I was a participant in the Ghana program in the summer of 2008, as a senior who only needed a few credits to graduate and no idea what I was going to do with my life after school. This was the beginning of the great recession, and my entire graduating class was terrified about finding Read More …
It has been more than 20 days since I came back from the Ghana trip. The influence I brought back still keeps impacting my family. They ask all kinds of questions whenever they can, over and over again. Sometimes, I feel like they just want to confirm with me that the images of Africa in Read More …
I’ve been having trouble processing this trip, knowing that it is now coming to a close. It has become especially hard as the first wave of our group left and everyone has had to say their goodbyes. The house is quiet now, leaving a space for me to reflect on my last 6 weeks in Read More …
Coming into this program, I really didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know what the country would be like. I knew it was going to be hot though. I had no clue what any of it would look like, smell like, feel like. I didn’t expect the landscape to be so green or for Read More …
My time in Ghana always felt fleeting. Time had no consistency. It either raced by or was stuck stagnant — usually while I was stuck in traffic on a trotro. My emotions jumped from one extreme to the next polar opposite. At any moment I experienced a deep longing for the comfort of home or felt in pure awe as Ghana Read More …
I’ve spent the past few weeks painting various scenes around Accra. Here’s a glimpse into our daily lives, via watercolor. This is the Aya Center, our home for the past six weeks. One house, eighteen people. We wash laundry by hand and hang it to air dry in the backyard. It’s difficult to get things Read More …
As we enter our final hours in Ghana, I’m forced to consider the things I will miss here. As well as the things, I am excited to return to in Portland. It’s hard to encapsulate the emotions and experiences I’ve had on this trip in words. I want to say so much, and write with Read More …
It feels nearly impossible to compile a single list of takeaways from my time in Ghana, because in all reality this place has changed me. Profoundly. Every aspect of my existence is different now: the way I see the world and what I really consider to be important have been molded by my experiences here. Read More …
I have spent almost six full weeks in Ghana with a group of unforgettable people. This is the first time I have traveled outside of the United States and it has been nothing but one new adventure after another. I have had an absolute blast, but I am so excited to step foot back in Read More …
For the majority of my internship, I attempted to give off the appearance of composure, exhausting my mouth muscles with wide smiles and offering help while knowing my contributions would likely do more harm than good. It’s like a child who bravely and boldly offers to wash her dad’s car. Half an hour later, she Read More …
In an episode of The Office Andy Bernard once said, “I wish there was a way to know you were in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.” This can be applied to my Ghana trip and pretty much everything else in my life. I knew coming in to this that we only Read More …
The state of primary health care (PHC) in Ghana rests in policymakers’ hands. Previous leadership has consistently failed to implement promises made during campaigns and has left Ghana to suffer through years of inadequate primary health care funding. Although the 26 African Union countries passed the Abuja Declaration in 2001 and pledged to allocate at Read More …
It’s weird that this is our last week together in Ghana. As I look back on this experience, it’s trippy to think about what my outlook on life was like before coming here. It seems like forever ago that we were all sitting in Leslie’s house talking about last minute logistical things, performing our Twi Read More …
Before leaving for Accra, six weeks sounded like an eternity. As we near the end of our stay, I can’t help but wish I had more time at my internship. Leslie encourages each of us to post our professional work on the blog, and many of my peers in the newsroom and at radio stations Read More …
On our trip to Kumasi, the group stopped by an Adinkra making facility in the Ashanti region. Adinkra is a traditional style of print making in Ghana- that uses the bark of trees, turned into a dye by pounding, heating, then straining the liquid. The symbols convey ideas, aspects of life, beliefs, and commentary on Read More …