Sri 11th April – 29th April
Bea and Rebecca 15th April – 25th April
My first trip to Accra on my own and I thought I did pretty well. On arrival, I lumbered myself with a taxi driver who insisted that I help him get a better life as I seemed to have some money. I explained that I am not here to give money, but to help more needy people help themselves. He did not understand and waited sullenly at the airport while I met Sri to bring her home to Ayensudo. It was Sri’s first time in Africa and I wanted it to be as smooth as possible. The sulky driver did not help by dropping us far from the Ford station and also got away with a huge tip because I miscalculated. Oh well!
Bea and Rebecca arrived a few days after that and this time all of us spent the weekend in Accra, eating and doing touristy things. The heat was sweltering and the girls often needed a break from the crowds and humidity. It was very enlightening and I must say I am not a big fan of Accra.
The girls understood the difference between the city and Ayensudo immediately. For one, almost everyone is pleasant and they greet you and secondly, they expect nothing from you.
The girls had brought with them as much as they could physically carry and these were donated both to Star of the Sea School and Ayensudo Islamic. Sri had raised money by setting up a stall at the local flea market in Singapore and donations from friends and family. B & R kindly brought everything I had requested and even more. Rahul Shah, a legend at DMS (my old company), also helped amass a huge load of stationery for the children in Elmina. Lenka Krepelkova also donated art supplies and a cute penguin which is now companion to beautiful Baby Ryan. All donations were received at the presentations with great enthusiasm.
We had to cram in a lot of activities so that the girls got a taste of West Africa. Despite all being first-timers, they coped brilliantly with the occasional stomach upset, dehydration and insane tro-tro races. Joe and I were very happy with the company as was Lawrence who could not believe his luck, being surrounded by beautiful women!
- Bea with Little John at the Rising Phoenix
- Rebecca dropping some postcards
- Sri poses bravely at James Town where photos are a no-no unless for a price
- Rebecca with her first Ghanaian beer, Star
- Girls in a James Town housing compound
- Rebecca's a hit with the kids
- Meeting the chief is a must as the girls get acquainted quickly
- Bus trip from Accra to Ayensudo
- Rebecca meets my cheeky neighbours
- Bea trains a young, enthusiastic photographer
- All of us with Sampson, creator of Star of the Sea School, in Besease
- Cheering with the students and Sampson at Besease
- Early morning boat ride to Nzulezo Stilt Village
- Obrunis (foreigners) are always popular with the kids
- With Akosi and Kettee, after a wonderful stay at Escape Three Points
- Sri presenting the donations to Ayensudo Islamic School
- Thank you note for Rahul & Friends from the community and school
- Joe writing down every donation the girls had brought
- The crowd that turned up to receive your kind donations..
All our guests are sorely missed and I really wished I had played more Scrabble while we had the numbers up! Thank you for coming and leaving a piece of you here with us.
Hope to see you soon, not just for the donations but also for your good intentions and kind thoughts. Our deepest thanks go out to 2 sets of people -
· Bea & Rebecca, Rahul (DMS), his friends at Lyreco and Lenka· Sri & Family, Ana & Jay and Karen
Please visit the following pages to view some memorable photos -
Uma's facebook page.
Here are some photos from the Ayensudo site. Please view by SET.
Please check out the Sabre photo site sabretrust.smugmug.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment