Ghana Trip: March 14.

Beautiful boys at the Village of Hope Orphanage.

On Saturday morning, the Touch A Life team members tackled the task of interviewing the 21 rescued children to acquire their biographies. Because of the level of excitement generated by the new visitors at the Village of Hope, all of the children wanted to participate, resulting in the acquisition of over 100 biographies. It was chaotic, hilarious, productive and fun. 

The team members explored the local village of Gomoa-Fetteh and spent as much time as possible bonding with the kids. In the evening, some of the Touch A Life team members doled out new shirts from our donors for the kids. Kids Caring 4 Kids and the ATO Fraternity at Pepperdine University donated shirts from their causes and the children loved trying on their new clothes. They were so excited to receive new outfits. It was so much fun playing and laughing with them. 

Up next: the tale of the traumatic 10-and-a-half-hour drive to Lake Volta...

Some of the 21 rescued by TAL in their Kids Caring 4 Kids shirts.

Pam, bonding and coloring with the kids.

Mark and Rachel, donning the new Touch A Life foundation shirts, which feature the name, handprint and rescue date of the children the organization has saved.

Mark was the first boy rescued off of Lake Volta by the Touch A Life Foundation.

Pam and Rachel with Mark.

Sweet boys at the Village of Hope.

Rachel

Ghana Trip: March 13.

Rachel and some of the boys at the Village of Hope Orphanage.

As previously mentioned, eight phenomenal women journeyed to Ghana to evaluate the progress being made in the Touch A Life programs located there. For the next couple of days, I'll post recaps of our adventures on the blog.

We'll start with Friday, March 13. After nearly two days of traveling, the members of the Touch A Life team (consisting of Pam Cope, Emily George, Rachael Wise, Tara Seidman, Leah Cypert, Dana Rector, Sherri Gaskie and myself) were thrilled to get settled in at the Village of Hope Orphanage in Gomoa-Fetteh, Ghana. Friday was Pam's birthday, and what better way to celebrate this incredible woman's life than by spending time with some amazing kids? 

The morning began with a Freedom Stones meeting. Leah Cypert started a foundation that provides at-risk women and children with vocational training in hopes of teaching them a trade while also stimulating their local economies. Specifically, Leah purchases beads made in local markets and teaches her students how to create beautiful jewelry. In Ghana, there is a huge market for this; local Ghanaian factories make unique beads out of recycled glass bottles. Leah seeks to implement her ideas within the Ghanaian community, and specifically within Touch A Life's sphere of influence. The meeting informed the house moms (the women who live with the children at the Village of Hope) of the opportunities they have to get plugged in with this ministry.

In the afternoon, the Touch A Life team members met with two colleagues from Beacon House, an orphanage in Accra (the capital of Ghana). Touch A Life is continually seeking to solidify collaborative efforts with other non-profit groups, and we appreciate being aligned with a great cause like Beacon House. 

The rest of the day was spent enjoying time with the children at the Village of Hope. All of the kids, including the 21 the Touch A Life Foundation has rescued, are incredible. Their circumstance does not determine their joy. It was particularly joyfu

l for me to reconnect with the children there since I had met most of them in August while serving at the Children's Art Village camp. Pam and Rachael were also in attendance during that week in August, and it was so much fun for the three of us to cherish memories we'd made together six months ago. The children welcomed us back with open arms, and were so excited to meet new friends as well. 

Pam with Macho, one of the 21 rescued by the Touch A Life Foundation.

Boys being boys at the Village of Hope Orphanage.

Rachel

Ghana Trip.

On March 11, seven women will depart to Ghana to chart the progress Touch A Life is making in Africa. Pam Cope, Tara Seidman, Leah Cypert, Sheryl Gaskie, Dana Rector, Emily George and myself will fly out of New York into Ghana. We will have the opportunity to first stop at the Village of Hope Orphanage to check on the children in school there. From there, we will move up to the Lake Volta region. We will be able to observe the new buildings at the Village of Life, as well as connect with George Achibra, the director there. We will then move on to Tema to note the progress being made at the Touch A Life program in that city. 

I'm so excited to explore parts of Ghana that I've never seen. Out of our group, Pam is the only one who has been to all three locations so it's clear to me that so much learning is going to be accomplished while in Africa. My hope is that we can return to the States with a greater understanding of the needs of the children our organization serves.

Rachel

Ghana-Sick.

The Georges and the Copes. True lifesavers.

I'm feeling Ghana-sick today. I miss the country and the people so much. I am so anxious to get back there to be with the people who stole my heart. Pam and I are traveling to Ghana in March with two incredible women, Emily George and Tara Seidman, and I am so excited for them to be able to share in the joy of knowing the amazing people we work with there. 

The following are some photos I took when I was in Ghana with Pam in August 2008. We were at the Village of Hope Orphanage, serving at the Children's Art Village camp. The intent of the camp is to allow the children to express themselves creatively through art. I was able to observe that this type of activity was truly therapeutic for the kids. 

Rachel