2012 BN Duke Summer of ServiceG-Lish Foundation

Rebekah Johnston ‘14

What?This summer I worked with the G-Lish foundation, an NGO that aims to promote economic growth through environmental jobs. Their main project is taking used water bags and scrap cloth to provide local weavers the opportunity to make baskets at a fair wage. These baskets are exported to various countries around the world. In addition to the baskets, they work on environmental projects, including tree planting and education.

Where?

I worked in Northern Ghana, about a 45 minute cab ride from the border of Burkina Faso and two hours west of the border of Togo, in a small town called Bolgatanga (more often simply called Bolga). Ghana is about as long as North Carolina is wide, however, my journey from the capitol, Accra, to Bolga was a 14 hour bus ride along some very bumpy roads. I was there during the change from the dry season to the rainy season and got to experience magnificent thunderstorms and the transition from a dusty, dry earth to a beautiful, luscious green plain.

1. I would like to sincerely thank Don Taylor and Jenny Crowley for all their support. I would not have been able to learn and grow as much as I did this summer without their help.

2. I want to thank Sarah Stacke for helping me with the process of finding the organization and receiving funding.

3. Lastly, I want to thank my parents for being extremely supportive through my endeavors and decisions, both good and bad!

Shout outs

During my time with G-Lish, I had a two specific projects: design and implement eight climate change lesson plans and conduct and environmental impact assessment of the organization.

The Lessons Plans

This was my first experience with creating lesson plans and deciding on a template and format for the lessons was difficult. However, after hearing what G-Lish wanted and seeing what the students were capable of, I chose to have three components to each lesson: science, experiments, and leadership. With each lesson, an outline was provided, specifying what was to be covered, materials needed, and activities and experiments that were paired with the lesson. Additionally, I wrote extensive teacher notes, detailing the information that should be covered, the format in how it should be presented, and the time allotted for each section. Each activity and experiment also had a detailed description explaining what materials were necessary and how to conduct them.

How?

A weaver trying out a new method that allows for better,

more comfortable posture.

Students in a classroom at Teaching a green club

in a local school

I often ask myself why, if I could have gone anywhere in the world, I choose Ghana. The answer is simple. The organization was actively implementing one of my absolute favorite philosophies. For some time, I have strongly believed that only when environmental choices are also economical, will the environment be a priority. G-Lish knows that, especially in a developing country, practices such as recycling are not economical. Through their organization, hundreds of thousands of plastics bags and cloth scraps are recycled and almost one hundred workers are fairly paid and able to live a better life. This summer was not about going to the nicest beaches or the coolest places (though I did stand less than 30 yards from an elephant), it was about helping an organization help others based on a belief I hold firmly.

Why?

Map of Ghana

Finished baskets being collected in the

villageWeavers collecting the twisted cloth and plastic at a central

weekly distribution

Canoeing near Mole National Park

The original school where the green

clubs started

Showing students a world map and comparing where I live to

where they live

Human Knot Activity with the Dugulu Green Club

The Environmental Impact Assessment

This aspect of my internship was actually very difficult. I researched environmental assessment models other organizations and companies used and applied a modified version to G-Lish. I broke down the assessment into impacts on air, water, and land. Both positive and negative actions were incorporated to see if the overall impact of G-Lish was positive or negative. G-Lish had a huge environmental impact through their shipping operations across the world, travel on an old, inefficient motor bike, and travel of employees and volunteers from various countries. This was offset by the large amount of plastic bags (in the hundreds of thousands) and cloth (thousands of pounds) that were recycled and kept from polluting the land and water or being burnt, as well as the trees they planted. Furthermore, I briefly looked at the economic impact the organization had, which, though quantifiable, was priceless to the families that could eat healthier, send their children to school, and have the capitol to start new businesses.

The science:

The goal of the lessons was to teach the students about climate change, how it is affecting Ghana, and what they can do to help mitigate the effects. Each lesson was about an hour long and the overall curriculum covered everything from the facts about climate change to tree planting and recycling. I tried to write the material in a way that would engage the students and emphasize the importance of the information they were learning.

The experiments:

When it comes to science, students learn the best through hands-on experiments where they can see the effects of the processes they are studying. I thought it was paramount to provide each lesson with at least one experiment, if not more, to engage the students and to show them the science directly. When they can see the greenhouse effect in action, or how heavy rain causes erosion, or how trees improve the environment, they understand so much more.

The leadership:

Before I arrived, the green clubs were studying leadership. In addition to learning about the environment, I wanted to continue incorporating leadership in the green clubs. Therefore, at the beginning or end of each lesson, I added a leadership or team building activity. By encouraging collaboration, I hoped to enable the students to work together both in and outside of the club.