THE GROUP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Top right: Stella, Karleen, Ashley, Ms. Francois, Rachel, Johnna, Val Bottom Right: Nicole, Elena, Nishana, Alexa

Ash with one of the girls who came to show us how to do traditional dancing from the Ashanti region

Some of the boys who were very happy to be in this picture.

Who is Disabled, this is hanging in the schools courtyard!

More Pics

They were fabulous dancers. This was at the Parents Seminar, they were so good. I love this girl in the middle, Yunnis :) She was so adorable . Kar had her in class. These are the beautiful baskets the men are weaving, this is a great vocational skill for the teens/adults who are unable to do academic work. They are therefore given a skill that they can make a living off as they grow older. These are some of the other beautiful handiwork with Rach and Nikki. These tablecloths are batiks, and are made by the adults and teens as well. The bracelet making, this is harder than it looks. And it took alot of concentration, although rach was having fun :)

We are Back :)

So since we have been back it has been HECTIC!!!! Being a senior and being involved has been crazy. But let me give you a quick little description of Ghana. AMAZING! literally, we landed and the head just rushed in, the minute we landed all of us were so excited regardless of the fact that none of us had slept for 12 hours, but it didnt matter....WE WERE IN GHANA!! The place we were staying at was so nice and the people in Ghana in general are so hospitable. And the school......it was one of the best experiences of my life. The teachers are so dedicated, and arent paid anything, however they stay on because they LOVE it and the LOVE this kids. Oh man and those kids are so well behaved in comparison to the kids we saw here in the U.S. In addition they were so happy to see us and also so excited for us to be there, which i was surprised about. I thought they would not be used to change and with us being such a large group it would be a problem...BUT it wasnt at all. The first day we actually interacted with the kids during their P.E segment. It was great. Ms. Francois is a phenomenal woman, she is superwoman. Her heart is pure gold and she is so humble and was so welcoming and was excited about the collaboration. She was someone i definitely admire! so i have added some pictures.....but more is coming, promise....

1 day left

Almost there! I'm at home in Boston right now spending a couple days with my family before we leave Saturday. Even though I'm studying for midterms that I have when we come back, I too share the incredible excitement and anticipation of what we are about to experience. :) I just hope the jetlag isn't too bad both on the way there and way back! Me and Nikki went to 7Hills yesterday to drop off some forms, and we looked in one of the offices where all our donations (supplies and things for the school--kids) were being kept.. it was AMAZING! There were these gigantic duffle bags stuffed to the brim with donations that we had collected over the past few months. Insane. And I'm not just talking about a little throw-over-your-shoulder duffle bag... I'm talking like me and Nikki could both FIT IN one. And there were already 6 of these filled. I'm glad that we can really bring tangible things for the students as well as care and appreciation. 6pm tomorrow we'll be hopping on that flight !! We hope to get to an internet cafe soon and update everyone on what's going on while we're there. See you when we get back! Sincerely, E

GHANA HERE WE COMEEEEEEEEE !!!!!!!!!

Its 3 days, and im so EXCITED. This entire week has been hilarious because i'll be in class learning about say guided transmissions in my Mgmt Information Systems class and i suddenly realize that I AM GOING TO GHANA...in 3 days. I can finally count the number of days left for ghana on my hand, matter of fact on ONE hand. Like whaaaaaaaattttt!!!! It doesnt seem real sometimes, because of being a student who is involved at Clark, but i know its about to happen, in 3 DAYSS. I think it will still feel like a dream until i actually land at the International airport in Accra and actually step foot on Ghanaian soil. ( i know cheesy, but true). Id have to say that i am most nervous about.....well i actually havent really thought about. I cant wait to meet the kids at the school and see what fun adventures we will begin, and i am just as excited to eat the fooooooddddd (i love food, all food, all the time). And of course the weather, the warm, humid warm (yeah i said it again. im that excited) sunny weather, because this New England weather is just not cutting it. Can i also just say how amazingly PROUD i am of this group, we have raised at least $12,000 and we are still raising more, we have an amazing group of women and a group dynamic that just works so well, and probably one of the reasons we have achieved so much and most importantly (this is about to mad cheesy, very uncharacteristic of me, but still) become better friends and gotten to know a different aspect of each other. Ok so im doneeeeeee yay GHANAAAAA One thing i am not looking forward too................PACKING...i hate packing and i hate unpacking, so if anyone wants to pack for me i promise i'll give you chocolate. :) Next time I post on here it will either be from Ghana or after Ghana !!! - Nish

OH MY GHANA IS RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We leave in 3 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ok....so I'm a little excited....can you blame me though? we are leaving in 3 days. At this time in 3 days we will be at Logan airport in Boston, MA waiting to board the plane which will begin our journey to Accra, Ghana. ::Jumping up and down:: (can u see me? no? GOOD because I look like an idiot hahaha) O.K. So yeah, I can't wait! and you want to know what I'm most nervous about? no, not the flight... going to a place like no where I've ever been before? nope, not that either... can't guess?.... ok, I'll tell you... what I'm most scared about is taking these friggin Malerone (malaria) pills!!! I heard they don't have bad side effects, but they do give terrible nightmares...as if my insomnia itself wasn't bad enough already...now the few hours I get to actually sleep will be like being in a SAW movie... well, it will make for some interesting journal writing and some in depth psychoanalisis! Oh boy... GHANA HERE WE COME!!!! XoXoXo- NikkiiZ

OH MY GHANA!

umm wow ! I have been trying to get pictures up here forever! good looks!  We are officially going to Ghana in less than a week..it is really hard to conceptualize because it seems so foreign to me...I have travelled a lot but I have never been anywhere in Africa and everyone just keeps saying how different it is and how life changing its going to be but I just won't know until I get there...

We really have come full circle. We raised almost all the money and now we can really focus on our mission and going to visit the schools in Accra. I think often times one is prevented from doing good because of the bureaucracy we all have to live and work in and I am just so glad we did not give up and were able to jump through the hoops we needed to jump through because now we are doing what we all really wanted to do in the first place.

I think this experience will be beneficial for everyone in the group and I am honored to be going with the company I am going with.

I am also really looking forward to coming back to Clark and sharing our pictures and documentary with the Clark and Worcester community!! :p