Yaa Atchee (How’s work?)

Things have been so busy and insane, in the best way possible, and I don’t know if I’ll even be able to remember everything for this one post.

Work and family are all consuming at this point, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

So since my last count of 29 my dad has arrived in Ghana (30), my cousin Hakeem slept over (31), ANOTHER aunt (one of many!!!) stopped by (32) and I’ve visited  my cousin Rita, her older brother and the mother of one set cousins (35). They all get bunched in there.

Youth Alive (YA henceforth) has really picked up in the past week … volunteer-wise we’re fully operational right now. As of Monday Jan 16 Mavis (Ghanaian) and Alex (American) joined me to round out our team. I feel really fortunate to be able to work with people who are around the same age. What’s interesting too is that Mavis has lived in Ghana her whole life, Alex has never left the US (‘til now!) and I’ve been back and forth and in between, so we all have different perspectives to add to our ongoing projects.

There’s always a little bit of background reading and orientation before ideas are put into practice. Luckily for us, first thing on Tuesday morning we had a meeting at our office with students that YA supports (beneficiaries) in health and education as well as a sponsoring organization, Barclays Bank. The children in attendance ranged from grade 4 to 9, and covered a variety of ages, many being older than the norm. We got a chance to introduce ourselves and let the group know that they could approach us regarding anything that was impacting their studies (school, teachers, family, etc).

Availability of textbooks, or lack thereof, is part of a serious resource shortfall problem within Ghana’s public school system. Many of the children were vocal about not having materials that should have been issued at the start of the school year in September 2011.  Students in Ghana, particularly girls, face added barriers to proper education that are a little different from the majority of people in the West. Some arrive at school late because they have familial obligations and chores to complete (fetching water, preparing food, tending to younger siblings, cleaning the house) before they are  allowed to leave. Meanwhile others have little time to attend extra (after school) classes or properly do homework because of similar responsibilities in the evening. Despite such challenges, the group was absolutely enthusiastic about possibilities for the future where they saw themselves achieving success as doctors, lawyers and pilots.

Following that introductory encounter with students in our back pocket, we were ready on Wednesday to venture out to some schools within the city to visit beneficiaries on-site and gain firsthand experience. We essentially try to document as much of each site visit as possible (written and visual) and the response we received from the kids was overwhelming as they were SO excited to see us and everyone wanted their picture taken! 



Youth Alive Primary School Beneficiaries



The school visits provided the perfect opportunity to get a better understanding of how beneficiaries were doing from the added perspective of administration (teachers, headmaster’s). A headmaster at the JSS (Junior Secondary School/Jr. High equivalent) level explained that there were at times barely enough seating to accommodate all students or tools to functional teach courses trades-based courses within the school system.

By literally witnessing more of the institution’s barriers to providing a sufficient educational experience we were able to more clearly connect the dots between some of the problems our beneficiaries were facing and how YA intervention could make the difference in their lives.



Mechanic beneficiary student



Straight from the school blocks we paid several visits to YA beneficiaries who had gone through the vocational (trades) training program. We met an array of metal workers, carpenters, auto body repairmen and mechanics. These boys had become men through the program that had literally plucked them from the streets of Tamale and gave them the opportunity to become apprentices in a field of their choice. Now many of them owned their own businesses, were supporting their families and were paying it forward by training others who needed a chance to learn an employable skill to end the cycle of poverty in their own lives. It was so amazing to see living proof of the ripple effect that is created when one person is able to make a positive change. Many of the young men we met said they had not had much ambition or self-confidence prior to their involvement with YA.



Mechanic beneficiary student



We all arrived back at the office super inspired by the many stories of seemingly hopeless youth who had overcome troubling circumstances to now live lives they could be proud of. As we were winding down from such an eventful day a group of primary (elementary) school boys wandered into our office compound and told us that they wanted to practice reading. As cheesy as this sounds in my head and on paper (word processor?), my HEART WAS SO WARMED by the fact that:

a)      Kids at that age actually WANTED and were SEEKING out extra help
b)      They hadn’t hesitated to come to YA, knowing we’d be willing and able to help

The YA compound, space and reading library are opening to any and all from ages 6-25, regardless of beneficiary status. Personally, it was so humbling to be able to put something as simply accessible as time towards children who were engaged. I read with two boys, Kwaame and Soma, who were excellent and again, resounded the earlier ambitions to practice medicine and pilot airplanes.

Kwaame & Soma reading :)