Wow! We added 40 childen to camp this year. That is a 60% increase over the last 4 years. On day one when we arrived, it was overwhelming. It is, however, amazing what you can do when you plan and organize. Kudos to Becki Neumann and Christ Church-South Riding for all the work they did to organize the items needed in each classroom for each day before we came to Ghana. It has gone very smoothly. Play time can be a little hectic but class time is great. Enjoy the offering from two of our team members.
Evan Trouland
Day 2 of reading camp,
it’s a lot of fun! Today we read the book Go Dog. Go! with the kids; it was lots of fun and they learn so fast! After lunch we played soccer with a ball. When I walked out with it about 20 kids ran to me getting ready to retrieve the ball and begin playing; those kids are the best at soccer and they never run out of energy!
In art they made brown bag dog puppets which was very cute and funny. For lunch they had beans, rice, and one hot dog… I had a snack of Cheez Its and water. After the the camp we had leftover beans, rice, and hot dogs. When we got on the bus to go, all the kids waved and said “See you tomorrow,” and we left. That was my day at reading camp.
Althea Allen
Art, the great connector.
Everyone can do art! Bruce and I are the art teachers for the reading camp. I teach at the preschool and Bruce is at the primary school. Jackie and Aaron are our wonderful assistants. Ghanaian teachers are there to help with translation, and to help where needed.
Teaching the art class is one of the best assignments I have ever had. The children in Ghana appreciate using their art supplies and truly enjoy using them. If only more American students were this grateful! The children come in and quickly find their seats and put their supply bags on the back of their chairs. You should see the excitement in their bright smiles and eager expressions.
The thing I found most exceptional about the students is that they actually WAIT patiently for instructions. They wouldn’t even TOUCH the art supplies in front of them without an “Aunty” or an “Uncle’s” permission. So far the art classes have created a name tag strip for their desks, a class name chain and a dog paper puppet wearing a crazy hat. We still have more fun projects to do for the rest of the week including zoo animal sun catchers and a hand print fish craft.
Seeing how the Ghanaian children treasure their crayons, pencils and other art supplies makes me feel that GMH has given them something to cherish. Not just the ownership of what we perhaps would call “mundane”, but memories to cherish for a lifetime. Perhaps we are making a difference in these small but precious lives, demonstrating God’s love in ways that will never be forgotten.
Ghanaian Mothers' Hope 