T. I. A

Ghana (Benin & Togo)


Ghana was the most incurable experience in Africa so far. Just a few minutes before reaching the port, we were welcomed by whiles jumping up and down into the water. I did not spend much time in Ghana but the time I spend while in Ghana was amazing. People were very welcoming everywhere you look you were greeted it with a smile. Our ship docked in Ghana for 3 days, but I only spend one day in Ghana. The other 2 were In Benin and a few hours in Togo. The first day which I spend in Ghana I spend in Tema where our ship was docked.


The day in Tema started it with a meeting with some Ghanaian who are from the Rotary Club. The objective of the meeting was to develop a service project in Ghana; this was necessary since this voyage is the first voyage for Semester At Sea to Ghana.
While working with the Rotary Club the question we asked them was how can we help in developing your community? They were to chose one problem that we can solve with “just” a $100, the $100 Solution is the name of the project. In the end we helped improve 6 classrooms which are used teach over 600 student everyday just by giving $200.
To me personally this was one of the greasiest moments in my life; it was the first time I got to be involve in something like this at first hand, I saw how relations are made to produce change, and how policies are made, and most importantly how much little money can help so many. I was very happy and felt proud to be a part of change.


The last two days of the trip I spend between Togo & Benin mainly in Benin.
The driving was incredibly the most offal part of this trip nearly spend 18 hours in unconstructed roads out of the 48 hours visit to both countries. Because of this some delays lead to cancelation of some of place we were to visit in Togo.



While in Benin we visited a village on steal called Ganvie or Village of Peace, to me this was the highlight of our visit to Benin & Togo and maybe the whole voyage so fare. Ganvie is a village on water for the past 300 years. It’s not an island but everything one would imagine on land was there market, hospitals, mosques, churches, schools and even government buildings were all on top of water. I was very amaze on how something like this was possible children of age 7 with paddles, planning some type of plants on water to help them with their fishing. I guess life on this village is like life on our ship except that we don’t really have to fish for our food our when it rains half of the time it doesn’t effect as and life on the ship is temporary contrast to life in this village which is nearly is forever. The life in this village as it may seem hard but not to those who live there, we were greeted with smiles and wives from the children of the village.


Also as part of our visit to Benin I learned great deal of history. It’s still hard do to believe how bad slave trade affect the way people live today, pictures and statues describes the agony and torture slaves went through from their own kings to the white men who came. This is what I learned when we reach the Gate of No return and The Royal Palaces


I learned so much, and most of meant more for some reason, the feeling was very different from any reading that I have from the history books


Our next stop will be Cape Town, S. Africa!!!