Teacher shares experience of trip to Ghana, Africa
BY TOYNETT HALL Staff Writer

ERIC SUCAR staff David Hunt, who is a social studies teacher at Manalapan High School, holds up a piece of artwork that he brought back from his trip to Ghana, Africa. Hunt spoke about his journey at Howell High School on Feb. 26. See story by Tri-Town News staff writer Toynett Hall on page 18.

HOWELL - Howell High School concluded its celebration of Black History Month on Feb. 26 with a visit from David Hunt, who teaches social studies at Manalapan Social Studies.

Hunt made a presentation before the Howell student body about his cultural experience in Ghana, Africa. He made the journey to Ghana in 2004 through an African Studies Course he took at Yale University.

Hunt shared photographs and visual aids such as African masks, art and musical instruments. He discussed Ghana's history and described how it was known as the "Gold Coast" because of its significant trade in gold and slaves.

In addition to the history lesson he provided about the African nation, Hunt also shared information about the country's economy and customs.

Ghana is a nation in West Africa whose 18 million residents live in a nation that is about the size of the state of Oregon. The nation's government is a constitutional democracy and the seat of government is in the city of Accra. Many of the nation's residents live below the poverty level and unemployment is high, 20 percent, according to a 1997 estimate. Ghana's natural resources include gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese and fish.H

unt said the experience of visiting the African nation was invaluable to his growth as a person and said he wants to share that experience with other people.

"I had such a great time and I learned a lot. I just wanted to give a little of that back to the students," Hunt said.

Senior Keri Hardiman, 17, said Hunt's presentation "gives you a good idea of what goes on in the world. The visual aids he brought were nice because you get to see pieces and pictures from Africa up close and personal."

Freshman Mark Doyle, 14, shared the same sentiment, adding, "the art work was really cool. It was nice to learn about another culture and how it relates to others."

Freshman Nigel Agyemang, 14, said even though he already knew a lot of the information that was presented because his father is from Ghana, he believed the information was valuable to those individuals who did not know anything about the African nation.

Hunt said he will continue to share the story of his journey with others and said he is hoping to visit Ghana again someday.