Happy Reflections

Us with Elvis, our tour guide for the entire trip

Well, the study abroad is over. We arrived home on Friday. More than anything else, I feel gratitude for the experience McKenzie and I had in Ghana. I was thrilled to be in a new land and see its unique vegetation, climate, habitats, and way of life. I enjoyed the many different adventures and activities we participated in. I am happy with what we were able to do for the nonprofit organization, Ghana Make A Difference, that we worked with. I loved seeing and visiting the beautiful Accra Ghana Temple. I cherish the relationships built with fellow students who also came on this trip and the memories we will share. Finally, I appreciated seeing and coming to better understand the different perspectives of the people in Ghana. They value respect and relationships. They are less concerned with material things and more concerned about the people around them. Their culture is unique and fun. I love sharing laughter with them.

The Accra Ghana Temple

Of the many things we did in Ghana, my favorite was helping Ghana Make A Difference. This reinforces my belief in serving others. I felt more joy and satisfaction from serving at that shelter than from doing anything else. I know and testify that turning outward and serving others brings true and lasting happiness into our lives. I love the words of King Benjamin who said, "When ye are in the service  of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God" (Mosiah 2:17). I know that God lives and loves to see us serving one another. May we always do so!

A beautiful sunrise on the beach at Cape Coast

Thank you for following my blog and supporting McKenzie and I in this adventure. We loved it so much! Africa is a wonderful place. I hope all of you may have the opportunity to go there one day and experience its wonder for yourself. All my love and best wishes to you!

--Blake Rowley

We were pretty excited to buy stroopwafels
at the airport in Amsterdam

We Love the Coast!

The harbor at Cape Coast full of Ghanaian fishing boats

The last few days were full of a variety of experiences. On Tuesday we visited two museums about the Ashanti people who live around the city of Kumasi in Ghana. They believe in a golden stool that was conjured in the heavens and fell into the lap of a man who then became their king. This was hundreds of years ago. The highlight for me was playing an old drum at one of the museums that makes a sound like the roar of a leopard. The Kumasi people used to use it to scare off attacking enemies. After the museums we all traveled to Cape Coast. Even after only being there for a day, I think it's my favorite city in Ghana. There are hundreds of fishing boats in the harbor, all primitive and well-worn. The people living along the coast live in very dirty, disorganized areas. It was quite a sight to see. As soon as we arrived at our hotel in Cape Coast, which was on the coast, McKenzie and I bolted to the beach where we had been longing to go ever since the beginning of the trip. We swam in the ocean; it was warm and refreshing. The waves were huge and powerful! It was a lot of fun. That evening after dinner we had the privilege to hear testimonies from pioneers of the church in Ghana. One of the gentleman was the 14th person baptized in Ghana. Another gentleman explained how he was faced with the decision to be disowned by his family or join the church. He chose the latter and said he has always been grateful. They all were faithful to the church before it was officially recognized in Ghana and before the Priesthood was extended to worthy males of all races. They lived through the period known as "The Freeze" when the Ghanaian government prohibited all activity related to the LDS church in the country. Their testimonies were piercing. They expressed love, gratitude, and complete trust in God. I sensed a compelling and divine sort of faith in their hearts. Hearing from them was moving and memorable.

Running and racing along the shore of the beach in Cape Coast

The crocodile pond at the Coconut Grove Beach Resort in Cape Coast

Me with Moses, our horse guide for when we
rode horses on the beach in Cape Coast

In the morning we visited the crocodile pond at our hotel and went horseback riding on the beach. We wish we could have stayed at Cape Coast for a few more days. There were many fun things to do but we did enjoy what we could do with the time we had. Later that morning we went to Kakum National Park and the Elmina slave castle on our way to Accra. Kakum National Park is a rain forest where a canopy walk has been constructed. This is a walk above the tall trees of the rain forest on nothing but a wooden board and rope-nets for support on each side. It was a thrill! The park is home to elephants, leopards, diker antelope, and many different kinds of birds but they are rarely seen as the thick vegetation provides a lot of camouflage, and the abundance of human activity and noise scares them off easily. Though we didn't see anything, we enjoyed the thrilling canopy walk and beautiful views from above the rain forest.

The canopy walk at Kakum National Park

The Elmina slave castle was another moving experience. The castle housed hundreds of slaves at a time throughout the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries until the slave trade was finally outlawed in Great Britain. The British controlled the castle. The castle contained two dungeons, one for male slaves and one for female slaves. The slaves were treated worse than street rats. They were forced to live in their own waste, They were given minimal amounts of food and water. Many of them were shackled at the neck, wrists, and/or ankles. When bought by a slave company or landowner, the slaves were branded like cattle for identification purposes. British officers raped woman slaves at will, harshly punishing them if they resisted. The castle stands today as a memory of something in history that humanity must never allow to happen again.

Atop the Elmina slave castle with fisherman and the ocean in the background

A panoramic view of the Elmina slave castle

We arrived back in Accra yesterday evening. Today has been a day of wrapping up the trip. McKenzie and I did initiatory at the Accra Ghana Temple. As a group, we all went to a final art market to buy souvenirs. They are fun to have but we won't need them to remember our experience here in Ghana. It has been unforgettable!

It's Ghana Be Wild

Baboons hanging around our hotel. You can see a baby baboon
sitting atop its mother's back in this photo.

Today was truly an African day. We went on safari in Mole (mo-lay) National Park, Ghana’s largest national park. We did one on foot with an armed guide and one on a jeep with an armed guide. Right before setting out on the foot safari, Felicity got charged by a baboon. A large group of us were waiting outside our hotel for a few stragglers when a baboon showed up and gradually starting approaching us, then full on ran at Felicity. It got within about a yard before a large Ghanaian man threw a rock at it and scared it off. After the fact, we realized that the reason the baboon charged her was to steal the protein bar in her hand. Because baboons are larger monkeys, they will always try to steal food or small bags right out of your hand, more often from women than men. They are more afraid of men. Baboons are incredibly smart. Our park guides warned us to always ask “Who is it?” when we hear a knock at our door before opening it because baboons have been known to knock, then immediately run into the room when the door is opened and steal everything they can. This afternoon, a baboon tried to steal a women’s handbag. It came up to her and grabbed the bag but the woman wouldn’t let go. Then it bared its teeth at her, and she cried out for help. A bunch of men (mostly hotel workers) ran to the noise and chased the baboon away. All it got away with was a cookie out of the woman’s bag. Crazy!

This is the elephant we found on the foot safari

The foot safari was a thrill. Mole Park is home to lots of elephants, 5 different types of antelope, warthogs, baboons, grey monkeys, patas (Columbus) monkeys, crocodiles, pythons, hyenas, leopards, and a few lions. As we walked on foot with our armed guide we saw several warthogs, kob, bushbuck, and a few water buck. The creepiest thing we saw was a small crocodile that slithered into the small pond we were walking towards as we approached, and swam away. Eventually we found an elephant; it was using its trunk to eat green leaves and branches off of trees. It was an isolated young male, not fully grown, but it still looked huge. We got within about 50 feet of it. That was as much as the elephant would allow before it gave us a warning sign of attack, which we heeded by backing off a little bit. Elephants give three warnings signs before attacking. The first is that it will face you, walk towards you, and conspicuously flap its ears at you, then it will blow its trunk, and lastly it will charge. When an elephant runs at full speed, it can get up to 25-30 miles per hour. So yeah, don’t get charged by an elephant. You will lose.

Us with the elephant we found on the foot safari

I took this photo just as the elephant on the right started approaching us.

While on the jeep safari, we saw even more elephants, up to about 15 in all. This was a beautiful, majestic sight. Elephants are incredible animals. Seeing them up so close in person was an awe-inspiring experience. How glorious are God’s creations! We found some of them soaking themselves with muddy water that they use as both insect repellent and sunscreen. Others were eating off of trees, and still others we found swimming in a large pond. It was cool to see them in all of their typical daily activities. We even saw two large males playfully locking tusks with each other. Go Africa! I love the wild of Africa.

A video of two large elephants locking tusks

A beautiful view of these 3 large elephants

We found these 7 or 8 elephants, including a few very young ones, swimming
in this large pond

Us with the elephants swimming in the background

During the jeep safari, we saw 3 or 4 more crocodiles, and even some recently hatched crocodile eggs. None of them were super large, but there was a decent sized-one that we saw with its mouth open for a little bit. Later we saw it slither into the water. The others that we saw were swimming in the water, barely visible. I’m not gonna lie, I was a little scared walking around that pond. We also saw more of the same antelope that we saw on the foot safari, as well as grey monkeys, patas (Columbus) monkeys, vultures, and hornbill. We did not see any hyenas, leopards, or lions. Seeing lions in the park is extremely rare, and the hyenas and leopards at the park are typically only seen at night (and even then only occasionally). Baboons and warthogs were around our hotel all the time. One of our professors even found an elephant right outside her hotel room in the morning, eating the flowers. How cool is that?! I love elephants!

Three large elephants on the march and a young one catching up to them

This is one of the amazing viewpoints from our hotel. We could see elephants walking around
and swimming in the lake throughout the day. Here you can see them walking in the distance
just above our heads.

We certainly enjoyed the park. I was sad to leave it. This afternoon we traveled to Kumasi where we are staying the night, before traveling further to Cape Coast tomorrow. More adventures to come!

Making A Difference

With Francis, one of GMAD's cooks, playing
with a tiny fish called amani, Francis ate it
raw a few moments later!

Monday through Thursday went by in a flash. McKenzie and I along with Felicity Cribbs, another accounting student on the trip, visited the site of Ghana Make A Difference for the first time on Monday. Ghana Make A Difference (GMAD) is a nonprofit organization founded by an LDS couple from Idaho designed to house and help African children generally ages 8-12 who have no family or no family support. The shelter can hold up to 40 kids at a time. Currently there are about 26 kids at the home. About 10 of those kids just arrived there two weeks ago. They were rescued from illegal child labor. The goal of the shelter is to help the children’s families to get to a point where they can support their child or to find a family that will support the children in need. The shelter typically houses, teaches, and supports the kids for about 6 months before they do make it possible for the kids to be supported by a family again.

On Monday, we first met with Richard, the Director of the organization. He is a young Ghanaian man, about 30 years old, married with a daughter and another child on the way, who also studied accounting. He is the Branch President of his branch in Ghana, and Prince, the Assistant Director at GMAD, is also his first counselor. Richard is an exceptional individual. He has a great spirit about him. In our discussion with him, we were able to gather lots of data and find out where we could most help the organization in regards to accounting.

McKenzie and Felicity at the shed where the huge poultry
farm produces its own chicken feed

Inside one of the chicken houses
at the huge poultry farm

One of the things we focused on was a poultry farm operation that they started two years ago in an effort to become more self-reliant as an organization. Currently they have 800 chickens, and they sell the eggs laid by them. The chickens they have are old, so we found a place they can sell them to, and also worked on a budget for them to continue the operation, and even teach kids’ families to start their own self-reliant poultry farms. We also visited a neighboring poultry farm that has 52,000 chickens, and learned more than we ever thought we could about chicken farming. I’m almost tempted to try it out now. We delivered our findings to GMAD in a report. The other things we did for GMAD included creating a system for tracking their inventory of chicken vaccinations so they will always have them on hand, creating a system for tracking food expenditures, and developing meal portion sizes to reduce food waste at the home. We finished all this work and visited the shelter for the last time on Thursday. I hope and pray what we have done is really Ghana Make A Difference!

This is a pretty good view of the
whole shelter at GMAD

All of us with Bernard, the manager
of the 52,000 chicken poultry farm
who showed us around

       
 
I cannot say enough how much we enjoyed working at GMAD. The employees were smart, sharp people, very kind and loving. The Spirit is present at the shelter. It is a wonderful organization truly making a difference in the lives of hundreds of children. If and when you ever feel inclined to donate to a charitable organization, GMAD is a top choice. Great things are happening there. Visit www.ghanamakeadifference.org if you want to learn more about them.

We also had a lot of fun playing around with the kids from time to time. When we gave out candy they went wild over it. They are impressive soccer players, I had a good time with that. We even had the opportunity to see them trying to learn and write English. It was a unique experience, very memorable.

Writing English with the kids at GMAD

On Friday we traveled north to Tamale, the capital of the northern region of Ghana. Yesterday we spent a few hours in the morning engaging and teaching young innovators and business owners in the community (of all faiths) about developing a business plan and keeping accounting records of business operations. I spent most of my time working with a young adult man named Basit, who is a Muslim. He was shocked when after I helped him create a projected income statement, we found his business was likely operating at a loss. It was an eye-opening experience for him; it most definitely helped him understand the value and importance of accounting.

All of us with Prince, GMAD's Assistant Director

All of us with the kids at GMAD following a competitive
soccer match

Ghana is a wonderful country. My love for this place and its people is growing. Tomorrow we get to visit Mole National Park and hopefully see lots of wild African animals, including elephants! More fun posts to come!

A Whole New World

Welcome to my blog about my wife, McKenzie, and I's study abroad experience in Ghana, Africa. The study abroad is through the accounting program at BYU, which McKenzie and I are both enrolled in right now. There are 15 students and 2 professors on the trip, along with one of the professor's sons.

This is the airplane view of

Accra, Ghana at night 
just before we landed

We arrived in the evening on May 2nd. In the morning of May 3rd we traveled to an island an hour or so outside of Accra. To get to the island, we rode on what was basically just a huge canoe with a boat motor attached to it that propelled us across the Volta river. On the way there we stopped at a location where the Volta river empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The ocean was so warm! I could have swam in it all day.

Where the Volta River empties
 into the Atlantic Ocean

When we arrived at the island, George (the Ghanaian man who was our guide) showed us the playground at the school where there is a merry-go-round that generates a little bit of power for people on the island whenever it spins. The idea is for the school children to play on it and thereby generate electricity for people on the island. It was engineered by students and faculty at BYU and installed by a nonprofit organization called Empower Playgrounds. We stayed the night on the island in the home of a local family. It was a very hot and sweaty experience. Our bed was a foam pad with a mosquito net over it. The cement walls of the houses trap a lot of heat in, and are built with little if any ventilation. We slept or simply lied in our own sweat for most of the night. The roosters around the house crowed throughout the night and made it impossible to rest past 6. At about that time, we got up and helped the family prepare oysters caught from the river to be sold at a market. This process is done by boiling the oysters until their shells open, then separating out the shells, and finally folding the oysters out to be put on a stick. We left the island later that morning around 8 or so. It was a humbling experience to stay there overnight and live in their shoes for a day.

We got to try fresh coconut while
on the island. It was delicious!

The merry-go-round on the island

Several areas around the

houses on the island have

these seashells smashed 
into the ground to make a

sort of cobblestone path

This is the home where we stayed
the night on the island

Helping prepare oysters

Who's cuter, the girl or the baby goat? (The girl!)

The evening of Thursday, May 4th, George and his LDS Church ward hosted a fireside which we attended and participated in. It was an uplifting experience. Many testimonies were given along with some inspiring musical performances. That night we checked in to the Coconut Grove Regency Hotel where we are staying for the next week or so.

The next day on Friday we had the opportunity to meet with Elder Terence M. Vinson, a General Authority Seventy who is the Area President of the Africa West Area of the Church. He shared some statistics and other data about the growth of the Church in the Africa West Area which is currently the highest in the world. This area of the world is organizing 1 new stake per month on average. He also shared with us some wonderful insights and stories about the West African Latter-day Saints, and took the time to answer questions we had. It was a wonderful experience, one of my favorite of the trip so far. After this visit, we attended an endowment session at the Ghana Accra Temple. This was also a wonderful experience and the temple is beautiful, especially at night. It is a beacon of light.

Yesterday, we took a tour of Accra. This included visits to a museum, memorial park, and art market. The vendors at the art market were extremely aggressive. We had an exciting time bargaining with them. In the evening, Professor Hobson gave a presentation to the Ghana Accra BYU Management Society chapter. At least 20-30 young adult Ghanaians attended (most or all LDS). They were very bright individuals. I was impressed with their questions and perspectives. They are the kind of people who will likely be the future leaders of the Church in Ghana and throughout West Africa.

The Ghana Accra Temple

McKenzie with a 6 year old girl named Baba

 Tomorrow we will begin work on our projects! We  are excited to visit the sites of the organizations we  will be working with and begin building  relationships with the people in them. I look forward  to posting about what happens. It's Ghana be  good!