Day 13 - Children are Always so Joyful

We've had two of our best days so far, in Cape Coast.  Today, we are on our way back to Accra.  First, we stopped by a K-3 school in the village of Brenu Akyinim to interact with school children and see first hand the school conditions in Ghana.  Ashanti African Tours, our tour company, as part of their "Ethical Travel" philosophy have built several classrooms for this school.  We met with the headmaster who took us to the various classrooms while informing us about all that they do.  It is mind boggling to think about how few resources most Ghanaians have compared to people in the western world, or for that matter, affluent people in other developing countries.  The tiny students in each classroom sang us a welcome song each time we entered their classrooms.  My students were really moved by this kind gesture.  The local students were so happy to see us.  We got a chance to interact with them, play with them, and of course, take pictures.  The kids especially loved taking selfies of themselves.  When they saw themselves in our phone screens, they were beyond jubilant.  Most of these poor children have probably never seen a smart phone.

Jubilant kids seeing themselves in selfie mode

We were able to pool our resources together to collect about 400 Cedis ($100) to donate to the school as a small token of our appreciation for allowing us to spend time with them.  Every small amount can make a difference under these circumstances.

We were sad to leave them because they were so happy and excited to see us.

Next, we visited Elmina Slave Castle which was the largest slave castle in Ghana owned by the Portuguese, the Dutch, and eventually the British.  It was built in 1482 and is the oldest European building south of the Sahara.

Elmina Slave Castle

We grabbed a quick bite for lunch and headed on to Accra (3 hours drive) for the last few days of our trip.