Field Trip to Conchal Reserve and Dia del Arbol at Abriendo Mentes

June 19, 2012

Abriendo Mentes, Costa Rica
Amara Stuehling

This past week Abriendo Mentes had two activities that focused on environmental issues. Costa Rica is known for its ecotourism and amazing biodiversity. Costa Rica is the size of West Virginia (one third of a percent of the world), but has nearly 4% of plant and animal species are found in this little country. I had been told that people were very concerned with the environment here, especially since Costa Rican environmental consciousness is imperative in order to keep the environment pristine and open for tourism business. While there is no type of recycling program, which unfortunately is not too surprising because of its rural location, the children took a field trip to Conchal Reserve for an environmental science lesson and we also planted trees for Costa Rican Arbor...

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ProWorld Exit Interview Thoughts

June 19, 2012

Why did you choose PW?ProWorld was actually the only option based on the offers of my school if I wanted to travel to Ghana.Do you feel you received adequate and helpful information before the start of the program?I feel that I could have received more information explaining they dynamics of my project which could have resulted in me arriving in Ghana, not only with more materials but also more prepared. I also think that the Homestay Family Information sheet needs to be updated to truly represent the current family structure so that the participant isn’t misinformed.Do you feel that the on-site orientation prepared you well for your program?Yes, I feel as if the on-site orientation was a very helpful and needed immersion into the program. However, I was reluctant enough...

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The Last Trek

June 19, 2012

I have yet to find the words to describe my experience at the Slave Market and Cape Coast Castle. Ghanaians were chained together and forced to walk four hundred miles to the slave market. It was here that they would have their last bath and drink from a Ghanaian water source. They were fed, had wounds tended to, and were oiled up. This was done to make them more marketable for sale.  They would be branded repeatedly as they were exchanged between buyers. Upon leaving the market they walked thirty-six miles to the Cape Coast Castle. They were packed into dark dungeon like rooms with a small hole that offered little sunlight and occasional rain water. When there wasn’t enough rain to wash it away they would be forced to...

The Door Of No Return

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This week

June 17, 2012

Honduras Child Alliance, Honduras
Stephanie Martin

 6/11 – 6/16I have been terrible about keeping track of what we've done this week, but here is what I can remember:Monday: I think this was actually Sunday, but Danny took me to see the river, and it was so gross! Before it was really pretty and nice to go swimming in, but now it just looks like a disgusting swamp that I would not dare swim in. The problem is that Dole keeps dumping chemicals into the rivers, and it ruins the river and disrupts the balance of everything living in it.In the evening, we made pastelitos for dinner – so delicious!!Tuesday: We used the rest of the dough from the pastelitos to make the fried things that I can’t remember the name of – fried dough kind of...

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Back in Honduras!

June 17, 2012

Honduras Child Alliance, Honduras
Stephanie Martin

 Well, guess the title of my blog isn't quite right anymore...I am back in Honduras for the 5th time, and will be staying for a little over two months this time! I arrived a few days ago, and here's what I've been up to so far...6/7 – 6/10Well, I have arrived in Porvenir in one piece! When I got to San Pedro Sula on Thursday, Danny met me at the airport and we went to Pulhapanzak for a day. When we got there, we spent the evening in the town and the owner of the little hotel made us dinner. After dinner, we walked around the town – it’s a nice small town and the hotel owner assured us that it is very safe to walk around at night. We...

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Banku, Fufu, and FanIce--Oh my!!!

June 16, 2012

Ghana ACT, Ghana
Molly Ortiz

Wow! We've had another eventful week here in Ho--so eventful that the U.S. Embassy in Accra has issued a traveler's advisory for our area. There has been some Muslim riots in a neighboring village, and a few lives have been tragically taken. Fortunately, the violence has been isolated and we have not been affected by it. There has been some violence in Ho, though. Just down the street at the market, a police officer shot a man who attempted to rob a shop. The other shoppers turned against the officer because they thought he had shot the man for no reason. Due to this incident, the police have had a heavier presence here lately. The police depo is across the street from our house, so we feel pretty safe.We have...

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Yevu

June 16, 2012

Hi all,We've now been in Ghana for almost six days and are starting to get in the swing of things, but we wanted to share a little bit about our first few days here. Its been an overwhelming, exhausting, but truly amazing first week. After arriving to Accra from Turkey, we met the program director face to face for the first time. His name is |John Barber, and this is his fifth or sixth summer in Ghana. He and |Liam Lynch, the volunteer coordinator, have been really great--super supportive and helpful to all the volunteers, and have been sharing tips with us daily about Ghanaian culture and living in Ho..everything from the official Ghanaian handshake, to what spices to use sparingly ( they looooove hot food) to how to navigate...

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Yevu

June 16, 2012

Hi all,We've now been in Ghana for almost six days and are starting to get in the swing of things, but we wanted to share a little bit about our first few days here. Its been an overwhelming, exhausting, but truly amazing first week. After arriving to Accra from Turkey, we met the program director face to face for the first time. His name is |John Barber, and this is his fifth or sixth summer in Ghana. He and |Liam Lynch, the volunteer coordinator, have been really great--super supportive and helpful to all the volunteers, and have been sharing tips with us daily about Ghanaian culture and living in Ho..everything from the official Ghanaian handshake, to what spices to use sparingly ( they looooove hot food) to how to navigate...

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IT'S STARTING!!!

June 16, 2012

Ghana ACT, Ghana
Annelise Madison

THREE WEEKS UNTIL WE LEAVE!!! And we are so excited! Annelise and I just finished sorting, counting, and organizing all of the donated supplies that we have received from generous donors in the W&L community! We are so thankful for all those who have helped us in our preparations so far. We hope that the more than two hundred children at McColin's Primary School will enjoy the uniforms, soccer balls, basketball, footballs, batons, and kickballs.So here's the plan: We will leave for Ghana at the end of May, and for the next two months we will teach English, math, and computer skills to the children through a non-profit organization called Ghana Alliance for Community Transformations (Ghana ACT, ghanaact.org). We look forward to being completely immersed in the Ghanaian culture, living...

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New Kid On The Block

June 14, 2012 | 1 comment

Haiti Communitere, Haiti
Sahadia Auguste

It has been officially one week since I have arrived in Haiti and I think I am finally able to properly follow the foreign schedule I have been assigned. From the obscene traffic jams and random power outages, to the extreme temperatures and roosters constant crowing well before sunrise; there has been a lot to grow accustomed too. And I feel beyond blessed to be a part of it.  I began my work with Haiti Communitere this past Monday. I was immediately immersed in to the tight knit community on base as everyone noticed the new smiling face bobbing around. Once everyone learned that I spoke the native language of Haitian Creole fluently, my status was quickly upgraded from new comer to a rare hot commodity! To my surprise, I...

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