Tuesday 19 July

Tuesday was yet another day filled with excitement. We woke up at 6:30 to have our morning devotion, as we do every morning here, and then went on to the home. Our first task was to finish painting the perimeter wall that we had scraped the day before. Though clouds of sanded paint billowed up from the walls and covered us in a layer of white, we managed to continue to joke and laugh with each other. Once we had finished, we began painting. A shoe company called "ToeGoz" was nice enough to send a shipment of hundreds of sandals for donation, and as they were packaged individually in plastic containers and separated into 13 different boxes, we spent quite a bit of time removing them from their plastic and sorting them by size into boxes to be given to the homes we visit.

Amongst the commotion, we had our first encounter with the internet since we have been here... VERY EXCITING, and continued to work on the blog. Nancy Keller-Coffey, Cam Hardy, Lena Hardy, and Elena Kikis tackled the job of "picking beans". We were given large bags of tiny little white beans that later would be cooked, and began picking the discolored, broken and inedible beans. Unfortunately, each bag had its store of tiny little bugs attempting to get their fair share of beans as well. Despite Olivia Dolan's screams each time she found one, Elena became a master and managed to eradicate the bugs without a care in the world.

After we had enjoyed a light lunch of delicious fresh fruit and biscuits, we ventured to the sports fields in the center of Old Ningo where the soccer tournament had begun the day before. The original plan was for the tournament to begin again at 1 o'clock. Running on Ghanian time, however, the games finally began at 3 o'clock. Each time the games were played, the oldest and most skilled players would play first. One team in particular, which seemed to be the favorite, wore jerseys that looked almost brand new and had Nike cleats from just a year ago. Though they didn't wear any shin guards, the team was fully equipped with some impressive gear. Upon conversing with a local, we found that many people sponsor these teams--some sponsors living in the U.S.-- and that the FIFA Academy located in a neighboring city attends each game and recruits players who will train at the academy until they are ready to start a professional career. Impressed, yet not surprised at all, we sat on the edge of our seats watching one of the most intense soccer games we'd ever seen. Each time a player made a move, or missed a ball, the crowd would go wild. The game ended with a victory for the favored green team with the winning goal being a bicycle kick from the top corner of the eighteen yard line; a true testament to these players' extreme talent.

Continuing with the activities and themes of our day camp, Tuesday evening was devoted to arts and culture. Hundreds of people, all of whom attended the soccer matches, gathered around a small section of the field designated for the performances. Drummers began drumming, beautiful traditional African clothing grabbed our attention, and as the performers prepared, we were graced with the presence of another chief who arrived in a white eyelet tunic and pants. It was impossible to keep one's eyes off of him. The first school to perform was the Ningo Senior Highschool. The girls to the floor and performed a traditional dance with some personal flare. Several more groups of dancers performed, most of which attend the schools here in Old Ningo. As the performance continued and the African sun fell lower in the sky, the dances became more and more entertaining and impressive. At the end of the dance portion, a male dancer came towards where we were sitting and grabbed Olivia Dolan, pulling her onto the floor. She impressed us all with her moves and the huge audience roared with laughter, which only increased when he pulled all of the team up to dance. We did our best to keep up. We were later joined by two magicians who produced a magic act that we agreed to be one of the most spectacular and mystifying shows we'd ever seen.

When the festivities finally concluded, we said goodbye to all the friends we'd made that day and loaded everyone on to the bus to return to the hotel. No matter what each day holds for us, as we drive home each night, we are still overwhelmed by the beauty of the African people and the land they call home.

Lena