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Reflections of Laurel Hansen

As a long time friend of Kathy Knowles and her family I have known about OCLF since it’s beginning. Over the years I have heard so many enthusiastic accounts, from Kathy, library members and previous volunteers, about the work being done in Ghana that it was hard not to want to see it for myself.

From February to May 2005 I worked for OCLF as a volunteer at the Kathy Knowles Community Library (KKCL). KKCL was the first of the four main libraries to be built in Accra and it is also the smallest. The size of this library gave me the unique opportunity to make personal connections with many of the children over my short stay. These connections are what I will remember and cherish most about this trip. From my first day I was warmly welcomed by the members and staff of the library who were excited about what I had to offer and showed constant support for my ideas.

Music has always been a big part of my life and something that I was eager to share in Ghana. I brought my guitar and taught some simple songs, which the children and I were able to perform at various celebrations held at the library. We explored science through the sprouting of a bean (see photo below) and were even able to apply the scientific method to record our experiment. Art projects are always a big hit at the library and creativity was encouraged through drawing. One project that was probably the most chaotic but also the most fun was making friendship bracelets by weaving colourful embroidery thread that I brought from Canada and was happy to find was available in Accra as well.

I also had the privilege of working with the adult students of the free literacy classes offered at KKCL. During our time together they learned to read and write, we shared personal stories and laughed a lot. These students taught me a great deal about the value of literacy to a person who has never had the opportunity to go to school. I encouraged the students to continue to share their stories with people like me to create a greater awareness worldwide about illiteracy and its costs. Their joyful determination continues to inspire me and I wish them well.

One of the highlights of my trip was meeting my pen pal Millicent and her family, for the first time. Millicent and I had been writing to each other through the library for ten years. We had been talking about meeting each other since we were nine years old so to see her finally standing in front of me was and unreal experience. It was then my pleasure to be able to connect the members of KKCL with pen pals from two primary schools in my home community of Erin, Ontario. Through writing back and forth the children in Ghana and Canada will learn about cultures very different from their own and hopefully, as it did in my case, it will encourage a further curiosity about the world around them.

While in Ghana I stayed at the library guesthouse where my hosts and neighbours went out of their way to make sure I felt at home. I will always remember the friendly faces that greeted me every morning when I left the house for the library. I will also never forget the countless other friends and strangers who extended their kindness to me despite their own daily struggles and hardships.

I am proud to have been a part of an organization with such modesty and integrity and which recognizes the importance of developing locally sustainable projects. I am very grateful for this opportunity. As I stood on the sidewalk outside of the guesthouse and watched the sun set on my last night in Ghana I thought of all of the things I would miss; the colour, the beauty, the music and most of all the spirit and generosity of these wonderful people.

Laurel Hansen

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