Day 13: June 25th

(pics coming soon!)

I feel like this is the climax of the trip. I have been asking people, writing letters, and posting signs for people to donate books to help the Winneba school and here we are. We got all of the books off of the bus and lined them up in front of the students to present the donation. I didn’t I was going to have to say anything but I’ve been wanting to say so much that when I asked to speak it felt natural. I greeted them in Twi “Mema wo aha”. Direct translation is “I give you (plural) good afternoon.” They chuckled. I told them how important it is to have books with characters that look like them so I hope they enjoy the gift. They clapped. I boy accepted the donation on behalf of the school. Very cute and seemed as if he has done this before.
I really wanted to read to the students. I wanted to pick a good book. I stopped when I felt like I got the right book. I hoped I would get that feeling before opening all of the boxes. I picked a book and went to a classroom. I watched them enter in the classroom. Majority girls. They sang a song about how they were going to be the leaders of Africa. There was a maestro for the performance. I wonder if boys are often placed in leadership positions in school? ..the maestro, the one who accepted the gift on behalf of the school.
The book I was drawn to was about a girl who wanted to be a princess in their school parade. Her grandmother told her that not all princesses look like European ones. The grandma brought some kente fabric from Gambia. The girl decided to be a West African princess instead. I think it was the best book to read. The students were so interested in the story. I’m glad I listened to my instincts.
I was supposed to interview some teachers and talk about curriculum but I went with where my emotions took me and that was with the students. Tamara and I taught some students how to do the electric slide. Outside, me and other students played hand games. They tried to teach me some kind of step jump game which I officially suck at. It was a great day. I would have been ok if the trip ended there.