We are writing with one last entry from our pioneering Putney Ghana Community Service Group. This past week has been full of many endings. Students worked hard on the construction site to finish a substantial part of our project including cement mixers, block layers, and painters. Students also worked on their independent projects including, to name a few; organizing a soccer tournament for our last day in town; painting welcome signs for the town of Cape Three Points and our home for the past month - Trinity Yard; learning about the goats in our village; learning about the lighthouse and giving our group a tour; and building a small bridge over a huge puddle in our village. The list goes on.
This past week we also continued work on our drum and dance practice in preparation for our final presentation. Saturday seemed to arrive all too fast! The day began with a soccer tournament held at the fields in Cape Three Points. Many local teams arrived and there was much excitement as we all played and cheered during the various games. Then it was back home for our final lunch and getting ready for the evening ahead. We donned our dance/drum outfits that we had made using traditional African fabric sewn by a local seamstress and headed to town with much excitement in the air.
When we arrived we met up with the local cultural group and got decorated with mud paint by two women we have come to know and love during this month. Soon we were ready for our performance. The drummers started drumming and before we knew it we were all dancing to a packed community center full of locals. It was an incredible sight to see! After our dance we headed to our project site for a picture with the chief and then back to our house for our farewell dinner. We invited many villagers and friends to join us for a goodbye dinner. Food was delicious and the goodbyes were long and teary.
Yesterday we said goodbye to our beloved Trinity Yard and headed east to Accra by bus. We arrived last night, ate a delicious pizza dinner at Mamma Mias, and will spend today at the local cultural center before preparing for our trip home. This month really has been incredibly magical and we are so thankful to have had the chance to share it together!
Much love,
Kelsey and Dakota
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Kelsey Burns and Dakota Casserly
This website is visited by the family and friends of participants in Putney Student Travel's Community Service program in Cape Three Points, Ghana to check in on the progress of the group.
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Local Time in Cape Three Points, Ghana
Flight Itinerary
British Airways
June 29: BA182 JFK/LHR 10:30 P - 10:20 A on June 30
June 30: BA81 LHR/ACC 2:15 P - 8:10 P
July 28: BA78 ACC/LHR 10:40 P - 6:40 A on July 29
July 29: BA175 LHR/JFK 10:25 A - 12:55 P
June 29: BA182 JFK/LHR 10:30 P - 10:20 A on June 30
June 30: BA81 LHR/ACC 2:15 P - 8:10 P
July 28: BA78 ACC/LHR 10:40 P - 6:40 A on July 29
July 29: BA175 LHR/JFK 10:25 A - 12:55 P
Trip Leaders
Kelsey Burns and Dakota Casserly
KELSEY BURNS
Saint Lawrence University, B.A. cum laude, Spanish. Kelsey spent her junior year studying literature, art history, ecology, and theater at Colegio Mayor Isabel de España in Madrid, Spain. At Saint Lawrence, Kelsey worked as a peer tutor, a teacher's assistant for the Spanish department, and in the International Office for the Spain Study Abroad program. She was a member of the women's lacrosse team and the Outing Club. Kelsey has traveled extensively in the United States, Europe, Latin America, and Africa. This will be Kelsey's seventh summer with Putney Student Travel. She has led a Language Learning program in Spain, Community Service programs in Ecuador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic, and assistant directed the Global Action programs at Yale this past summer. Kelsey works full time at the Putney Student Travel office in Putney, Vermont as an Associate Director and Leadership Coordinator. She is responsible for organizing Putney's programs in Spain, Ecuador, and Ghana and hiring the Putney leaders. When she isn't traveling, Kelsey loves to hike, bike, read, and dance. She is fluent in Spanish.
DAKOTA CASSERLY
University of Vermont, B.A., Business Administration, Minor in Environmental Studies; University of Nevada, Reno, Master of Land Use Planning degree candidate. While at UVM, Dakota was an active mentor with the Vermont DREAM Program, a youth mentoring organization. He also played varsity lacrosse, was a member of the Consortium for Ecological Living (CEL) and attended UVM's Costa Rica Travel-Study Program, where he studied ecotourism and culture. After graduation, Dakota worked as an AmeriCorps volunteer with the Tahoe Rim Trail Association, and received the State of Nevada's AmeriCorps Volunteer of the Year award. The following year Dakota taught English in Thailand and explored Southeast Asia. Presently, when not working on his graduate studies, Dakota enjoys life as a bike commuter and explores the Sierra Nevada Mountains.