One time I brought some other international students with me to the refuge house with backpacks and laptops in tow. The majority of the girls had never used a computer, and so I wanted them to get the chance to experience that. The previous Wednesday the girls had all written sentences about themselves in English – their names, ages, hometowns, the foods they like, etc -- and so then they had to type their sentences on Microsoft Word. They loved getting to learn how to use a laptop, and were so excited when I brought the printouts of their sentences back for them the following week.
Shaylin (from CA) with Ivy (R) and Mary (L)
Everyone on computers in the Literacy Room :)
My friend Courtney – a Californian who also lived in my hostel – had started leading a Bible Study for the girls, and so I was able to help with that. She brought Bibles for the girls who could read English, and we covered all sorts of topics – the importance of prayer, how Jesus covers our sins, how we should treat our enemies, and so much more. One of my favorite things was praying with them – I think one of them energetically yelled ‘Amen’ in their Ghanaian accents every two seconds :)
One day we played Pictionary with the girls, and it was absolutely hysterical! They LOVED it…we played on a big white board that they sometimes used for school. They were all practically falling over because they were laughing so much! Courtney and I were on different teams, and we competed against each other for the winning team – and my team won when I drew a picture of fufu, a traditional Ghanaian dish!
Fufu with fish... yum?
Through the financial support of many different people, Courtney and I were able to help several of the girls. Two of the girls – Dorothy and Rosemary – will be supported until they become hairdressers. The way it works in Ghana is that you pay the salon in order to be an apprentice, and after they think you have mastered the skills (which could take anywhere between 1-3 years, we were told), you automatically become a full-time hairdresser at that salon. We will continue to support the girls so they can pay to be apprentices as well as pay for their living expenses for however long it takes them to complete the training program. My friend Joanna – who is also from Elon – also was able to do a lot with a girl named Mina. Mina had learned how to make different types of jewelry at CAS – a Catholic NGO also in Accra that serves as a day shelter for street children, and where they can go to learn skills such as jewelry-making – and really wanted to start her own business after leaving Street Girls Aid. Joanna, Mina, Gifty (another one of the girls), and I went to the market one day and bought TONS of beads and various other materials that Mina needed to make jewelry. She was also given the funds to pay for a table and chair to set up her business outside of her grandmother’s house, where she would live after leaving Street Girls Aid. I have since talked to her -- and she has moved to her grandmother's house and told me that she's already sold some of her jewelry :)
On Courtney’s and my last day, we had a party for the girls – and oh my, it was fun! We had asked the girls what kind of food they wanted for the party, thinking that they would ask for ice cream or cookies or something. What did they ask for? RICE! Fried rice and jollof rice….I couldn’t believe it. I have yet to meet a Ghanaian who isn’t in love with rice. Anyway, we did bring rice – lots of it! – along with salad, chicken, biscuits (the equivalent of American cookies), Tampico (the most popular fruit drink), Coke, and Milo (the equivalent of American hot chocolate, although you can also drink it cold). After eating, we danced, gave them a bunch of clothes and things we had collected from our international friends…
Mauwsi eating her rice
Since I’ve been home I have repeatedly looked at the pictures of the girls or watched the videos they took on my camera of them dancing or doing other random things. I have also talked to many of them on the phone – two of the girls have cell phones – which has been so great. It was really hard to leave them because I knew that I will most likely not ever see or talk to them again. Once the girls leave Street Girls Aid, they usually live in slums in Accra (which do not have postal addresses) or sometimes move back to their villages (most of which are remote and in the northern areas of Ghana). The majority of the girls don’t have cell phones and therefore I have no way to contact any of them besides Gifty and Mina, who are the girls who own phones.
I think the hardest thing about leaving them was that I know there are not a lot of options for them, especially those who have not been to school. I don’t know if they will have the money to send their children to school – and if they don’t, the cycle of poverty will most likely continue with their children. When I’ve talked to people – Ghanaians, Americans, and Canadians – I have often received the response that these girls should just work really hard to save up so they and their kids could go to school, or buy lots of things to sell, or somehow find a better job. This pattern of thinking – that the poor can lift themselves out of poverty anytime they want to – is a huge issue that greatly affects the way in which we relate with the poor and the governmental strategies we support that affect the poor. I saw this issue being played out right in front of my eyes every time I went to Street Girls Aid or the slums. The issue is that you can only make so much selling things on the sides of the road – which is the main profession of the poor in Ghana due to the lack of education and skills. Yes, it is true that sometimes people inflict poverty on themselves through bad decisions, but that is not always the case. Most of these girls were such hard-workers and genuinuely wanted to make better lives for themselves and their chidren, but just didn't have the resources to do so. I am so thankful that these girls opened up their lives to me and that we danced together, ate together, learned together, and laughed together.
Little Lizzie...so cute!!!!
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