It is the people of Ghana that bring a smile to my face. My evening runs through the yam farms always give me a revitalized perspective of my purpose here. It could be the elder man who hands me some giant yams and says we really love you. Earlier that day I had a meeting with my counterpart and leaders of all the sides of Jeyiri about future projects. PCV Ryan Dunn is a Natural Resources Volunteer and we are going to be forming a farming group to organize monthly workshops on sustainable farming practices. The man with the yams is very excited.
It could also be the men pounding kapala in a hollowed out tree that invite me to join in on their meal before I turn around and run home. The young men who catch bush meat with a slingshot and their dogs are so proud to show me their prize of squirrel and mouse and also invite me to eat with them. The children are out on the farm too. The small girls giggle continuously as they pass a headphone from my ipod between them and listen to the American music sent from my loving family and friends at home.
Once three young boys ran back with me. They were already tired and covered in dirt, but they wanted to do as An la Mwine does. One had broken his sandal and was running with one on foot and the other in hand. The second was just trying to run next to me. We fought for space on the small bush path. The last had a machete in hand. It made me laugh to think in America mothers always say don’t run with knives and here it is perfectly acceptable to run with machetes. It was a very Peace Corps moment that I will never forget.
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| Bush path as the sun sets |
I know this year will be full or hard work and more inspiring stories. I am excited to keep you all updated on the achievements of Jeyiri.
