Journey to Kakumdo -Cape Coast, Central Region, Ghana
I spend seven weeks of my 2014 summer on the African Continent. I applied to Operation Crossroads Africa (OCA) as a group leader and was chosen to lead a group of 13 college students to Kakumdo, a village in Cape Coast in the Central Region of Ghana, West Africa. The OCA program matched my group with a registered Non Governmental Organization (NGO) - Foundation for Economic Development and Educational Promotion (F.E.D.E.P.). FEDEP is run by the Executive Director Mr Lawrence Ekow Arhin, Headmaster - Kingsley Ameho, Assistant Principal - Madam Maragret Tiwaa and Matron and Founding Member - Madam Theresa Andzewa. OCA participants volunteered their time to participate in this cultural experience - “make a difference for others. see the difference in yourself” - that is OCA’s motto. At FEDEP International School the participants and I volunteered our time to teach in the classrooms and work outdoors on a construction project. We taught Math, English, and French to grades KG - Jr High on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and worked outdoors on Tuesday and Thursday constructing a new road for the school and the community. Additionally, I took on a personal project for FEDEP. I photographed the administrative staff, all the classes, the construction workers and the kitchen staff, I photographed the construction projects at the school ( new bathrooms, kitchen and road) and setup a new facebook page https://www.facebook.com/fedepghana) for them. While our schedule was hectic, it gave us an opportunity to connect with the children, teachers, vendors, kitchen staff, construction workers and villagers alike. The children were the best gift we could ask for...unconditional love and affection. The smiles and the cheers when we arrived each day was pure music to my ears. We stayed in a variety of accommodations throughout our time in Ghana and ate mostly local foods.
We arrived in Accra on June 18, 2014 and after our orientation on the 19th, departed for Cape Coast. We stayed in Cape Coast for six weeks and travelled to several regions in Ghana for 1 week.
At our group home in Kakumdo our resources were finite so we made the best of it - sleeping in sleeping bags for six weeks and cooking local foods such and Red Red with bean sauce, Fufu in light soup, Banku with fish, Ampesi with Garden Eggs stew, Jollof Rice with Fried Chicken and Fried rice with chicken and fish and so much more. Our wonderful helper (Perpetua) taught us how to cook local foods and she prepared a lot of our meals (thank God for her, what a blessing to have met her). We shopped in Melcom and the big market in Kotocraba on a weekly basis for food supplies and made smaller purchases in Abura. The participants and I learned how to bargain on prices and how to take a drop or share in a taxi. We learned to speak Fante which the locals appreciated - some of us better that others. We learned songs in Fante and I recorded several of the school children performing beautifully during out time at FEDEP.
In addition to working we had the opportunity to attend church services in Kakumdo (Methodist, Catholic, and Penticost) and also visit lots of attraction in the surrounding areas in Cape Coast - Elmina Castle, Kakum National Park, and Hanns Cottage were just a few of the attractions and historical sites we visited in the Central Region. We also travelled far and wide to see sites in place such as Cape Three Point in the Western Region; Mole National Park and Larabanga Mosque ( the largest and oldest Mosque in Ghana) in the Northern Region; Kintampo Waterfall in the Brong Ahafo Region; Bonwire (the Kente village ) and also the wood carving village, Manhyia Palace, Kumasi Military Fort and Museum and the Kumasi Central Market in the Ashanti Region; Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, W.E.B DuBios Center for Pan African Culture, the National Museum of Ghana and the Accra Arts Center in the Greater Accra Region.
Whew, just typing that makes me wonder just how we were able to get so much done. Of course we did a lot more but hopefully my photography work will show how rich an experience we enjoyed. There is so much more to say about this experience and I am working on a photo book that will be completed (I hope) by the end of 2015. The book will be available for purchase with some of the proceeds going to FEDEP International School. I have committed myself to helping them complete the road (Glory Road) by raising the funds to paying for the paving of it. The cost is approximately $500.00 US.
Additionally, I along with 7 others formed a non-profit organization - Project YES Africa. This organization is a 501(c)(3) non-profit . If you would like more information this new organization please contact me. We will be officially launching our website in July 2015.
If you would like to help please contact me at acharlesphotography@gmail.com or call 202-437-8493. Also visit http://www.operationcrossroadsafrica.org and http://www.fedepghana.org for more information about these organizations. Thank for visiting and please share this gallery with family and friends.
Read MoreWe arrived in Accra on June 18, 2014 and after our orientation on the 19th, departed for Cape Coast. We stayed in Cape Coast for six weeks and travelled to several regions in Ghana for 1 week.
At our group home in Kakumdo our resources were finite so we made the best of it - sleeping in sleeping bags for six weeks and cooking local foods such and Red Red with bean sauce, Fufu in light soup, Banku with fish, Ampesi with Garden Eggs stew, Jollof Rice with Fried Chicken and Fried rice with chicken and fish and so much more. Our wonderful helper (Perpetua) taught us how to cook local foods and she prepared a lot of our meals (thank God for her, what a blessing to have met her). We shopped in Melcom and the big market in Kotocraba on a weekly basis for food supplies and made smaller purchases in Abura. The participants and I learned how to bargain on prices and how to take a drop or share in a taxi. We learned to speak Fante which the locals appreciated - some of us better that others. We learned songs in Fante and I recorded several of the school children performing beautifully during out time at FEDEP.
In addition to working we had the opportunity to attend church services in Kakumdo (Methodist, Catholic, and Penticost) and also visit lots of attraction in the surrounding areas in Cape Coast - Elmina Castle, Kakum National Park, and Hanns Cottage were just a few of the attractions and historical sites we visited in the Central Region. We also travelled far and wide to see sites in place such as Cape Three Point in the Western Region; Mole National Park and Larabanga Mosque ( the largest and oldest Mosque in Ghana) in the Northern Region; Kintampo Waterfall in the Brong Ahafo Region; Bonwire (the Kente village ) and also the wood carving village, Manhyia Palace, Kumasi Military Fort and Museum and the Kumasi Central Market in the Ashanti Region; Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, W.E.B DuBios Center for Pan African Culture, the National Museum of Ghana and the Accra Arts Center in the Greater Accra Region.
Whew, just typing that makes me wonder just how we were able to get so much done. Of course we did a lot more but hopefully my photography work will show how rich an experience we enjoyed. There is so much more to say about this experience and I am working on a photo book that will be completed (I hope) by the end of 2015. The book will be available for purchase with some of the proceeds going to FEDEP International School. I have committed myself to helping them complete the road (Glory Road) by raising the funds to paying for the paving of it. The cost is approximately $500.00 US.
Additionally, I along with 7 others formed a non-profit organization - Project YES Africa. This organization is a 501(c)(3) non-profit . If you would like more information this new organization please contact me. We will be officially launching our website in July 2015.
If you would like to help please contact me at acharlesphotography@gmail.com or call 202-437-8493. Also visit http://www.operationcrossroadsafrica.org and http://www.fedepghana.org for more information about these organizations. Thank for visiting and please share this gallery with family and friends.
