Coconuts, costumes and completing the school project

Here's the latest blog from Cheshire Fire Cadets who are out in Ghana, Africa. This blog has been written by Jodie Hind and David Robinson.

Costume fitting

After a hot day yesterday a few of us (mainly Cadet Leader Tony Taylor) were feeling a little bit off colour but ready to get on with the last day of renovation. However, first we had to visit Vivian Achana to have dresses and shirts fitted that had been handmade for us especially for a cultural festival this Saturday.

The walk for water

We then went to Aubatri village in a remote area to the East of Ho to show the cadets the conditions for rural communities who don’t have access to clean flowing water. It struck the cadets and leaders alike the distance villagers have to walk in order to get their daily water they use for drinking and washing. This is limited to only two buckets a day taken from a stagnant pond of water that has run of the mountain and is shared by four different communities. In the dry season they have to walk one km to the next nearest bore hole.

Despite not having much to offer us they treated us to cocoa fruit, oranges and bananas straight from a tree which was a great honour as they would usually sell these foods to make a living.

Coconuts and restoration

Continuing with the school project we had but three hours to complete the rest of our mission to restore the school. It was a lot to get done with recoating the walls, and finishing of the mural on top of refurbishing the place.

During a break the villagers showed their appreciation by offering fresh coconuts as a gift. Some cadets weren’t too keen but a few enjoyed them so much the ate everything but the shell!

All the cadets are so proud of the effort that everybody has put in. In spite of the short time we had all the cadets mucked in to complete the work on time. We are now ready for Durbar Day tomorrow following a last minute practice tonight, which includes unusual dance variations of the Macarena.

Now we are off to bed ready for a fun-filled day ahead.