Day of Service

On Saturday, August 17th, members of the LDS Church came together with friends and neighbors in their local communities for the 7th All-Africa Helping Hands service day. This is a time to build relationships by reaching out and helping others. Opportunities for Helping Hands come in many forms, usually projects that address recognized needs in the area. We observed hundreds of good people joining forces to remove garbage from streets, spruce up property around hospitals and police stations, whitewash school walls and cement curbs, and clear out debris from gutters. Here are a few examples of what we saw as we went from site to site in Accra on that wonderful day of service.

The second floor of this building has been newly rented for the Jamestown Branch in the oldest section of 
Accra. The members are so excited to have a place to meet that is much closer to their homes. Now they 
can walk to church instead of paying for transportation on a taxi or tro-tro. Notice the men with yellow vests 
on the balcony. They placed themselves strategically so other Helping Hands participants could see where 
to come (especially lost "obrunis," Elder and Sister Stoker) for instruction and assignments.

On the Road

There is more than one way to get around the streets of Accra. We are realizing that the automobile may not be the quickest method of travel between points A and B -- at least not on busy weekdays. The Ghanaians use creative ways to get themselves and their cargo to a desired destination.  

  

Eat on the go!

Coconuts on the go!

The True Size of Africa

We discovered a map in our office that tries to embody the massive scale of the true size of Africa, which is larger than the USA, China, India, Japan and all of Europe -- combined! As stated below (in tiny print), the graphical layout of this map is meant purely as a visualization to illustrate the fact that Africa is much larger than most people assume. After studying this comparison, we think you'll agree that Africa is immense!