Highlights From My Parents Trip

These first two pictures are from the victory celebration in Ghana when they beat the USA in the world cup. I was there with my parents, watching the game on a big theater screen in a bus station parking lot. Thousands paraded up and down the street. It looked like a riot, only everyone was happy instead of angry. My camera couldn't catch the parade of people miles long, it was a pretty special moment for my family and me, and for the country of Ghana, who had never advanced that far in the world cup. Although I was slightly bummed the USA got eliminated from the tournament.

Thes pictures from Elmina castle near Cape Coast in Ghana. This castle is the oldest European building in Sub-saharan africa, built in the 1500's if I remember correctly. It was depressing to see this, but fascinating. We learned a lot about the history of the slave trade and the different countries that have occupied and used the castle in the past.

My parents took many more pictures than I did on the trip. I keep encouraging them to post photos on here and give their outlook on my life here. Hopefully that will come soon.

School Renovation Project

I am sorry I have not posted in a while. My parents keep telling me that people are asking about the school. It is going well. I would say it is about four fifths finished. There are a few steps left for one classroom, mainly reinforcing the roof supports with concrete, rather than wood. Here are a few pictures so you can see the progress. When school starts up again in September we will finish everything. Thank you all again.

Akloa Falls

Akloa Falls, Memorial Day. My buddy James and I having fun and generally looking like idiots in all these photos.

James in mid air preparing for a devastating belly flop

You really haven't lived until you've high-fived beneath a waterfall.

Picture of the year? Me jumping from a cliff, I didn't have my measuring tape, but I'd say it was good ten stories high. James, peer-pressuring me to jump/cheering on my foolishness.

Couple of real cool dudes.

In other news: My parents will be visiting me in a few days; yes, here in Africa! I'm a little nervous, but mostly excited.

On the record: It should be a very memorable experience for everyone, as a well as a nice little vacation to Ghana, where I will be be watching that country play in the World Cup and generally getting caught up in all the fandemonium of the tournament.

Off the record: This is Africa, something will happen my parents are not prepared for. In the words of Samuel L. Jackson: "Hold on to your butts."

Great Effort By Family, Friends, and Other Generous Blog Readers

Grant has asked that we post an informal thank you to the many thoughtful family, friends and blog readers that have responded to his request for donations. As his parents, Terri and I have truly enjoyed your many cards and notes of encouragement and praise that have been sent along with your generous donations. Those cards and notes have been sent on to Grant.

As he has mentioned, you all gave much more then he ever expected or anticipated (4 times what he thought). Your donations have been wired to an account in Togo and building materials are being purchased. He has already lined up the necessary masons from Kamina, his village. Materials such as sand will be obtained near his village.

Please accept this published post as a small but greatly appreciated and wholehearted "shout out" to all of you. Donations have come all the way from Richmond, Virginia to Sacramento, California; from Hoboken, New Jersey to Peoria, Arizona and from Sequim, Washington, Missoula, Montana, Portland, Oregon and Omaha, Nebraska and many places in between.

So here we go, first from around Oregon: thanks to Bonnie in Grants Pass, Steve and Donna, The Dalles; Denise in Salem; Alexis and Bill, Milwaukie, Jim and Shelia, Eugene; Pete and Jean, Lake Oswego; Jerry and Jane, Oregon City; Patrick, Mollala; Edd and Sharon, Wilsonville; John and Mary, Eugene; Charlie and Cathy, Tualatin; Skip and Linda, West Linn.

And from Portland, Tim and Mary, Jim and Morley, Max, Jim and Christine, Ray and Denissia, Dana, Molly (formerly, Missoula), Cathy L, Dave and Peggy, Alex, Peter, Randy and Jan, Silka and Harris, Stephanie, John and Kathy, Dick and Teresa, Allison and Bill, and Ron and Terri.

From Washington, Rose and Frank, and Sally, Seattle; Peggy and Shirley, Sequim and Ken and Pam, Tacoma.

From Missoula, Kim, Forrest, Bill and Betsy, Amy, Heidi and the really awesome young people at Taco del Sol.

And finally to you from afar; Lauren and Devon, Ft. Collins, Co; Danna and Justin, Hoboken, NJ; Mariam and Paul, Honeybrook, Pa.; Conor and Katherine, Richmond, Va.; Laurie and Gerhard, Sacramento, Ca.; Judy and Mel, Peoria, Az.; Susie(formerly, Missoula)now Meridian, Ida.; Tom in Omaha, Nebraska; and Gordy and Meg, Maui, Hawaii .

Keep you eyes on his blog as he will update progress as best he can. Terri and I will be visiting him in his village in June and will also take lots of pictures.

We can not thank you enough for your caring and support of Grant.

Ron and Terri
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Life update

Thank you to everyone who donated to my school project. I believe my father might list all of you by first name on this blog so you may be recognized and I am planning on the students and teachers to write some kind of thank you letters as well. The support from my community so far has been outstanding. The plans are in place and budgets calculated to lay floors, add walls, improve foundations and structure, and add chalkboards, and a porch connecting the classrooms. If there is enough, we may also try to paint.



I received more money than I ever anticipated which goes to show how caring my friends and family are. I also plan on using a portion of the money, along with some of my salary, to plan field trips for certain students to Atakpame. This is a popular project for education volunteers in Togo. Many young women have never even left their village. In conjunction with my friend and closest neighbor James, we are planning a "Take Your Daughters to Work" field trip, so that the young girls in our village can see professional women in the workplace and be aware of opportunities they may not know are even available to them. Many young women in small villages like Kamina lack the opportunities for education, many drop out as teenagers or even younger, and it is shown that the strongest way to strengthen this population is to educate the women. Statistics clearly establish that with the education of women; family health improves, children become more nourished, birth rates drop, as does infant mortality. James and I are excited for the possibility to show some of the brighest girls in my village how far their education can take them.



I intend to plant trees around the school, trees that the village do not yet know about. I hope to incorporate this into a chance to educate them on the benefits of sustainable reforestation.



I am also currently applying for a small grant from the embassy to build cisternes in my village, which will be accompanied by presentations on the importance of clean water and hygiene.



I would also like to give a shout out to my friend Laura's blog, L'Afrique en Miniature, which you will find on the list of blogs on the right side of my site. She is planning an even more ambitious project, the construction of a brand new school from the ground up. I encourage you to check it out, if only because she writes much more eloquently on the importance of education than I do.



In other news:



It's hot season, I'm sleeping on the floor in front of a battery operated fan trying to keep the heat rash at bay (so far unsuccessfully). I sweat when I eat. I sweat when I read, I even sweat when I shower.



I completed my year as an editor for our Peace Corps news magazine. Now four others will take over the job. It was an awesome experience going down to the capital every few months(Although incredibly stressful, as I seemingly demonstrated when we finally finished all our work, went to a Togolese night club, and refused to share a bottle of Grant's whiskey because "it's totally got my name on it.")



Just played in a soccer tournament. Peace Corps Volunteers versus Togoles villages. We got whipped. But did score, prompting me to rip my shirt off and do the airplane all around the field.



Peace Corps recently increased their budget worldwide, thus increasing the number of volunteers. Because of this, several Peace Corps countries are encouraging "closing" volunteers to extend their service for a third year. Several volunteers I know are entertaining that option; I assure you, I am not. This has been quite an experience, something I would never trade, and I will cherish forever but lately I have felt like I am missing out on a lot of my life in the United States. I imagine that at the end of this service, I will be eager to get home to America. I miss you guys, but I'm not done with Togo quite yet. And I have a feeling my last seven months could be the most memorable and fulfilling.

Current School Photos

Please read my last post so you know why I am sending you these photos. These are several of the current "before" photos of the primary and secondary school buildings in my village. The first two are the primary school. The next 4 are the secondary school and the last photo is the teachers lounge. Thank you for your consideration and willingness to help.

School Project

Dear Readers,

When I was home for the holidays, some people I talked to expressed interest in helping me financially, if I were to do a large project during my second year of service. With that, I am officially asking for your help, if you would be so willing.

I live next door to the middle school principal and the geography teacher. They have been more than kind to me during my time in village, have given me meals, included me in local customs and holidays, and answered all of what they probably considered to be my dumb questions. The teachers in my village work hard and their school is in need of some work. The roof is there and qlso some of the floors have been laid. But it is incomplete. Year after year the village tries to add little finishes here and there as it can afford it. The walls are made of cheap palm branches which rot and must be replaced every year (the backside of the school doesn't even have walls), some classrooms flood with water during heavy rains, the teachers meeting "room" is a just a straw roof on stilts.

Beginning in April I plan on pledging some of my volunteer salary, depending on how much I am able to save, to buying cement, hiring masons, laying floors and building walls. I want to paint the drab cement walls (and depending, paint an educational mural or map on one side of the school).
I want to landscape around the school planting trees and teaching about the environment. Also depending, and if necessary, I may purchase new blackboards, desks, and other supplies for the teachers and students. There is literally no end to the things we could do with the money, which is why the professors and I are currently prioritizing everything into a list.

There is no target goal for the amount of money I want to raise for the school. The teachers and the village have not asked me for anything, they don't expect to get it all and are very grateful for the opportunity to improve their school. I want to do this for them because I believe education is the cornerstone of development, and the proper facilities can make a difference.

When I first told my neighbors about my desire to give them a "cadeau" (gift) my friend the professor said, "If you give us enough for one desk, we will build a desk. If you give us enough for desks and walls and floors, we will do that too. Everything will be good."

That is why I am excited and optimistic about doing this, they were very receptive to my ideas and are motivated to get things done. While many volunteers are skeptical to do large projects like this, I will be working with two teachers I trust completely, and I know that no money would go to waste.

My deadline for collecting money will APRIL 1, if you are interesting in giving a little (5, 10, 20 dollars, or whatever you want, you will find that a little can go a long way over here) contact my parents at the following email:

ronterrhodes@comcast.net

Or, if you already know them; just give them a call. They will be collecting the money and sending it to me in one lump sum after April 1. There are safe and efficient ways to send money here in Togo.

And I am sorry I can not offer the proper piece of paper for you in order to claim it as a charitable donation on your taxes.

I was planning on posting photos today of the school but the internet cafe is not cooperating, but when I go to the capital in April I will post before photos and then after photos so you can see what you have created.

Lastly, I understand that the American economy is not exactly doing great right now and that many people choose to support charitable causes closer to home (which is outstanding and commendable). I certainly don't expect much from you, the reader, except to read, enjoy and laugh at my blog; that's why I created this. So just this one time, I humbly request your assistance.

Regards,

Grant Rhodes