Female scholarship recipients speak about issues facing women in Ghana.

I am the only one who saw in Brooklyn Charter School

I recently spent a morning with some remarkable kids at Explore Charter school in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Using Eddie's book of photos and essays as a guide, we talked about similarities in the experiences of children around the world. I was extremely impressed with these kids, their thoughtful questions and comments and their genuine interest in Eddie's story. ABC DAY at Explore is an opportunity for students to meet and interact with authors, illustrators, filmmakers, and other artists. It was also another amazing opportunity for me to share Eddie's story. Interactive experiences like this are shaping the development of an educational supplement / teacher's guide that will soon be packaged for schools.






Here are some more pictures from the day...

Recording Ewe Storytellers

Deviwo Co-founder and photo instructor Godwin Azameti has been commissioned to record storytellers in his hometown village of Klikor. The project, initiated by Anna Cottrell, is a follow-up to her acclaimed book Once Upon A Time in Ghana, a collection of traditional Ewe stories retold in English (Eastern Daily Press, 2007). All proceeds from the book are being distributed back into the communities where the storytellers live to support community generated projects. For instance, in Anyako, book profits helped buy new boats for fishermen. In Klikor, villagers are constructing a corn mill and cassava grater.

The storytellers project was born in 2006 when Anna, a retired teacher and former cross-cultural solutions volunteer, met Agbotadua Kumassah, retired head teacher and Agbotadua (Deputy Chief) in Dzelukope, who was then running a radio program on Jubilee FM in Keta. (Kumassah currently works alongside the newly enstooled Chief Togbi Tay Agbozo V). With Kumassah's knowledge of Ewe history and traditions, the two began meeting with elders in communities in the Volta Region of Ghana, home to the Ewe People. Once Upon A Time in Ghana is an English recreation of the stories they collected during this period and in Anna's subsequent visits.

This year, Anna has returned to Ghana and has commissioned Godwin to produce sound recordings of storytellers in Godwin's hometown village of Klikor. Anna says she hopes to make these latest recordings available to Ewe speakers in the Diaspora. "I believe its equally important that Ewe speakers can also hear these traditional stories," says Godwin who is collaborating with The SChool for International Training's Academic Director Gavin Webb to engineer the recordings. Godwin's passion for storytelling and the preservation of Ghanaian culture was at the heart of the Zongo Junction Youth Photo Program in 2006.

When I recently spoke to Anna about why she began this project she spoke of wanting to help portray a different side of the Africa she had come to know in her travels--something that for western audiences could transcend the stereotypes of Africa as a land of people in need. "I was interested in looking at the other side of the coin."

Be sure to pick up a copy of Once Upon A Time in Ghana, available on Amazon.