Our first scheduled stop in the Volta Region was to be in the Volta capital, known as Ho. The road isn’t especially accommodating, so we made sure to prepare to leave early from Accra for what is usually about a 5-6 hour drive. We avoided the early traffic out of Accra, and made it into the Volta within a few hours of our departure. However, about halfway into our trip, something unexpectedly caught our attention. While passing through a small village named Likpe, we passed an elementary school in the midst of a group exercise. Students were lined up, awaiting and receiving instruction from their teachers. But there was something about the energy of these of students that forced us to stop and watch. Watching them line up, move in lockstep, and respond so eagerly to the calls of their teachers, we were moved by their attentiveness and enthusiasm.
After asking Jerry to stop the car, we watched them for a few minutes before agreeing that we just had to do something. We had a limited number of books and bookbags, and we knew that we wouldn’t be able to give bags to all the students. But we didn’t have enough for any school that we planned to visit, and after a brief internal discussion, followed by a discussion with the teachers and staff, we concluded that it was important for us to help as many students as we could while we could.
We spoke to the students about who we were and why we were there. Jerry addressed them in Ewe, and they followed his words carefully, nodding along and responding when called on. Their excitement was visible, as they knew that something was coming to them. We spoke to them in English, but their attention quickly shifted as some of us began piling the colorful bookbags onto the table.
We stopped talking and the teachers lined up the children. The children were disciplined, calmly taking their places in line, and remaining stone-faced until they received their bags. Their stoicism did not last long however, giving way to elation once they confirmed that they could take their bags home.
The children were kind enough to thank us as a group, breaking into song. It was a very moving moment for us, and despite our regrets about not being able to provide supplies for the entire school, both the staff and students made us feel as if we had done a good thing.
We made a promise to the students and to their administrators that we would come back with more school supplies. We have to do more. We owe something to those students who smiled and said “God Bless You,” but could not receive bags. We owe something to those students who were too shy to even approach us, but who crowded around the students who did receive bags, rifling through the contents of the bags and lighting up at the just the sight of the books and utensils inside.
Afterwards, we asked one another, how could these children be so happy to receive and use items that we dreaded even seeing when we were children? We are grateful to have witnessed their joy with our own eyes, and we thank our champions who were kind enough to donate to our bookbag drive on such short notice.
We ask you to think of these determined and grateful children if you should be blessed enough to help, and even if you cannot, we ask you to remember that these children yearn for the opportunity to receive the education that so many of us enjoyed.
Thank you for reading, and thank you for caring enough to share in this journey with us.
