Sunday, March 31, 2013

Reflections for My Students

I wish I could have taken you all with me.  Human Geography just teaches itself when you see things first hand.  But beyond that, it is so impacting to see for yourself how hard-working and determined the people are in the face of significant obstacles.  We met a young man named Peter who walks seven miles to school every day.  He can no longer afford to stay in the hostel at the school (students who live farther away have the option but they have to pay) so he walks.  His parents are cocoa farmers, but it is just his mom now because his father died.  He was behind on his school fees because the cocoa harvest hasn't come in yet, so he wasn't certain he would be able to take the exams to move to the next level since they sometimes won't let you if you can't pay your fees.  Secondary school (grades 9 and up) is not free in Ghana.

I got to visit the girls hostel one evening.  They wanted me to see how they live, make their food, etc.  When we arrived the girls were cutting the grass around the school grounds with machetes (see below).
The girls cutting grass on the school grounds.






The girls stay in rooms with 8 to 12 others and there are bunks crowded into each small room.





One of the girls hostels at SEBESS


They are responsible for cooking their own food, and when they get home they have to light the charcoal fires that they will cook on.  Since their uniforms must be perfectly ironed (if not the protocol prefect will let them know during inspections) they iron their clothes every evening.  They don't have closets so they hang the ironed clothes on nails above their beds.  There are no ironing boards, as you can see from the picture below.  They also fetch water for their use in the hostel, and just like everything, they carry it on their heads.  We shouldn't feel guilty for having all the conveniences we have in our lives.  But we should feel gratitude, and I am hoping that is how you will respond.  And to the girls, remember that these girls aren't always as valued by their families as you are, simply because of their gender.  Take a moment to count your blessings, and then think about working hard and making the world a better place in any way that you can.  You have the time, you have the resources and you have the intelligence.  If we don't, who will?

They wanted me to see how they cook.

Heating the oil on the stove.

Ironing the school uniform

Water from the spigot gets carried back to the hostels on their heads.




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