After much hard work, dedication and preparation the RHC group has finally made it to Akatsi. Flying in from various cities and states we all met in Accra on Friday night. Between long days of traveling, minimal sleeping, foreign food, and losing some baggage we are excited to get these 3 weeks started!
Our first few days were spent adjusting to the time change, the heat, the humidity and the term “Ghana time.” “We will go in 5 minutes” does not mean a standard 5 minutes in the US. Waiting an additional hour is standard in the Ghanaian culture. As always, we were welcomed with open arms to the Sefe family home where we have been set up with our own rooms and each meal is prepared for us. And after spending much time with the family’s 3-year-old, Shine, we have all discovered our lack of excellent parenting skills.
On Sunday we were able to meet with several of the new Kekeli women we will be teaching during the last two weeks of our trip. We also visited some of the current Kekeli women and met with the District Health Director who was pleased to see we have returned to Akatski. Monday was spent going to the market and buying last minute items for the teaching. We also experienced the killing of a goat that the family will prepare for the grandma and grandpa’s fiftieth wedding anniversary this Sunday. We don’t know if watching was the best decision!
Today was our first day educating. We met at 8 am “Ghana time” and spent the day discussing leadership skills for the Kekeli women to incorporate into their community visits. We will continue this for the next two days with hopes to develop the women into even better leaders. This weekend we have an excursion to the beach planned with both the current and new Kekeli women. We are hoping they will have the opportunity to socialize and begin to develop new friendships.
Much more to come!
