Sundays in Accra!

Today was a laid back day in Accra. Culturally, Ghanaians utilize Sundays as a day of rest, play futbol (soccer), and to worship god. We visited James Kotey’s church and orphanage. We had the wonderful opportunity to interact with 15 children from the orphanage and about two dozen others whose parents were attending church service. Alexandra, a bright rising senior from Marist College was prepared for our visit with this large group of children. She brought construction paper, crayons, and gummy bears. The children quickly embraced our desire to interact with them. Many of the children made creative pieces of art work while engaging in interesting conversations with us. At the end of our visit the children used our cameras to take pictures of the group and their fellow peers. We enjoyed this experience with the children. The sense of community, family, and togetherness was evident in our interactions. Despite the orphaned children’s situation, they were embraced and loved by the people around them. We learned that at this particular orphanage, when a child becomes 18 they are not released from the care of the orphanage instead they are able to stay until they finish university if not longer. This is refreshing to hear, especially given that in the United States, young adults are left to their own devices after the age of 18.

Following our early morning experience, we decided to embrace the Ghanaian culture and headed to CoCo Beach. Our saying is TIA (this is Africa). While at the beach we held several meaningful conversations with young adults who were enjoying their Sunday. We quickly befriended each other and many of them have already added us on facebook. Today provided the group with another interesting perspective on Ghanaian culture. Sundays are for family, friends, relaxation, and sports!