It has been far too long...

The theme of today is...It has been far too long.  Too long since I have posted, and too long since I have rested my feet on the hot clay of the Volta Region.  We've come a long ways in that time though.

When I last wrote to you we had only just started raising awareness and fundraising for a small income generating project at a school for marginalized children in the Volta Region of Ghana, West Africa.

In the short 4 months since then, we have begun building the structure and nearly completed it.  Soon we will outfit the structure with cages and begin raising grasscutter (great cane rat).  Grasscutter are a real staple in Ghanaian cuisine, and will hopefully be a particularly important emergency food and income source for the school.

What's next you ask?  Well, no great project ends at the completion of the build.  Next, we will be creating a business plan including ways to evaluate the outcomes of the project.  In November, we'll hold a ribbon cutting celebration for the kids at the school and officially launch the project with the full management and support of our Ghanaian partners.

Here's to prosperity, full bellies, and ultimately smiling children!

Ghana is GREAT - Child Labor is NOT!

I love Ghana.  It's my second home.  I fiercely defend it when people question why I love it there so much.  I find that often, even on this blog I've talked about all of the great parts of living there.  In doing so though, I've missed some of the details of my experience.  Despite it's stabile democratic government, beautiful views, friendly people, and amazing culture, there are still things that could improve.  Ghana remains a developing country.  It's amazing views are dotted with villages and cities that remain plagued by extreme poverty, difficult economic and working conditions, and parts of a labor market that profit from child labor.  Children are laboring in markets, as head load carriers, fishing, cocoa production, Indian Hemp fields, in homes as domestic workers, and in mines.  It's often subtle and you might not notice it, but if you look closely enough...with a keen eye, you'll see its devastating effects.

A school I am developing a project for serves 250 vulnerable and marginalized children.  Most of whom have been rescued from the worst forms of child labor in agriculture and domestic work.  Please consider a donation that will help us address the after effects of child labor.  Help us give these children and opportunity to survive and thrive so that their children will not meet a similar experience.

The Melesem Project at Crossover International Academy

Working in Ghana again

Hi Everyone!  I've started a new project in Ghana.  We are working on building a food and income source for marginalized children rescued from child labor.  Check out our website below.  Are you interested in getting involved?  Contact us!

www.melesem.com

Smelly, Stinky, Full of Pizza and Looking for Rabbits

So, yesterday I arrived in Tema, outside of Accra, to search out purchasing some rabbits for our kids [we'll use them both as an educational tool for caring for animals and as a potential source of protein in their diets].  I only packed enough clothes for potentially 1 overnight thinking worse case scenario I would just get them Thursday and leave today in the afternoon.  It looks like I'll have to stay one more night though for all things to work out, so...what that means is wearing the same smelly clothes a few days in a row, not really fully showering because I have soap but no towel, and hoping to God this guy I know can actually find these bunnies for me today.  Here in Africa to get anything done you have to know a guy who knows a guy if you know what I mean.  You won't find ads on the internet for a bunny rearer in Accra...instead you ask all of your friends and hope they ask people and ultimately hope you can investigate it enough to find where you need to go to buy things - especially things as rare as rabbits in Ghana.  The real fun will be keeping these bunnies alive and in the yard in an orphanage of 40 kids - wish us luck!

Eating Out In Africa

Listen up everyone!  Don't let this post scare you about eating out in Africa.  I've actually very rarely gotten sick from eating food here.  So this past week our favorite chop bar in town was all out of everything except banku...let's just say I had had my fill of banku for the time being.  So we headed off to a chop bar.  If you are picturing a restaurant from home - erase that from your mind.  It's more of a wooden shack like structure.  Anyways, we ended up ordering Indomie and rice and truthfully it wasn't half bad.  Indomie is just like ramen noodles, and we all know those are right up my alley!!!! Just when we were enjoying a HUGE rat ran by.  Thankfully, he decided our dinner wasn't worth sharing and kept moving.  I had to laugh he was actually pretty cute, but my fellow travelers weren't as impressed.  I can't blame them, he didn't really invite himself in the most pleasant way.  Know this, eating out in rural Ghana will be different than at home, but you can't beat the price - dinner for just GHS 3 (the equivalent to $1.50 USD).  In case you are wondering...I didn't get sick from my dinner.  I ate it all and felt fine the next day.