Hot Times at Old Town

Appearing below are selections from the hard copy Hot Times. The objective is to highlight activities at the School and in the larger community, especially those featuring or of special interest to teachers and staff. Your suggestions are welcome. Enter a comment (under any item); it will come to me rather than automatically appearing.

Diandra Jones in Ghana

As a trained competitive Irish step dancer, turned pro, turned Old Town School teacher, I never expected at any point in my career that I would end up dancing on a latrine door – although remarkably true to tradition – in Africa. But there I was, in the middle of a remote dusty village, under an African sun, surrounded by an audience almost as unsuspecting as I was, hammering away on a nail-studded dismantled slab of wood, all in the name of AIDS. As unlikely as it seemed to be, my Irish dance skills helped to educate marginalized villagers of Ghana, West Africa, on the very likely threat of an oncoming HIV/AIDS epidemic. And though I couldn’t have predicted at the age of four, at my first Irish Dance class, that my dance shoes would have ever meant more to me than the sacrifice of a Saturday afternoon for practice, or a few fleeting blisters, I’m happy to see where they eventually took me…

It was one year ago that a friend of mine passed along the website of Sankofa Center (sankofacenter.org), an organization that teaches HIV/AIDS awareness through the arts, based in the capital region of Ghana, Africa. Sankofa, named after the African symbol of a bird that looks over its own back in order to correct its past mistakes, is a volunteer-based program that not only educates on HIV/AIDS but also seeks to end widespread cultural misconceptions about sex, gender inequalities, and HIV/AIDS in Ghana. I had been looking to do something charitable, travel afar, experience a new culture, and somehow apply my artistic abilities. Sankofa fit the bill, and so after much research I applied, raised funds, and was accepted into the program, to arrive mid June and depart in mid-July 2007.

Upon arrival, I was immediately introduced to my host family, a hospitable hard-working family who took me in open-armed and fed and housed me throughout my stay. Soon afterwards, I began learning the repertoire for the program, traditional dances and essential HIV/AIDS information, preparing to begin our outreach — all the while adjusting to this new environment and experiencing complete cultural immersion.

Once ready, myself and the Sankofa team, a conglomerate of local cultural performers (dancers and drummers) and other international volunteers like myself, forged out into the community, to teach HIV/AIDS awareness in marginalized villages far from the city-center. These villagers represent the majority of Ghana; industrious, friendly people who have enjoyed a peaceful democracy for 50 years, and an economic stability that places them near the higher financial end of Africa’s countries, although still poor when compared to the United States. Proud of their culture and their advanced education system, most Ghanaians speak English and value progress and scholarship. Fortunately, they have not yet been hit by the AIDS epidemic that is ravaging other African nations. Unfortunately, neither have they been properly educated on HIV/AIDS prevention.

Ours was an intense four-day work week, with the first three days spent in a designated school, teaching HIV/AIDS education to junior high and secondary school students. We (both trained local dancers and brave volunteers) would first perform traditional Ghanaian dances to capture the attention of our student audience. This proved to be an effective way to engage onlookers, since the Ghanaians were generally curious, delighted, and (let’s be honest) amused to see white foreigners humbly attempting their age-old, traditional dances. Then we would teach HIV/AIDS awareness through dance dramas and mini-lectures, review games, condom-demonstrations, small-group question and answer sessions, and finally more dancing.

On the fourth day, we would bypass the school and plant ourselves in a village center, completely unannounced and uninvited, though always welcomed with intrigue and gratitude. I was willingly exploited as the “opening-act,” banging away Irish rhythms to African drumbeats on my stage (aka latrine door), in attempt to draw villagers out of their homes to see the weird white girl with convulsive feet. It was here in the villages that we conducted HIV/AIDS testing and found that the national projection of 4% (estimated percentage affected with HIV/AIDS of Ghana’s total population) has been sorely underestimated. Our tests indicated an unsettling 8% average.

Needless to say, we were reminded daily of the urgency of our work and the looming threat of another AIDS epidemic – like the ones that are decimating so many African nations. Thankfully, those villagers who we tested positive for HIV/AIDS will receive free medicine (known as ARVs) courtesy of Sankofa Center that will help fight opportunistic infections to allow a long, fulfilling life.

The other volunteers in the program brought with them their own array of skills – we were an eclectic smorgasbord of talent, ranging from social workers to teachers, belly dancers and visual artists to graphic designers, marketing directors, and counselors; all of us sharing one common goal – to educate the people of Ghana about the threat of HIV/AIDS before it’s too late. Perhaps what is most striking about this program is its ability to utilize whatever skills the volunteers bring to the table – every volunteer is equally valuable, and together we were able to accomplish amazing things.

Now back in Chicago and already planning my next trip to Ghana as a Volunteer Coordinator for Sankofa Center, I feel it imperative to tell my story and the story of Sankofa in hopes that others will take on the challenge and help continue the good work of this program. Volunteers are always needed, and whatever skills you possess are valuable, in fact essential to the continuance of this program. Those who do not have the luxury of volunteering themselves may donate directly to the organization, to help pay for testing supplies, medicine to treat those diagnosed positive with HIV/AIDS, and help fund the construction of Sankofa’s local center, which will provide on-site training for future volunteers as well as an open, free clinic to test for and treat HIV/AIDS.

For more information on how you can help, please visit the website or email me directly. You are invited also to view my blog to witness my day-to-day experience as an Irish dancing volunteer in Ghana with the Sankofa Center.

If you’ve ever wanted to volunteer, experience true cultural immersion in a beautiful safe foreign environment, or join the fight against AIDS in Africa, I strongly recommend this program as a means to do it. I feel immensely fortunate to have found a way to use my Irish dance talents to do some greater good. I can tell you, from experience, that your life will be changed forever, but only in the most meaningful way.

Diandra Jones

Filed under: Teacher stories by Skip | September 21, 2007 |


3 Comments so far

  1. libby on October 1, 2007 11:09 am

    What an incredible experience! I would love to see some of the traditional Ghanaian dances that you learned, Diandra. Maybe a performance is in order?

  2. Diandra on February 7, 2008 10:15 am

    Hi diandra i just stop by to see whats up with you and guess what me and you have the same name! but any who i would say you`ve had an incredible experience! i love the traditional Ghanaian dances, maybe we could get together sometime and dance and stuff you know just like hang out but i got to go but ill be back to hear about your new experiences! Talk to you real soon bye

    Diandra caprice jones!

  3. Carla Herwitz on April 23, 2008 11:32 pm

    I’m playing percussion for an American University group (UMass Dartmouth) where kids of all races are learning W. African dance. Some of them are very good, some come back semester after semester to remain part of it and are called “the veterans” and are really excellent and some–well, they’re young people and maybe not the best. But we get together with a man who has studied world music in the jazz idiom and works with a Ghanaian dancer who is, even with bad knees, just incredible to watch.

    If it’s possible for you to tour doing your kind of dance and W. African styles you could have quite a show. Good for you and your work.

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