Dani de Jesus '00

---

Excerpts from the journal Dani kept about her experiences as a volunteer in Ghana.

The situation I’ve been dreading for five years had finally arrived: I was a UCLA graduate… and I had no idea what to do next. It was at the EXPO Center that I discovered Cross-Cultural Solutions (CCS), a nonprofit organization that sends volunteers abroad to provide humanitarian assistance in volunteer work programs in China, Ghana, India, Russia and Peru. The program in Ghana caught my attention immediately. During my years at UCLA, volunteer work had become a big part of my life. Thanks to the volunteer experiences I had with organizations like the UCLA Student Alumni Association (SAA) I understood the importance of giving a part of yourself to something worthwhile. In SAA, that something was with the students and alumni of UCLA. With CCS, it would be the people in a country clear across the world.

Arrival
Today I arrived in Accra, the capital of Ghana. I’m living my dream of being in Africa and the great thing is the adventure has only begun. For the next three weeks I’ll be working with Cross-Cultural Solutions at a school in the village of Ho.

Village of Ho
I’ve arrived in the village of Ho, where I’ll be teaching a theatre workshop at the school. The Cross-Cultural Solutions staff has treated us all so well and the food is “Mm! Mm! Good!” I’ve found a lot of inspiration among the other 10 volunteers. A young married couple quit their jobs, sold their cars, put everything in storage and decided to travel the world for a year. They signed up for this program first and based all their travels around it. Can you believe that?

Today I went to the school where I’ll be teaching. The students called us yevu, which means “white person”; they got a kick out of me running around with them everywhere. I think the teachers thought I was weird. I’m trying to think of some creative things to do with the students because they’re so short of books and other school supplies.

I absolutely love it here. The residence we’re staying at is great. I sleep underneath a mosquito net, which seems a bit exotic, I think. The neighborhood kids are wonderful. They’ve taught me how to play some instruments; we’re all making good music together.

Working Hard
It’s been a week now and the adventures continue. The days and nights have been long, and I’ve been working long hours trying to do what I can. The program directors are telling me to get more sleep. I’ve taken on two different projects here. First off, I’ve been working with a second grade class at Springs School. The kids range from six to eight years old. They are so smart and fun! The teacher has integrated me into her lesson plan and I teach them everything from math to biology to social studies. But a lot of my work there takes place out of the classroom. I’ve been spending lots of time working on visual aids for them. Their walls are blank and lacks the colors I feel are necessary for kids and their vivid imaginations. I’ve also been working on making them maps, charts, tables, pictures, etc. However, the supplies store here doesn’t even sell construction paper, so I have to get really creative to do the job.

The second project I’m working on is a play at the volunteer base. After school, all the neighborhood kids come and hang out here. I’ve scripted two different African folktales into a sort of mini-play, and we’ll start rehearsals tonight. The challenge is that English is their second language so there is a language barrier. But I’m confident we’ll work around it.

Finally, I’m trying to understand gender roles and research women’s activism groups around the area. They’re not easy to find, though, so that project is coming along very slowly…

Cultural Exchanges
The program that I’m in is amazing. Every night they have something different planned for the volunteers and I feel like I’m learning so much about their culture. Yesterday, for example, we discussed gender roles and I’m going even further to try to contact womn’s activist groups around the area. They’re not easy to find though… And every day we have a lesson in Ewe, the native language.

One afternoon we went to two villages about 20 minutes outside of Ho. Words cannot express experiences there! These are villages that are just starting to get electricity. We met with the villages’ elders and chiefs. Everyone was very welcoming. Immediately children came up to hold my hand. They were incredible; I think they found me entertaining because I taught them lots of different camp songs. I think the other volunteers found me entertaining, too. The children taught me their songs and I’m learning their dances as well. The villagers want me to come back and teach the children. – I just might take them up on their offer.

One thing that’s interesting though is the way that children are disciplined here. We discussed it at our volunteer base, but it’s still a little uncomfortable for me to see: they are hit or threatened with a cane. Although I can see the great amount of care and love that the teachers have for the kids, it’s not easy to see the children hit.

Rehearsals And The Great Outdoors
The play I’m working on with the kids is going well. We’ve been rehearsing every day and they’re enjoying themselves. Because it’s in English, they’re having some difficulty, but other than that they’re doing well. The school is awesome. Yesterday I working on wishing stars with the children and I told them they could be anything that they wanted to be. I made stars for them and had them write inside what they dreamed of becoming: a nurse, a doctor, a pilot, an officer… The teacher also did it and said she wanted to be an accountant. One kid raised his hand and said, “You want to be a coconut?”

Back to School
The drama production is coming along wonderfully. The kids had all their lines memorized in a matter of days and are gathering the props so we can perform the play this week. I’ve been doing a lot of individual work with the kids. In exchange, they’ve been teaching me a lot about music. They have a whole Ghanaian drum set and I’ve been learning rhythms. It’s all very exciting…

Opening Night
Encore! The “Two Tales of Ananse,” a Dani de Jesus Production, went very well. No, wait – better than well. We’re talking Broadway! Some of the kids had to be cued on a few of their lines, but come on now, they’re kids. We had live music and some dancing, all provided by the children themselves. Many of my fellow volunteers were pulled up onstage to dance with them, and although I’d like to think that the audience was laughing with us, it was pretty obvious that they were laughing at us. But hey, they were laughing, and that’s a good thing. I was quite impressed with how the whole evening went, and I think the other volunteers and the children’s parents felt the same way. In fact, I’m determined to bring young Christian (the star of the play) to Hollywood. Watch out, Denzel!

Unfortunately my time here is coming to an end this Friday. I’m a bit sad because the people here are great. The insight you can gain by volunteering is pretty amazing. I’ve learned so much from my time here in Ghana. The best part of it is, I know that long after this experience, I’ll look back and learn even more. The adventure never ends. I can’t wait to start the next one.