A Week To Remember...

I will be quite honest; I'm not sure that this could really be called a "blog". 
It is more like an information center.
A snap shot of the activities of our small community at the Precious Child Foundation. 

A picture of the TAL logo painted by one of the kids at the care center. 

August was a very busy month for the Precious Child Foundation. 
We held our Annual Walk For Water event and as much as I love our walk, the highlight of the month was definitely my trip to the Touch A Life Care Center.
So here is a little "snap shot" of my 9 days in Ghana.

As we arrived we could see the kids waiting for us;
we were greeted with lots of smiles and happy hellos.

But the best way to start a trip is by unwinding with a little yoga.
Nana from Bliss Yoga Accra came to the TAL Care Center and spent some time with the kids teaching a few yoga classes. It was so fun to watch the kids try out the different poses.

And of course after one has stretched the body, and refreshed the mind what could be better than a little football (or soccer in the USA).

And you can't have a football game without cheering fans in the crowd!
Let me tell you; this was some serious soccer! I realized just how serious they were about this game when I saw some of the kids were playing without shoes! The excitement over a good football game was one of my favorite memories while I was at the center. 

Before we go any further; we need to stop here for a minute, and talk about the food! 
It was amazing!! 
The women worked so hard everyday to give us the most delicious lunches. 
It's a wonder they didn't have to roll all of us off of the plane when we arrived home. Seriously...everything was hand made from scratch, EVERYDAY!!!

I loved watching the staff make some of their traditional products. These items will be sold and will help to keep the TAL Care Center sustainable.  Pictured above, the men are hand stamping material with hot wax. After they stamp the entire cloth they dip it in dye and then let it dry in the sun. After it has dried they dip the material into boiling water and melt the wax off of the material.  The women pictured above is holding one of the finished pieces of material.

African black soap is being made by one of the staff members. 
I love this stuff. I will confess that when I first saw it in the storage room, I thought it was rolls of toilet paper...my mistake...but seriously, it could happen to anyone. Take a look at the rolls stacked next to the man making the soap and tell me that doesn't look a little like fancy wrapped TP...

Speaking of being fancy wrapped! The TAL Care Center held their annual health fair. During the week the kids were able to get their teeth cleaned, and they also had their yearly physical by a doctor and their teeth cleaned by a dentist who traveled with us. 

They also went to different classes and learned about a variety of topics from how to properly brush your teeth, a class on self esteem and a photography class. 
But by far the most popular class was the skin care class where the kids learned how to do homemade facials.

The week also included some very intense volley ball! 
Let's just say in the second game the use of heads was restricted, and our little ref enjoyed giving out "red cards" for the players. 

Let's not forget about our beautiful well christening!

Then of course there was bracelet making, shirt painting, drum playing and even a electric slide dance once or twice. But let's not leave out the friendships that formed that week. Not just among the kids, but the adults that traveled there together. 
They were the most amazing people. Seriously, there was almost 20 of us and not one complainer! Everyone was so supportive and worked as a group. I was inspired by my team as I watched them laugh, play and encourage the kids. 
I think it has a lot to do with the atmosphere of the Care Center itself.

The standard of care at the Touch A Life Care Center is the best I have ever seen. I was so impressed by so many things while I was there. I would encourage you to let others know about the awesome work that they do in Ghana. 

Here is the perfect way to close out this snap shot. 
The morning we were leaving the Kumasi area to return to Accra, the kids song us a farewell song. I, of course started crying at the beautiful and heartfelt good-bye. 
So without further ado...
here is the amazing send off that we received from the TAL Care Center.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Shawna

All Photos by NBarrett Photography.