Socio 4310
Charles Quist-Adade
Event: November 10: Ghana Field School Students Colloquium @ KPU Conference Hall, Surrey
This event was about students talking about their experience in a field school program in Ghana. The students and professors involved to help those in Ghana are from Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Most of these students are majoring in Nursing or Sociology. At this event the Dean of Kwantlen was there to show his appreciation and effort for those who participated in going to Ghana to make a difference.
It was interesting to see that Kwantlen offers an experience that is long lasting and rewarding for those in Ghana and for the students themselves. This is what one student speaker had mentioned. She said that going to Ghana was a life long experience that she will hold closely to her heart. She mentioned the culture shock and cultural relativism. She mentioned this because she said she had to step out of her comfort zone and “western” ways to understand the environment in Ghana. She said that people and society take water for granted here in North America but in Ghana it is a struggle and most of the time the water is not clean. The speaker also talked about how helping these kids who are not as fortunate and how leaving was the hardest thing to do. She wished that the trip was longer because she was just getting used to the Ghanaian customs. This was also the same for a nursing professor at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.
What I learned from going to this seminar that it is possible to make a change gradually. It is also important to realize if one is making a change in a different environment from his own, then it is important to go into the new environment with an open mind. You are an “alien” to this new piece of land while thousands of others from there call that land home. To intrude and pose your own ideologies and values can prove to be complicated for native individuals. This will also let one to appreciate what they have when they return back home. I think people from western societies fail to think about their privileges because everything is “handed” to them. They should be more appreciative and if given the chance to go explore places, for example Ghana, India, or China, where water is not clean and a hardship to receive. Westerners must do their part and give back and help those in need. By going to this seminar it proved to me that it is possible by doing so in increments. This has opened my eyes and I will, as a student at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, take part in a Field school program and help to make a change.