A remarkable journey

The Sisterhood Club currently has over 55 girls who regularly attend the fortnightly meetings. Mabel, the clubs coordinator, often says that she has never seen girls so committed, open and eager to learn. Looking at this amazing growth of the Club and the interest from the all participants, we decided to organise a field trip. The girls had been saying for quite some time that they would like to take a trip on the Ghana National Heritage Trail. Dreams came true and we chose the town of Elmine as our destination, the town was built around St George's Castle built by the Portuguese in 1482. It was the Portuguese headquarters in West Africa until it was conquered by the Dutch West India Company in 1637. , and in later times was a major slave-trading site.

The journey started in the morning when Mabel and I arrived into the village. The young girls were already waiting in full readiness. Besides the actual participants of the trip, their mothers and siblings were waiting for us. The people of Duadze, after all, know how to celebrate life. For them, every opportunity to go outside the village and experience something new is of great significance. As soon as the girls got into the van, there was a joyful buzz that lasted for over an hour until we reached our destination. Singing, shouts of happiness, you should see the excitement that was on their faces. The castle of Elmina had a difficult history, one of suffering and broken humanity. This was the first destination of our trip. The history of slavery and extermination is a heart of darkness. Mr Bright was our guide. We listened to him thoughtfully with great interest. For many of us it was the first time we had been exposed to this history in such a direct and tangible way and not in a textbook. Then it was time to visit our friends from the artistic group Akomapa. This is a group that brings together kids from the town of Elmina, who would usually work with their parents after school or wander around the town instead of studying. Under the guidance of Kobbi and Joy, Akomapa's mentors, the young girls formed a team, and perform at many festivals in Ghana. Recently they have also performed virtually in Bolivia, Poland and on numerous occasions for local visitors who come to the coastal town. We decided to organise a dance workshop with them, where they were training with all their might for a good few hours. The young ladies from our club were delighted. At the end they gave a joint performance and promised to come back soon to polish their skills. The time spent with Akomapa helped to break the ice and it was amazing to see how a shared meal, dancing and conversation brought the youngsters together. Upon returning to the village, the chatter and the conversations were endless. Joy shone in their eyes and for a long time they recalled what a great experience this trip was.