A tiny daughter totters in the dirt Attempting the mastery of walking Dust fills the air Mixed with diesel smoke As massive trucks creep along the road But the girl is oblivious Her red dress tickles her legs As she dances in the sun Such a tiny girl Probably under the age of two Brother is close by Hunched over a wash basin Scrubbing yesterday's clothing He bends his forehead into his shoulder Wiping away the sweat, dust, and grime His own shirt stained brown Does he notice? With rhythm, his hands return to harsh scrubbing More trucks spit dust upon the children Mother looks on With desperate, tired brown eyes She is preparing her mangoes to sell Hopeful for customers To buy her soft fruit Because as pieces disappear from her bowl Delicately balanced atop her head There is money to care for her son and daughter Will enough people buy today? Tomorrow? Mother looks on Staring into a bleak future As her tiny daughter Captures beauty in her uncertain steps As she dances in the sun Da...
Along the coast and waterways of Ghana, fishing is the most common form of livelihood. During a recent family outing, the boys and I experienced first hand the hard work required of fishermen (and children, unfortunately). We worked for about an hour helping to pull the net in. I'm guessing their net was about 200 to 300 yards long. These fishermen were working the Volta river for their catch. Their net was about 1/10 the size of some of the ocean nets I have seen. I can't imagine the endurance required to fish the ocean. The net was put out by boat in a horseshoe shape. Two teams of fishermen were at each end of the horseshoe working the net from the beach. We pulled at a steady pace, drawing in the net until our catch was on the beach. By the time we heaved in the net, I had blisters on my fingers and nearly exhausted back, leg, and arm muscles. My pride wouldn't allow me to give up before we pulled in our catch - I was so thankful when we finished. However, the majori...
Blogger: Franklin, age 14 (Barely!) I had my 14th birthday in Ghana a few days ago. It was a very special and memorable birthday. We mainly celebrated it teh day before my actual birthday because my Dad had to go to the office on my real birthday . I didn’t mind at all. I had a great time while we celebrated. My friend, Michael, came over. We opened our first present from home - an envelope filled with hilarious jokes from Jacob Stock at Castle Ministries. (Thanks for the laughs, Mr. Stock!) We went to a pool several hours away and had lunch there, then we went out to eat for dinner. It was our first meal eating out since arriving. I had fried rice which has probably been my favorite food so far. I also love Fan-Ice. It is Ghanaian ice cream (Vanilla) that comes in a plastic pouch, you bite a hole in the corner and eat the deliciousness inside. I had quite a few of those on...
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