Atorkor, Ghana Trip July 2014

This summer, 16 girls and 3 teachers experienced the cultural scenes of Ghana on our unforgettable trip to Atorkor. After spending the night in the capital, Accra, we travelled to Atorkor, a local fishing village. Here we visited the local buzzing market where we were constantly recognised as ‘yavus’ translating to foreigners! The village was 4 hours away from the capital but our arrival was met by the smiles of the local children and a huge ceremony followed to welcome us into their village. Our first moments in Atorkor were mesmerising as we were surrounded by the locals performing the local drums, children clutching onto us and dancing to l

ead us to our home for the week; the chief’s house. On arrival, we were paired with our partner girls from the Atorkor Basic School who were to teach us their traditional values as well as the local Ewe culture and in return we were to teach them about our way of life.

Our days in the village consisted of running the Summer School, where we taught the children a selection of arts, sports, ICT and library activities. These activities allowed us to interact with the children of the village and made us aware of the basic facilities they have at their school to educate the pupils. It was particularly rewarding to see how a game of football could enthral and captivate so many children whilst reading continuous Mr Men books fascinated many of the younger pupils!

Along with the Summer School we also learnt many traditional textiles techniques like batik, tie dye, kanti weaving and basket weaving. The tie dye and batik were taught at the Atorkor Vocational Centre and so we were offered the opportunity of seeing how many young adults benefitted from the village facilities.

After a week in the village, we packed our weekend bags for a trip to the Cape Coast. After another long coach journey, we experienced the Canopy Walk in the rainforest, which certainly lived up to its name as we were all absolutely soaked by the end. The following day, we visited the Cape Coast Castle, a slave castle built by European traders. The tour we had was truly captivating yet moving, listening to past stories of the slaves and their treatment.

Our weekend break was completed by a stop off at Accra where we visited the craft market and where we were able to practice our haggling skills. Most of the girls and teachers came back with numerous Ghanaian crafts and gifts for friends and family back home.

Once we returned to Atorkor, we realised our days in Ghana were drawing to a close and before long we would be homeward bound. Luckily, the fun continued, as we were invited to the Prize Day at the School where many children we had taught received prizes for their efforts at school. The day concluded with a walk on the beach where locals explained they spent their Saturday’s catching fish for the following week. The last days were filled with equal enjoyment and entertainment by getting involved in the traditional dancing and drumming sessions. Additionally, we took our partner girls to the Lagoon where we could enjoy their company away from their everyday surroundings of the village,helping them to swim and seeing their delight and enthusiasm whilst relaxing with us.

Our time in Ghana was also a culinary education, trying new foods like yam balls, red red, banku and fufu. The nights in the house enriched our enjoyment of the trip as we became a Ghanaian family by living together whilst sharing thought provoking experiences. Our final goodbyes were unquestionably emotional. We became so attached to the village children whilst developing a better understanding of their challenging lives. I will take away so many wonderful memories from Ghana and undoubtedly the children’s smiles and engaging nature will remain with us all forever.

Thank you again Miss Brown for organising such a rewarding trip and Miss Hughes and Miss Simmonite for accompanying us.