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.