Every Trip to Ghana is Unique: July 23, 2013

Robert & Liz

There is something different and special about every trip Dr. Clerico has taken with the Teaching & Learning in Ghana Program. Today’s adventure was a perfect example of this. About two weeks ago, Anthony Takyi (a Deputy Superintendent in the Cape Coast School System) invited the group to come visit his home village.  So, this morning we set out deep into the rainforest to the town of Twifo Ntafrewaso, located in the middle of the Central Region. The ride was a little longer than we expected (1½ hours), but it was well worth it to see and experience a new part of Ghana.

Upon arrival at Mr. Takyi’s village, we were welcomed and escorted into the chief’s palace. As we entered, we immediately noticed that extensive preparations had been made for our visit. The elders, queen mothers, clan leaders, and chief's linguist were dressed in their traditional Ghanaian cloths and seated in ranking order on a raised covered platform. Our group was formally introduced and then, as custom dictates in Akan society, we greeted them one by one, shaking hands as we walked past them as they remained seated. We then took seats on the opposite side of the platform where chairs had been set for us. The clan chiefs, queen mothers and elders were then introduced to us and, beginning with the most important sub-chief (the principal chief had "traveled" to Accra that day and so was absent) they crossed to our side of the platform and greeted each of us with a handshake or a wave to those in the second row of seats. The elders seemed very excited and pleased to have us there and we were truly honored to be so warmly welcomed into their community. 

After our meeting in the palace, we took a short walk to the only public school serving this village of three thousand people. As we walked up to the school we could hear the 480 K-9th grade children screaming and shouting in excitement to see us coming. The headmaster of the school gave us a tour of the campus and it became very clear to us that a team from the United States had never visited these students before. A sea of children followed us every step of the way, hands reaching out to grab our fingers, hold our hands or simply to touch our skin. When we finally able to gently pry the children from our fingers, we made our way to the tro tro to continue our visit to this part of Ghana. The children followed us along the road exuberantly bidding us farewell. 

Our next stop was the district capital city of Twifo Praso. We drove through the busy market section of town, parked the tro tro and walked across a bridge spanning the Pra River, a major river in the Central Region. This one bridge is the only means of crossing the river for miles in either direction. Its single lane is shared by cars, trucks, motorcycles, trains, and pedestrians heading in both directions.

As we began to cross the bridge we saw that the traffic heading our way was stopped dead.  The reason for this was that a taxi going in the opposite direction had blown a tire just as it entered the bridge. Before repairs could be made, twenty vehicles from the opposite side had already driven onto the bridge and were now stuck in place while the taxi driver and several others replaced the tire.  It took about 20 minutes for the bridge to clear; but rather than wait, people riding in the taxis stranded on the bridge simply got out with their belongings, walked around the line of vehicles and off the bridge. After all, this is Ghana.

We made our way across the bridge and down a footpath leading to the riverside. However, we were met by a couple of unexpected visitors: a young calf and a rather large bull. Fortunately, the bull was tied to a bush and didn’t bother us. Most of the group decided at that point that discretion was the better part of valor and so turned and headed back to town. Five of us, though, hung around and Robert decided to feed the calf a peanut butter cracker. The calf wasn't sure he liked peanut butter at first but finally decided it was an OK snack. After Robert gave he a gentle scratch on his forehead, the rest of us decided to pet the calf as well before walking back to join the others at the tro tro.

As we headed back across the bridge, Takyi found a roadside chop bar and invited us to try some authentic Ghanaian cuisine: antelope (more commonly referred to as one of the "bush meats."). It was surprisingly delicious and we, as a result of our adventurous spirits, were able to add one more new experience to our trip.

Our last afternoon at Fair Hill was perhaps the most relaxing and bittersweet time of this trip as we played cards and drank tea on the beautiful Fair Hill patio and reflected on our time in Ghana. We were delighted to have a late afternoon visit from Pastor Koomson and his family.  Several of the girls in the group instantly connected with his daughters as if they were old friends. Before leaving, the pastor taught the group yet another song and then prayed God's blessings on us. We will miss his purely genuine and joyful spirit.  

We had the wonderful opportunity at dinner to meet Ann and Ricky Hooper's son, Kofi, and his lovely wife, Tonya. We enjoyed learning about his experiences as a consular affairs officer working for the US State Department. He has just completed his first two-year assignment at the U. S. Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand. He is now on his way to Washington, D. C., for six months of Portuguese language study before beginning his next two-year assignment in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Dominic and his family also stopped by Fair Hill after dinner so that we could spend some more time with Samuel, his son.  The group has become very close to this family during our stay in Cape Coast and there were many tears as we said our goodbyes to Samuel and his parents.

As the evening winds down, our group is busy packing for our trip to Accra tomorrow morning. We are all filled with mixed emotions as we prepare to leave Cape Coast, our home away from home. We are sad to be leaving the people we’ve built relationships with but happy to be returning to the US to see our families and friends.

Nana Kobina Tuwohofo II: July 22, 2013

Phoebe & Ben

This morning we awoke to yet another beautiful day in Cape Coast and enjoyed another delicious breakfast on the patio of the Fair Hill Guest House. All the girls dressed in their beautiful Ghanaian kaba and slits, with Ben and Robert in their traditional Ghanaian shirts. We loaded the tro tro and drove to Akotokyir village to get ready for Prof’s installation as Nana (chief) of Education Development for Tuwohofo-Holly International School.

As Prof was getting dressed (wrapped) in his traditional, handmade Ghanaian cloth (two 6-yard pieces of fabric sown together to form a long wide strip), the rest of us took time to visit and play with the children for what we knew would be the last time we got to interact with them. With kids crowding around every single one of us, we tried to soak up every last second with these beautiful faces, taking pictures every chance we could so that we will always have a memory of them.

As the time came for everyone to walk down the road to begin the ceremonial parade, hands had to be pried away from almost every one of our fingers so the children could get to where they were supposed to be. The celebration parade had the school children lined up by class first, then a group of students who were costumed and painted as ceremonial dancers, followed by us, and then Nana. Prof was dressed in his installation "cloth" and wearing his special chief sandals. There was an umbrella bearer holding a giant umbrella over his head and village women with small cloths walked alongside fanning Nana. 

A group of drummers followed Nana playing festive beats and everyone in the parade was dancing to the rhythm of the Ghanaian drums. The approximately 1/3 mile walk took about 45 minutes to complete. When it started there were maybe three women fanning Nana; but by the end of our walk there were about 20 women fanning Nana and his children (us), and laying their cloths on the ground for us to walk on as a sign of respect. All the women shouted and danced the entire time we marched to the school, and people from all over the village lined the dirt streets to watch.

As we looked toward the people lining the streets, we spotted our Fair Hill hosts, Ann and Ricki Hooper, and our hotel concierge Emmanuel. It was like spotting your parents in the crowd at a game or on graduation day. To all of us, they represented our family in Ghana.

We entered the area where the ceremony was to be held and were led to our designated seats in the front row under one of the canopies surrounding the open parade ground in front of the "platform" (the concrete patio of the village Catholic church. As soon as we sat down, each of us had one, two, and sometimes three children coming to up to us to either sit on our laps or just stand beside us and hold our hands.

The ceremony began with drumming by the Asafo men's organization, dancing by some of the school children, and a traditional Ghanaian flag-waving performance. From this point on, the twenty-two item Program Prof had received from Mr. Ato Baidoo and which he had typed out and printed 60 copies of last night somehow did not hold to form. Oh, well. this is Ghana.

There was a heart-felt introduction of Prof by Mr. Baidoo, a speech by the chief of Abura Village (an old classmate of Mr. Baidoo's and good friend of the school), and the traditional pouring of libation by one of the village elders as a sign of respect to the ancestors. It was then time for the installation of Prof as Nana. He stood before the elders, holding the ceremonial sword, and repeating the Abura chief's dictation, took his oath of commitment to the village elders in Fante, promising to always be available to the school, night and day, rain or shine. 

More speeches were given, more dances were performed, and even Ato's elder brother, Thomas Baidoo, got up and danced; and this beloved elder statesman showed us all some fancy steps. Near the end of the ceremony we were all called up to the front to be recognized by the school. We were presented with handmade bead bracelets as a token of thanks. Some of us were also presented with special gifts from individual students and their families.

We returned to our seats, and were immediately surrounded by our children. As the ceremony came to a close, some of the students became restless while others fell asleep in our arms. The ceremony ended with a song and prayer by our friend Pastor Koomson.

Dominic drove the Abura chief, the Akotokyir Village elders and a few other esteemed guests back to Fair Hill, which gave the rest of us some final moments to spend with the children. We treasured those moments like none before, not knowing when, if ever, we would see these kids again. Dominic returned and we knew our time with the children was over. Goodbyes were not said; but rather, "See you later." We only hope and pray that sooner rather than later we can return to our home in Ghana. With tears rolling down our faces, we again pried hands off of our fingers and climbed aboard the tro tro to take our final drive away from our beloved school.

We arrived back at Fair Hill just in time to join the chiefs, elders and other guests for a big luncheon. With forty-five honored guests on the Fair Hill patio, we enjoyed a delicious buffet-style meal consisting of several Ghanaian favorites. The guests ate and departed and we went back to our rooms to unwind from the morning’s festivities. 

Some of us used the free afternoon to take naps, but four of us bravely ventured out on our first Ghanaian taxi ride into town. Phoebe, Caroline B., Marlee and Courtney patiently waited for Prof’s private taxi driver, Kofi, who was coming all the way from Elmina. As we rode to town, we noticed that Cape Coast looked somewhat different from inside a taxi rather than from a huge tro tro. We drove through the city until we made it to our favorite supermarket, Melcom. We loaded our baskets with our favorite Ghanaian cookies and other treats and then Kofi took us back home to the Fair Hill and we made it just in time to eat our purchased ice cream before it melted.

For dinner, we enjoyed everyone’s favorite Ghanaian dish, Red-Red; and, as the beautiful full moon floats in the Ghanaian sky, we are all coming to the sad realization that we only have a few days left in this now beloved country.

Da N'ase: July 21. 2013

Ben & Phoebe

This morning, a beautiful clear day gave us the opportunity to enjoy a nice breakfast on the patio of the Fair Hill. We all dressed in our newly acquired Ghanaian shirts, dresses, and skirts and climbed into the tro tro along with Dominic and Samuel to go to their church, Calvary Assemblies of God, in the nearby village of Kakumdo, where we attended church on our first Sunday in Cape Coast.

This morning’s service was a little different than the one we participated in two weeks ago. We were much more involved this morning. After about an hour of singing and prayer, Pastor Komsoon called us up to the front to sing a song, in Fante, that he had only taught us yesterday when we stopped to visit the church's Kindergarten. 

Thank your God

Thank your God

Because He is Good

And His love endures forever more

Thank your God

Da n’ase

Da n’ase

Da wo Nyame ase

Efir se

Oye

N’ado ye so

Do so o o

Da n’ase

Da n’ase

Da wo Nyame ase

The congregation seemed to enjoy our singing. So, we assume our pronunciations were at least good enough for them to understand what we were saying.

As we mentioned in yesterday's blog, Pastor Komsoon had asked two of us and Prof to speak "a word" to the congregation. Chastity shared first. She read Luke 12:48 and stressed three points to the congregation: 1) we are not guaranteed tomorrow, 2) God has given each of us special talents and gifts with which we can honor him, and 3) God has also given us treasures. She summed her points up with a phrase from her pastor at home, “We are managers of everything God has given us. It doesn't belong to us but to Him.” She closed by reading Psalm 144:3-4.

Next, Ben stepped up to the pulpit to address the church. Ben’s message built off the topic Pastor Komsoon has been addressing in his radio broadcast--living in a time of uncertainties. He shared that many of us have come to Ghana for the first time, and when we came were uncertain of many things such as what exactly to expect over here and how it would be living in a foreign land for almost a month. He then explained to the church how with all these uncertainties, we have peace knowing that the Lord is our protector. He read Joshua 1:9 and summed everything up by explaining how God is with us when we are in America as well as when we are in Ghana. As followers of Christ, we all have peace knowing that God will protect us with every step we take. He concluded his message by reading Psalm 121.

Prof closed our portion of the service by reading from Psalm 27, David's song of confidence in the Lord despite the uncertainties surrounding him as he hid from his son Absalom. Prof finished his comments with an exceptional reading of the final verse of Psalm 27, reading it in Fante from a Fante Bible. 

Pastor Komsoon then shared a brief message of his own and then, not surprisingly, called us up to the front of the church again. We all lined up in front of the pulpit as Pastor Komsoon went down the line of us, anointing us with oil and praying over each of us individually. He thanked God for calling us to come and serve in his country and prayed that God would bless us in everything we do in the future. The congregation prayed over us as well. Then, as we were wiping tears (and oil) from our faces, we were presented with gifts from the church. They gave each of us a church sticker, gave the girls a matching bracelet, necklace, and earrings set, and gave Ben, Robert, and Prof a custom made Ghanaian shirt.

After church, we returned to Fair Hill for lunch. We then loaded the tro tro with the remaining bins of books, laptops, and boxes of school supplies and took them to Mr. Baidoo at Tuwohofo-Holly. Some of us spent time in Akotokyir village playing with the village children, while others went with Dominic and Samuel to a local professional soccer match featuring the Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs (Yes, that's the name of the team and it was explained to us that playing against dwarfs is difficult because they are so small and so fast.) The Dwarfs played a team from Accra. At the game we drew the attention of a group of young kids. We tried to talk to them but the language barrier was too great. They were fascinated by some of our facial features, especially Ben’s red beard. 

We left the game with the hometown team winning 4-1 and Dominic dropped us off at the Cape Coast Castle to do a little shopping while he went back to Akotokyir Village to pick up the rest of the team. Surprise, surprise, a few more purchases were made.

We returned to Fair Hill just in time for dinner. We sadly said our final goodbyes to Samuel since we will more than likely not see him again before we leave Cape Coast on Tuesday. Tonight Prof’s Ghanaian sister, Agatha, graced us with her presence for dinner. She is the head of Junior Staff at the University of Cape Coast, and oversees about 4000 employees. She shared with us how the role of Ghanaian women is gradually improving and that there are now several women in important government positions.

We spent the rest of the evening beginning to pack our suitcases to make sure all of our Ghanaian treasures will fit. We are also preparing ourselves for the big Durbar tomorrow where Prof will be installed as Nana, or Chief, of Education Development for Tuwohofo-Holly school. It will be a very bitter sweet day for us filled with lots of emotions since it will be the last day we  see the beautiful faces of the children we have taught and played with at Tuwohofo-Holly International School.