Henry grew up in Accra . 

He went to law school in London .

After his studies he decided to go back to Accra , because he could be a big man in there.

Charley!

There he opened his new law office.

The first day, he saw a man coming up the sidewalk and decided to make a big impression.

As the man came to the door, Henry pretended to be on the phone and motioned the man to take a seat.

Henry said into the phone: "No Tony, No way. No  and Absolutely no. You tell those clowns in New York that I am not flying all that way to settle the case for less than a million bucks.

Pretending to hear a response Max continued...

"Yes. The Appeals Court has agreed to hear the case next week.

I'll be handling the primary argument and the other members of my team will conduct the defense and handle the prosecution.

"Okay. Give the State Prosecutor my regards and the other members of the jury."

To wrap things up he added...

"Okay bye, keep in touch Tony and thank you very  much!"

Meanwhile...

The visitor sat patiently as Henry rattled final instructions into the telephone handset.

Finally, Henry put down the telephone and said:

"I'm sorry for the delay sir, but as you can see,  I'm very busy. What  can I do for you?"

The man said: "I'm from Ghana Telecom. I've come to connect your  phone."

Dad every time you write i laugh my butt off.  I think 2013 would be great timing for a new bus to arrive in tanzania.  But if you hire a local person to bring it to the orphanage, it won't get there till 3000.  I am still waiting on the blackboard i bought the children!

Today at 23:20, two of our volunteers will flight from Cambodia to home. They are so sad to leave everyone at the apartment, their placement and the kids. But tonight before leaving they suggeted to our cook to make Chicken Curry for their dinner as they like it. And, it is the last dinner for them in Cambodia.

We would like to thank both of them that they have volunteered for one month. Many thanks and wish you a safe trip to home.

The picture is about Corrie and Samantha and our cook, They bought the flower and gave it to our cook, it is represent that they love her:).

Vandaag was alweer m'n laatste werkdag.. Het is zo snel gegaan! Ik heb het gevoel alsof ik hier nog maar 1 week ben ofzo! Het werken op het schooltje is ook zo leuk in de ochtend, die kinderen zijn echt fantastisch, maar ook vermoeiend, want na 3 uur hebben gewerkt ben ik, en Emily ook trouwens, doodop! Soms val je om 1 uur 's middags gewoon in slaap! En 's avonds gaan we bijna altijd tussen 9 uur en half 10 slapen. Gelijk na het eten, want we eten altijd pas om half 9 of later.. Ik ben nu tot maandagochtend alleen, want Emily is naar Unawatuna met andere vrijwilligers dit weekend. Ik moet me nu dus vermaken tot half 9 's avonds in m'n eentje.. Best wel saai, morgenvroeg zal ook wel saai zijn, want ik denk dat ik vroeg op moet omdat ik anders geen ontbijt krijg omdat er dan niemand thuis is.. haha!

Ik heb aan alle kinderen van het schooltje een pen gegeven en we hadden armbandjes gemaakt van lint dat ik had meegenomen. Dat vonden ze echt superleuk! Ze wilden er allemaal 2!

Verder heb ik eigenlijk niet zoveel te vertellen, ik wilde eigenlijk niks meer op m'n blog schrijven omdat ik niet veel te vertellen heb, alleen hotmail doet het niet en ik wil niet de hele middag op mijn snikhete kamer zitten. Vanochtend was het hier trouwens superslecht weer! Het stortregende, niet normaal! Het paadje waar wij altijd overheen lopen om bij het schooltje te komen leek wel een rivier! En nu schijnt de zon en is het superwarm, echt raar!

XXX Lysanne

Can't believe it's finally here! Finished packing last night! Am actually 5kg UNDER baggage allowance (thanks to Claire's harsh cuts to my wardrobe!), mind you, I couldn't have fit anymore in my backpack if I had tried...(which I did!)

Hardly got any sleep last night. Just like the kids on the Disneyland advert - 'I was toooo excited!'

Leaving for Heathrow at 1.30pm, although my (12 hour) flight isn't until 9pm - definitely going to be a longgg day!

Nerves are starting to creep in a bit, but mainly just excited and eager to get there!

Next time I write on here, I will be in Cape Town!

Totsiens vir nou (Bye for now)

Hannah x

Hello, my name is Courtney and I recently returned to Australia after completing a care placement in Cambodia.  I ended up extending my trip to be 4 months in total because I was having an amazing time and it was flying by so quickly.

I worked at the National Borey For Infants and Children (NBIC), a large government funded orphanage with a majority of disabled children. I was lucky that another volunteer, Beate was there when I first began because I was nervous and the staff speak very little English, so I just followed her around on my first day, working in the section for malnourished children.   It was a little bit shocking at first how disabled some of the children are.  Some are teenagers but are tiny and their legs are literally skin and bone. My first job was to feed a 12 year old girl, Meykea.   I couldn’t sit her up as her spine is too stiff, she can only move her head and arms a little bit and as she can’t digest very well she began coughing, gurgling and crying.  I wasn’t sure if that is what normally happens or if I should stop. The staff continued feeding their kids and didn’t pay any attention, so I just slowed down a lot and when the others had finished one came to help me.   The next few times I fed her it went a lot better. At first I was also nervous changing her and carrying her as her legs are so skinny and difficult to move, making me worried they would snap or something!

I felt like I was in the way my first few days because I fed the children so much slower and messier than their carers’.  However it didn’t take too long to settle into the routine and learn the staff and children’s names and what care is required for each individual.  Every day we would carry or wheel the children to the play area after they had been fed, then we would massage/moisturise them, and stimulate their senses by playing and singing.  I tried to divide my time between three different sections of the orphanage because I loved and became attached to them all.  The other upstairs section had less disabled children than the malnourished section and we could do more activities with them, and downstairs had some older teenagers and adults.  It could be difficult to discover what each child likes because they don’t show much response and most cannot talk, so the best part of my job was learning how to make each of them happy.  As the children follow the same schedule everyday and don’t experience new things often, a few highlights while I was there included their big Christmas party and excursions to the water-park and beach.  I admire all the carers at the orphanage very much because while they have a tough job and work long hours for very little money, they are always so joyful while singing, dancing and being silly for the kids.

I decided to try working at a different placement in my last month, so taught English to grade 1, 2 and 3 at Our Home in the afternoons while continuing to work at the NBIC in the mornings.  I was very nervous beforehand because I had never taught before, but it wasn’t too bad after a few lessons and the kids were really sweet and welcoming.  By the time I had settled into teaching it was almost time for me to leave, so I wished that I had started teaching earlier in order to see them progress.  One of my favourite days was when I took my students to the water-park, with the help of other volunteers to supervise.  Since I’m just like a kid myself I had the best time ever, running around, swimming and going down the waterslides all day, and the kids seemed to have a lot of fun too!

I was very nervous before coming, particularly about not being good at my work tasks but also about not having anyone to sightsee with and of being too scared to go outside the apartment other than for work!  I figured this wouldn’t matter too much as my main reason for volunteering was to try and help people less fortunate than myself. I was relieved though and had no need to be nervous beforehand because all the other volunteers were so nice and there was always somebody to do things with. There are always volunteers that have been there longer to help the new ones settle in and the friendly Projects Abroad staff are always willing to help you if you need it.  After settling in I actually sometimes enjoyed travelling on my own anyway.  All the numerous activities outside of work ended up making this trip the best time of my life!

There are so many different sides of Cambodia so I recommend seeing as much of the country as possible in your time off including the very sad and horrific Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, the slums, smaller villages outside of the city and the other volunteers placements, perhaps for dirty weekend, because they are all so different from each other and there is so much to learn about Cambodia. There many beautiful sights throughout the country with some highlights from my travels including spending a relaxing day swimming and exploring on Rabbit Island, trekking on Bokor Mountain and being blown away by the view from the top and also cycling around the magnificent, ancient temples in Siem Reap. My favourite temple was Beng Melear, a couple of hours outside of Siem Reap, which has been overgrown by jungle making climbing through it surreal and breathtaking.

After extending my trip I was able to take time off work and travelled for one week with a couple of friends to Ratanakiri, Kratie and Kampong Cham.  We saw beautiful landscapes, waterfalls, minority village and did a home-stay in the countryside. My week off was wonderful but I was surprised that I started to miss my new home in Phnom Penh while I was gone.  Life at the apartments was very comfortable indeed thanks to our cooks and cleaners, with delicious food for lunch and dinner everyday.  Also there were heaps of DVDs  and books to choose from and many fun times spent together with the other volunteers on the apartment roof.

I hope and wish that I was able to help in some way by volunteering however I cannot know, but I definitely know that I personally gained so much and am very grateful and owe Cambodia for that.  I met many new friends from all over the world of all different ages.  I have gained confidence, social skills, independence, a new perspective on life, more appreciation, wonder, open mindedness not to mention having the best fun ever! Saying goodbye was very difficult after so long, because you quickly become attached to the children, people, culture and your new life here. I found the Cambodian people to be very welcoming, kind, friendly and happy.  I hope to visit again one day.

The Lotus Children's Centre is in the Ger district in southwestern Ulaanbaatar. It was founded in 1995 by Didi Kalika and some of her friends. It provides for children who come from tragic backgrounds such as abandonment, sexual abuse, malnutrition and domestic violence, and gives them a chance to change their lives for the better.

Eventhough the children's centre is in Ulaanbaataar, they spend the summer in a countryside, not far away from Ulaanbaatar. While taking our new volunteer Emmanuel Albert to his placement there, we took some candies for kids. The kids were very happy to see us, it seemed that the present volunteer Matteo Urbinati got very close with them, when he said "I want to stay with the kids as long as possible before I go back". Also, the housemothers there were incredebly kind and caring. 

The potato field that was fundraised for the Lotus center will be harvested in September already.

Papageno resort employees, Taito and Mele, met me at the airport and carried my luggage to the BOAT!!!! There are no roads on this side of the island and there is no dock. Maybe it was not such a great idea to travel in a sulu jaba? I just took off my sandals, hiked up my skirt, walked into the water and climbed into the motorboat. Ready for the next part of my adventure!

We had pancake and pineapples for breakfast. Fellow Dilkusha and ProjectAbroad volunteer Olivia met me in the road to say goodbye. She also was interested in accompanying my ProjectAbroad roommate to a performance of the Danish gymnastics team at the University in Suva that night.  Olivia will be changing accommodations to experience life with a Fijian fmaily. Her previous weeks she had lived with an Indian family. When Denise returns to her home in Vancouver, Canada at the end of the week, Alena will be getting two men from England who will be volunteering in a medical setting. I saw one of Tina's daughters as I walked back home. I selected  the green, red and white sulu jaba that Alena gave me.as my traveling outfit instead of the blue sulu she had personalized with painted flowers and the handprints of her grandson Sam. It will be a great memento of my trip along with the sulu autographed by the girls and staff and volunteers at the Dilkusha home and my family in Nausori. Alena and I called for a cab to take us to the Nausori airport and to drop Denise off at the post office along the way. I had to be weighed-along with my carryon luggage-at the Pacific Sun check-in counter. I was then assigned a seat to help BALANCE THE 24 seat commuter AIRCRAFT. While waiting I met a couple from Louisiana who were considering property in Savu Savu for a retirement home.  I heard that 11% of the land in Fiji is designated freehold and can be purchased by individuals. I did not hear the flight announcement and almost missed my plane. The pilot was the one who helped me gate check my carryon luggage, because it could not fit in the overhead storage bins. I waved goodbye to Alena as we took off down the runway. Jonny called me on my cell phone when I reached the island of Kadavu.

I had cassava pone for breakfast and then accompanied neighbor Alice to the Nausori Assemblies of God Church. It was a predominantly Indian congregation. The praise team band was quite good and enthusiastic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94eYZVh1zU8 and I was invited to come up and dance with them on the praise song Run with Fire. I chose to sign it instead. The assistant pastor informed us that July 17th is Bible Sunday in New Zealand. It is an acknowledgement that the Bible is the most read book on the earth. He opined that we should read the Bible more to help ourselves. He also observed that some scientists read the Bible more than us Christians mainly to find ways to disprove it.  The sermon encouraged us to live the Christian life and that pleasing God is all that counts. Everything else is a waste of time.  I took the church bus back to Nausori and walked home with her and her son, Derek. I thought my host family was still at church so I had a light vegetarian dinner with the neighbors and learned some Hindu songs and the Fijian alphabet from Derek and watched part of a rugby game on tv with his father Parveen.  Afterwards I returned home for a light meal and was given a shell necklace and earrings and two beautiful handsewn sulu jabas loving made by Alena for me when I was not looking. I intend to wear one to the Nausori airport tomorrow. I finished off the Ted Dekker book Blink  and left it behind for my host family to enjoy. That was a heavy book, figuratively and literally.