This is really happening

Our tickets were purchased!

Jamie and will I depart from Chicago the last Monday in August. We don't have as long of a layover in London as we were hoping for, but that is okay!  We'll arrive in Ghana on Tuesday August 30th.

The cool part is that we are flying British Air through a missions organization. So- Elsie is coming with me on board!  


We'll keep you updated!

*Edit: We are also compiling an email list of those who want periodic email updates while we are in Ghana.  If you'd like to be added to the list, please send an email to abena.abina@gmail.com

In Ghana, names are given based on the day of the week you were born. Jamie and I were lucky enough to both be "Tuesday" babies. The words for Tuesday are either "abena" or "abina."  And, yes, that is how the email "abena.abina@gmail.com" was formed.

Ghana 101

I'll just come right out and say it... I'm a research junkie! When deciding what school to go to... I researched! When deciding what camera to buy... I researched! When deciding what new restaurant to explore... you guessed it, I researched! So it stands to reason that with my extensive researching background, I would also research the country I will be spending 10 months of my life in.
Hitherto the fruits of my labor:

Country: The Republic of Ghana [the word Ghana means Warrior King (Pretty awesome name don't you think!?)]

Capital: Accra [as previously mentioned, pronounced ah-krah]

Population: 24 million [that's 20.3mil. more than in Puerto Rico(3.7mil.) and 287mil. more than USA(311mil.)] making roughly .35% of the world's population.

Language: Oficially its English [no it's not a typo, it used to be a British colony (known as the Gold Coast) from 1874 until it gained independence in 1957]. There are approximately 79 languages in Ghana.

Climate: Very warm with two seasons: the wet and the dry (rain boots...check, flip flops... check)

History (I will try to be brief):

The earliest Europeans to arrive were the Portuguese in the 15th century. Dutch, Swedish, and British Europeans eventually made their ways to the Gold Coast and set up forts for trade (gold, and slaves). Over time, many lost interest until only the British remained who chose to make the Gold Coast a crown colony. The capital was located in Cape Coast until 1876, were it was moved to Accra. 

After the Second World War (1939-1945), things began to change. The discrimination against educated Ghanaians in the civil service was on the increase and high positions were reserved for white men while Ghanaians became "hewers of wood and drawers of water". The Ex-servicemen (Ghanaian soldiers who fought in the World War), helped inspire a fight for independence from British control (after having witnessed the independence wars in Burma and India). After various boycotts, riots, and proposals for independence Ghana became on the 6th of March, 1957. It was the first country in Africa, South of the Sahara to regain independence from colonial rule. 

The current president of Ghana is Professor John Evans Atta Mills (born 21 July 1944) who won the Forth Presidential and Parliamentary elections of the Republic.

Economy:

Ghana is the second largest producer of cocoa (oh, yeah!) and still remains a prominent producer of gold, among other goods such as oil, timber, and manganese.

Culture:

People are always described as very open and friendly! Soccer (football) is the most popular sport, and the rest of their culture is as diverse as the many ethnic groups they have (at least more than 8, with 79 different dialects). This of course influences other aspects such as music and cuisine [although fufu (pounded cassava and plantain or pounded yam and plantain) is a favorite]. Textiles are very important for Ghanaians. Cloths are used to make traditional and modern attire. Different symbols and different colors mean different things. Kente is probably the most famous of all the Ghanaian cloths. Kente is an Ashanti ceremonial cloth hand-woven on a horizontal treadle loom. Strips measuring about 4 inches wide are sewn together into larger pieces of cloths. In a cultural context, kente is more important than just a cloth, it is a visual representation of history and also form of a written language through weaving.  (Just look at those awesome colors)

Flag: 

The Ghana Flag was designed by Mrs Theodosia Okoh

RED represents the blood of those who died in the country's struggle for independence 
GOLD represents the mineral wealth of the country 
GREEN symbolises the country's rich forest and 
THE BLACK STAR stands for the lodestar of African freedom


National Anthem: (It's really quite beautiful...I've underlined my favorite parts)

Ghana 

Hail the Name of Ghana 

God bless our homeland Ghana, 

And make our nation great and strong, 

Bold to defend for ever 

The cause of Freedom and of Right; 

Fill our hearts with true humility, 

Make us cherish fearless honesty, 

And help us to resist oppressors' rule 

With all our will and might for evermore. 

(repeat previous two lines) 

Hail to thy name, O Ghana, 

To thee we make our solemn vow: 

Steadfast to build together 

A nation strong in Unity; 

With our gifts of mind and strength of arm, 

Whether night or day, in mist or storm, 

In ev'ry need, whate'er the call may be, 

To serve thee, O Ghana, now and evermore. 

(repeat previous two lines) 

Raise high the flag of Ghana 

And one with Africa advance; 

Black Star of hope and honour 

To all who thirst for Liberty; 

Where the banner of Ghana freely flies, 

May the way to freedom truly lie; 

Arise, arise, O sons of Ghanaland, 

And under God march on for evermore! 

(repeat previous two lines) 

There you have it folks, for more information feel free to visit the official site: http://www.ghana.gov.gh/

I hope you found my post both interesting and educational! I strongly believe in being prepared, and learning about a country before you visit is definitely a must. I have enjoyed finding this information and sharing my findings... maybe now I can stop procrastinating and do some more on my schoolwork! :/

Can't believe graduation is so close!!! 

Dios los bendiga! (God Bless)

Jamie

“While the rest of the world has been improving technology, Ghana has been improving the quality of man’s humanity to man.” Maya Angelou

So we know you are going to Ghana, but what exactly will you be doing?

Great question! (and one that Jamie and I have been asking ourselves since the moment we first applied) Short answer: We don’t know. Long answer: We don’t know, but we are in the process of finding out. Let me take this time to share with you what we do understand.

The Sisters of the Holy Cross who started Saint Mary’s and continue to play an active role in our educational system have missions all over the world. One such mission is located outside of Ghana’s capital, Accra (pronounced Ah-cra) in an area known as Kasoa. Jamie and I will reside at the convent and share community life with the sisters. Down the hill is the compound of the school.  The school originally began within the convent, but within the past few years the Sisters have built a beautiful building and hope to add one grade level each year (they will be adding 4^th grade for the 2011-2012 school year).

We haven’t met our students yet, and we don’t even know what exactly we will be teaching.  But we feel connected already through videos, stories, and pictures.  We have been told that many of our students are Islamic, and many are extremely poor. I learned a long time ago, however, that kids are kids in every country. I am excited to be tackled and to have attention demanded of me, excited to giggle and have my soccer skills shown up. But mostly, I am excited to get to know each and every one of the school children’s hearts, passions, and desires.

Many of these resources come from the four students who have gone before. Two years ago the first pair of SMC graduates dedicated a year of their life to the school and kept blogs and pictures. Jamie and I are excited to continue to the post-graduate program as the third pair of students.  We are the first students going who did not major in education. We are also the first students who are not Catholic.  

Six months ago when people asked me, “So Lizziey what are your plans after graduation?” I joked with them saying “I’m going to pack up Kelty (my backpack) and Elsie (my guitar) and be a bum in Africa.”

“sounds good,” they’d say with a chuckle.

Those who know me well realize it was only a half-joke.  I’ve always enjoyed reading about Africa, always been drawn to keeping cultural awareness while raising the standard of living without really comprehending what that means.  Maybe I’ll gain clearer insight as I venture to Kasoa-and maybe not. I almost didn’t apply to the program, almost stopped listening to that nudge inside of me saying “go.”

 But when it’s me versus my heart-my heart always wins. 

And my heart is telling me to go to Ghana, so I’m packing up years of experience of working with kids and camps and VBS and youth group and small groups and the willingness to unlearn it all.  I’ll be heading to Ghana the last week of August.  I am sad to leave behind my niece as she starts kindergarten, my boyfriend as he finishes a year of school and I do my best to relate my adventures to him, and agonize a little about coming home to find a real job again (although I am in the process of deferring my acceptance to Teach for America). But overall, there is peace is this restless heart of mine.

Much of that peace comes from a delicate balancing act between mine and Jamie’s personalities and gifts. For instance, I came up with “Ghana Manaña” as a name for the blog and Jamie came up with “Servir con ‘Ghana’ ” which I think is the coolest thing ever because it captures two main themes of the trip: 1) We are going to serve with Ghana.  And 2) We are going with a strong desire to teach and learn: mentally, spiritually, and physically.  (if you have questions about the third you should ask Jamie how many different foods she’s tried in the past month while uttering “well I guess this will prepare me for Ghana”)

As other SMC seniors say good-bye to the ritual of school and friends, I am excited to take a year with Jamie as we seek God for strength and inspiration as we teach and pursue our interests (Jamie loves anthropology while I’m an econ nerd).  It’s a beautiful and unique opportunity and one that only could have come with God’s timing-a timing I will never understand but know is always perfect.

In the mean time, check out this link and others by jchubins on youtube. There are many videos of the school! 

Live to love,

Lizziey June (and Jamie, too!)

This picture was taken off the SMC website and not (obviously) taken by Jamie or myself. But cool, nonetheless

The school bus taken in 2009.

"Here today Ghana Mañana"

Well it's final, Lizziey and I are heading to Ghana! We have known for about two weeks now, and because we are so excited we decided to start the blog just a tad bit early. Just last Tuesday we meet with sister ML, and found out more information about the program, including some awesome and unbearably cute pictures and videos of the school. As a small side note I would like to explain the meaning of our blog title "Servir con Ghana". Ghana is meant to sound like the spanish "ganas" meaning with strong will and desire, and "servir con" means to serve with. Hence our title basically means "to serve with conviction" while simultaneously also meaning "to serve with Ghana (the country)"! Crafty, huh?! :D
Anyways, Lizziey and I will post later with more information, and hopefully we will keep you all up to date with our adventures in Ghana rather frequently. For now we anxiously count down the days to graduation and August, when our Ghana journey will commence.
God Bless,
Jamie