We had some visitors last week. A group of dentists came to set up a dental clinic, leaving lots of equipment and supplies. They worked very hard, returning to the house around 10:30 each night. And their job was not made easier by the lack of electricity. I think last week was the worst in terms of sporadic electricity outages. Would someone please explain to me why we are having more frequent electricity outages during the rainy season in a country that relies mainly on hydropower? But I digress...The dentists toughed it out and managed to stay in excellent spirits while making the most of their resources so it turned out well in the end. And they brought a present with them: Da Tommy! The group arrived on Sunday during church and slipped in the back. Slowly but surely, the whispered news the Da Tommy had arrived was passed up to the front of the building. You could tell who knew by the huge smiles and the craning necks.
Not all of the school children were on break last week; our JSS 3 (ninth grade)
students sat their high school entrance exams. It was a long week and exhausting for them, but it was also just amazing to see the community support them. Each morning a group of adults traveled with the students to the testing site in the nearby village of Ojobi – encouraging them, praying with them, and feeding them throughout the day. This might seem somewhat normal to us, but it’s completely foreign here. Hope Christian Academy was the only school supporting their students like this. And you could tell just how much confidence it gave them to see so many people backing them.
While the students sat the exams, we had some free time on our hands. Well, it would have been free time if our presence had not attracted children from the village. Around 10 o’clock each morning, about 20 children from the area would gather where we had set up “camp”. It became a joke among the teachers that we were starting a new school, which I named Impromptu Academy. We brought colouring pages, bubbles, beads, Frisbees, books, and yoyos. One day the French teacher brought with him a beginners French book with pictures and we got to make a little game of it: I pointed to the picture and said the word in English, the village children would repeat the English word and then say it in Fantse, which I would repeat, and then Priscilla would say the word in French and I would repeat it. I couldn’t possibly remember all of it, of course, but I did retain a bit. All in all, it was a lot of fun but draining.
Before Impromptu Academy started each morning, we got to have some one
on one time with Priscilla Abbeyquaye. She is in class P2B and the daughter of the school principal. Because she has come to all the exams that HCA has ever sat, Mr. Abbeyquaye calls her the chief examiner. She is a tiny little thing and absolutely adorable. Priscilla loves to read so we read a lot. One day we read The Hungry Caterpillar and then wrote our own versions for the story using foods that were more “normal” to us. It was nice to be able to give attention to only one child for a little while. Don’t get me wrong, I love having lots of kids around and doing activities with them; but being able to focus on one child, to make them feel special for just a little while, is even better.
On the last day of the exams, I went on a hike with some of the teachers. Not very far from the testing site, there was a large rock that over looked the village and the view was amazing. You could see for miles: the Ojobi village, the rolling hills, the ocean. I think I might have seen VoH, but I wasn’t really sure what direction it was so I am not really sure. While the hike was great and the view fantastic, it is always difficult to walk through the villages. There is just so much poverty, so many struggling to live, and it is heart breaking. I know these things change little by little and that the VoH/HCA community is doing a lot to impact change in the surrounding area, but that doesn’t make the sites less difficult to witness.
After a week of exams, the JSS3 students graduated on Saturday.
Each student received a certificate of completion for junior high and a Bible with his name printed on the cover. It was a long ceremony, but it was really great to see so many people from outside the VoH community come to support our graduates (or as they say here “graduands”). Students from several other schools were in the audience in addition to education and government officials. As I sat there in the audience, it hit me just how huge of an accomplishment this graduation was for these students. And in the middle of the sea of children, I imagined each of them fulfilling the same dream. That’s just such an exciting thought! It makes my heart prematurely swell with pride...
Not all of the school children were on break last week; our JSS 3 (ninth grade)
students sat their high school entrance exams. It was a long week and exhausting for them, but it was also just amazing to see the community support them. Each morning a group of adults traveled with the students to the testing site in the nearby village of Ojobi – encouraging them, praying with them, and feeding them throughout the day. This might seem somewhat normal to us, but it’s completely foreign here. Hope Christian Academy was the only school supporting their students like this. And you could tell just how much confidence it gave them to see so many people backing them.
While the students sat the exams, we had some free time on our hands. Well, it would have been free time if our presence had not attracted children from the village. Around 10 o’clock each morning, about 20 children from the area would gather where we had set up “camp”. It became a joke among the teachers that we were starting a new school, which I named Impromptu Academy. We brought colouring pages, bubbles, beads, Frisbees, books, and yoyos. One day the French teacher brought with him a beginners French book with pictures and we got to make a little game of it: I pointed to the picture and said the word in English, the village children would repeat the English word and then say it in Fantse, which I would repeat, and then Priscilla would say the word in French and I would repeat it. I couldn’t possibly remember all of it, of course, but I did retain a bit. All in all, it was a lot of fun but draining.Before Impromptu Academy started each morning, we got to have some one
on one time with Priscilla Abbeyquaye. She is in class P2B and the daughter of the school principal. Because she has come to all the exams that HCA has ever sat, Mr. Abbeyquaye calls her the chief examiner. She is a tiny little thing and absolutely adorable. Priscilla loves to read so we read a lot. One day we read The Hungry Caterpillar and then wrote our own versions for the story using foods that were more “normal” to us. It was nice to be able to give attention to only one child for a little while. Don’t get me wrong, I love having lots of kids around and doing activities with them; but being able to focus on one child, to make them feel special for just a little while, is even better.
On the last day of the exams, I went on a hike with some of the teachers. Not very far from the testing site, there was a large rock that over looked the village and the view was amazing. You could see for miles: the Ojobi village, the rolling hills, the ocean. I think I might have seen VoH, but I wasn’t really sure what direction it was so I am not really sure. While the hike was great and the view fantastic, it is always difficult to walk through the villages. There is just so much poverty, so many struggling to live, and it is heart breaking. I know these things change little by little and that the VoH/HCA community is doing a lot to impact change in the surrounding area, but that doesn’t make the sites less difficult to witness.After a week of exams, the JSS3 students graduated on Saturday.
Each student received a certificate of completion for junior high and a Bible with his name printed on the cover. It was a long ceremony, but it was really great to see so many people from outside the VoH community come to support our graduates (or as they say here “graduands”). Students from several other schools were in the audience in addition to education and government officials. As I sat there in the audience, it hit me just how huge of an accomplishment this graduation was for these students. And in the middle of the sea of children, I imagined each of them fulfilling the same dream. That’s just such an exciting thought! It makes my heart prematurely swell with pride...I think that I am now completely caught up with my updates!!! Isn't it wonderful? It's amazing how that happens when there is a holiday... It will still be a busy week, I am sure, but so long for now....
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