Barbara's school group had visited this orphanage on their visit in February. We are returning to drop off clothing and toys sent b y her school's dean and to tour the facility. It is grossly overcrowded:50 infants and toddlers 2 to a crib; 80 boys ages 3-18; 40 girls ages 3-18, all in a facility built to house 50. We walk through touching, holding, tickling and stroking, talking to as many of the little ones as possible. It's heartbreaking to see so many abandoned children. Many of them come to the orphanage directly from the hospital, according to one of the Directors. The children go to school 'as far as possible', and at age 18 must go out on their own.
While we were there members of the Susan Wesley Mission Auxiliary Methodist Church came to donate items. This spirited and lively group of ladies insisted on taking pictures with us and requested copies of the photos.
After leaving the orphanage, we head for roman Ridge to a batik workshop set up in a housing compound. We stop at a corner and pick up a woman who directs us to the place. It turns out she is Hattie our instructor, seamstress and entrepreneur. At this place, her brothers yard where the workshop is set up, we encounter a group of students from South Carolina, whom we had noticed in the airport two days earlier. They attend Charleston Southern University and are in Ghana to teach for about six weeks, I think. They are accompanied by their professor who has brought groups over for the past 8 or 9 years.Once their group has completed customizing their single piece of cloth with the waxed dipped stamps, we were given instructions and swang into action eaching choosing a length of cloth (3 or 4 yards) and carved sponges to dip into hot wax and stamp on the white fabric which was later dyed to the color of our choice. Nobody burned, nobody got hurt!
Maybe I'll share a pic of my chocolate and gold design which was made into an off-shoulder dress with smocking by Madame. Maybe not!
