Ghana and Back

Late Thursday night I returned to Los Angeles from my ten-day trip to Ghana with the Rabbinical Student Delegation of the American Jewish World Service, an international relief and development organization (which only works with non-Jewish organizations to help alleviate suffering worldwide).

The trip was amazing and incredible on multiple accounts. We stayed in a house in a small village of about 500 people in the Upper Volta region of Ghana. The Ghanaians were warm, friendly, caring, and very interesting to talk to. I met many locals and was able to play games with the children like duck-duck-goose, red light green light, and Simon Says. I talked to one of the three chiefs of the village quite extensively about village demographics. We were welcomed to the village in an elaborate welcoming ceremony and we departed after an elaborate closing ceremony where we asked and received permission to leave the village.

Our village was a half-hour walk from the larger city of Hohoe, with an approximate population of 50,000. There, we met with various agencies dealing with health and welfare issues in the region. We met a Cuban doctor, a volunteer sent by his country's government, to serve as one of three physicians in the region. He told us about the medical and public health problems of the region and how simple immunizations, medications, prevention, and mosquito nets could do to save so many lives.

In our village we spent four days working on building a community center so that the villagers would have a place to watch soccer (the were very excited about this) and to gather for community functions. We learned tunes and songs and dances of the local community. I was amazed at the diversity of the languages in the region. It seemed that every few miles, there was a new local language. Most adults speak English as a second language. I loved the sense of community among the clans in the village, how they all came together to build the community center with the help of the thirty foreigners among them.

We mixed and poured concrete, carrying water, rocks, and concrete on our heads as is the local custom. We learned to make bricks manually by pouring concrete into molds and then letting the bricks dry in the sun. We drank liters and liters of bottled water each day to keep from dehydration and I successful avoided any gastrointestinal distress. No one was hospitalized with any diseases and no one was eaten by a cobra, even though was was reported on the driveway to our house.

Due to the mixed levels of Jewish observance among the crew of students from nine different seminaries in the United States across all denominations, we ate vegetarian meals prepared by local cooks. The staple was primarily rice with a varying spicy red sauce for lunch and or dinner each day.

Every morning a different seminary was responsible for leading the morning prayers. We had our chance early on and I led the first part of the service, leading singing of several prayers - an entirely new and scary experience for me. Experiencing the range of different services sponsored by the various seminaries was fascinating. The heated discussions among the participants about how to observe Shabbat as a group was an eye-opening experience.

We spent some time in Accra, a bustling city with merchants of all kinds carrying their wares on top of their heads and walking between cars stopped at intersections. One could but a complete meal, clothing of all kinds, shoes, and even windshield wipers at the major intersections of Accra without ever leaving one's car.

We visited a Liberian refugee settlement in Accra, home to about 50,000 Liberian refugees of their now-ended civil war. Despite the horrific conditions in the settlement, we were told that the Liberians prefer to stay and hope and pray for a visa to take them to the West. The civil war has been over for a few years and United Nations posters and banners encourage an end to the diaspora ("Yes, there is free schooling in Liberia!") but they're not budging.

In addition to the 25 participants and three group leaders, a rabbi from New York was our scholar-in-residence. We spent several hours each day learning with the rabbi and the group leaders about global poverty, HIV/AIDS, public health, and grassroots sustainable development.

I learned so much, my eyes were opened so wide, it was an amazing and incredible experience. I'm so glad I had the opportunity and wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Rabbinical Student Delegation to any rabbinical student! Do it despite the plethora of shots and pills!

On our way back to the United States we had a lengthy layover in Amsterdam. It was my first time in the city and I enjoyed the architecture and visited the Anne Frank House. I hope that Jen and I will be able to return and spend more time in Amsterdam, it's such a beautiful city.

When I returned home, my report card was waiting for me there. I was pleased to discover that I won't have to repeat any courses and, in fact, my first semester GPA isn't so bad. I'm back at school already, just a few days after returning home. It's a light week though so it's a nice transition back to the semester...