Adult literacy, Kenkey, and Kathy's books

On Thursday morning I again observed Joanna's adult literacy class. She has a wonderful rapport with her students. We reviewed vowels and I helped grade the assignments. The students are used to teachers grading in just the right way, marks for correct answers here, total grades and corrections written just so. I really learned a lot this morning.

For lunch I ate kenkey, fermented corn meal mush cooked in a corn husk. Very filling and quite tasty. Joanna supplemented our lunch with can fish, cucumbers, and tomato, so it was quite a feast. A volunteer worker, Michelle, visited with us. She works with the North American Women's Association (NAWA) and raised funds for the adult literacy learners to take a day trip to the Cape Coast at the end of the month. Mr. Foster, one of the library staff, gave us an interesting and informative history of the Cape Coast Castle, just in time for my travels this weekend!

In the afternoon we worked with the kids to make Mothers Day cards. I made one for my mom (very far away) and helped the kids with theirs. We also had time to read books-- the children read books to me and I read books to the children. The books written and illustrated by Kathy Knowles, founder of OCLF, are the most popular. Many of the books feature photos of local Ghanaians and are printed here in Ghana-- much needed support for the local publishing industry.