Beverly Greenberg

If someone told me that I would be traveling to a third world country on a steady basis, 3 years ago, I would have raised my eyebrows and said, "Yeah, right!" BUT indeed I have traveled and I am now a steady, rather frequent flyer to a small country in the western part of Africa called Ghana.

To share the aspects of their export, their climate, and other statistics is really something you could look up on the internet. But to share with you the life-altering experience, now that is something even Google can not capture. You see, it is indeed about the emotional impact one feels, that makes the experience. When taking that leap of faith to fly for almost a day and half (including waiting in the airport), making sure your Visa and shots are in order, packing the suitcase and staying within the maximum allowed per piece is only the logistical part. It is landing at the Kotoka International Airport, feeling the sauna-like air and walking down the steps of the portable staircase that really tells you that you are in for an experience beyond your wildest dreams and you will never be the same.

Customs and long lines that you wait in are quickly overshadowed by observing the Ghanaian's in their colorful clothing, their children with their sweet innocence and big eyes. Trying to connect with the person waiting for you outside of the airport or attempting to convince the many cab service people that you don't need their help is only the beginning of an experience that is both unique and familiar at the same time. It is the settling in, the realization that you have crossed countries and oceans, arriving now in a place that you will really never be able to find enough words to describe. That is really where it all starts to take shape.

The greatest gift Ghanaian people have is their character. They are people who persevere. They (as the secretary to the chief of a village I once worked in) make SOMETHING out of NOTHING. The Ghanaian believes that hard work, determination, and knowledge will be their ticket to a successful life. They are early risers and hard workers, sweeping, washing, cooking, sewing, making cement blocks, and yes, singing as they go through their day. The little that they have is cared for and tended to on a daily basis. They revere their children. They respect their elders. They embrace foreigners and delight in sharing their part of the world. It was an unexpected pleasure to find that a past student of mine who I taught in kindergarten (Founder, Jessyca Dudley), now a very accomplished young business woman, became a most influential part of the reason I am now committed to teaching and working in Ghana.

It is a daily lesson to be in Ghana and learn about the people who give new meaning to the words patient and tolerant. They take each day as it comes and are always appreciating the little things life has to offer. My desire to work with children in this country was first realized through my volunteer work in a public school in Akrade. Realizing that I could work with my most favorite age group (7 year olds) was so exciting to me, until I was thrust into a class of 6th graders because I was the only professional in my group. It was a reality check to find out that professional teachers were considered capable of teaching any grade no matter what their experience. So when I was forced to step out of my comfort zone and find a way to reach these young students I began to learn more than all my years of education taught me. I learned that listening was far better than instructing. I learned that materials young children so fondly loved in the USA were just as intriguing to 6th graders who found a way to develop their knowledge by using dominoes. I learned that putting a puzzle together showed how they really understood what teamwork was about, and I also learned that you really could make the Ghana flag out of pattern blocks. These 6th graders gave me a window into their love of country through their essays on their villages. They showed pride for their families as they shared how their parents were their role models. And most exciting, was an essay each student wrote on their dreams and aspirations which included, giving back to their parents, giving back to their community, and making a difference in the world as a nurse, doctor, or teacher. I found that as the days went by, I became the student and these young people became my greatest teachers.

On one of my weekends, I was able to go to a town near Accra called Madina and finally see the school that would bring me to the path that was my destiny. As I stood in the courtyard of the Tuskegee International School, it was obvious that the partially built rooms, the pending second floor, the non-existing bathrooms, and the desks that looked like they would fall apart any minute did not take away from the feeling of warmth, love, and spirit this school had. It was minus its students (on holiday) but it was not void of its potential. The intimacy that one feels when standing in this U shaped structure made me feel that I was in the early stages of my school in the USA whose commitment and purpose is to serve children, helping them become solid citizens and future leaders.

Its founder was and continues to be a most perceptive and amazing visionary. He is not a man of many words but his eyes, his movement through the grounds of the school and his constant desire to show his students that success is about hard work and determination are clearly defined. I spent a lot of time taking notes, writing down what aesthetical and practical ways this school could be enhanced through posters, books, chalkboards, and learning materials. Most importantly I wrote down my observations of the culture, the people, the way my western knowledge could adapt to this school's needs. There were many philosophical discussions that took me back to the days I was most inspired in college. Discussions of how to motivate students, how to support their growth and development in learning, how to show parents that education is key to survival. The hours in the day, the days in the week had no beginning or end. They just flowed. The realization that my time to return to my country was drawing near allowed me to fill my thoughts with what I would work on once back in the states and what I will return to Tuskegee with in the form of curriculum, materials and commitment to a great cause.

I tell people when I share my experiences and the thousands of photos I take of my 2nd school that I go to Ghana to become a more enriched human being. I want the Ghanaian's to know that they are significant and I am a small reminder of that through my loyalty and consistent involvement with them and their country. I can't say that what I do is for everyone. I can say that it is a life-altering experience which enables you to become enriched and develop insight into the world. As I prepare for my next trip, I smile at the prospect of once again being connected to the future of our world the children. It is their spirit, their heart, their perseverance and tenacity that gives all of us hopes for the future. It is a joy to be part of the endless possibilities that lie in Ghana, West Africa- The Tuskegee International School.