*Fundraising Opportunity*

If you follow us on facebook you know that we have just started a new fundraiser! We are selling T-Shirts to benefit our school structure, staff and students! The shirts will be on sale until February 15^th, 2016! If you are interested in buying one (or more!!!) please click on the link below. Feel free to share this information with your friends and family!

Thank you for your continued support (:

https://www.bonfirefunds.com/kingdom-cares-international-schools

PTA Meeting

In the last post Anna and I alluded to our conversation with the Acts 2 Collective team and some of the changes we are going to be putting in place in order to improve the school. On Friday at our seminar we got to share some of these changes with our teachers and today we got to share some of them with our parents at the PTA (Parent Teacher Association) Meeting.

One of the biggest challenges we have faced at school is getting school to start on time. There are a couple of reasons why this is the case. Today while we were waiting for the meeting to start Wisdom told us we were on “African time.” This means that the parents were told the meeting started 8:00 am when in reality we started it at 10:30 am and we still had parents strolling in late. So on a typical school day our teachers and students alike are usually late. This timing is something Anna and I have grown very accustomed to and have embraced, as it is simply a part of the culture. However, when it comes to school starting sometimes over an hour late it is unacceptable. This means our students aren’t learning and whole subjects are being skipped. Therefore, the Acts 2 Collective team came up with an incentive for parents to get their kids to school on time. Starting on February 1^st any child who is on time everyday for the rest of the year will have health insurance provided for their whole family by Acts 2 Collective. This announcement was met with a warm round of applause from all of the parents.

Additionally, we had the privilege of informing parents that any student who was able to pass the BECE (Basic Education Certificate Examination) would have the opportunity to have half of their secondary school fees covered by Acts 2 Collective. In Ghana the students have to pass this test in order to attend high school. However in Asikuma it is rare that students are able to pass the exam and it is even more uncommon for families to be able to afford to send them away for them to continue their education. We are hoping that by knowing there is financial support parents will be more involved in their child’s education and ensure that they are attending school everyday as opposed to keeping them home to help around the house, with the business or on the farm.

The final policy that we shared with parents was created in conjunction with the concern that students come and go from the classroom as they please. We want our students to be taking their education seriously and that means when they are at school they are in their classroom learning. To address this problem Anna and I designed and constructed gates for the crèche and KG1 classrooms to deter students from walking out of the classroom. Additionally, any student who leaves the classroom unexcused more than three times in a term will be no longer allowed to return to the school.

After we were done sharing our policies, we had the opportunity to observe some more of the meeting. Although the meeting was conducted in the local language and our part was translated, it was exciting to see some parent involvement in the school. Parents were asking questions about things like school supplies, the bus being on time and school fees. We are looking forward to implementing these new policies on Monday, February 1^st and anxious to see how they will impact our students.

Keep following along as we continue on this journey. Stay tuned for a fundraiser we will be doing to meet some final needs before we wrap up. As always email us at kccschool15@gmail.com or let us know if you have any questions or ideas!

~Mary

Back in Action

Since Mary and I stepped back on Ghanaian soil we have been go-go-go. We arrived with a group of 20 Drake University Students, 10 Acts 2 Collective team members, and a handful of “first timers”. After everyone gathered his or her stuff from the dreaded baggage claim we piled onto the nicest bus I have ever seen (in Ghana). Our first destination was our mission center in Asikuma, Ghana. As soon as the bus came to a stop Mary and I jumped out of our seats and started booking it to the mission center to see all of our kids. We were greeted by tons of questions, hugs, and kisses. The Drake students and Acts 2 Collective team soon joined us. We spent the afternoon playing and laughing with the students.

After a goodnights sleep the Drake students joined Mary and I at the Kingdom Cares Community School to help teach in the classrooms. These individuals are studying various types of education at Drake University. Mary and I have both been on this Drake J-Term trip before so we were excited to talk with these educators and get their opinions on how the school was running. While they were in the classrooms for two days they taught small group lessons on letter writing, guided reading lessons to small groups and whole classes, music lessons, and they engaged the students in songs/play. The students were so enthralled with the Drake students.

Our time in Asikuma had drawn to a close, so we packed up the bus and headed to Cape Coast, Ghana. While in Cape Coast we got the chance to walk along the beach, eat some American food, and spend time with everyone who came on the trip. Though the parts that are most memorable for me are visiting the new Cape Coast mission center (which was seriously awesome!) and Blessed Kiddies International School. While visiting the school Mary and I had the chance to sit down with Dr. Jill Johnson and Headmistress Patricia to talk shop. We discussed curriculum, textbooks, the role of discipline within the school system, and meeting student/teacher needs. Head mistress Patricia was very honest and helpful. We loved being able to hear some of the routines and rules she had put into place in her school, as well as share strategies we have found successful in our school. 

On our last day in Cape Coast Mary and I sat down with some of the members of the Acts 2 Collective team and talked about the areas of improvement we have at the KCC school and ways to start improving these areas. Over these next three months Mary and I have a lot of work we will be doing in the school and changes that we will be implementing. We are excited for the new level of support we have going forward and the potential for improvement!

We will keep you updated on how these changes are helping to improve the school. We are always more than willing to answer questions or give more information. You can follow us on Facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/KCCSchool/ . If you feel compelled to make a donation or support the school in some other capacity please either email us at kccschool15@gmail.com or visit https://acts2collective.cloverdonations.com/donation/

Peace and Blessings,

| Anna |

**WE HAVE A FEW FUNDRAISERS COMING UP. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED PLEASE BE LOOKING AT OUT FACEBOOK PAGE AND THE BLOG TO FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION!**

Mid-Trip Thoughts

As hard as it is to believe, Anna and I have been home for three weeks. Some days it feels like we just got here and other days it feels like we’ve been home for months. Time has become a very weird concept since leaving for Ghana. Days feel long, weeks feel short and half the time I hardly know what day it is. And yet we are Ghana bound again in just three short days.

In the three weeks we’ve been home, we’ve squeezed in a lot. We have both been able to spend time with family and friends, celebrate the holidays, make multiple visits to Des Moines, visit classrooms to educate and share our experiences with others, gather donations of clothing, school supplies, and medical supplies to take back with us, and answer countless questions about what we eat, what our living conditions are like, the kids we live with, etc.

Back in June when Anna and I were preparing to leave I wrote about some of my thoughts here. Almost six months later many of my sentiments remain the same. Although since being home I have gotten to take warm showers, eat food that I so desperately craved while in Asikuma, drive my car, see family and friends, and enjoy some peace and quiet, the answer is still yes. Yes, I am excited to go back. Yes, some days I still feel overwhelmed and anxious about the work that I am doing in Ghana. Yes, some days I want to eat something other than chicken and rice. Yes, some days I want to be able to get in my car and go meet a friend for lunch. Yes, some days I want to have high speed Internet and watch something on Netflix.  However, every day I have been thinking about the 31 kiddos at the mission center, the 200 plus kids at the Kingdom Cares Community School and the village of Asikuma. So “yes, of course!” I’m excited to return, even though this time I have a much better idea of what to expect. 

I mean how could you not want to return to these smiling faces. 

I still feel extremely blessed to have such an incredible support system. The texts, emails, and messages I received while in Ghana make being across the globe a little bit easier. Having friends and family that were excited to hear about my experiences thus far, made me feel a little less guilty when I couldn’t stop talking or showing pictures. And having people we have never even met before reach out with donations reminds me just how blessed we are. We are truly blessed and thank you will never be enough for everything you all have done for me, Anna, and those that hold our hearts in Asikuma.

We are looking forward to sharing the next part of this journey with you. We have a couple of exciting things in store and can’t wait to see how everything plays out. Please continue following our journey on Facebook, spreading the word and supporting us. If you feel compelled to make a donation please visit https://acts2collective.cloverdonations.com/donation/ or email us at kccschool15@gmail.com.

Happy New Year! Can’t wait to see what 2016 holds - - let the packing begin!

~Mary

"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard!"

✓ Teacher Conferences

Mary and I make sure that we communicate with each one of our teachers at least once a day. We want to know what is happening in the classrooms as well as our teacher’s lives. For example, Mr. O’Pare owns and operates a farm. He walks an hour to school and an hour home from school each day. When he returns home he spends the rest of the day tending to his farm. We love that our teachers are comfortable enough to tell us these personal things about their lives. We have also talked with our teachers about their formal education. Some of our teachers have studied education to some capacity, some have traveled to weeklong training seminars, and some of our teachers just graduated senior high school. We have teachers at all different professional levels in our school. This means some are more comfortable in a classroom setting and some of them are still trying to figure out their place in the classroom. Besides seminars we make sure that teacher are constantly asking questions about material or teaching practices that they do not understand because we want what is best for our teachers not just our students.

We will be returning to the United States to spend the holidays with our families. This means that school will be in session for about a week where we will not be here before our students also break for the holidays. We spent the last couple of day’s conferencing with each of our teachers to make sure they have everything they need to be successful for the week during our absence. This also gives the teacher time to ask any individual questions they have for us. We made sure that each teacher would have his or her everyday classroom supplies (white board markers, chalk, counters, etc).

We also used this time for the teachers to assess how effective Mary and I have been in assisting them inside and outside of the classroom. One thing I love about working in this school is everyone, the students and the staff, are very blunt. If you are not doing what you are supposed to be doing someone will call you out. This being said all of there teachers had very helpful feedback. They let us know the things that they liked and want us to continue to do. Some examples are teaching when a teacher is sick, teaching individual lessons for teacher, modeling teaching practices in the classroom, providing the students and teachers with supplies.

 

Mary and I know that there is always room for improvement. Our teachers gave us very specific feedback about where they would like us to focus on helping them next. ICT, Information Communication Technology, is a big area of improvement for the KCC school staff. A lot of our teachers do not feel comfortable teaching this subject because they do not have the proper training and we are lacking the textbooks to support the teaching. Each one of our teachers also expressed the need for more technological support in their classroom. They want things like laptops and projectors for each classroom. We are working on securing a few more laptops to be shared through out the classrooms and teachers. Right now we have one laptop that we share in all ten of our classrooms.  

Taking the time to communicate with our teachers is very important to us. We want to teachers to feel like we are all on the same team. This means that we have to take the time to hear their suggestions for the school. Although Mary and I both have degrees in education we are not experts. Especially when it comes to the Ghanaian education system. Each one of our teachers and us brings something different to the table. This being said we are so thankful for our teachers being so welcoming and inviting us into their classrooms and culture. I feel like we have taught our students and teachers a lot over these past four months, but they have taught Mary and I plenty as well. We all share the bond of being lifetime learners.

We will keep you updated on how the KCC school is doing. Mary and I will both be independently posting about the first half of our experience and things we are looking forward to when we return in January. We are always more than willing to answer questions or give more information. If you feel compelled to make a donation or support the school in some other capacity please either email us at kccschool15@gmail.com or visit https://acts2collective.cloverdonations.com/donation/

Peace and Blessings,

| Anna |

'Tis the Season!

Despite the fact that it is still 90 degrees and humid here everyday, Christmas is coming to Asikuma! The energy level in the house continues to rise, believe it or not this is possible, and the preparations have begun.

Since the weather won’t make it feel like Christmas, we decided we needed to put some decorations up around the house to get in the Christmas spirit. Anna and I held true to our no Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving rule (even though Thanksgiving is not celebrated here) and waited until this weekend to begin crafting with the kiddos. Each kid got the opportunity to decorate their very own stocking that we will be hanging in the hall. We also are in the process of making snowflakes (this also includes an educational lesson on what snow is – the pictures Anna and I both received from the first snowfall at home definitely helped with this J). Merry Christmas banners are being made and decorations for each room’s door are a work in progress.

Apart from the decorations, all the kids have been put into one of four groups. The groups can earn daily points for going to school on time, going to siesta, getting their homework done, and going to bed without putting up a fight. They can also earn points for going above and beyond, helping someone not in their group, doing an extra job around the house, etc. Along with earning points, they can also lose points for not listening, not being kind to one another, etc. The goal behind the groups is to have the big ones looking out for the little ones and to embrace the Christmas spirit by giving to others and working as a team. We are two weeks in and have noticed some differences in some of the kids. There seem to be fewer tears in the morning because the big ones are helping keep track of school uniforms and there is less complaining at bedtime. This means no complaining from Anna and me.

The groups also get the opportunity to compete as a group. We have had two household spelling bees where extra points can be earned. The groups have done a great job working to learn words that we have posted throughout the house and working together. It is so exciting to see them encouraging each other and supporting each other. The staff here has a few other challenges and activities up their sleeves leading up to the big day. Each group will be responsible for cooking one meal together and the concluding event will be to see which group can build the highest tower using a variety of supplies. Each group will receive an award at the end and the winning group will receive a bonus Christmas present.

The staff at the center is also putting together some Christmas performances. The kids are being asked to memorize bible verses, prepare a Christmas song, and the center is preparing to do a nativity play. We are very bummed to be missing all of this and have already requested a reenactment when we return in January.

Although the focus of Christmas will remain on Jesus’ birth in this house, the kids will be blessed with a few gifts. Some of these gifts will be purchased by the staff at the center using their own and donated funds, some will be donated by former volunteers, and Anna and I will also be bringing gifts back when we return in January for a little belated Christmas. We are hoping to bring back small individual gifts, but also practical gifts for the house as a whole. If you are interested in making a donation (new or gently used) please see the list below. We will be in the states from December 10^th – January 5^th and would be more than happy to connect with you (kccschool15@gmail.com) and collect any of the items or you can make a donation using the link https://acts2collective.cloverdonations.com/donation/ and we will do the shopping.  Thank you for helping to make the holidays possible for these 31 amazing kids.

~Mary

Mission Center Christmas List:

• Socks
• Underwear
• Shoes
• Clothes
• Colored Pencils/Crayons
• Backpacks
• Pens/Pencils
• Plastic Bowls & Cups
• Plastic Silverware
• Towels
• Bed Sheets
• DVDs
• Puzzles
• Activity Books
• Flashlights/Batteries
• Books (picture & chapter)

31 & Counting

Sarah is a very special little girl. I first had the pleasure of meeting Sarah when I visited Ghana in August of 2014. The group I was with visited an orphanage in Kwahu where she was staying at the time. We were only visiting for a short time, but I very clearly remember Sarah dancing, laughing, and playing with anyone who she came in contact with. One of the most vivid memories I have of Sarah involves a pair of sunglasses and a camera. Sarah put on one of the KCI girls sunglasses and insisted on having her picture taken. After we had all taken her picture she walked around to look at each person’s photos of her. She smiled and laughed the whole time. Sarah, like most kids in Ghana, loves to see what they look like in photos.*

Flash forward to November of 2015: Auntie (Comfort) brought Sarah home to the Kingdom Cares Mission Center. Some of the children currently living at the mission center came from the Kwahu orphanage so when Sarah arrived some smiling familiar faces and some new ones were waiting to greet her! Sarah quickly began playing with a group of boys and little Esther who were playing over by the ramp outside of the office door. The way she was talking with the other kids and laughing made it seem like she had been here since the beginning. I am very impressed by her willingness and enthusiasm to interact with others!

From what I observed so far Sarah is stubborn. It’s her way or the highway as they say. This being said she stands up for what she wants. She is not afraid to argue with the other kids for the best spot on the couch or why she deserves to be the first to person to get dinner that night. When Sarah isn’t arguing for herself she is usually arguing for one of the little ones in the house. She has quickly fallen in love with our littlest house member Madjowa. Whenever Sarah sees Madjowa in a room or on the porch she walks right up to her and places a kiss on her check! Sarah is also waiting to greet us with a big hug anytime was walk back from school to the house. I don’t know what is bigger: her heart or her smile!

Sarah loves playing with other kids. I think that she will make a fine addition to our house dance parties. I am hoping to learn a couple of new dance moves from her, although I do not think I can master the moves with the same amount of spunk. Sarah does not like to be stationary for long periods of time. She is always walking around like she is on a mission. I have yet to see Sarah sit down long enough to eat an entire meal. She also does not like to be confined to her room during siesta or bedtime, but we are working on it! Sarah loves to be the life of the party, spread laughter, and dance into your heart.  

We will keep you updated on how Sarah, the other children, and the KCC school are doing. We are always more than willing to answer questions or give more information. If you feel compelled to make a donation or support the school in some other capacity please either email us at kccschool15@gmail.com or visit https://acts2collective.cloverdonations.com/donation/

Peace and Blessings,

| Anna |

*It is not uncommon for someone to not know what he or she looks like. Mirrors are not very common in Ghana and cameras are a luxury. People are often brought to tears or laughter by the sight of their own face.