Smiles, smiles and more smiles

Putting together two Reading Camps simultaneously is exhausting, but so rewarding. I have to admit last night I was wondering just what have I done. Our camp at Akramaman is going great. We have a wonderful facility. We know the area, the cooks, the children and what to expect. Akramaman will have a Reading Camp but my team will not be there. The Ghanaian team will staff that camp.

I have asked my seven American team members to step out of their comfort zone, really way beyond the norm. The team is headed to Trewebo, a village in the bush. The school is crumbling apart. The adult bathroom was never finished so we have to use the children’s facility–think of an outhouse with only a hole in the floor. I have never met the cook and if it rained the drive would be very difficult.

This morning by 6 am I was packing the tro-tro with all that we would need: school supplies, 150 pounds of books, corn dough, mackerel, sardines, cookies, tomatoes and the list goes on and on. By the time I got all the supplies in the tro-tro there was hardly enough room to fit the team.

Mercia, my Ghanaian hostess and Executive Director, got up at 2 am to cook for the team. Thanks to her, we had a great breakfast of torpedo bread, Laughing Cow cheese, and hardboiled eggs. She also cooked our lunch: jollof rice, vegetables and chicken. Then she drove to Akramaman to get that camp started.

Meanwhile, back at Trewebo we hung up the Reading Camp Banner,

created a library,

hand washing stations,

and then we gathered the children for prayer.

Before long the children were enjoying songs, and stories

Art class and lunch.

There was just a little monkeying around.

At the end of the day there were 40 smiling children and 15 exhausted, but smiling, American and Ghanaian team members. I can’t wait for tomorrow, outhouse and all.