Day 2 in Ghana: Seeking Blessings and Understanding Needs, by Xavier Van Dyke

Our second day in Ghana had a clear purpose: to understand how we could best support the community we had been assigned to. After an early breakfast at 7:00 a.m.—which, impressively, everyone attended despite the previous night’s festivities—we boarded the bus and began our journey.

The drive to the village was scenic but challenging, with rough dirt roads and plenty of bumps along the way. Still, we arrived safely by late morning, eager to begin. However, before we could begin any work, there was an important cultural step we needed to take: receiving the blessing of the community’s chief.

We made our way to the chief’s new, partially constructed house and lined up in single file. One by one, we introduced ourselves in Fante, the local language we had practiced the night before. As someone born on a Friday, I introduced myself as “Kofi-Xavier,” which translates to “Xavier born on Friday.”

After our introductions, the community leaders took their turn. With help from a government translator, we were introduced to the linguist, the three clan heads, and the chief himself. The atmosphere quickly became more relaxed and welcoming, especially when the community jokingly tasked anyone who shared a day-of-the-week birthday with a local resident with the “responsibility” of smuggling their match back to America—in a backpack, suitcase, or whatever it took.

After some nervous but sustained laughter, we shifted the conversation to the purpose of our visit. We shared our mission statement and our hope of service and the chief graciously gave us his blessing. We gave him some gifts, and he then accompanied us to the nearby primary school.

There, we took a quick group photo and were introduced to the assistant headmaster, who provided us with a tour of the school grounds. He spoke to us in English, which allowed us to fully understand the school’s current challenges. While they had many needs, one in particular stood out: bats.

One of the school buildings lacked a ceiling, and as a result, bats regularly flew in through the open roof to sleep during the day. Because they are nocturnal, they often remained still—but at times they would suddenly fly around during lessons, disrupting class. We actually witnessed this ourselves during the tour, even though no students were present at the time. Understandably, one of the school’s most urgent requests was for us to install a ceiling to keep the bats out and help create a more stable learning environment.

We also committed to assisting with other needs, including repairing a damaged wall, installing basic electrical wiring, and adding locks to classroom doors. While we were not able to address every item on their list, we focused our efforts on the most pressing concerns—projects we knew we could complete during our time there.

After gaining a clear understanding of the school’s situation, we said our goodbyes and departed to visit the previous year’s project site. Immediately when we arrived at the old project site, we were impressed by what we saw. The work done by previous MBA students clearly made a lasting impact. The orange-painted walls of the building stood out—they were vibrant and well cared for, a sign that the school truly valued what had been donated and repaired. It felt good to know the effort had endured. Naturally, we snapped a photo on the same steps that legends like Collin O’Neal once stood on, just for the side-by-side comparison.

After that, we returned to the hotel to rest and recover. People spent the afternoon in different ways. I ended up playing a classic game of Marco Polo in the pool with some of the guys, grabbed a few snacks from the pool room, and then did what turned out to be my favorite part of the day: walking around town.

As we explored, we asked questions and learned more about Ghana—everything from how the police system works to what kinds of food and government structures exist here. Thanks to the kindness of some locals, we were even invited into one of only two twin-towered Methodist cathedrals in all of West Africa. We took a photo, of course, and thanked them for the informal tour and the insights they shared about the site.

We finished our walk at the beach, where we bought fresh coconuts—fresh as in a guy had just climbed a tree to cut them down. We brought them back so our chef could clean and prep them for a meal. As we made our way back, the sun was beginning to set, and the 2.5-mile walk back was peaceful and beautiful—a calm end to a full and meaningful day.

Dinner that night was a standout: a flavorful chicken peanut soup served with rice and a wide variety of side dishes. Safe to say, everyone devoured it. During our group reflection afterward, both students and teachers shared how special the day had been. The most common complaint? The heat—but even that couldn’t overshadow everything we had experienced and accomplished.

To close the night, we had a short presentation from Halil about Ghana’s education and health systems, followed by what was supposed to be a discussion on demerit-worthy behavior, but honestly turned more into a round of funny confessions.

By the time we all went to bed, we were tired, full, and satisfied—ready for whatever the next day would bring.