African Holiday

A family break in Spain, a lovely way to relax and think about the things most important to you… and that’s exactly what I have been doing. The Larabanga Life Project has been on my mind the whole time and keeping in contact with people back home, exciting ideas have been flowing. Nathalie, a member of our UK team who was in Larabanga with me is taking a trip to Ghana within the next few weeks, she will be taking essential supplies for the community, including medical kits and clothes for the children.

My main interests here have been reading African Literature, painting for the Larabanga Life Project and finding African themed goodies at the local market (La Mata, Torrevieja). There is something about reading African Literature that gets me, the way it is written and the way it leaves me thinking, regardless of the different story lines. I picked up these two books whilst searching a second hand book shop back home, and what fabulous finds they have turned out to be, such gripping holiday reads! Beat Jackie Collins any day of the week… Sorry!

The books are: Spears in the Sun by JAMES EDWIN BAUM, it was published in New York in 1928 and the other is titled The Flame Trees of Thika- memories of an African childhood by ELSPETH HUXLEY published in 1959. Although I still have a way to go with finishing them both, they are definitely my kind of read, I will write an update on the books next time.

Spreading the word of The Larabanga Life Project has been a great tool here too, talking to different people from different places, with different thought processes… Even a fabulous guy at the market from Senegal, I can thank him for the fabulous dress I got from the market!

 Bye for now sunny Spain...

Inspiration and documentation

Being an orphan?
Millions of people from all over the world can call themselves an orphan and we have all heard the word. But what does it actually feel like to have that label, what does it do to your life and your future? I came across a documentary online called "Mother India - Through the eyes of the orphan", it is a highly touching documentation of the lives of the 31 million orphans living on the streets of India, the hardship they go through just to survive the day and keep each other safe.

Within Larabanga, there are over 100 orphaned and homeless children, and over half of the population are under the age of 18. Spending time there, I seen that children were looking after each other because they had no other option but the love they have for each other shines in their eyes and hides the pain and uncertainty that they feel. Inspiration was everywhere I looked in Larabanga, these children will leave their footprints in the sand and this world will know that they ARE here! Since being home I have had to forage for inspiration because living such a privileged life means there aren't many tough situations. My journal that I kept is my main source of inspiration because I documented every day that I was there... The BEST thing I could have done.

On the look out...
I am currently working with BoomPond to create an album that will be released in aid of the Larabanga Life Project, to raise both awareness and money. We have been searching for artists who are prepared to help, donate a song of theirs and show that they care about the project. The album is such a fantastic idea! Who doesn't listen to music? No better way to raise awareness than to tell a story through songs.
Click here to find out more

BLABMATE...
I have been teaching via Skype, a student originally from Bangladesh but who currently lives in Japan. I absolutely love it, becoming friends, learning about culture and the world around us. It is perfect for me!! I am going to Spain in a few days with my mum and sisters (my student told me he was very jealous) so this is my last post until I go but I will keep everyone posted whilst I am away.

Larabanga Life Project

How do you start the future?

Since returning back from Ghana in February, I have been searching and planning for ways to create a brighter future for Larabanga and reflecting on how this chance opportunity has captured my visions and changed my life completely.  

Raising awareness back home has proven challenging throughout the past months, trying to express my memories and concerns through social networking and word of mouth. Being a teacher, a friend and a foreigner with a first aid kit within the community made me realise that when I return I don't want to be a glimmer of hope, I want to be their way forward and their voice within this world that they seem to be lost within. 

Research has been my main priority recently, finding people who know what they are talking about and who are willing to help. I had started my new job and got talking to one of the customers about the project and that conversation has been the best conversation to date, it has given hope and a way forward for the project. Jay introduced me to a networking site called LinkedIn... and WOW! I have been completely overwhelmed with how much information I have come across whilst using it, I have found it to be an invaluable tool for me, allowing me to engage with and access a hell of a lot of people who work within the field that the Larabanga Life Project falls in to.

I have not only used LinkedIn as a source for research but the Internet as a whole, I have even been in touch with  Nigerian doctor who gave me fantastic information that is set to help one of our children, 10 year old Yakutu.

Yakutu

She is thought to have Sickle Cell disease and whilst I was in Ghana, I seen her in such severe pain, shouting "why, why, why". I could hear her pleas coming from inside her soul, this bright, loving young girl has been given no help up to now, with the community not even knowing what the problem actually was. I now know the steps we need to go through in order to move forward with her condition. 

Step 1) Diagnosis.
With the only cure for Sickle Cell disease being a Stem Cell transplant it is going to be a long and hard journey for everyone involved but the more me and my team put into the planning and research, the more positive and effective the outcome! 
 I am not a medical professional but my hours of foraging has brought plenty of people who are to the surface for me, which is perfect, contacts are power nowadays. 

Another source of information for me has been books, I visited a small second hand book shop close to where I live, looking for some African Literature. I came across a fantastic find, a very informative and complicated book about Malaria, I am beginning to read it whilst typing the majority of the medical terminology into Google, Malaria is rife and I need to know more about it to be able to help combat it within the community.