Here, There, and Everywhere...

Happy Thanksgiving!
I hope the holidays find you well! I am currently updating my blog from Accra in the beautiful house of the American embassy family I'm staying with for a few days. I'll tell you more about that later in the post...

Last Wednesday I left site to meet up with 3 other volunteers for our know-your-status campaign called "No Wealth without Health." We arrived in the large village of Kumbungu, where we set up our base camp for the next few days. Starting Wednesday night, we had our first event in a nearby village called Zugu. The first night was a huge success, as we had around 400 villagers show up and we tested over 100 people for HIV. We hired the Ministry of Information to bring their truck and video equipment so we could show several films in Dagbani relating to HIV transmission and encouraging anti-stigmatization. On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night we repeated the program in 3 other surrounding villages, all of which we felt were very successful! It was absolutely rewarding and exciting to see villagers gather to hear this vital information and see so many people lining up to get tested for HIV. Each night we started the program around 6:30pm, just as the villagers were finishing their evening prayers, and we never got back to our room earlier than 11pm, as so many people were staying late into the night getting tested. Overall, we estimate that we reached more than 1200 villagers and tested nearly 700 people. These events really motivated me and made me very excited for future campaigns, as we will eventually be reaching around 40 villages with this program throughout the next year. This is the type of work that I've envisioned myself doing here in Ghana-helping to plan health-related programs, encouraging people to take control of their health, and training villagers to share life-saving information with their families and villages. I am certainly blessed to be a part of this team and have the chance to work on such large-scale projects in this capacity.

After finishing our last event on Saturday night, we left early Sunday morning to make the 13+ hour bus ride down to Accra for an HIV/AIDS Peer Educator training conference. In addition to the 4 Peace Corps volunteers working for ITFC, we brought  9 mango farmers who we have helped train to become peer educators in their respective villages and districts. The two day conference, put on by an organization called GTZ, revealed statistics about peoples' knowledge of HIV and AIDS based on surveys they have performed over the past year. We learned a lot about the regional and cultural differences in Ghana that help to explain differing attitudes toward stigmatization and the spread of disease, as well as hearing updates from other peer educators around the country concerning projects they have started. Overall, I think our farmers learned a great deal and will be able to take the information they gleaned and share it with others, which is always our goal...

After the conference ended on Tuesday, me and my fellow volunteers stayed in the Accra area since we are celebrating Thanksgiving here this week. After meeting up with several other volunteers and enjoying ice cream sundaes (you've gotta treat yourself when you can!), I was picked up by my "Accra family" and brought to their house, where I'm staying until tomorrow. The father of this family, Josh, is currently serving here in Ghana with the Marine Corps, so his wife Jana and 2 children also live here and have settled into a beautiful Embassy-provided home here in Accra. Since arriving here, I've been overwhelmed by their generosity and hospitality. They have provided me with an air-conditioned bedroom (HEAVEN), my own bathroom with a flush toilet (I've never been more thankful for a toilet), and free reign of the television and kitchen. I've already watched "Dancing with the Stars," eaten spinach dip, and taken a hot shower, so I could not be more thankful to them!!! Seriously, I had absolutely forgotten what it was like to stand under a hot shower or eat potato chips and dip or lounge in front of the tv just because I can. While I still love my quiet village life and am hardly jealous of the lifestyle (besides the cheese), it is absolutely wonderful to have a break from the routine and be pampered for a few days.

I've been thinking about all of the things I'm thankful for this year, and the list is too long to write in its entirety here, but I'd like to mention a few things. First of all, I'm thankful to be here in Ghana. I am SO BLESSED to have this opportunity to learn, grow, and be challenged every day. I am thankful that I live in a wonderful village with beautiful people who care about me and who have opened up their lives to me, a stranger, in astounding ways. I am thankful for my family and friends back in the States, who have been so encouraging and supportive. I am thankful for my "family" in Accra who have opened up their home to me and made the holidays feel a little more bearable. I am thankful for my Peace Corps friends here in Ghana who help keep me sane when I can't handle another bite of fufu or another child coming to my house to greet me in Dagbani. I am thankful for my health and the energy to keep moving forward with new activities and projects. I could go on and on, but it's time to go to the ambassador's house, so I'll have to stop!

Thank-you everyone for your love and support. I'm thinking of you today and wishing everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving.