Ghana Galavanting, Part 2!

Ready for the time warp? Moving back to February to finish the rest of the story....

For those of you who were wondering whatever happened during the rest of my Ghana trip in February, here is the last bit of the story… FINALLY!

 

Beginning where I left off (with our travel from the border of Lome to Kumasi where we moved hotels at the last moment due to TIA power outage)… we left our new hotel around 0730 (am) to start up for Bodinka to visit my World Vision child! Francis, our trusty driver, picked us up and we started on the 3 ½ hour journey to the small farming communities of the Sene district. 

On that long World Vision land rover ride, the terrain sped past us from hilly, wooded Kumasi to lush mountains , to flat, Palm-tree dotted farmland of the Sene district.

 As I was talking with Francis on our way out there, I found out that the Sene district is one of the poorest districts in all of Ghana. It’s an area of mostly farming communities connected by very rough, washed-out dirt roads that are difficult to drive on during dry season, and nearly impassable during rainy season. Apparently, the Ghanaian government has been promising for years to improve and repair these roads that would connect the farming communities to the markets of Kumasi, but have so far left their promises empty to these communities.

Francis, who has been working in the Sene district with World Vision for over 8 years, says that because the farmers find it so difficult to bring their goods to market, they are often forced to sell their produce to large buyers who manage to bring trucks and transportation into the small communities. When these large buyers come in, the farmers are forced to take much lower prices than they themselves would be able to get if they sold them in the markets. This leaves even less money in the pockets of the farmers, inhibiting them from providing for their families, supporting their communities, and saving for future investments, such as transportation for their goods. This vicious cycle keeps them barely making ends meet.  This is why World Vision has come along side many communities in the Sene district to help support the breakdown of basic community resources such as clean water, sanitation, education, and health care.

The district reminded me a lot of my home in Minnesota- Beltrami County- where we have some of the highest rates of poverty in the entire state. Difficulties and poverty strike every country. It was an interesting perspective to keep while we were traveling through each small village.

As I mentioned above, the road was ROUGH.  We got quite jostled and jolted around as the landrover bounced and weaved its way through and around massive eroded areas of the red dirt road. Fitch (right) is demonstrating what we were all doing that morning until we reached the Sene ADP (Area Development Program).  We finally arrived and were warmly welcomed by the entire World Vision Sene ADP staff (see picture below). George (far left) was our guide and assistant to the supervisor of the Sene ADP. David (next from L-R), is the man responsible for all of the child sponsorship management. He oversees over 500 children! He’s the one who opens and re-packages the letters I write to Nyanjah. Then, it’s Melinda, me, Fitch, Jon, one of the other World Vision staff members and Francis, our amazing driver!

We were treated to a delicious lunch of cabbage stew with rice and noodles. For all you food gurus, I thought you might appreciate a photo of the local dish (below, left).  

From the Sene ADP we headed to the small village of Bodinka, where Nyanjah lives. As we passed through each little community along the road, children and adults, as they saw the World Vision vehicle and the strange white visitors, smiled and waved, with some of the children yelling and running after the land rover. J It was such a joy to be so welcomed. As soon as we started pulling into the Bodinka village, children began running out from EVERYWHERE. I couldn’t believe how many children there were! Then, before I knew it, a group of the children came up, parading the sign you see here. I was one of the sweetest welcomes I have ever experienced…

Following the display of the sign, the parade of children never stopped, even unto the last moment we left Bodinka. So many smiling, curious faces. Many of the smaller children saw us and ran away crying, afraid of the strange white people. 

After our overwhelming welcome, George took us to Nyanjah’s class where I would meet him. Having no idea of this prior, I was asked, in front of Nyanjah’s entire class to “find him” amongst all of his classmates.

Granted, I had studied Nyanjah’s sweet face and very Ghanaian characteristics many times before, but for some reason, among all the attentive faces in matching school uniforms, I was not able to find him! I felt a bit frantic, but was easily calmed when George brought me right to his desk and pointed him out to me. I hoped he wasn’t terribly offended that I wasn’t able to find him among the other children. As we met, an awkward glance, then handshake, and them embrace brought the two of us together.

In his first letter following my visit, Nyanjah’s sweet comment was “When I saw you, I didn’t know what to do”. How perfectly sweet and fitting as I was unsure, myself, of what to do. I wanted to show my love for him in a culturally acceptable way. I hope I hit the mark. However, when it really comes down to it, I think that love is one of the actions that translates across to every part of the world.  

We spent the remainder of out morning/afternoon visiting his family, seeing his home, and watching a community cultural presentation complete with dancing, singing, and drumming! One of my favorite moments was when his entire community was singing and dancing in their local language around a beating drum, one man with metal dangles jingling on his boots heading up the entire company. It was in this moment that George leaned over to me and asked, “Do you know what they are singing about? They are singing that once, they worshiped idols and pieces of wood and stone, but ever since they turned and followed Jesus, they now have lives full of joy and happiness. “ Wow. A song of thanksgiving to God in their local language. AMAZING. I got goosebumps just hearing their voices echo from the dancing circle.

Then, Nyanjah (with encouragement from George) went up and joined the conga-like circle around the drum, dancing. I laughed and watched with joy, this shy boy participating in something so normal to his community. It wasn’t five minutes later that I found this small boy standing in front of me with a shy expression of invitation, holding out his hand for me to join him and his community in the dance. How could I say no! I nervously laughed out loud, and then jumped up and joined in! As I was dancing around this drum with mamas, papas, Nyanjah, and I, I couldn’t help but think of how far I had come in cultural openness. If someone had asked me to dance with their village in front of everyone about 2 years ago, I would have said, “NO WAY!” How amazing are God’s plans for our lives- that what He has in store for us is beyond our wildest dreams. 

I left a few small tokens of Minnesota behind  (including a rendition of the song “This is the Day” compliments of the good sports Jon, Melinda, and Fitch) for Nyanjah and his family, but more importantly, I left a small piece of my heart behind with that small boy, soon to become a man, in that small village of Bodinka.