We met with Bishop Victor of the diocese of Cape Coast and saw both the cathedral school and an all girls school. We met teachers and toured the schools.
The first school we visited was right outside the Bishop's residence and was built before the main road that was right beside it. It was a lower school and due to the construction of the main road the lower level of the two story building is continually flooded and no longer useable. The Bishop is raising funds for a new building. 320 students still attend the school.
The second school we visited was an all girls school and we not only met teachers but also were greeted with dancers and drummers who danced in the coastal traditional dancing. 450 students attend this school.
After our gathering there we went to Cape Coast Castle (which is acRoss the street from the castle)- this castle was created for the slave trade. While Elmina's castle was originally warehouses for goods and then converted to dungeons, Cape coast's castle was designed to hold people and send them off. Similarly the castle's higher levels of buildings were for the officers and were light and airy.
The dungeons had very few, if any, windows and were designed to hold nearly 1000men and nearly 500 women. The same crowded conditions existed and the floors were so covered by excrement that even now the mud like substance in the ground is really a layer of beaten down human waste.
After the time at cape coast castle we walked across the road to the cathedral and had Eucharist. Bishop Victor reminded us to give God our pain and our anger, our sorrow and frustrations to God.
While church was not 4hours this time, we still listened, sang, and danced our offering up at the offertory. The bishop's homily reminded us that we are called to reconcile. We live in a world that is sick and needs mercy. And calls us to work for justice.
The Mission of the diocese of Cape Coast is to love God, love people--- and to bring, build, train, and send people.
We saw the same plaque today- reminding us not to forget and to help prevent this from occurring again. When we say our baptismal covenant at baptism, we recommit ourselves to do exactly that in seeking justice for all humans and respecting the dignity of every human being.
May we not repeat our mistakes.
May God have mercy.
May God open our eyes to seek the injustice in our world and be agents of change.
