Today was a beautiful day. One of the guys in our group knows a family that is adopting a couple little kids from an orphanage not too far from Accra, so a few of us went there today to see all the little ones. They were so cute. As soon as we arrived, the kids ran up to the van and started singing, "Welcome, welcome...." it was so cute. We were greeted with about 50 kids hugging us as we stepped off the bus. They were all ages. A few still in diapers and not walking, a few toddlers, a few kids, and a few teenagers. They were all so excited to see us and to hold our hands and play with us.
Sarah and I had our nails painted, and one of the little girls saw them and wanted to have hers done so badly. Luckily, Sarah had brought with her a bag of nail polish that she was planning on giving to the orphanage. The kids were freaking out. We painted ALL of their finger nails, and toe nails, no matter what gender they were. Even the 16 year old boys wanted their finger nails painted. It was hilarious. At any given time, I would have at least 10 kids around me putting their hands in my face for me to start painting. When all the hands were painted, they kept saying, "my leg, my leg" and pointed to their toe nails. So we started painting those as well. They would stick their cute little dirty feet on my lap and I would paint away, and they would gasp and giggle at the color. It was so fun.
After nail painting, we pulled out the face paints and painted all the kids hands, faces, and whatever else they wanted. They were LOVING it! Then we played with sidewalk chalk, and jump ropes, and soccer balls.
They all wanted to be touching us, sitting on us, hugging us, anything to feel our love. It was precious. So sad though. The little ones were so tiny, and you could tell just by looking at them that they are malnourished and lonely. I am so glad thatI got the opportunity to go though. The kids loved having us there, and I could tell that they needed some affection and love. It was heartbreaking to know that most of these kids will never be adopted, and that they will end up on the street in a few years. I wanted to take all of them home with me. I wish there was more I could do, but I know that love can leap mountains. I am just glad that I could do something.
Sarah and I had our nails painted, and one of the little girls saw them and wanted to have hers done so badly. Luckily, Sarah had brought with her a bag of nail polish that she was planning on giving to the orphanage. The kids were freaking out. We painted ALL of their finger nails, and toe nails, no matter what gender they were. Even the 16 year old boys wanted their finger nails painted. It was hilarious. At any given time, I would have at least 10 kids around me putting their hands in my face for me to start painting. When all the hands were painted, they kept saying, "my leg, my leg" and pointed to their toe nails. So we started painting those as well. They would stick their cute little dirty feet on my lap and I would paint away, and they would gasp and giggle at the color. It was so fun.
After nail painting, we pulled out the face paints and painted all the kids hands, faces, and whatever else they wanted. They were LOVING it! Then we played with sidewalk chalk, and jump ropes, and soccer balls.
They all wanted to be touching us, sitting on us, hugging us, anything to feel our love. It was precious. So sad though. The little ones were so tiny, and you could tell just by looking at them that they are malnourished and lonely. I am so glad thatI got the opportunity to go though. The kids loved having us there, and I could tell that they needed some affection and love. It was heartbreaking to know that most of these kids will never be adopted, and that they will end up on the street in a few years. I wanted to take all of them home with me. I wish there was more I could do, but I know that love can leap mountains. I am just glad that I could do something.
After we saw and fed the monkeys, we went on a very beautiful hike to one of the tallest waterfalls in Ghana, called Wli Waterfall. It was one of the tallest I have ever seen. It was beautiful. The hike was through the rainforest, and we saw beautiful plants and even some pineapple growing along the side of the trail. The water was so warm beneath the falls that we all got in and swam. It was a little creepy though, the entire wall next to and behind the waterfall was lined with bats. Right before we left, we all screamed as loud as we could to see if we could make the bats fly around. We could only make them stir and flap their wings a little, but the native who was with us grabed an old fallen down tree and started beating it on a rock to make a really loud bang, and it worked! The bats started flying everywhere, it was pretty cool, and the waterfall was wonderful! 
We stayed the night there with the villagers, sleeping under mosquito nets. It was a very interesting experience. Most of the kids were running around in next to nothing, just dirty and cute. It was a true African experience. For our entertainment, all the villagers got together and prepared a little show for us. The village story teller told us a few stories that were passed down from generation to generation. There is only allowed to be one story teller at a time and the story teller that told our stories had been the teller for about 30 years. He was blind and had to have a translator for us to understand the stories. It was very cool. 
I love this picture. She has her underwear on backwards, and is wearing flip flops that are about 3 sizes too big. Too cute.
Today we were back in the schools, thank heavens! It was so good to see the kids again, and the kids were so excited to see us too. They greeted us with the usual, “Good morning madams” and we loved it. Our lessons went great today. We taught on storms and on light and energy. The storms lead right into my lesson on light and energy. After we taught them a little about light, we let them make bracelets with solar beads that change color when you get into the sun. Thanks to my great friend Becky, I was able to get 1000 beads and each of the kids was able to make a full bracelet of solar beads. They absolutely LOVED it! After we made all the bracelets, we took them outside to test them out. Even though it was a cloudy day, the beads changed colors and the kids were so excited to see them changing. They kept coming up to me saying, “Look Carlie, they are changing. Look at all the colors!” It was so sweet.
Today we also taught our AIDS lessons. We went to a little school called The Happy Kids School. We were teaching a group of boy scouts and girl guides. Most of them were pretty young, but they knew so much and understood so much about AIDS. They were so smart. They gave great input and asked a ton of questions. When I taught my lesson on how HIV relates to women, they were all very attentive. In this lesson, we talk about rape and how to say no. They were all interested in what we had to say, and I saw one little girl taking notes, and in her notes it said, “Women should be treated with respect. It is ok to say no to sex.” I was so excited to see them so eager to learn. It was so great to work with these younger kids because they are the future. They are the ones who are going to change the future of Africa. If we can reach these kids, we have accomplished something great. I was so excited to see their enthusiasm in learning. I almost teared up at that moment, because she has so much potential to change her culture.
It has been a long day. So much to think about. We started out the day today by watching a movie about human trafficking called, "The day my god died." The movie forced me to think about all the terrible things happening around me. It was about girls in India and Thailand specifically, but it pointed out that this happens all over the world, especially in Africa and Asia. These girls are tricked, druged, and kidnapped and then sold into prostitution without any rights to their own life, or their own bodies. Many of these girls are between ages 7 and 15. What would it be like to have your childhood ripped from your hands, have your innocence stolen from you at age 7? Even at age 80 - that is not fair.
I have been stretched to great lengths emotionally on this trip. It is one thing to read about all the poverty in the world, or to hear about it in the news, to read about child labor, and forced prostitution. Being at a distance, reading only words is completely different than being right in the middle of it all. To walk through the streets littered with garbage and raw sewage, to breathe the air full of toxins and carbon monoxide, to see the vendors on the streets trying to support themselves while barley making a dollar a day. To see the children with dirty faces and clothes that come to you and beg for money while knowing that this is probably an example of child bonded labor in front of my eyes, and knowing that if I give them my money it will go straight to the person forcing them to be in the streets begging, while I can do absolutely nothing.
To see the look on most women's faces, the fear and anguish I can only imagine and pray to never really understand. To hold the hand of an orphan who in a few years will be out on the streets, trying to sell, or begging for money - perhaps in prostitution themselves. To see the smile of a child when they understand something you are trying to teach them. To see the light in a young girl's eyes when you tell her she's worth everything - when you tell her she has a voice and deserves to be heard. When you tell her she has a right to say no. To see a rescued prostitute learn new skills and show a glimmer of hope at becoming something, and learn more about using those skills instead of her body to earn money. 
