England /Ghana Trip 2005

March 8, 2005

There is an old saying that goes like this: You never know what you have until you lose it. We took 42 students on a trip to London, England and to the British Museum to see all the things that used to be in Africa. The British Museum has an extensive collection of Egyptian and African art outside of Africa. The students spent one day in the Museum and one day visiting the historic sites and then stayed in an exclusive area of London called Hyde Park. We took the Tube-subway and visited the British Museum, took a boat ride tour of the Thames and then had a debriefing in the evening. We visited Accra, Ghana in Africa, the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, Tetteh Quarshie Circle, Cape Coast Castle, Assin Manso Village, Makola Market and we visited the W.E. DuBois Center then went on to Cape Coast.

The highlight of the trip was when we visited our sister school, Edinaman Secondary School. This school was very important as one of our teachers, Mr. Kojo Abbiw Jackson graduated from that school. The students at the Edinaman School travel from all over the local area and walk six to seven miles to the school each day. The students have to pay for their education. Many of the families work 16 hour days, seven days a week. Ghana has one of the highest poverty rates in Africa as its per capita income is $300 a year. Due to a drought situation, there was a shortage of water. As in all developing countries, electricity supply may not be consistent but what was consistent was a sense of perseverance on the part of the people. The people were extremely friendly and helpful and more importantly proud of their ancestry.

Another highlight was when we met with the Paramount Chef and all the regional chiefs of the Elmina Traditional area and had to request their permission for establishing a sister school relating to Edinaman School. We brought with us a pen for every single student and we also brought 300 copies of the Frederick Douglass narrative. Mr. Abbiw Jackson established a scholarship in his recently departed Aunt's name under the Frederick Douglass Academy partnership. Our school also established five scholarships for deserving students. One of the most exciting and scariest parts of the trip involved the students walking the bridges on top of the canopy in the rain forest in Kakum. Most of the group managed to at least cross one of the bridges and we were extraordinarily thankful that no one fell.
We are fortunate to have this opportunity to have visited the roots of all civilization.