Grant, Celestine and Adeline-2 sweet little girls and proud Mom

The children that greeted us upon our arrival

Foo Foo-fried plantains-fried yams-red and green sauces

School building project..see Grant's "after" pictures below

"Before" school project pictures..no walls yet but see Grant's photos below.
Bricks drying under the tree

Meeting with village leader and Suodabe toast

The watchers

Wouda, a favorite--possible future president

Sister and her little brother

A few of the children that followed us to one of the churches

Grant's littlest shadows

Joshwa and his mother

Grant with the Kaminah teachers--Mattias is in the blue shirt

OUR TRIP OF A LIFETIME 

     By now we have had many opportunities to share our photos and wonderful stories about this most incredible adventure.  We, as parents could not wait to see what our son had been doing and how he had been living for the last two years.  We had a some idea of what it must be like and Grant's photo's showed us, in two dimension, what things looked like.  However, we are not sure anything could have fully prepared us for this trip.  Neither can we now truly describe these amazing countries, the wonderful people we met and the warmth and friendship that was extended to us wherever we went.


     The flights are long to Africa and with the time zone change, you lose a day but there he was, Grant waiting for us in the Accra, Ghana Airport, standing tall among all the vendors, greeters, several Muslims during their nightly prayers and those willing to carry your bags for a fee.  It was chaos. Two nights in Accra to get acclimated and catch up on our sleep, then a ride on the country wide transit bus watching very bad Nigerian soap operas, to spend two nights at an eco-lodge, about 120 miles northwest of Accra, called Safari Beach Lodge. Then to Cape Coast, one of the largest shipping centers for the shipment of slaves from Africa to all points around the world.  The castles that became slave dungeons were very depressing and a reminder of the horrors when we deal in the sale or trade of human capital.


    While in Cape Coast we had the unbelievable experience of watching the Ghana vs. USA World Cup Soccer match with 3,000+ Ghanaians at a local gas station, on a projector type image on four 4x8 sheets of plywood nailed together and painted white.  Fortunately, Ghana won the game and we were able to participate in a parade down the highway with now 6,000+  Ghanaians,  all dancing and hugging and displaying a kind of sports enthusiasm well beyond what we see after our Super Bowl of World Series.


   Then into Togo.  The border crossing is a whole other story.  Before leaving Lome', the capital of Togo, we had the pleasure of meeting several of Grant's friends, also PC volunteers and we can truly and absolutely say we were honored and believe that they are and will be some of the stars of this generation.


    In Grant's village of Kamina, it is readily apparent that these people are living a lifestyle not much different than 100 years ago.  With the exception of a few cell phones, motorcycle taxis and a generator to cool their beer and soda, his villagers are without modern conveniences. They are without electricity and have only two wells in village. They bathe using "bucket baths" and collect rain water from their roof. Their beautiful clothes are clean and very colorful.    Most are farmers and are simply trying to produce food for their table. 
    
    We have never experienced a more gentle, warm, loving and truly engaged people.  The faces of both the young and old would light a room if you simply said "bon jour" or "bon soir" or "merci".  We really were embraced when we explained in our very poor French that we were Grant's "mama" and "papa".  With great pride we participated in 4 meetings with the village notables and the school professors(teachers) from the school he is building/repairing.


    Our most amazing memories from this adventure are of the children.  They could not have been any more beautiful and happy.  They were around us all day an into the night and always with huge smiles on their faces.  Grant has a few favorites, but if we could, we would have brought back with us, any number of these children.  It is so easy to see what is possible, if we could just insure that all of these boys and girls have an inclusive education that will give them the tools to change the future of even this smallest of villages. We loved them all.


     We shared meals with Marie and Mattias who have become like parents to Grant during his stay in Togo. Marie fixed all of our meals on a simple charcoal fueled clay oven.  They are a beautiful couple and both well educated. Mattias, as a teacher, is paid by the Togo government but the individual villages are responsible for the school building and supplies.  Were we able to bring over several large duffels with school supplies, soccer balls, soccer jerseys, toothbrushes, medical supplies for the local dispensary and peanut butter for Grant.


     We ate "foo foo" and "pak" with many different and spicy red and green sauces. We bought cloth/pagneKamina.  It is certain that he has had an impact on the villagers he has met.  They will truly miss him when he leaves in November.

     At our visit, his school project was not near as complete as he now shows in his photos.  They are making the building bricks right on the school grounds.  They have to wait for access to a dump truck to bring sand in for the blocks and the cement.  As he has written, there are new concrete floors, and walls in 4 of the classrooms and a fifth is being given support posts as well as a floor and roof.  He hope to refinish blackboards and also do a landscape planting around the school before he returns home.  Basic education of the Togolese people is absolutely critical to their hopes for a better future.

      We were very sad to leave and could have stayed longer. As we returned to Lome' we stopped at a camp for AIDS orphans, sponsored and staffed by the PC volunteers.  Here again we met many of the volunteers that have been with Grant the last two years.  They are very impressive young people and as mentioned will be a force to reckon with and their voices will be heard.  It is also clear that many have formed a bond of friendship and camaraderie that will last a lifetime.

      This was truly a trip of a lifetime for us and we both have a greater appreciation about what we read about current events in Africa and especially, West Africa.  A country very different from our own but filled with people that have the same love of family and the same hopes and fears we all have for the future of our children, our schools, our communities and our nations.  The Togolese and Ghanaians are truly committed and capable of making their national contribution towards the betterment of all of us.

Ron and Terri Rhodes