One month countdown

I only have a month now until I take the trip back to Ghana. Manchester to Istanbul then to Ghana, that leg of the journey is going to take 27 hours... Then once I arrive in Accra, Ghana. I have to take a 15 hour bus ride up to Tamale and then another 4 hours to Damongo. Finally I will be very close to Larabanga! It's definitely a good job that I enjoy travelling because its going to be one hell of a journey. One I am more than prepared to take to be able to help the community further. They've all taken me on the most precious journey of my life so far, and for that I will be eternally grateful.

The Kickstarter project is still active for another 20 days, this isn't going as well as I hoped but I am not giving up. I am contacting as many people as possible, radio stations, online magazines... the list goes on. I intend to still create a small film of life in Larabanga, even if it doesn't get funded. I believe that to fully appreciate what life is like and to be fully aware of what we aim to achieve you need to have an insight. An insight can be anything of course, from word of mouth or pictures but what does that truly mean to you?

I mean, a video is more, it shows life, the movement and the memories that create happiness. The film is not going to be a "production"- for one that would be completely out of my capacity as I have not done anythng like this before but most importantly, that wouldn't reveal the true nature. I am literally going to speak to members of the community about their life and capture raw, spontaneous moments on camera. The outcome is completely unknown to me, I will film the footage and put it together when I am home. Then it will be ready for the world to see.

Over the past few days I have been figuring out what I have to take to Larabanga and what I still need. The top of my list is First Aid supplies, so from gauzes to sudocream (the master of burns). There was a case whilst I was in Larabanga last time... A woman came to me with her daughter who was no more than 6, she had spilt a boiling pot of water over her back. Her skin was clearly burnt, but I have limited medical experience and knowledge so I was unable to give any help, except I advised her mother to keep her skin covered as of course you can work out that Ghana is a very hot country and heat and burns do not mix very well. If I had access to something like sudocream at that moment, I could have at least saved that childs pain. This is the beautiful little girl, she didn't even have a t-shirt on to cover her back.

When I am in Larabanga, I teach the children that are unable to attend school, mainly the orphaned children that Ibrahim takes care of. Also teach a wider group of children in the evening, this is extremely tricky because of the lack of lighting and space in general. Of course, teaching resources are limited to zero, so I have come up with a few ideas to help me when I go back.

1) White boards, I don't mean huge ones that you see in a classroom in the UK, but smaller ones. This way I can show the children whilst teaching and without having to take lots of paper which is of course heavier too. This will help them to become more involved in their own learning. There is nothing worse than being in a "lecture" type of lesson, especially for the younger students who are always in large groups.
2) I have found some educational English books, for varied ages. The type of books were the learner can write or "fill in" the book. Of course these are great when you are sat at home with one child but that is obviously not practical for my mission. So, I have photocopied several pages that I think are going to be the most useful and laminated them. Using drywipe pens, the children can write on them but then it will come off so another child can also benefit from it. Bringing fun to the lessons too!!

More support!!!

The gym that I go to is helping me to raise funds to take the supplies needed over to Larabanga. The gym is called Ainsdale Health and Fitness. It is terrific to know that local people are willing to help me.

The high school I attended, Meols Cop, Southport are giving me the opportunity to go back and speak to the students in assembly time about the project, my journey and what they can do to help. I hope to also inspire the students to jump at opportunities that are brought to their attention. I wouldn't be writing this blog now if I had organised a place to stay that night in Northern Ghana... I am so glad that I didn't and took a risk!

Now... Ebola.
This is a topic I can't ignore. Telling people that I am going to West Africa, I have had mixed responses, may people telling me I am completely stupid and deluded. My response to them is that they obviously haven't done their research, Ghana has no confirmed cases of Ebola. I'm not stupid, of course I know that I am putting myself at risk if there is to be an outbreak in Ghana but I believe that Ghana are looking on the horrific situations in other West African countries and are learning from their mistakes. Prevention is the best protection, no doubt. I spend time each day searching for news articles about the outbreak, to see if anything has happened in Ghana and up to now, it has been good news. I am hoping more than anything that it stays a safe place for me to travel to. I NEED to see these faces again...

The fears that shape a future

31/12/13

Well, what an incredible end to 2013 this is. Staying in Larabanga was the best decision I have ever made.

A short extract from my actual journal from when I was in Larabanga, I want to share as much of it as possible to make everyone fall in love the way I did and to inspire people to make a change. This kind of situation reminds me of a piece of artwork I got on a recent trip to Amsterdam, so how many humans are there on their in this world? Around 7 billion? Imagine the power behind those 7 billion minds? We need to join together to make a life changing impact on other people’s lives.

Humanity... This is humans as a collective, so why aren’t we? We were all made for a reason and whatever that reason may be, you can do something with that in order to create a brighter future.

My second visit to Larabanga became a more purposeful one, I had to find out as much as I possibly could about these precious ones. I remember walking around the village to talk to all of the orphaned children who were staying with people who could have them, basically. Everything I heard, every pair of eyes I looked into unravelled more pain and tragedy. This task was essential, it hit home, why I was there.

Here are some more extracts from my journal, they are a longer but I feel they are the most effective way of expressing my experiences.

29/12/13

It was adorable last night, before they went to sleep, me and Mohammed got them to say the alphabet and do simple sums, when they got it right their faces beamed! It’s the simple things in life.

31/12/13

Yesterday, the word had got around that I have been doing first aid for a lot of people in the community, from tiny babies to old women. When the lady came to me yesterday and shown me her breast, I was taken back. There was a hole in the side of it that had gunk coming out of it. I never thought that I would be performing medical treatments on people when I set out on my adventures for the Christmas holidays. But I am here and I feel that I am doing everything I should be doing.

I nearly cried the first time I treated the baby’s head, I could basically see her scalp and there was green puss and her hair was getting stuck in it, so you can imagine how painful it must have been for the poor little girl, she screamed so much. When I turned up at her compound, she was very surprised to see me but soon I had treated over 20 wounds, the flies get on each and every wound so imagine how much infection must be in each and every one. It is crazy to think of what I am actually doing, I have just said to Madi… “How on earth do you put an experience like this onto paper?”

The Larabanga Life Project has a touching musician writing a song for us, Mynah Marie. Having influential people supporting us gives the most important people a louder voice. This song will be a part of our Kick Starter campaign.  https://www.facebook.com/mynah.solo?fref=ts

We are working hard to make sure everything is perfect for the campaign, the opportunities this could bring to such inspiring lives is worth every minute. When I tell them that I’m not going to arrive in Larabanga as a glimmer of hope, but their future, that will be the most accomplishing moment of my life. The help of others is vital.

I came across a documentary whilst researching, called Moving On, it was created by a couple who have a passion to change the world and who are doing just that. Definitely check it out, finding out about other people around the world who are doing such things is an incredible inspiration to me. 

http://www.lightgivesheat.org/