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August
2008 | by Susan
Miller
 Samantha
Kaplan, a senior
at San Dieguito
Academy and Del
Mar resident,
recently took
a trip that was
very different
from most American
teenagers' summer
vacations.
Please
tell us about
your trip.
I
went with a volunteer
program, Projects
Abroad, on a 2-week
trip for high
school students,
focusing on care
and community
service. The program
I chose was in
southern Ghana
, West Africa
. The original
purpose of the
trip was to do
construction work
and paint as well
as to help out
at an orphanage
within a small
community. Instead,
what I ended up
doing during the
second week was
teaching French
at the local school
because they needed
more teachers.
Why
did you decide
to take this
trip?
I
had done a similar
trip to Ecuador
last year but
wanted to do something
where I was more
immersed into
the local community
and culture. I
heard that Ghana
was one of the
safest, most peaceful
areas in Africa
, so I felt that
there was no real
danger in going.
I've always been
interested in
third-world countries,
humanitarian work
and global issues.
How
did your
experience
differ, if
at all, from
your expectations?
I
went in with
no expectations.
Before I left,
people were
trying to scare
me a little
with stories
of the dangers
in going to
Africa, like
bugs and diseases,
but I wanted
to experience
firsthand the
rawness of
being in the
continent of
Africa – its
people, its
food, and even
the primitive
living conditions.
Which
memories from
the trip stand
out most for
you?
There
are many:
 Kids
who would come
up to you,
so welcoming
and so friendly
and they'd look
at you with
their big eyes
and say, “What
is your name?” and
then they'd say, “Where
are you from?” and “Where
are you going?” They
were so welcoming
and naturally
curious about
where you were
from and what
your home is
like. White people
are so uncommon
there, so they
regarded us with
almost celebrity
stature and intense
curiosity. The
people felt so
real, authentic
and caring, opening
their doors freely
to strangers.
One
disturbing
memory I have
is about their
system of punishment
based on caning
(hitting with
a stick). I
started speaking
to the teacher
whom I saw
caning a child,
and I asked
why they do
that, and he
told me it
was part of
their culture.
In response,
I told him
that in America
, this is taboo
and even against
the law. Partly
because the
Ghanaians idolize
Americans, this
teacher ended
up pledging
to me that he
would never
cane again.
Every day, he
would come
up to me and
proudly announce, “I'm
not caning – you
can ask the kids,
ask the other
teachers.” Although
I have no way
of knowing whether
his new behavior
would last, it
felt like a step
in the right
direction.
How
do you think
the trip will
influence you
in the future?
I
wanted to stay
longer; I felt
like two weeks
wasn't enough.
I'd like to go
to Senegal and
maybe Nigeria
, when it settles
down, and other
countries in Africa
. When I'm older,
I'd like to do
more humanitarian
work, maybe on
the political
side. The way
you can really
fix things is
not just by sending
money, because
that's like a
band-aid, but
by fixing the
government and
the way they take
care of and provide
for their people.
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Del Mar Community
Alliance, Inc. All
rights reserved. |
