Christmas at Baobab in Ghana

Grace Agyman mashes Fufu in her village during her holydays,  George helps her. (2012)

Christmas holidays in Ghana

Over Christmas the Baobab school is closed just as the public schools are and staff as well as students are on holiday. The students leave to stay with their families: parents, grandmas, aunts or somebody else who is responsible for them.

How is Christmas celebrated?

Christmas is celebrated all over Ghana with lots of music and dancing, not in an “introvert” way but rather “extrovert” with singing, dancing, celebrating the birth of Jesus, and this is always loud in Ghana. Lots of people gather in churches, there are many "conventions" (gatherings, meetings) where they spend a lot of time over several days.

Not much later the old year ends and again people celebrate loudly and extensively to welcome the new year.

Are there any Christmas gifts in Ghana in the country? 

Fufu wird am besten zu zweit gemacht.

Girls and boys get new clothes and shoes for Christmas, if there is money at all; Baobab students do not know any other Christmas gifts. 

There are no other special things done at Christmas. People have Fufu for dinner, something like mashed potatoes, which has been made during many hours. Maybe it is a little bit richer than usual because it is Christmas.

2014: The Baobab boy mashes FUFU.

Everybody working at the Baobab Centre or in the Baobab House gets a sack of rice for Christmas, that’s a tradition. But if there is no money left at the end of the year and the German club cannot support Baobab as their bank account is blank

this good tradition unfortunately must be cancelled. This is hard because the salaries are not really high with all NGOs.

 

 

What kind of Christmas gifts are given? 

 

If you give somebody a gift, it must be useful such as rice, oil, canned tomato purée which is the basic equipment for a simple meal. If you can spend some more money, powdered milk and eggs are more than welcome.

Christmas party at Baobab in the hot climate of Ghana

There is a special event on the last day before the Christmas holidays at Baobab with all the students, employees and people who provide for the children - their "parents" or someone else who cares for them.

The students proudly present all the beautiful things that they have produced during the " Workshop Week”. Questions are asked and answered, some important things are talked about and each class has prepared a little play that is staged. After that the students get their school reports and the best students traditionally get awards. But not only the students with the best marks but also the ones who help a lot on the farm and the ones who behave in an exceptionally social way or help most in the kitchen are awarded.

Christmas dinner in Africa

Madam Evelyn cooks rice for everyone at the Center in the open kitchen.
(2012)

After the ceremony mentioned above all the kids get a special Christmas dinner: Jollof rice, which is red rice boiled with vegetables and tomato purée, and on this special day they get  something very special: chicken. Only on Christmas Day everybody has meat at the Baobab Centre, on all other days of the year their great luxury is that they have three hot meals each day.

In the Baobab House hibiscus tea is sold
that has been grown by Baobab.

The Baobab House from Cape Coast supplies the Christmas celebrations in the Baobab Center with Bisap, a cold hibiscus tea with ginger.
For all the people who prepare and participate in these celebrations and all their guests getting Bisap is something very special. Finally they all leave the Baobab Centre to spend their Christmas holidays in their villages.
Some students are taken home by our Baobab coach.
 

This is the special Christmas Menu
at the Baobab Restaurant in Cape Coast

Some children we need to supply with food because they are not cared for at home, there is simply nothing to eat for them there.

Translated by Karin L.
Thank you, Karin!