Mar 19th

Bob left early Friday morning to travel to Tamale to pick up Dr. Jean.  He and Dr. Jean are supposed to return sometime on Sunday.  Nikki and I were left alone for the night...it was nice to just relax and visit with people

Now to describe Joseph

Joseph looks like a men's magazine model.  If Joseph were an American I would have the biggest crush on him.  He is a highly intelligent, handsome, christian man.  He's a nursing student at the hospital.  Joseph's dream is to go to medical school, return to Saboba, and start a medical clinic.  When Joseph is not working at the hospital, he is teaching at Miss Ivy's school.  Joseph wanted to be an engineer so he applied and was accepted to a university.  The educational system is extremely corrupt.  When Joseph showed up for class he discovered that his seat was given to another person whose family had political connections.  He was denied entrance to the university and had to return home.  The next year he reapplied to the university and also applied to the nursing school.  He was accepted to both but chose to attend nursing school.  The nursing schools are extremely competitive in Ghana.  For Joseph's class, 754 applicants took the entrance exam and only 174 passed...this indicates how intelligent Joseph is.  The nursing degree is a 3 year program.  Joseph contacted a medical school and asked if the nursing degree would be acceptable.  He was told that he would still have to go to a university.  Unfortunately Joseph has been sucked into the corrupt educational system and it will be hard for him to reach his goals.  In this country, simply making the grades and perseverence aren't enough.  Now, Joseph wants to continue on and receive a master's degree in nursing.  This will allow him to be a physician's assistant.

In the years that Joseph was waiting to be accepted to school, he helped a local woman, Miss Ivy start a private school.  He traveled from town-to-town and house-to-house telling people of the new school where the teachers would show up everyday to teach.  The public teachers in this area are unreliable.  They will collect pay but will rarely show up to teach.  Most of the teachers only have a high school level of education.  Joseph and Miss Ivy were able to start the school with the help of a U.S. woman.  The woman donated money to buy the land and build the school.  The children love Joseph and when he left for nursing school, their little hearts were broken.  Now that he is doing clinicals at the hospital, the children will pretend they are sick so they can see him.  Joseph had to talk to the children at school about this problem.  Now when Joseph has a day off he volunteers at the school.  Joseph is just an amazing person who feels that God has given him a calling.

Now if I can just find an American Joseph...