Reflection?I LOVE GHANA!

As I have said over and over, there is so much poverty in Ghana. It is so crowded and dirty and there is so much pollution and garbage. The landscape looks so fragile and delicate, as if one storm would blow down everything. Plastic bags and garbage pile up on the sides of the roads, most of the children don’t have shoes and their clothing is dirty and tattered. Not once did I see a hospital or a grocery store or a house that was fully built with a strong roof, front door and windows (like we see at home). The roads are so bad that what should take a half hour drive takes hours. There markets are filled with things that are imported or donated from America and all other corners of the world. Old refrigerators and TVs are used in Ghana homes as shelves and closets. However, there is a huge sense of community here. Most everyone walks everywhere and so they know each other.  If your shack is right next to someone else’s, you are also sharing a fire. And if you are sharing a fire, you are cooking and sharing vegetables. And if you are cooking, your children are playing outside and you are keeping an eye on them and so everyone is working together. At home, we spend so much time in the car and on the phone that we do not have these types of interactions with people. For the most part, we are self-sufficient and don’t need to depend on others to keep the fire burning and the clothes line dry. As a result we don’t interact with others face to face unless we make an effort to say hello in a grocery store or take a day to garden with a neighbor or have coffee. I fell in love with the sense of community and friendship that Ghanaian people have with one another. And truth be told, if we gave them the houses that we live in with buttons and washers and technology, they wouldn’t know what to do. And if I lived in their tiny little houses I wouldn’t know what to do either. The trick is to finding a balance to live a sustainable life. All of us need a strong foundation of friends and family. So, as we make our way to South Africa and I catch up on all my homework and papers, I hope that all of you at home will make some time to unplug and connect with those around you. Community is so important and over time our wants and needs will come and go but our friends and family are forever. Ghana is an amazing place and I hope that all of you get the chance to make a trip here at some point in time—I can’t wait to come back!