August 21, 2010 was the All Africa Service Project. Members of the LDS Church from all across Africa donned yellow vests and gave their Saturday for service in local community projects. Gregg and I worked with the OSU Ward and cleaned up the OSU Market with local OSU Tribal group.
Our bright yellow vests had two green hand prints and read, "Mormon Helping Hands" and "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." Everyone was very happy to wear these vests. Gloves were a must as you will see from the description of our project. I was given a pair of bright yellow gloves which was just the ticket. We met at the OSU Ward Chapel and later discovered we would embark on a 2 mile hike to and from the OSU Market. With Gregg's 5 week old knee arthroscopy and my plantar fasciitis, we were quite the limping duo on our hike.
The OSU Market desperately needed our help. They sell everything from recently made charcoal to fruits and vegetables. There were even a couple of "hair boutiques" complete with a chair for the client and a portable hair washing station. Some people appeared to live there. They had some less than desirable showers and we were warned not to go near one wall as that was apparently the bathroom facility.
We filled numberless black garbage bags full of garbage and trash. The OSU Tribal Stool (tribal council) had arranged for a garbage truck to haul it away.
The funnest part were the little children that apparently lived at this location. One two year old girl followed us around and "adopted " one of our brooms that she wanted more than anything. The children were quite happy to jump right in and begin helping.
At the end of the project, Gregg was completely soaked with sweat, not a dry stitch of clothes on him (high humidity in Ghana). We treated ourselves to a meal at a "fast food" restaurant, which in Ghana usually means fried rice and chicken in under 45 minutes.
you both look great and I love your beautiful friends!
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