June, 2011
Susie Jeong and I were at the Mmofra Trom Education Center this past summer and were enjoying getting access to the first time, using a flashdrive that picks up the web wirelessly. This is new in Ghana, and people in the rural areas are having their first experiences searching the web without having to go to an internet café.
We wanted to show the students the Mmofra Trom Beach Project website, and succeeded in getting good reception by climbing to the second floor of the clock tower of the school with three girls who make the bracelets to help earn money for their future education. The girls were thrilled to see photos of bracelets they designed, and were busy talking about their memories of “making that batch.” We were going down the stairs to set up the tables and set out the beads recently purchased for a new bracelet design when I realized that there were no boys to be seen. I asked the girls: “Are you the only ones who are going to be stringing bracelets today?” “The boys are playing football,” said Naomi.
Not being happy to hear that the girls might be working while the boys were playing, I went over to the nearby football field and called out to the boys: “Who wants to go to High School?” They knew exactly what I meant. They knew this was a bracelet-making afternoon, and they came running. They know that education is the key to their future, and they take great pride in their ability to contribute their time toward building a better and better “bead business” that will send all of them to high school—boys and girls alike.
Hearing stories like this really allows us to form a closer connection with the children. Realizing how these simple experiences and phrases can raise so much excitement, passion and joy in the hearts of these children is very touching.