Academy Boys Train with US Marines
July 2010
On May 18th, the U.S. Marines (based at the U.S. Embassy in Accra) hosted Right to Dream staff, students and volunteers for a day filled with fun and military-inspired exercises that emphasized team building and leadership.
The Academy boys participated in a series of drills that required physical strength, endurance and teamwork. To heighten the boys’ competitive spirits, the Marines divided Right to Dream into six teams—at the end of the day, the team with the lowest collective time (from the speed drills) and highest number of repetitions (from the strength drills) became the winner. Congratulations to the winning team!
When asked what he thought about the day, Armeyawu Muntari, part of the winning team said, “I had a lot of fun! I especially enjoyed the one drill in which we crawled on the ground, ran through cones, and carried each other.”
Following the exercises, the boys had the opportunity to ask general questions about the U.S. Marine Corps and specific questions about the Marines’ personal inspirations and goals. The boys asked everything from How do you become a Marine? to What do the U.S. Marines do in Ghana?
To conclude the day, newly elected Academy Vice Captain, Moro Mohammed thanked the Marines for enabling Right to Dream to spend the day training at the U.S. Embassy.
“Thank you,” he said, “for giving us such an amazing opportunity. We consider ourselves lucky to have had this experience. Other children [in Ghana] would be better off if someone reached out to them in the way you reached out to us today.”