About the Blog

United Hearts Children Center is located in Bawjiase, Ghana. It is currently home to 25 children, who are excited to move into their NEW home in the next few months. We are continuing fundraising to complete the project and have just started to fundraise for the United Hearts Community School. Check them out in my links!

Monday, December 27, 2010

Ghanaian Wisdom

Things I have learned or that have happened since I last wrote:
  • The very popular STAR beer is actually an acronym for sit together and relax.
  • We went to a wedding on Saturday. I use this phrase loosely seeing as we showed up three hours after we were supposed to, sat down where no one else was sitting, were joined by the rest of the guests, sat some more, listened to music, followed our friends through the village and ended up at a football (soccer) game, walked back through the village while children cried because we were the first white people they have ever seen, arrived back at the wedding to a scene that was exactly the same as when we left, listened to people speak for a very long time in Twi, watched people dance and the bride and groom walk back and forth, got up and went home.
  • Cats like to have their babies in a corner under a covering to feel protected. This is why Oprah kept picking up her children and bringing them under our beds because she wasn't happy that they were in the middle of the room. Vlad built her a home:
  • "That is the problem with Africa; people waste too much time in church." - Kobby, the young man I am tutoring in math, who was not available yesterday because he was in church.
  • Akpetishie, a very potent Ghanaian alcohol, is excellent for fixing wounds. We went for a walk through town last night just to get out of the house. I took an epic tumble down four concrete steps on our frantic search for a frozen fruit bar I've been wanting to try. Luckily, my snowboarding skills have taught me how to fall, and I walked away with a scrape on my knee and a gash on my toe. We walked to Two Face where I went behind the bar to grab a Coke and show Idris (the owner and a good friend of the volunteers) my wounds, to which he proclaimed "Becca! I will fix them like we do in Ghana." This frightened me, as I'm used to my mother saying things like this (minus the Ghana part) and giving me weird looking pills and drops. However, Idris pulled out the bottle of Akpetishie, which actually frightened me just as much because it is vile. He grabbed my leg and proceeded to pour the alcoholic beverage on my wounds, rubbing it in to get rid of the blood and dirt.
We celebrated Christmas with the children yesterday, which was absolutely amazing. We went to the site of the new building and decorated, then put the presents in their soon-to-be bedrooms, let them run wild and find the gift bag with their name on it. Crying was kept to a minimum, mainly occurring when they didn't realize there were two boys rooms with gifts and two girls rooms with gifts. Each kid received a new outfit, including underwear, a coloring book and crayons. The girls all received headbands and watches. The older boys also received watches and the young boys received cars. The day before, Marta, pastor's wife, came up to our house to confirm that all the clothing we were giving the children were the correct sizes. (This picture shows some of our main common area where we spend most of our time)

Taking a look at what's inside the bags!

Showing off Irene's new shirt!



The kids are all doing very well and are as healthy as they can be. A local church is coming later today to host a party for all our children as well as many local kids. The kids are excited to have a party and the volunteers are excited to be able to sit back and relax, which will be a wonderful break from the work we are normally doing. Tomorrow will be a staff party, which we are hosting for the orphanage staff. We will provide Marta with money to buy food at market and she will be cooking for us, which I am quite excited about. I keep thinking about making guacamole, but I'm not sure if the motivation is there, so I might wait to make some for the volunteers Saturday night. The avocados here are AMAZING. They are called pear, which is pronounced more like pay-ah, and it was one of the most important words I learned last time I was here.

That is all from Bawjiase right now. Things should quiet down by the end of the week and we'll be able to return to a normal routine, which I am very much looking forward to.

I know holiday season is nearing its end, but our fundraising is not, and we have thousands of dollars still to raise. There are so many wonderful organizations out there and sometimes I feel as though we are not helping enough people. However, we cannot save the world or help every orphan, but we can make a difference in the lives of these 25 children.

Mama Hope

We are also fundraising through our own website, managed by Vlad. This is his third stay in Bawjiase and his total time spent here totals nearly a year. The money donated through our site is used for immediate needs, ranging from the building, food, and staff salaries.

Ghana Orphanage

2 comments:

  1. Loved the pictures and hearing about what you're up to. The bride/groom outfits are spectacular even if you sort of/kind of attended the wedding. Glad Christmas worked out well for the children - they (and you) look great!Happy to hear you were given a local potent remedy. I'd even support the use of antibiotic ointment. Enjoy the day off and the staff party. Dad shoveling almost done. He also managed to make awesome turkey meatballs. I had backup plan but didn't need it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Becs,

    Yet another great blog post about life in Ghana- it's the polar opposite of the high drive/stress ridden pace of the US northeast life style-

    Check your email-sent some snow pictures- I'll be interested to read and see how Ghana does New Years!!

    ReplyDelete