedicate two completed homes and say goodbye to the friends we have made. We are then headed to Cape Coast for some much needed R & R. It has been a challenging and difficult build at times, but it feels good to help people who are so friendly, kind, and in need. We will miss so many of them. We are all doing well but are looking forward to some rest along the coastline.

On Sunday, we played soccer with the locals in a rather one-sided game. In the evening, we participated in a cultural exchange with a local family from Kumasi. It is always interesting to learn about the values and beliefs of other cultures. We are really not so different from each other.

Tuesday night, we played local games with many of the villagers including Oware, Ludu, and Spar. Much to the amusement of the locals, we did not do very well.

Enjoy the pictures:

Our first week of work found us digging foundation beside the jungle, making and moving bricks made of mud and limestone, mixing mortar, and masonry work. It is amazing how quickly we learn the ABCs of building a house--Catherine has been inspired to return home and hang her shingle as haute couture home builder and Amy knows that if she ever needed to go on the lam, she could easily build her own shelter lickety split. Although we are bruised, sweaty, sore and pungent after our hard labor, we are so inspired by the dedication and expertise of the artisans who guide us in this endeavor: Victor, Tomas, Daniel, Peter, Eric, Ado and many others. These men never complain and seem to have limitless energy. They are kind and gentle with the "obrunis" (white people) who ask questions throughout the day, need to take a lot of breaks and often make mistakes as we learn about the ins and outs of housebuilding in a place so far from home.

Naomi, our spirited Ghanaian leader from Habitat for Humanity, keeps us moving. She has planned many interesting activities for our evening entertainment. We have all listened to traditional Ghanaian singers and were pleased to join in with the choir to dance. After learning about the great Ashanti Kingdom and fetish chiefs, we had the opportunity to learn some traditional Ashanti dances. West African drummers joined us at the hotel and Amanda showed her skills in a drum competition as we learned about the different djembe and baku drums. As a special treat, Felix, one of the Habitat chairmen and a theology teacher, brought his family to the hotel for a discussion on Ghanaian culture. He spoke to us about marriage, religion and funeral traditions.

We're off to eat...more later.

We have all arrived safely in Ghana. Four of us (Kelly, Ann, Ned, and I) landed at 6 a.m.yesterday and, after a lengthy nap, explored the capital of Accra. Our first mission was to pick up mosquito nets from Yvonne, a local supplier, and to get familiar with the local currency as well as how to cross busy streets. Peter, our driver, took us out for a fun chicken lunch. Later, we walked through a large open-air art market, looking at jewelry, masks, drums, and beautifully designed textiles, haggling about prices along the way and finally arriving at the ocean front.

The rest of the team arrived at 10 p.m. last night, weary and ready for bed.

This morning, we had our orientation with Habitat affiliate guides Naomi and Nadia and then began the long van ride from Accra to Kumasi. After about five bumpy hours we arrived at the Beauty Queen Hotel, had lunch, and set out to the village of Kyekyewere. We met the village chief and elders, presenting them with Schnapps and drinking rather strong gin before we walked around the village with the local children. We will be working on three homes while we are here. Needless to say, the children are beautiful and affectionate and love to have their pictures taken. Pictures tomorrow...hopefully!

August 4, 2007: Our Journey Begins Tomorrow!

Saying goodbye to loved ones, last minute preparations, packing and repacking, a bit of anxiety about the unknown and unexpected, and a possibly sleepless night as the excitement builds just before we leave for our Habitat Global Village Build.

We have created this site to record our journey and experiences as we travel to Ghana to work with the Kyekyewere affiliate in the Ashanti Region near Kumasi. We hope to post something every day, sharing our stories, insights, and even pictures of the build. Hopefully, we will all be writing over the next few weeks, so it's probably safe to say that there will be a great deal of diversity in how we record this experience.

As of this posting there will be fourteen of us: Amy Bush, Catherine Heaton, Liz Jerrels, Ann Joo, Dawn Kraklio, Larry Mosher, Ned Murphy, Kristian Navickas, Niti Patel, Kelly Saunders, Ken Schafermeyer (our team leader), Terry Shaw, Mary Walbridge, and Amanda Zlatkus.

If you want to know a bit about where we will be building, you can go to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghana

So, come along this journey with us and please contribute comments when you can. It is always good to hear from friends and loved ones when you are far away from home.