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.

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!