John in Ghana: Kakum National Park and an Orphanage

Just one hour from Cape Coast is a park that preserves a virgin rain forest, known local as a primary forest. Just beyond the coast is zone that was once all rain forest and filled with all kinds of birds and animals. The trees can be huge and up to 300 plus years old. It is not a true rain forest because it has a dry season and wet season. Right now we are heading toward the wet season (begins in April/May), and it may rain once a week for about 4 or 5 hours. When it rains, it comes down in torrents. In the rainy season, torrential rains for a few hours occur daily.

The park has a canopy walk, which is basically rope bridges between the tops of some very tall and old trees. I went with a group of volunteers. I felt it was rather gimmicky and would have rather spent the time hiking on the forest floor. Here are the pictures:

Below the rope bridge are normal size trees, I figure we are a few hundred feet in the air.

Just wide enough to put one foot in front of the other.

On Sunday, one of the people we were with wanted to visit an orphanage where he had worked a couple of years ago. It had moved since then, so we met a man who worked at the orphanage at the tro-tro station in Cape Coast and took a tro-tro out of town for about 30 minutes. We were in a small town setting. We walked in from the main road through a very poor area up a hill and just over the crest, where the town ends and saw two buildings. The orphanage buildings are very new and not yet finished and there are concrete blocks and piles of supplies laying about (the materials used in almost all Ghanian buildings).

When we arrived the children are all in an area between the buildings with a roof providing shade. They are eating lunch. There are 24 children here, with an age range from 2 years to teenagers. It's all seems orderly, with each kid getting a chance to eat. It's even more impressive as I realize there are no adults present at the orphanage until we arrive. Lunch is a yellow rice and grain mix. I understand that breakfast is bread and dinner is rice. Fish is available on occasion at dinner.

We tour the orphanage. The buildings are very simple. The completed building contains dormitory rooms with bunk beds and a bathroom under construction. The second building has a kitchen, some supply rooms and 2 other bigger rooms under construction. There is nothing on any walls or any furniture other than the beds and the tables and benches outdoors where the kids eat.

The kids are well behaved and clean up in an orderly way without any instruction. The younger ones are cared for by the older girls and the older boys seem to run things in general, but all in a kindhearted way. The two year old looks to the others for care and affection and seems to receive it. English is spoken by everyone.

It's Sunday, so they have no school or other activities. After lunch, we ask for a game of soccer ("football"). The field ("pitch") is all dirt and slopes, as it is on the side of a hill. The goals are made of tree branches. We play 3 on 3 or 4 on 4 and the kids playing are no more than 12 years old, some look to be no more than 8 or 9. They play barefoot and run over sticks and stones and kick the ball without a care. Two of the boys are really good and they are fearless in goal.

After a while, the kids are less shy and like so many other kids I meet, they eat up affection. There are a few young woman with us sitting on the sidelines and they have their arms and laps full. On the field, some of the younger guys happily end up with boys climbing all over them. The visit was short, but I think it was a nice break in their day.

Looking down the road leading to the orphanage. The house at left is where volunteers for the orphanage stay. No one was there, likely because it was Sunday.