West Africa Discovery

DISCOVERY

Due to high demand and interest, we run two West Africa Discovery trips in the summer.  Take your pick!

PROGRAM 1: MAY 10 – JUNE 23

APPLICATIONS CLOSED!

PROGRAM 2: JULY 2 – AUGUST 14

APPLICATIONS CLOSED!

TRIP HIGHLIGHTS

• Climb the only viable route to the mountain village of Wlitodz to work with community run NGO Rise Up Ghana and contribute to the construction of the community health clinic.
• Get to know the people living within the largest illegal settlement in Ghana: Old Fadama. Exchange stories and learn about their struggles against forced eviction, access to resources, and issues related to migration.
• Immerse yourself in the culture of rural life in northern Ghana, and become one of the family at Horizons Childrens’ Centre, a boys’ home started over a decade ago.
• Reach deep into Ghana’s past while exploring two of the world’s oldest and largest transatlantic slave castles along the Gold Coast.
• Participate in an education and leadership conference with leading NGO’s and human rights advocates in Ghana’s northern region.

PROGRAM FEE: 2450

FUNDRAISING: 1000

WEST AFRICA… THE WAY WE SEE IT

In Ghana, people often say “nothing works but everything works out.” This rings true throughout the country. In the hectic tro-tro (public minibus) stations in Accra, men yell over each other in vans weaving through the market and spilling onto the streets. Behind the castles of the ancient Gold Coast, strong ocean currents crash against colonial fortresses. These castles once housed slaves by the thousands to be sent to the Americas and now serve as the backdrop to fishermen reeling in huge nets from small hand-carved wooden canoes. Nearby is Kumasi, the capital and cultural heart of the Ashanti region. Walking through the market you encounter Rastas, travellers, and meat slaughterers alongside traders from as far as Mali and Niger.

Sandema, a small town in northern Ghana, is a remarkable and memorable series of images, sounds, and smells. Dusty red paths meet up with the few roads that cross through town. Children are constantly popping out from behind trees and out of mud huts to better investigate the new Smali Smali (foreigner). In Sandema, your senses overtake you. To experience Sandema is to feel the wind pick up before the rush of a sudden rainstorm that washes away all your worries. You smell bubbling palm oil, spicy soups, fried fish, and the soft sweetness of shea fruit just off the tree. This is the Africa that we love and the Africa that you will fall in love with.

CHECK OUT LAST SUMMER’S WEST AFRICA BLOG!!