Sampson Yahans runs afternoon and evening classes for the school children of Besease. The classes take place 5 days a week and aim to offer extra help to approximately 40 children, those struggling in classes at school, those children excelling in class needing to be given that extra push or children who are simply enthusiastic and wanting to learn more than is offered in school time.
When Sampson expressed a wish to take these children on field trips, to see parts of Ghana they would otherwise have no opportunity of seeing, volunteers raised enough money to provide transport for the children to visit Elmina Castle. When that trip proved successful, volunteers again raised money to send the children to Kakum National Park and experience the tree top walk through the forest canopy. On the way home they stopped at Hans Bottage to see and touch the crocodiles, an animal that none of the children had before seen. This day was once again a huge success, with the children seeing for themselves the beauty of the rainforest that is native to their home country, and taking back exciting stories and memories to be relayed to their family at home in Besease.
Aims and Objectives of the day
To provide the children with a chance to see a part of Ghana they would otherwise never have the opportunity of seeing.
To show them that lessons can be learnt outside of the classroom, and to show them the rainforest habitat at close hand as opposed to just showing them a picture in a book.
To reward the children for their hard work so far this year, making sure they had a hugely rewarding and enjoyable day.
Methodology
Fellow NGO Baobab very kindly allowed us the use of their vehicle and driver, for which we only had to raise the petrol money of 40 cedis. Once transport was arranged Sampson made a trip up to Kakum to prepare the staff for the hordes of school children planning to visit!
Four of our volunteers were waiting at Kakum on Saturday morning and along with 2 Besease student school teachers and Sampson, they walked the excited children up with a guide to the canopy walk way. Most of the children had never experienced being at that height before and although there were a few hesitations and nervousness, all but 2 of the children made their way across and did amazingly well.
After completing the walk way the children were taken on a walk through the rainforest and learnt about the different plants, trees and animals from the very knowledgeable guide. They then experienced at first hand an encounter with a crocodile at Hans Bottage!
A Volunteer’s perspective
“To see the children’s faces as they walked through the canopy, from being so excited to nervous about the height and then completely triumphant on completion was one of the highlights of my time in Ghana so far. Then to hear how they had talked about their experiences when they arrived home, telling anybody who would listen, just made the project even more worthwhile in my eyes. ”
William Mitchell
Reflection and Review
This day was a huge success. The children had an amazing day and an experience which they will remember for a life time. Children learn best when they are excited and interested about a subject and no doubt taking them out of the classroom and walking them through the rainforest canopy heightened their enthusiasm for the forest, its wildlife and their home country. As Will mentioned, this excitement continued after the return home with the children making all their friends and family very jealous with all the stories they had to tell!
Looking to the future
The children of Sampson’s afternoon and evening classes have seen so little of Ghana outside of their tiny communities. It is important for them to get out into the wider world, experience something different and see that there is more to life than Besease. Not only do field trips enhance learning, they also give the children more confidence and belief in themselves. There are so many more places we want to take them but in order to do this we need to raise more money. Kakum National Park is relatively close and we want to take the children further afield, to show them the Akosombo dam, Wli Falls and the Tafi Atome monkey sanctuary. Please support our project! |
