Christmas...at Long Last

How long must you wait, yes...endlessly wait?
To know what's become of your Christmas-time fate?

You've asked and you've watched as the days have gone by,

"It's coming, it's coming!" has been the only reply.

But now since we've finally delivered the stash,

I have posted some photos, so we no longer will clash.

Happy Kids in Africa with the School's New Footballs

New Footballs

School Kids with Their New Footballs

Without further adieu, I bring you the official Fife Family Christmas in Africa blog post.

I don't know who was more excited, the kids or the teachers

 Yes, I know it has been a long time coming, but something like this just takes time.

This last year we had a solomn Christmas. Morose with thoughts of home, we 'endured' here the best we knew how, hoping the season would pass quickly so we could get on with our mission. I think it is one of the toughest days for missionaries, it certainly was for us. We missed the being around the kids, we missed the decorations (at least Sister Fife did), we missed the snow and the cold weather. I even missed being on call--I think I have have spent most of the last ten Christmas mornings in the hospital.

We thought of home and how the season would pass; with the usual holiday cheer and the family gift-giving. Un-be-knownst to us, the holidays passed as expected with but one exception, and we have been the beneficiaries of that exception here in Africa. This year, instead of drawing names and exchanging gifts, the Fife family decided to donate to a charity project here in Ghana.

We were suprised to find Kelsey show up in March with a huge dufflebag of soccer balls--I think we started with 60 of them. Oh, excuse me, down here they are called footballs. You see, during our travels this last year, we came across a number of schools that could really put them to use as the kids often play football with some rolled up rags.

Passing out the footballs

In addition, we received about 20 some otoscopes for the rural clinics we've been to--as most do not even have the ability to look in an ear. Finally, there was a little money left over--and we've put that to use as well.

Let's start with the footballs. I am going to share the photos from only one school which we visited a couple of weeks ago. This school is in a village called Achirimatang. I know that is not even close to the right spelling, but the village is not even on the map. In fact, you can't even get there on a road, its just a path to the village, even so, the school serves about 200 kids from around the area.

The path to Achirimatang

The village has no running water or electricity per-say. The kids study by lanterns at night that are charged by the merry-go-round they play on during the day. We showed up unannounced to find the headmaster and some of the teachers sitting in lawn chairs in the shade of a big ol African tree. We had a very warm reception and the teachers were ecstatic to have the footballs. The school doesn't have much, and this is the first time the kids have had real soccer balls to play with.

This is the activities director for the school

Anyone want a football?

As you can see, what the school lacks in supplies, it more than makes up in enthusiasm and just plain happiness. You can't walk through this place and not get a big ol boost. To be here is to be happy. The headmaster took Michelle around to all the classes so she could take pictures of all the kids...each and every one of them. She wasn't allowed to leave a classroom if someone was left out. There isn't a kid in Africa that doesn't like having his picture taken.

Look at these kids in school and tell me you had it tough. I bet your classrooms had walls, and windows, and books, and everything. Here there are desks and a chalk board. The classrooms have a tin roof and as you can imagine it gets really hard to hear when it rains. In fact, we went to a couple of these such schools on rainy days, and the school just closed right down. At home we have snow day, here there are rainy days--its just too loud!

I could show you a million of these pictures, and they are all just as neat. It's just that it would take all week to get them all uploaded with this slow internet. This teacher was soo funny. When we brought the balls out he just kept saying t'ank you, t'ank you, t'ank you, t'ank you...over and over again. honestly I stopped counting at fifteen and he kept going, and going. Needless to say he was very happy.

T'ank you

They let the kids out of one class to show us a very special thank you. Here they are warming up their hands, getting ready to give us a warm thank you clap.



Everyone Loves to Play Football

Soccer balls (I mean footballs) delivered, we then got to go and visit one of the nearby village homes. Here we are sitting in the kitchen. Just think about girls camp, only with dirt cabins instead of log ones.

Hangin out at home

Chicken in the Kitchen

 To date, we have given out most of the otoscopes. We've given a few to some clinics. The following photos are from the University of Ghana's new audiology training program. The church's humanitarian program is responsible for much of this new program. Soon (in about 2 years) Ghana will turn out its first African trained audiologists. Presently the church is bringing in a different audiologist every few weeks to teach a different part of the program. Here the students are getting some practical experience in the audiology lab. We initially gave them four otoscopes to use, but got talked in to giving two more. We were happy to help in this pioneering program, at least in some small way.

The patient here is Elder Boatang who just arrived home from
his mission to Sierra Leone--lost his hearing on his mission

One of our favorite places in Ghana is the Golden Jubilee Orthopedic Training Center. One of the little projects we have done is to help this child, Rebecca, get back and forth to her appointments and x-rays and such. She was unfortunate enogh to be born with a club foot and hip dysplacia. She was fortunate enough however to be a patient at this most remarkable place (see the previous blog on water babies). She's had one set of surgeries so far and is waiting for another. Lately she has developed a pretty significant contracture in her left foot and needs some intensive physical therapy to loosen that foot up before her next surgery--aiming for November. Anyway she has to be admitted for two months for daily therapy.

Turns out we had a bit of money left over--not much, but it was enough to pay for her room and board for 2 months, physical therapy for 2 months, and even a set of x-rays. At home, it probably would only be enough to pay for the gas, but here with the help of the Jubilee Center, we were able to cover all of the expenses she has. It really came at just the right time as well because our funds for her have just run dry.

 Any way a GREAT BIG T'ANK YOU, T'ANK YOU from all of us here in Africa to all of you back home. We wish you were all here.

...Grateful in Ghana

Elder and Sister Fife

Sister Fife with Baby Daniel--Rebeccas Little Brother