Wash Your Hands Many Times A Day!

I was supposed to go to school and meet with my girls on Monday, except when I showed up all the doors were locked and no one was there. I ran into Ambrose on the street and he informed me that the teachers were in Juaboso registering. Apparently some people have been posing as teachers and receiving a salary, when in fact they shouldn’t be. Having the teachers register is the district’s attempt to regulate teachers and the salaries they receive. It makes sense and is a good idea but it did prevent me from teaching a lesson on Monday. Oh well, life goes on. I came back to my house and I skimmed through my books and prepared some more lessons for the future.

Tuesday was more fruitful. Alisa and I had to go into Juaboso to visit our local NGO. BCS had some more educational materials sent to all PCVs that work with Rural Water and Sanitation (our NGO). Our NGO led us to believe that it was a small envelope but when we got to the office it was a huge package that weighed about 15 pounds. Lucky for me, I got to carry two packages. On Thursday, the usual group is meeting for market so I told one of my colleagues that I would bring his materials for him (he lives about two-three hours away from the office). These Ghanaians definitely know how to make carrying things a lot easier. You’d be surprised how much easier and comfortable it is to carry something on your head as opposed to holding it in your arms. I fully intend to bring this practice to America.

Unfortunately this morning I woke up feeling pretty terrible. After my shower and breakfast I started feeling better so I figured I would be able to handle going into school. I brought some books and materials with me so I could get some reading done during the slower times. Last week my counterpart and I discussed going to one of the primary schools, Primary A, and teaching a handwashing game to the students. Primary A is just across the field from the JHS, so this morning we crossed over and greeted the headmistress. I informed her that I wanted to teach a song and game to the children in hopes of teaching them to wash their hands “many times a day.” I’ll explain later. There are six levels in the primary school: Primary 1, Primary 2, Primary 3 etc and it goes all the way up to Primary 6. Primary 6 is supposed to be the oldest students and Primary 1 is the youngest, but here in Ghana age doesn’t necessarily dictate what year in school you are. When I was in the Primary 2 classroom, there were a couple boys who looked like they were in their late teens. They towered over their classmates, but I have give them props for coming to school regardless of their age difference. I imagine it can’t always be easy.

We started with the Primary 6 class and worked our way down the classrooms. One of the teachers wrote the words to the song on the blackboard as my counterpart and I explained why we had come. I gave them “I am a health volunteer from America” spiel and started explaining the hand-clapping portion of the game. Whenever I was finished talking, my counterpart would have to translate my English in Ghanaian English so the students could actually understand what I was saying. This retranslation became even more imperative as we moved closer to the P1 class. Eventually my counterpart stopped talking in English and switched to Twi to explain our mission. Anyways, I taught the students the song and the clapping component. The song is as follows…

Wash your hands many times a day.

Always use soap to keep the germs away.

Wash your hands after the toilet.

Wash your hands before you eat.

Wash your hands after you sweep.

Wash your hands before you cook.

Wash your hands many times a day.

Always use soap to keep the germs away.

The English is pretty simple so most of the students were able to catch on. Most of the boys thought punching and slapping each other was more entertaining than learning the real game. The girls really enjoyed it though.

Sadly though, after meeting with the P6 class, I started feeling pretty lousy again, but I decided to power through. My stomach and head were both paining me (a little Ghanaian English for you right there). By the time we got to P2, I felt like I had been hit by a bus. I could barely muster up enough energy to explain why we had come. At one point I had to lean against the blackboard because I thought I might fall down. I excused myself from the class and had to walk outside to get some fresh air, that’s when things got worse. Outside and everything around me started spinning and my heart was beating pretty fast. I felt pretty clammy and was on the verge of vomiting. I found my counterpart and told him I needed to use the latrine. One of the girls found the key and walked me across the field. If it had been any farther I definitely would not have made it. I have never felt so dizzy in my life. The ground was spinning in front of me as I walked and if I had shut my eyes for second I definitely would have fainted. Naturally, when we got to the latrine, the girl couldn’t get the door open. She had three keys and there were three different locks. Of course the last key she tried worked on the last lock she tried. Typical right. I won’t go into any more detail, but my morning sucked. Don’t worry Mom; I am alive and feeling better.

After that little incident, I thought it best to come home and try not to die. I took my temperature and luckily I didn’t have a fever. I came inside my house and fell asleep for about an hour, which helped. When I woke up, I came outside to see my family and my sister, Ruby, and my mother told me I had to come sit outside in the courtyard and they were feeding me – no ifs, ands, or buts. Apparently they don’t like it when I eat Indomie (Ghanaian Ramen noodles) because its not real food. I won’t argue that but it’s cheap and easy to make so every now and then I succumb to it. My mother brought out a huge plate of rice and stew. It was delicious. I definitely ate all (Ghanaians like to say “eat alllllllll” to us Americans, yet they always give us too much food). Tonight we are eating banku (another Ghanaian dish, like fufu, but its made with corn dough and cassava). I wanted to make some tea but I had no Cowbell (powdered milk), so my brother Kofi went into town to buy some, and also bread at my mother’s behest. I told them I could walk in myself, but my sister, and I love her even more now, told me “Akua, you walk too much, sometimes you just have to let others do things for you.” Well if you insist…

As of now, I am feeling better. I think the tea and the bread helped. Still feeling kind of dizzy but the ORS is helping. ORS is oral rehydration solution. You mix the packet with one liter of water and sip on it. Some of my friends actually like the taste, but I think it tastes like sweet sweaty salt water.

The Spain Portugal match is on tonight, so I need to be in tiptop shape to watch that. My brothers and sisters come into my front room and we all watch the game together. It is nice. My family is pretty awesome. I definitely lucked out.

One of my sisters, M’Abena (Tuesday born) is two years old and when I first arrived she was terrified of me, but we are making headway. I taught her how to say “hi” and it’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. Now, whenever she sees me, she stops, squats, lifts her left leg up and down and says “hiii.” Its adorable – definitely putting her in my bag and taking her with me.