IN THEIR OWN WORDS: BFS Students Travel to Ghana
While most of the BFS community took the past two weeks to rest, relax, and spend time with family and friends, a group of 17 Upper School students and three colleagues made the educational journey of a lifetime—spending 10 amazing days in Ghana. The program, which was organized through BFS’ Office of Global Social Impact by its director, Kevin Murungi, is the first of what we know will be many journeys to come. This particular program had students examine Ghana’s efforts in combating the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade and colonialism, and securing its resource sovereignty.
“While we sometimes rightfully get caught up in the course of study, and the important content that students delve into, we must also stop to revel in watching BFS students engage the world with immense thought and care,” Kevin said. “To say that we are proud of the manner in which our students did this on our trip to Ghana would be an understatement. … We look forward the the numerous ways they will bring their learning and experience back, and engage in projects for social impact around the broad global themes explored.”
One of the most powerful aspects of the journey was having the students themselves capture the experience in their own words. Below, you will have the opportunity to read those words, which will be a constant reminder for the students—and a first-hand window into their trip for everyone else. Their words are complemented by the amazing photography of senior Ben Farkas.
DAY 1: By Izabel and Ben
Yesterday, we landed in Accra! After meeting our wonderful guides, they took us on a short drive through the city to get brunch. We drank out of coconuts and ate shakshuka. After breakfast we traveled to the Makola Market, a market lively in its nature and fascinating in its diverse selection of food and goods. Later, we walked up to view the market from above before departing for a short city orientation. In this city tour, we saw Jubilee House (the presidential residence and office), and visited Independence Square where we learned Ghana gained independence in 1957. After freshening up in our rooms we met with our guides from EDU Africa to review the rules and ground us in our goals.
Then it was time for dinner. We ventured through the city to eat dinner at Dax’s house (EDU Africa Country and Operations Manager for Ghana). He and his family were very welcoming and kind, and prepared a wonderful dinner for us. This meal included but was not limited to beef, chicken, fish, rice, bread, egg plant, unlimited Coke and Fanta, and various hot sauces. This marked a great end to our first day.
DAY 2: By Gaia and Aidan
Today, we woke up at a moderate hour and had a very filling breakfast at the hotel (rice, goat, spaghetti, and pastries). Our first stop was supposed to be the W.E.B. Du Bois Center, however, the power was shut off in the area, so we had to pivot. Instead, we made our way to a photography exhibit called Dikan Center which had photographs that explored the themes of artists, community and firefighters. (We also got to try out their uniforms!) After the exhibit it was time for lunch so we drove to a restaurant called Buka and had a delicious group meal. Then, we went on a walking tour in Jamestown. We got to see many buildings and homes as well as the ocean. The buildings that we saw in Jamestown reflected their culture and how the history of colonialism has affected their living. There were many interesting things that we saw there like the distinctiveness of their familial structures, community based organizations, boxing gyms, and day-to-day life. It was extremely hot so everyone was exhausted once we got back to the bus. When we got back to the hotel we had some down time to relax and to freshen up. After our down time we went to dinner where we got to bond and spend even more time together. Overall, we had a productive and engaging day from the photograph exhibit to the walking tour and enjoying appetizing meals.
DAY 3: By Piper and Arlo
Today was an early start, with a prompt wake-up, to drive to Lincoln Community School. After eating eggs, bread, and fruit on the go, we arrived at the school and excitedly reunited with Madam Nicole, a former Brooklyn Friends colleague. We met our buddy’s for the first time, the students we were paired with from LCS. We played some icebreakers before listening in on an interesting presentation from Erastus Asare Donkor, a renowned journalist who focuses on illegal, small-scale mining in Ghana and how it pollutes rivers and ruins forests throughout the country. We then went on a tour around the campus in small groups, looking at the beautiful architecture, flora and fauna, classrooms, and meeting many teachers and administrators.
A highlight of the day was experiencing a re-enactment of the queens court. The procession of the court was led by the linguist, who helped immerse us in this interactive experience.There was also dancing where students were pulled up from the crowd to dance with people in traditional kente cloth. Then we ate some delicious lunch: mac and cheese, rice, stew, burgers, fries, and salad.
We then went to the makerspace where there were a variety of options: bead making, painting, sewing a tote bag, laser cut earrings, roasting plantains, fabric weaving, and paper weaving. We then joined one of our buddy’s classes, which included either Theory of Knowledge, Physics, Economics, Math, or Biology. After this we went back to our main meeting room where we met more kids that attended LCS through questions about our experience on the activities we did today.
Once we came back to the hotel, we had a reflection session run by EDU Africa, which prompted us to reflect on all the many experiences throughout the first 3 days in this new and exciting country. Dinner was delicious, with a variety of fried rice, stew, fries, chicken, fish and noodles. We all really enjoyed bonding with kids our age that have grown up in different places and experienced so many different things. This was an eye-opening experience that broadened our perspectives on life, education, and many other things. We are excited for the days to come!
DAY 4: By Nina and Matisse
Yesterday, we left Accra around 12 and travelled for about six hours on a bus. We enjoyed the views and waved at so many lovely people! We talked and laughed and all had the opportunity to take a good nap. We saw many goats and chickens, and the occasional cow. We raced along roads and birds seemed to be flying with us. All in all it was an interesting day with some bad and some good. We are looking forward to seeing and doing more and not being on a bus all day tomorrow so we can stretch our legs.
DAY 5: By Max and Penny
Yesterday, we went to the Manhyia Palace where the king and queen mother of the Ashanti people live. We learned about the Ashanti’s culture, practices, and history. There were many artifacts we saw such as kente cloth, and 32 pure gold pieces, including a sword used by many generations of Ashanti kings. After the palace we went to the Assin Manso Ancestral Slave River Site. It was a place where a slave market was, but has since been turned into a memorial for all those who died or were enslaved during the slave trade. We learned about enslaved people’s travel to be sold, how they were washed in the river we went to, and then sold at the market. We saw the entrance to the bath of no return, a place where enslaved people would have their last bath before being put on the ships. As a group, we went through the entrance of the First Bath Of Return and blessed one another while holding hands. We then tried a cocoa pod and headed back to the bus. Once we arrived at the hotel we got into the pool, relaxed, and had dinner! It was a great and informative day.
DAY 6: By Ishara and Darwin
Today, we started our day eating a delicious breakfast near the beach. After, we headed to the Cape Coast castle where we learned about the horrific history of the transatlantic slave trade and got to experience the dungeons where enslaved people were held first hand. In the dungeons, the floor was covered with dried up blood and defection mixed with sand. There were limited sources of light and ventilation. Many of us struggled to withstand the conditions for a few minutes, so imagining people being in those dungeons months at a time is horrifying. On top of one of the dungeons, there was a hole near where the church of the castle was in which people were able to see, hear, and smell everything that took place in the dungeon. A European governor lived above the slave dungeons. He had great ventilation, a 360 view of his surroundings, big windows, and big rooms. The contrast between the slave dungeons and governor’s place of residence just shows how dehumanized these people were. This was sickening. There was a spectrum of negative emotions among us all. Although it was an emotional experience, it is important that we see these things in order to move forward towards a better future. After lunch, we headed to the Kakum national park where we explored the forest, encountered numerous cool plants, and walked on the canopy walkway where we looked onto the forest from high above. After that, we headed back to our hotel where we relaxed for a bit. During our amazing dinner, the Akomapa dance group performed wonderful dances, backed up with the resounding beat of the drums. They eventually invited us to join in our their dance and it was so much fun! We thankfully ended the day on a joyful note.
DAY 7: By Maeve and Stella
Yesterday, we had a travel day from Cape Coast back to Accra. We woke up to say goodbye to the beach, some people taking early swims in the pool, and got onto the bus. After a couple hours of driving and reflecting on our experiences over the past few days individually, we headed to another pool. We spent some time there playing and swimming together. Then, we had dinner and played cards as we started to research local communities in order to begin our Urban Sustainability Challenge, a project we’re working on in groups to learn how historical and current urban changes have Impacted culture and identity in Ghana and at home.
DAY 8: By Ahmad and Taj
Today we visited the W.E.B Du Bois Memorial Center for Pan-African culture in Accra. This museum provided a sense of his mentality and showed us the life and legacy of W.E.B Du Bois. During our tour we explored many exhibitions that highlighted his writings on race, culture, and society, as well as artifacts related to his life and the Pan-African movement. These grounds also feature the soil of his wife and son which gives us a chance to honor them. After the touching experience we made our way to the University of Ghana where we drove around the campus and took a quick stop at the Ghanaian College where the doctors and nurses practice medicine. Dr.Tiffany talked about her experience at the University of Ghana, and it was very informative and opened our eyes to new opportunities. Soon after we went to the Botanical Gardens where we learned about plants that help people on a daily basis and our tour guide was very enthusiastic about giving us his knowledge. The community that took care of the garden were very adamant that you should let nature run its course. This day was full of a wide variety of information that will help us to prepare for the future.
Legacies of power and privilege, like those explored during this program, are not unique to any one country or context. Students are looking forward to applying all they learnt in Ghana as they design impact projects that will address local, national and global manifestations of the important issues they explored.
Be sure to click on the link below to see all of the great photos taken by Ben!