BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD -Gandhi

TORONTO, CANANDA

On my enrichment trip I spent two weeks volunteering at the Me to We headquarters in Toronto, ON from June 24th to July 5th. Here I was

immersed into the Me to We culture. Working hard to help them fold and organize their fair trade, Made in Canada T-shirts, I was exposed to the shameless idealism and incredible work ethic of the Me to We and Free the Children staff. I had the opportunity to meet with members of their

domestic Leadership Development Team that works in Canada and the USA to empower youth to take action. As well, I met trip facilitators and

on the ground staff that work to create sustainable and systemic development abroad.

TAKORADI, GHANA

TRIP LOGISTICS:

1. Me to We 2. Toronto, ON3. Two Weeks4. June 24th-July 5th 5. Anna Patterson & I6. Position: VOLUNTEER

NYAMEYEKROMIn the local language, Fante, you are named by the day of

the week on which you were born. So in the village Nyameyekrom names are shared abundantly. I was given the name Ama, for being born on Saturday, and had the pleasure

of sharing the name with two beautiful girls who came to hang out at the work site after their school day. Just as names are shared, love is shared endlessly through the

community. Entering the village each morning we were met with the cheers and hugs of excited children and parents looking forward to the construction of their new school.

School building was our main project. Upon arrival we had only the foundation of the structure in place—a mud floor.

Our goal was to mix cement to give the students and teachers something sustainable to stand on where they can begin their education. When we left the floor and pillars to

hold the roof were in place and the entire school building was just finished last week!

The community members took such pride in their village. As they showed us through the village we were better able to understand their lives. Their reality is absolute poverty, but

they work every day to sustain their lives and have embraced Free the Children to break the cycle of poverty. The people of

the village work on the local Palm Plantation as farm workers. It was heartbreaking to witness the terrible working

conditions and the lack of health care in Takoradi. But something the community is not lacking is hope. Everyday I

saw it in their eyes and in their smiles as they went about life as they knew it—seeing that change was coming.

CAPE COAST CASTLE

On day 17 of the trip we travelled to Cape Coast Castle. There we took a tour of the first and one of the largest slave ports on the African coast. On our tour the guide

showed us inside the male slave dungeons. No bigger than an average classroom, 200 men survived side by side. There were six

chambers side by side. Light was only let in through one window—the same window in which food was dropped from and where

the white men listened for plans of rebellion and escape. The floor they stood on was

saturated with feces, puke, urine, and dead bodies of their companions. On top of the male slave dungeons the English built the

church. As our tour guide said, “It was, ironically, heaven up there and living hell

down here.” We toured the female dungeons where the women were held

captive and raped repeatedly. And we saw The Door of No Return through which the

slaves passed as they boarded the ships to the Americas.

We look back on slavery and the slave trade and think of how it was so disgusting.

What will people look back to 300 years from today and think of us?

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND GLOBAL AWARENESS

Generally we were on the work site for half day or full day build and then

remainder of our time was spent back at our accommodation on the coast where we worked to understand our impact on the global community and the concepts of social responsibility.

Our facilitators organized modules with us to help us better process and understand the poverty that we

witnessed in Nyameyekrom. We had discussions about our passions, our

hopes, fears, dreams, and together we focused them into attainable goals for

our return home. My trip with Me to We to Takoradi gave me an entirely new

perspective and a passion for meaning in life. The people of Nyameakrom, through their expressions of love,

hospitality, and uncanny happiness gave me more than I could have ever

given them in the three weeks we spent together.

1. Village: Nyameyekrom2. Takoradi, Ghana3. Three Weeks4. July 5th-July 26th

5. 19 Students: 18 gals, 1 boy6. Project: SCHOOL BUILDING

A special thanks to the Brown Fellows Foundation and the University of Louisville for making this possible. I would not be the person that I am today with out their

support. Also a special thanks to Dr. Elmaghraby, Andrew Grubb, and Dr. Karen Hadley for helping me

formulate this plan and make this trip a reality.