If You Give a Child a Sticker…

…they’ll probably ask you for more.

Ever since that fateful moment when I first found out I would be living in Accra this summer I made a mental list of things to look forward to. Said list ranged from a canopy walk through the Elmina jungle, to attending “reggae night” at the local beach, to getting to know the indigenous critters (speaking of which, tonight we spent two hours filming frogs in our yard.) However, none of these hopes and dreams surpassed that of being surrounded by little Ghanaian children.

I have always loved kids, so it makes sense that my interest has recently been piqued by the iridescent smiles and cheeky personalities of those of the African variety. Plus everyone knows that your Facebook prestige goes up tenfold after your first profile picture with an African child. It was just my luck that the adventure on the menu for day 6 promised to fulfill all of my above sentiments and more.

Leslie (our presiding professor and Ghana extraordinaire, we also speculate as to what she does in her spare time and have settled on CIA agent) informed us that we were going to visit the Anani Memorial International School in Nima, a slum community in Accra. The plan was to watch them perform, to learn about their school, to bond with the kids and also to donate various school supplies and gifts we all brought from the USA. I, for one, brought about 20 sheets of stickers to hand out, as Leslie said these were the children’s favorite.

When we got to the school we were immediately brought into a room with around 150 children ranging in age from 2 to 15. Their eyes lit up as we sat down across from them and were introduced. They performed poems and dances for us in small groups and I can honestly say I have never seen cuter children in my life and I was as close to tears as I always am in the end of the Fox and the Hound (I hope Michelle Davidson sees this). After the performances we all went out to the courtyard and handed out school supplies and took pictures, then had time to just play.

The students all spoke French so I used my extensive level 2 knowledge to communicate my name, how I was, and where I was from. They asked me for pictures, tried on my sunglasses, and practically ripped each other apart just to be picked up and hugged. They played with my hair, pointed at my eyes, and were captivated by the blue veins showing on my wrist –novelties they have hardly ever seen. Even a freak monsoon could not put out the light of their laughter……… cheesy but necessary.

The real fun began the second I thought it would be a nice, pleasant, and even peaceful experience to hand out my stickers. Boy was I wrong. The second one of their beady little eyes caught sight of one of those sticky little pictures it was all over for me. The first shrill cry of “STICKERS!” bounced off the walls of the courtyard and what ensued can only be labeled as chaos. Children came from everywhere – doors, windows, the sky – pushing and shoving each other, reaching in my pockets, struggling for even a glimpse of a sticker. They backed me against a wall so I panicked and threw the remaining sheets into the air, and all was calm again.

I was astounded at their clamor for a single sticker. These tiny, sticky, colorful things that I, for one, took for granted when I was a kid, were now suddenly a commodity. They stuck them on their faces and on their notebooks and on each other, laughing the whole time like it was the funniest experience in the world.

The amazing thing is… the kids in this school are extremely lucky to even be there, and they know that, as there is a yearly cost. Many families in the area can not afford to send their children there not only because of lack of funds, but because the kids are needed for household labor. As we were all having the times of our lives on the inside the walls of the private school, dozens of children with no opportunity for school at all were lined up against the windows, peering in with eyes eager to learn and experience everything their peers were.

Call me a changed girl but today more than any other day made me appreciate the simplicity and happiness of children. All they want is to learn, love and have fun. No matter how much money they have, what clothes they wear, how impoverished their home is, or how many stickers they own… Kids are kids all over the world.

-Megan

 

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