Fomena Village Visit (3/11)

Our host teacher, Ray, keeps a small apartment in Kumasi where he works, but on the weekends, he travels 4 hours round trip to spend time with his wife and three kids.  He used to live and teach biology in the village of Fomena along with his wife, who teaches math and economics. But when the opportunity to teach at KASS, a much larger and more prestigious school, opened up, he knew he had to take this position.  We were so humbled to be invited into his family home and to tour the school grounds.

Ray's wife lives on the school grounds and not only teaches, but oversees one of the girls' dormitories at T.I. Ahmadiyya Senior High School.  This high school is Muslim, but also a public school, just as Anglican Senior High is public.  The government of Ghana took over the private religious schools but the religious groups that founded them still provide some financial backing.

It was a delight to meet his family and share a meal.  The neighbor kids joined the party and had a great time opening gifts that we brought for them.  I brought the kids some Kansas gifts, including a Jayhawk frisbee, and taught them how to use it, they were fast learners!  

Chidi and I were gifted amazing Ghanaian smocks from the northern region, which is where Ray was born.  These smocks are traditionally worn for special occasions such as weddings and funerals.  

While touring the grounds, we met many of the staff and observed some boys cutting the grass by hand with blades similar to machetes.  We spoke with their supervisor who told us that they keep the grass cut because there are snakes, sometimes COBRAS, otherwise. COBRAS ON THE SCHOOL LAWN!  Apparently they are attracted by the free-ranging school chickens' eggs. 

We made quick stop to check out some cocoa trees and avocado trees and also toured the house Ray is building for his family. In Ghana, you pay as you build rather than getting a loan up front, so it is very common to see houses or buildings that are under construction.  We noticed some children's drawings on the walls and a merry-go-round in the front yard and asked about them. Ray told us that the school his children attend had some building issues, so they opened up his house (still under construction) and the school hosted 50-60 children for 8-9 months until they could go back to the school.  The people of Ghana are reslient and determined to make education happen no matter what! Education changes lives in Ghana.