Minnehaha students participate in a cultural field experience (CFE) every year, receiving opportunities for international travel. One of the international trips this year is to Ghana, in West Africa, where 14 students will travel for two weeks.
They will visit the village of Okurase near the capital Accra. Okurase has little western technology, so students will experience time away from cell phones, television and the Internet.
“One reason that I wanted to go on this trip was while I was studying in Germany during college I met Daniel, a student from Ghana,” said Julie Johnson, leader of the international CFE trip. “My friendship with Daniel gave me some knowledge of his culture, and I knew I wanted to know more.”
The group will help build a soccer field with equipment and paint stripes. The new field will help them become better soccer players.
The International Service Interns have been raising money for the project through fund-raisers like Candy-Grams, Open Mic Nights, and of course, student phone confiscations.
“I am excited most for helping out the town by building a soccer field,” said junior Luke Mahler, a soccer player for Minnehaha Academy.
“I am also excited to help give the kids something that is healthy and fun to do.”
In addition to helping the village of Okurase the students will experience the brutal history of Ghana by visiting “slave castles” that housed many captured Africans before they were put on the ships that would transport them to the Americas and a life of slavery. Minnehaha Academy’s Vision Statement for Real Life Learning states, “This type of learning instills wisdom, compassion, respect and understanding in order to prepare students for interactions in an increasingly global society.”
The students participating in this experience will have the opportunity to achieve this vision.