So it was my first Christmas on a different continent let alone away from home. The materialistic side of Christmas was almost completely absent, save all the people who kept coming up to me and asking for their Christmas present, which is no different than usual. Life was not visibly different in Sekondi-Takoradi…well I will take that back. On New Year’s Eve day I ventured into Takoradi town with Fr. Bob and John, our security man aka ABO!, and the place was more congested than I have ever seen. Where once was a sidewalk there were hundreds of market women with their goods spread out all over. The police men that used to guide traffic were nowhere to be seen.
There were people yelling and shouting all around. There were tourists walking through looking confused and a little anxious. Basically it was a chaotic scene with the occasional shop selling Christmas garland, which was a nice sight to see. Other than that life went on in Ghana as normal. People have to work to live. Most families cannot afford gifts for each other, but many do get together and have a special meal.
It wasn’t until after we finished decorating the house in the late afternoon that I began to feel the warm, Holy feeling of Christmas. It was different this time however. Instead of celebrating Christmas the whole month and having all those silly images of Christmas gifts and Santa costumes in my head I was preparing myself for something much more joyous, the birth of our Savior, the birth of my Lord.
I spent a lot of time meditating on the great faith of Mary and Joseph which eventually led me to something wonderful. Why is it that they call Christmas a season of wonder? Think about the obscurity of Mary and Joseph, a poor, humble, young girl and a humble, honest carpenter on the outer rim of the Roman Empire. Two very simple people who knew the fears, frustrations, and pains of life just as we do, but who trusted God always. And God chose them. Obviously there is so much to be expanded upon here, but you see how much wonder can be found around the birth of Christ.
So for Christmas Eve Mass we went to Star of the Sea Cathedral in Takoradi at around 8pm for carols. Fr. Bob sat up close to the altar with the other priests and I found my seat by myself. The choir was wonderful. They sang in Fante and in English, thankfully. I closed my eyes and prayed and the beautiful voices carried me away. On many occasions tears were close ‘cuz believe it or not it was hard being so far away from my closest of loved ones at that time.
Mass began at 10pm and was entirely in Fante except for a portion of the Homily given by Arch-Bishop John Martin Darko. I have been to so many Masses in Fante that I can easily follow along and even say some of the responses, but still you aren’t as connected as you would like to be.
There was a second Mass immediately following our Mass, a Mass at dawn I believe it is called. No one went up for communion so it lasted about 20 minutes. I didn’t understand what was happening at all, but I gathered later that it was part of a very old tradition.
We got out of Mass at around 1 in the morning and after dropping someone off at their home we made our way back to Moreau House. On the way back I watched out my window in silence the people wandering the streets late at night. They were headed in no apparent direction, some may not have been up to anything good. It made me feel somewhat sad.
We turned on BBC radio and listened to a story about Christians in Gaza celebrating Christmas under Hamas.
I spent the remainder of my evening making a couple phone calls and sitting in our chapel with the lights off. The tree that we put in there glows just like our tree did at home, in the US. I hummed “All through the night” and went to sleep.
On Christmas morning, I felt sad. After morning prayer and breakfast we began our journey to Cape Coast for Christmas Mass with the rest of our community. I wrote in my journal a bit and then I fell into a light sleep for a while.
It was during Mass that my spirits began to rise. In fact, through the words of Fr. Bob’s homily and the Eucharist I was even filled with joy. I realized that although I miss my family and friends very much this is no time for sadness.
So after Mass, renewed, I joined everyone at our big Christmas feast. We were all very happy and the smiles were endless. I felt at peace.
On the way back home and for the remainder of that Christmas Day I sang my family’s favorite carols and remembered scenes from our favorite Christmas movies. After a long talk with my family I ended my Christmas Day in the chapel…this time it was “Silent Night”.
Merry Christmas to all! And may God bless you in the New Year!
The First Term at Skills in Review
Well, the first term of the school year has come to an end. In three months I would have to say that I have come a long way. Back in October I was so full of anxiety about being prepared, which I wasn’t, and now I feel so comfortable with the boys.
I wasn’t sure if I was doing things right. I wasn’t sure if I was doing enough to pave the way for HCSC. I felt like I wasn’t making a difference. There were even times when I felt that I couldn’t continue, but I never gave up. Whenever I was having a rough day at Skills, something would happen to keep me going. Just when I thought I was at the end of my rope something brought me back to life.
I had heard so much about how the Skills boys are different. They are stubborn. They don’t respect. They don’t learn. And I think I let that affect me too much in the beginning. It took some time, but I have come to know them better. I know that they can learn. I know that they are all good boys…they just need someone to show them. They need someone to show them compassion and commitment.
Whenever I do get frustrated with them I don’t hesitate to discipline, but I always remember that I was just like them once. I have made a lot of mistakes in my life, and I have learned from them all. Sometimes you have to allow them to make mistakes…you cannot force them to be saints they have to choose it…that’s all. However, if no one is there to teach them about making that choice, about committing themselves to a certain path in life then they are indeed in danger of falling into meaninglessness. There is much more than just learning a Skill.
So the exam scores were not so great, but I know that they tried. I have spoken to many of them one on one about what they need to work on. One boy can barely read…I told him I will teach him if it kills me. Another boy approached me about becoming a Brother…I will do my best to guide him. One boy isn’t proud of being a Ghanaian and would rather be white…I will do my best to counsel him. And so many others come to me for their needs. The tasks are many and they aren’t easy, but I will try.
There were times in the past months when I let my frustrations get the better of me and I wanted to be angry, but I could never stay angry for too long. I know now that even when I wanted to give up I never could. There is something else guiding me, and that something is much greater than me. Because I have allowed God to guide me I have been able to go far beyond the limits of my own strength. I think it is appropriate at this stage in my experience to say that God’s will has become my strength…but there are still many times when I am weak.
Even when reading those words to myself I feel foolish. After all I am just teaching at one school in Ghana, West Africa. How much of a difference am I really making? How much pressure am I really under? How difficult can it really be? Am I making a big deal out of nothing? Well at this point I guess my rebuttal would be that anyone who wants to make a difference globally had better learn to first see the sacredness and the importance of service to others in the smallest most personal of ways. Otherwise you are bound to end up serving yourself rather than others in the future…I have no audience here.
I wasn’t sure if I was doing things right. I wasn’t sure if I was doing enough to pave the way for HCSC. I felt like I wasn’t making a difference. There were even times when I felt that I couldn’t continue, but I never gave up. Whenever I was having a rough day at Skills, something would happen to keep me going. Just when I thought I was at the end of my rope something brought me back to life.
I had heard so much about how the Skills boys are different. They are stubborn. They don’t respect. They don’t learn. And I think I let that affect me too much in the beginning. It took some time, but I have come to know them better. I know that they can learn. I know that they are all good boys…they just need someone to show them. They need someone to show them compassion and commitment.
Whenever I do get frustrated with them I don’t hesitate to discipline, but I always remember that I was just like them once. I have made a lot of mistakes in my life, and I have learned from them all. Sometimes you have to allow them to make mistakes…you cannot force them to be saints they have to choose it…that’s all. However, if no one is there to teach them about making that choice, about committing themselves to a certain path in life then they are indeed in danger of falling into meaninglessness. There is much more than just learning a Skill.
So the exam scores were not so great, but I know that they tried. I have spoken to many of them one on one about what they need to work on. One boy can barely read…I told him I will teach him if it kills me. Another boy approached me about becoming a Brother…I will do my best to guide him. One boy isn’t proud of being a Ghanaian and would rather be white…I will do my best to counsel him. And so many others come to me for their needs. The tasks are many and they aren’t easy, but I will try.
There were times in the past months when I let my frustrations get the better of me and I wanted to be angry, but I could never stay angry for too long. I know now that even when I wanted to give up I never could. There is something else guiding me, and that something is much greater than me. Because I have allowed God to guide me I have been able to go far beyond the limits of my own strength. I think it is appropriate at this stage in my experience to say that God’s will has become my strength…but there are still many times when I am weak.
Even when reading those words to myself I feel foolish. After all I am just teaching at one school in Ghana, West Africa. How much of a difference am I really making? How much pressure am I really under? How difficult can it really be? Am I making a big deal out of nothing? Well at this point I guess my rebuttal would be that anyone who wants to make a difference globally had better learn to first see the sacredness and the importance of service to others in the smallest most personal of ways. Otherwise you are bound to end up serving yourself rather than others in the future…I have no audience here.
Pilgrimage to Nauli
Once a year the whole Arch-Diocese of Sekondi-Takoradi is asked to go to Nauli, a town deep in the Western Region very close to the border with Cote D’Ivoire, to celebrate at the large shrine devoted to our Lady of Fatima. So for three days thousands of people from our area flock to Nauli to pray to the Blessed Virgin and celebrate Mass.
So all us at Moreau House decided that we would go on the last day of the pilgrimage. I wasn’t sure what to expect. In fact I had just arrived back to the house after being in Cape Coast for a few days to spend time with Br. Richard, so it was a big surprise to hear that we would be traveling.
We would be spending most of the day out in Nauli, which is about a two hour drive from Takoradi, so we packed food and drinks the night before so that we could nourish ourselves while there. We were all pretty excited when we went to bed the night before, except for the fact that we had to get up at about 4A.M., anapatutu “early morning” in Fante.
4 a.m. came pretty quickly. I threw on some clothes. We packed the car and then we were off to Anaji to meet up with Br. Joachim, the electrical teacher at Skills and missionary brother form Bangladesh, so we could set out together. The interesting thing was that none of us were exactly sure how to get there. Br. Joachim had been there before, but even he wasn’t totally sure. So we set out on the main highway , the official West African highway, and hoped Br. Joachim remembered everything.
Br. Joachim was actually bringing some of the boys from the Home of Hope, the residence for some of our Skills students, to Nauli and he didn’t have enough room for them all so we took a few. So after that we finally set out.
It was turning out to be a beautiful day. I once again learned why the Western Region is the region that brings in the most money for Ghana. The vegetation is so thick and the resources are plenty. I just stared out my window as we drove past the different rubber plantations at the endless rows of rubber trees.
It was a very peaceful drive except for the occasional oversized semi that likes to run all the other cars off of the road. Don’t ask me why. The road isn’t exactly large, but still these drivers seem to enjoy making the hearts of other drivers skip a beat.
We only made one wrong turn during the whole drive. The place was definitely off the beaten path, which for the purposes of a pilgrimage is a good thing I think. We drove our van down a very bump dirt road around a small curve towards the entrance of the place. It was a narrow road that led to the entrance and everybody that was arriving was trying to find a decent parking spot, and there were very few of those. Of course, the majority of people had just taken a tro-tro or “207” to Nauli and walked the rest of the way.
The best way that I can describe the place is like the grounds for a county fair and an amphitheatre placed very naturally into a valley.( I hope the pictures can do it for you.) The were a good number of people there when we arrived and it was obvious that it was turning out to be a very hot day.
After walking around the place for a while we, the Skills boys, the pre-novices, and myself, found a place to sit high up towards the top of the concrete steps that led up the valley opposite the open ended chapel where Arch Bishop John Martin Darko would be celebrating Mass shortly. It was difficult to see who was who from where we were, but at least we would have shade for the longest possible time. I said the Rosary to myself and observed the layout before Mass began.
The open ended chapel was in the middle of the valley on a flat piece of land. On the second floor of the chapel was a balcony with a small room where people could go adoration. Just behind the chapel there is a steep rising hill and at the top of the hill is a massive crucifix. Many people walked up that hill to pray at the feet of Jesus all throughout the day.
Once everyone got settled there were probably about 1,000+ people gathered. The procession at the beginning of Mass was quite impressive. It began on our side of the valley down to the chapel. The Mass servers were looking very sharp, carrying the crucifix high as they made their way down the hill. Following them was an honor guard of Girl Scouts, a large choir, the Knights of the Church ( I am unsure which they were), just about every priest from the diocese, and of course Archbishop.
The Mass went for about 3 ½ hours, by which time there was no shelter from the sun. Unfortunately, the Mass was in three languages none of which were English. In our diocese Fante is the vernacular but in this part of the Western Region Nzema is the vernacular. Also, since there were a considerable amount of people from Cote D’Ivoire present French was also spoken. And since there were only three non-Africans present, Fr. Bob, Br. Joachim, and I, English was left out.
With the help of those around me and from my extensive experience with Fante I was able to follow along with the celebration, I use the word celebration because there were a lot of things added to the Mass. Of course there was an incredible amount of singing and dancing which took up most of the time. I didn’t really partake in the dancing, but I just admired the beautiful scenery and watched the people rejoicing under the sun. I moved myself out from under the shade and into the sun for a while to try and absorb some of the energy. I felt completely contented, so comfortable amongst the people….”I know these people, we danced together, we sang together, we rejoiced in the presence of our God together…peace”
With these kinds of thoughts running across my mind I was unable to come to my senses and realize that I was being burned to a crisp! HAHA
So after the Mass, we all headed back to the van together to have some lunch. I laughed when I stood back and realized it was like a Holy tailgate! We gathered around the van eating and drinking and laughing and enjoying each other’s company. It was very nice! Many people laughed and smiled as they past us by on their way home.
I tried my best to stay awake for the ride home, but eventually I fell into a deep sleep. When I awoke the feeling of peace had never left.
So all us at Moreau House decided that we would go on the last day of the pilgrimage. I wasn’t sure what to expect. In fact I had just arrived back to the house after being in Cape Coast for a few days to spend time with Br. Richard, so it was a big surprise to hear that we would be traveling.
We would be spending most of the day out in Nauli, which is about a two hour drive from Takoradi, so we packed food and drinks the night before so that we could nourish ourselves while there. We were all pretty excited when we went to bed the night before, except for the fact that we had to get up at about 4A.M., anapatutu “early morning” in Fante.
4 a.m. came pretty quickly. I threw on some clothes. We packed the car and then we were off to Anaji to meet up with Br. Joachim, the electrical teacher at Skills and missionary brother form Bangladesh, so we could set out together. The interesting thing was that none of us were exactly sure how to get there. Br. Joachim had been there before, but even he wasn’t totally sure. So we set out on the main highway , the official West African highway, and hoped Br. Joachim remembered everything.
Br. Joachim was actually bringing some of the boys from the Home of Hope, the residence for some of our Skills students, to Nauli and he didn’t have enough room for them all so we took a few. So after that we finally set out.
It was turning out to be a beautiful day. I once again learned why the Western Region is the region that brings in the most money for Ghana. The vegetation is so thick and the resources are plenty. I just stared out my window as we drove past the different rubber plantations at the endless rows of rubber trees.
It was a very peaceful drive except for the occasional oversized semi that likes to run all the other cars off of the road. Don’t ask me why. The road isn’t exactly large, but still these drivers seem to enjoy making the hearts of other drivers skip a beat.
We only made one wrong turn during the whole drive. The place was definitely off the beaten path, which for the purposes of a pilgrimage is a good thing I think. We drove our van down a very bump dirt road around a small curve towards the entrance of the place. It was a narrow road that led to the entrance and everybody that was arriving was trying to find a decent parking spot, and there were very few of those. Of course, the majority of people had just taken a tro-tro or “207” to Nauli and walked the rest of the way.
The best way that I can describe the place is like the grounds for a county fair and an amphitheatre placed very naturally into a valley.( I hope the pictures can do it for you.) The were a good number of people there when we arrived and it was obvious that it was turning out to be a very hot day.
After walking around the place for a while we, the Skills boys, the pre-novices, and myself, found a place to sit high up towards the top of the concrete steps that led up the valley opposite the open ended chapel where Arch Bishop John Martin Darko would be celebrating Mass shortly. It was difficult to see who was who from where we were, but at least we would have shade for the longest possible time. I said the Rosary to myself and observed the layout before Mass began.
The open ended chapel was in the middle of the valley on a flat piece of land. On the second floor of the chapel was a balcony with a small room where people could go adoration. Just behind the chapel there is a steep rising hill and at the top of the hill is a massive crucifix. Many people walked up that hill to pray at the feet of Jesus all throughout the day.
Once everyone got settled there were probably about 1,000+ people gathered. The procession at the beginning of Mass was quite impressive. It began on our side of the valley down to the chapel. The Mass servers were looking very sharp, carrying the crucifix high as they made their way down the hill. Following them was an honor guard of Girl Scouts, a large choir, the Knights of the Church ( I am unsure which they were), just about every priest from the diocese, and of course Archbishop.
The Mass went for about 3 ½ hours, by which time there was no shelter from the sun. Unfortunately, the Mass was in three languages none of which were English. In our diocese Fante is the vernacular but in this part of the Western Region Nzema is the vernacular. Also, since there were a considerable amount of people from Cote D’Ivoire present French was also spoken. And since there were only three non-Africans present, Fr. Bob, Br. Joachim, and I, English was left out.
With the help of those around me and from my extensive experience with Fante I was able to follow along with the celebration, I use the word celebration because there were a lot of things added to the Mass. Of course there was an incredible amount of singing and dancing which took up most of the time. I didn’t really partake in the dancing, but I just admired the beautiful scenery and watched the people rejoicing under the sun. I moved myself out from under the shade and into the sun for a while to try and absorb some of the energy. I felt completely contented, so comfortable amongst the people….”I know these people, we danced together, we sang together, we rejoiced in the presence of our God together…peace”
With these kinds of thoughts running across my mind I was unable to come to my senses and realize that I was being burned to a crisp! HAHA
So after the Mass, we all headed back to the van together to have some lunch. I laughed when I stood back and realized it was like a Holy tailgate! We gathered around the van eating and drinking and laughing and enjoying each other’s company. It was very nice! Many people laughed and smiled as they past us by on their way home.
I tried my best to stay awake for the ride home, but eventually I fell into a deep sleep. When I awoke the feeling of peace had never left.
Jubilee Day and The Day of Thanksgiving – December 1st and 2nd
On Saturday the 1st of December we all gathered at St. John’s to honor our pioneering Brothers who devoted so selflessly many years of loving service to the people of Ghana, especially at St. John’s School. 
It was a very hot day from the start when we gathered down on the playing fields to watch the honor guards from St. John’s and St. Augustine’s College. I don’t know how they survived marching around that field in their thick uniforms under that sun. I was sweating like mad just watching them.
It was another very long ceremony, probably about 3 and a half hours or so. The best part of the whole ceremony was hearing from the “old boys” of St. John’s School. These were the men who were taught by our American brothers who came all those years ago. It was just like hearing speeches from Notre Dame alumni…their funny anecdotes just dripping with nostalgia. But in every man that spoke you could sense the deep gratitude in their voice. Many of these men came to St. John’s knowing very little english had a lot of trouble understanding the white Brothers; but because of their efforts these young men were able to become some of Ghana’s greatest citizens. They are great business men, they have positions in government, they are community leaders, they are advisers to the President of Ghana, but most of all they are honest men.
Whenever Br William Gates was acknowledged I heard all the “old boys” behind me exchanging words…pss pss pss OLD WILLY! Pss pss pss. It was quite obvious to me that Br. William who has stayed all these years, longer than any other, has made an incredible impression upon these men…and he continues to every day.
The ceremony helped me to realize that St. John’s School is truly one of the greatest in the whole country. It has produced so many successful men over the years. We must remember that this great institution was the first home of Holy Cross in Ghana and the positive results of our Brothers’ presence can still be seen today.
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The final day of the Jubilee Celebrations was on the second day of December. It was 50 years ago this day that the first brothers stepped off of their ship and onto Ghanaian soil. Today we would celebrate fifty-years of tireless effort, fifty-years of selflessness, fifty years of educating the hearts and minds of young Ghanaians. Also, we celebrate the 40th anniversary of Br. Joseph Tsiquaye Religious Profession and the final profession of six Holy Cross Brothers, all of who’s names should be very familiar to you HCC students who have been here. The Brothers are: Ebeneezer Prah, Paul Bukaryi, Nicholas, Kenneth Goode, Patrick Osei-Bonsu, and John Affum-Badu.
We held the ceremony at Our Lady of the Star Cathedral in Takoradi. The place was completely full with about 1,000 people in attendance. Everyone there was dressed beautifully in a mixed array of traditional dress and western suits. There were more brothers, sisters, and priests there than I have ever seen with my own eyes. There was a wonderful feeling of love and appreciation for Holy Cross in the Cathedral that poured out of everyone through embraces, smiles, and song.
I was so excited to be able to be present at such a momentous occasion for the Congregation of Holy Cross, such a momentous occasion in the lives of these young Brothers whom have become so dear to my heart. I know there are so many students who have only spent a couple weeks with some of these Brothers and the impressions will remain for a lifetime. To be able to represent those students at this celebration of six young men turning their lives over to God was a great honor.
It was a very hot day from the start when we gathered down on the playing fields to watch the honor guards from St. John’s and St. Augustine’s College. I don’t know how they survived marching around that field in their thick uniforms under that sun. I was sweating like mad just watching them.
It was another very long ceremony, probably about 3 and a half hours or so. The best part of the whole ceremony was hearing from the “old boys” of St. John’s School. These were the men who were taught by our American brothers who came all those years ago. It was just like hearing speeches from Notre Dame alumni…their funny anecdotes just dripping with nostalgia. But in every man that spoke you could sense the deep gratitude in their voice. Many of these men came to St. John’s knowing very little english had a lot of trouble understanding the white Brothers; but because of their efforts these young men were able to become some of Ghana’s greatest citizens. They are great business men, they have positions in government, they are community leaders, they are advisers to the President of Ghana, but most of all they are honest men.
Whenever Br William Gates was acknowledged I heard all the “old boys” behind me exchanging words…pss pss pss OLD WILLY! Pss pss pss. It was quite obvious to me that Br. William who has stayed all these years, longer than any other, has made an incredible impression upon these men…and he continues to every day.
The ceremony helped me to realize that St. John’s School is truly one of the greatest in the whole country. It has produced so many successful men over the years. We must remember that this great institution was the first home of Holy Cross in Ghana and the positive results of our Brothers’ presence can still be seen today.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………….
The final day of the Jubilee Celebrations was on the second day of December. It was 50 years ago this day that the first brothers stepped off of their ship and onto Ghanaian soil. Today we would celebrate fifty-years of tireless effort, fifty-years of selflessness, fifty years of educating the hearts and minds of young Ghanaians. Also, we celebrate the 40th anniversary of Br. Joseph Tsiquaye Religious Profession and the final profession of six Holy Cross Brothers, all of who’s names should be very familiar to you HCC students who have been here. The Brothers are: Ebeneezer Prah, Paul Bukaryi, Nicholas, Kenneth Goode, Patrick Osei-Bonsu, and John Affum-Badu.
We held the ceremony at Our Lady of the Star Cathedral in Takoradi. The place was completely full with about 1,000 people in attendance. Everyone there was dressed beautifully in a mixed array of traditional dress and western suits. There were more brothers, sisters, and priests there than I have ever seen with my own eyes. There was a wonderful feeling of love and appreciation for Holy Cross in the Cathedral that poured out of everyone through embraces, smiles, and song.
I was so excited to be able to be present at such a momentous occasion for the Congregation of Holy Cross, such a momentous occasion in the lives of these young Brothers whom have become so dear to my heart. I know there are so many students who have only spent a couple weeks with some of these Brothers and the impressions will remain for a lifetime. To be able to represent those students at this celebration of six young men turning their lives over to God was a great honor.
It almost brought me to tears to watch these Brothers whom I have spent so much time with make such an incredible commitment to God. It was wonderful! Right after they made their final profession they allowed people to go up and congratulate them. They tried to keep people from going up, but the congratulations lasted for about 15 minutes. It was wonderful to see so many people supporting Holy Cross.
What really stuck in my head from Fr. Hugh’s homily was something simple, love. He talked so much about commitment, work, tirelessness, humility, and faith. What stuck with me was that at the foundation of all of that is love. In order to commit your life to the service of others then you must do everything out of love. In order to find joy in working tirelessly for others then you must do everything out of love. “There is no greater proof of love than for one to lay down his life for his friends.” What we need to realize is that all the people on Earth are our friends.
We might not all end up as religious men and women, but trying to use every moment of our lives to help our “friends” is something we can all strive for. I think it was this that really renewed my strength…every moment that I have here in Ghana or anywhere else in the world I have the opportunity to do something incredible, something that changes the world, something that transforms the world….I can show someone love. And it seems real nice and romantic, but as I have learned in the past months that loving others isn’t easy, making an act of solidarity, isn’t easy! But the goal is that when it all goes down I can say, “Well, I don’t know what I accomplished. I don’t know if I really made a difference for anyone, but I did give all of myself. Oh God, I really tried.”Fr. Hugh definitely had the rights words to help begin another 50 years for Holy Cross in Ghana.
Holy Cross Skills Center @ 25 – November 29th, 2007
It was on this day 25 years ago that the Holy Cross Skills Project was begun in Ketan, Sekondi-Takoradi. It was quite a modest project in the beginning with one simple goal: teach young men with no other options a skill. Now we have a good amount of land in Anaji, large classrooms, big workshops with decent equipment, a full staff, and about 300 hundred students.
On this we day we all, including all of our visiting brothers, students from the nearby vocational and technical schools, and a host of dignitaries from the Western Region. Our local chief was even there. But the person that I was most excited to meet was the Superior General of the Congregation of Holy Cross, Fr. Hugh Cleary. I believe that the figurehead of a Catholic Congregation should be the best representative of the ideal that the Congregation stands for. With this in mind the real reason why I looked forward to meeting him was because of my need to renew my strength.
After talking with Br. Richard Gilman I asked if he could introduce me to Fr. Hugh. He is not a physically imposing man at all. In fact just from his handshake and his greeting one could tell that he is a truly humble man. A gentle man who isn’t always fond of the administrative work. A man who will not abandon an ideal. A man who prefers not to roam outside of the spiritual sphere of life. A man who sees and understands.
I will tell you right now that the words I exchanged with Fr. Hugh were not many, but I feel that we communicated a lot more without them.
So all in all it was a crowd of about 300 plus people. We brought in a “high life” band for the event to help to spice things up. Basically, the event was about three hours worth of speeches, music and awards given to the great benefactors of the Skills Center.
There have been many people over the years that have given so much to make the Center possible. People who donated the overalls for the auto department. People who paid for the power tools that are used. Funds raised to put up the Home of Hope and keep it running each year. One man paying the salary of all the teachers for years when it could no longer be afforded. People who donate books for the library. People who provided free medical attention for our students.
So many people have provided to make the school possible it gave me more inspiration to give the students all that I could. So many people who wanted to take part in this project, to help in the formation of good and honorable young men, to help give these boys some hope for their future…well I can honor their charity by adding to their gifts the best of my efforts in the classroom and around the campus.
The real fun didn’t begin until much later that day when we had a records dance for the boys. Initially, we were going to bring in a live band for the boys, but they said, “Bro! NO NO NO…and they somehow brought in a DJ. Which meant giant speakers blaring Hip Hop and Hip Life all throughout Anaji.
We had the dance outdoors in between the workshops and the administrative block on the flat gravel lot. The boys were going wild and having a great time kicking up dust all over the place. A couple of the boys sneaked in with their “girlfriends” in the back of the crowd…Br. Daniel was keeping a close eye on them. ;)
They were playing some music that took me back to those ridiculous nights at Club Fever or wherever else they play that stuff and I couldn’t help but to smile, tap my feet, and before I knew it I was dancing like a fool in the middle of my students…and it just made them go even more wild.
The time came for a little dance competition and let me tell you some of these boys can dance…I mean wow! One of the boys was sliding around on the gravel like Michael Jackson. He was great. Another could do this dance were it looked as if he were moving in slow motion. The boys were good.
What they were
not so good at was free styling which is what they did next. Luckily that kind of faded out quick and it was back to dancing!
So after showing the boys my pathetic version of breakdancing, meaning the worm and a one armed hand stand which received quite an ovation from the boys, it was time to go home and call it a night.
I got some good pictures of the boys from the dance…I think it might help to paint the picture a bit better for you. Enjoy.
On this we day we all, including all of our visiting brothers, students from the nearby vocational and technical schools, and a host of dignitaries from the Western Region. Our local chief was even there. But the person that I was most excited to meet was the Superior General of the Congregation of Holy Cross, Fr. Hugh Cleary. I believe that the figurehead of a Catholic Congregation should be the best representative of the ideal that the Congregation stands for. With this in mind the real reason why I looked forward to meeting him was because of my need to renew my strength.
After talking with Br. Richard Gilman I asked if he could introduce me to Fr. Hugh. He is not a physically imposing man at all. In fact just from his handshake and his greeting one could tell that he is a truly humble man. A gentle man who isn’t always fond of the administrative work. A man who will not abandon an ideal. A man who prefers not to roam outside of the spiritual sphere of life. A man who sees and understands.
I will tell you right now that the words I exchanged with Fr. Hugh were not many, but I feel that we communicated a lot more without them.
So all in all it was a crowd of about 300 plus people. We brought in a “high life” band for the event to help to spice things up. Basically, the event was about three hours worth of speeches, music and awards given to the great benefactors of the Skills Center.
There have been many people over the years that have given so much to make the Center possible. People who donated the overalls for the auto department. People who paid for the power tools that are used. Funds raised to put up the Home of Hope and keep it running each year. One man paying the salary of all the teachers for years when it could no longer be afforded. People who donate books for the library. People who provided free medical attention for our students.
So many people have provided to make the school possible it gave me more inspiration to give the students all that I could. So many people who wanted to take part in this project, to help in the formation of good and honorable young men, to help give these boys some hope for their future…well I can honor their charity by adding to their gifts the best of my efforts in the classroom and around the campus.
The real fun didn’t begin until much later that day when we had a records dance for the boys. Initially, we were going to bring in a live band for the boys, but they said, “Bro! NO NO NO…and they somehow brought in a DJ. Which meant giant speakers blaring Hip Hop and Hip Life all throughout Anaji.
We had the dance outdoors in between the workshops and the administrative block on the flat gravel lot. The boys were going wild and having a great time kicking up dust all over the place. A couple of the boys sneaked in with their “girlfriends” in the back of the crowd…Br. Daniel was keeping a close eye on them. ;)
They were playing some music that took me back to those ridiculous nights at Club Fever or wherever else they play that stuff and I couldn’t help but to smile, tap my feet, and before I knew it I was dancing like a fool in the middle of my students…and it just made them go even more wild.
The time came for a little dance competition and let me tell you some of these boys can dance…I mean wow! One of the boys was sliding around on the gravel like Michael Jackson. He was great. Another could do this dance were it looked as if he were moving in slow motion. The boys were good.
What they were
not so good at was free styling which is what they did next. Luckily that kind of faded out quick and it was back to dancing!So after showing the boys my pathetic version of breakdancing, meaning the worm and a one armed hand stand which received quite an ovation from the boys, it was time to go home and call it a night.
I got some good pictures of the boys from the dance…I think it might help to paint the picture a bit better for you. Enjoy.
Holy Cross Skills Center Symposium – November, 28th, 2007
Once again forgive me for being late, but please allow me to finish off the Jubilee Week celebrations.
On the 28th we had a symposium at the Skills Center for our students and all students from the local vocational and technical schools. It was a nice day and about 150 students came to hear the Regional Coordinator of the National Vocational and Technical Institutes for the Western Region of Ghana, Mr. Martison Osei and an internationally renown business man and devout Catholic Mr. Eddy Prah.
On the 28th we had a symposium at the Skills Center for our students and all students from the local vocational and technical schools. It was a nice day and about 150 students came to hear the Regional Coordinator of the National Vocational and Technical Institutes for the Western Region of Ghana, Mr. Martison Osei and an internationally renown business man and devout Catholic Mr. Eddy Prah.
Br. Raymond Papenfuss was present for the occasion. I sat down to have chat with him for a while before everything began. Some of my students came over to greet me and I introduced them to Br. Raymond the FOUNDER OF THE SKILLS PROJECT. Before long a large group of students had gathered around to see Brother. Br. Raymond starting asking them what they knew about Akan proverbs. They didn’t know much…so Br. Raymond, who spent 30 some years in Ghana began to tell them the proverbs IN FANTE (the local language). It was great! The boys’ mouths dropped. They were so surprised. After Br. Raymond finished teaching the boys about their culture it was time for the symposium to begin.
Mr. Osei had come to speak to the students about the most important aspects of a technical/vocational education, especially the importance of the English and Moral education classes…YEAH FOR ME! All during Mr. Osei’s speech there were things that he mentioned that I had spoken about the my Skills boys. I mean it was almost the exact same words used. It was very funny and reassuring when I looked over at my Skills boys to find them looking right back at me smiling. They remembered what I told them in class. I just smiled and looked back sending them a “I told you that was important and that you should remember it” kind of look.
Unfortunately for Mr. Eddy Prah we did not have a projector, a screen, or a computer for him to do a PowerPoint presentation which is exactly what he needed for the kind of speech he gave. It was a great talk about the importance of developing business/entrepreneurial skills so that they can use the knowledge of their trade to the fullest.
All in all the symposium was a success, but at about four hours or so in length it might have been a bit too long for most of the students. It was very good to hear Mr. Osei, a man high in the ranks of NVTI, stressing the importance of the classes that I am teaching. So often it feels like I am just superfluous. I always encounter people that say…just teach them the skill and let them go…don’t waste their time with that stuff. I know it’s important and my boys do too…which reminds me that I still have to tell you all about the big conflict between Ghana Education Service and the Catholic Conference of Bishops…don’t worry its coming!
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