Erica: "When you come to a fork in the road, take it."

Dear World,

So that day has come. The day that we've been preparing for the past 8 months. We're leaving for Ghana in a mere couple of hours.

This is my second trip back to Ghana (the first bringing friends from Lawrenceville along with me). I'm really anxious, yet I'm excited. We have two weeks to try to make a difference in the world. We'll do our best.

This blog will detail the 2012 L'ville 4 UNICEF Ghana Trip with the Ghanaian NGO Blue-Med Africa (www.bluemedafrica.org). This organization, though small, has the mission of "[supporting] the reduction of morbidity and mortality among the youth, women, and society at large through education, advocacy, provision of self-supporting skills education about HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B, Malaria and Tuberculosis which are on rise in the country." The organization sticks to this mission by providing care through hospital work, orphanage work, medical outreach to local villages and clinics, and teaching at local schools.


During my last trip with this wonderful organization, I had no idea what to expect in the very least, especially because I was traveling by myself. No Parents. No Friends. Literally dropping into the unexpected. I worked mainly in the orphanage, teaching children English and mathematics, and in the local hospital (Ho Municipal Hospital), caring for severely ill young boys and girls in the Children's Ward. I also helped build a vegetable garden in the orphanage, which is now filled with food for the children to eat. That trip has been the most rewarding experience of my life. It was not the hours I put in, but the laughs, smiles, and sweat used in those many hours that I remember.

By going on this second trip, I hope I can bring a world perspective to my peers. Not just the commonplace "people are starving and sick and we should do something about it", but rather the understanding of individuals, who they are, and what they fight for daily.

Though I am the one leading this trip as President of my club, L'ville 4 UNICEF (associated with the Lawrenceville School near Princeton, NJ), other members of the group will post in the very near future. Look out for future postings!

Enclosed on this post are a few pictures of the packing of donation items. More are on the way.

Akbe (thank you in the local language of Ewe) for reading this post!

Erica Lee

Club President & Trip Leader, L'ville4UNICEF #yolo