Skip to main content

Ghana

 Next stop in the adventuresoflynne is Ghana!


I am on"Project Overseas," an initiative of the Canadian Teacher's Federation. I applied to ETFO (Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario) who interviewed me and selected some of us to participate this year. Project Overseas sends Canadian Teachers from across the provinces and territories to 15 countries (in 2024). There were 5 Carribean countries that were on hold, waiting to see if the program would continue after Hurricane Beryl. In the end three of the five went. There are a number of teachers in African countries. 

https://www.ctf-fce.ca/what-we-do/international-development-cooperation/project-overseas/


We arrived in Ghana, a bit weary and excited. This shows all 8 of us--Ghana Team 1 and Ghana Team 2. 

Team 1: Gwenan from Yellowknife, Clarerose from  Ontario and our leader Lana from PEI. Team 2 has Rachel from Manitoba (leader), Octavia from Nunavut, Meagan from Ontario and Tara from Alberta. We were welcomed by Moses and Ernest (local bigwigs and our hosts) and had a lovely meal with them here in the Coconut Grove Hotel. Moses and Ernest visited Canada (Ottawa with the Canadian Teacher's Federation) and watched the solar eclipse in April. They are warm-hearted and committed to making our stay as successful and pleasant as possible.



I am sharing a laugh with the "Inclusivity" group. On my right (your left) is Lord, my co-facilitator. Meagan is with hers (Team 2) and we will be conducting the workshops simultaneously. The other members of our teams are co-facilitating workshops in Gender and Culture, Class Management and Technology.

We had a presentation by teacher's college professors on the creation of their Education Institute--this is very exciting! They are conducting research into education in order to inform policy and teacher training. So awesome. 

I feel honoured and proud to be representing Canada. Canadian teachers, through our Federation, have been working with Ghanian teachers since 1962 and the relationship between the federations is very special. A book was written about this relationship, celebrating 60 years, and we will each get a copy!

Comments

  1. I have been checking daily for an update and I’m excited to see one! How wonderful that you’re there, Lynne, and offering your considerable expertise. I’m sure you’ll learn lots as well. What a wonderful history Canada shares with Ghana. (It seems 1962 was a pretty auspicious year!) Looking forward to hearing more. DK

    ReplyDelete
  2. What an amazing initiative! 👏 Well done Ltnne and your teacher colleagues. Keep those posts and photos coming!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kibi (Week Two)

 Our second week was spent at the Kibi Presbyterian College of Education in Kibi--pronounced chibi, and sometimes spelled Kyebi. It was a gorgeous campus in a valley, surrounded by mountains. There was a garden, used by students, and many fruit trees (mango, papaya, banana, coconut), available to students to help themselves to! We had cocoyam for our supper one night. The leaves grow plentifully and Ghanaiansr refer to it as "spinach." cocoyam leaves growing all over the campus The campus had lush plant life, especially hibiscus--they also serve hibiscus drinks which are delicious. Did you know that Ghana (at least in the south of the country where we were) has red soil just like PEI? The pictures of red soil that I took don't look quite red. In real life the soil is a much brighter red. The second week was a replica of the first. Two cohorts from the Volta and Eastern regions. Opening ceremonies, 2 days of 4, 2 hour classes, a closing ceremony and Canada/Ghana night. For...

Kumasi -- Week 1

Sorry for the delay! The wifi in Kibi was limited to non-existent and I am using a Chromebook, needing wifi to type! I am writing about our first week, here at the end of our second week. On Sunday the 7th we headed to the Asanti Region for our first week at the GNAT (Ghana National Association of Teachers) headquarters and site of the new Institute. The Institute will offer graduate courses, teacher training courses and conduct research that will inform government policy. The Institute is brand new so we were here for a very exciting part of GNAT's history. Our days have been long. Two hour sessions four times a day means eight hours of teaching--see how I did the math there? I must be a teacher. The cycle begins with an opening ceremony. Dignitaries are introduced and speeches are made (they are quite long,I fell asleep once), with twenty items on the agenda. The Teacher's Song, the two national anthems and the solidarity song is sung at each opening and closing ceremony with...