A Cultural Immersion Like Never Before

WOW!

Ghana is an amazing country --- in every sense of the word. The landscape is a luscious green, the people, despite their lesser living conditions (in comparison to the Western world), are some of the most beautiful and friendly people I have ever met, and the culture is richer than the darkest of chocolates I have ever tasted (no pun intended).

There is so much to say. Yesterday, Juliana, Cate, and I visited St. George's Castle. This establishment is the oldest extant colonial building in sub-Saharan Africa, once colonized by the Dutch (and later the British), who used it as a staging point during the slave trade throughout Europe and the Americas (known as the Triangular Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade). Receiving a tour through this place of shackles and servitude may very well have been one of the most powerful experiences I have ever had in my life. It is so easy to think that you know all there is to know about slavery, until you hear it from the people whose lands ran rampant with it.

In the Castle St. George, our tour guide (whose name was Francis), painted a picture that we could experience. I heard the prayers of colonizers who practiced their Christianity in the upper levels of the establishment, while simultaneously feeling the stinging pain from whips cracking on the backs of black slaves in the Dungeons below. He depicted the powerlessness of black women who were raped at leisure daily by drunken settlers and the Governor who presided over the Castle. At one point, Francis placed us into a dark room that had the skull and cross-bones symbol embedded above the doorway called "The Room of no Return". In this room, slaves (5-6 at a time in a 6x8 room) were packed in and starved until the last one was dead. While in the room, the sound of a baby crying from a family participating on the tour with us echoed throughout as the walls seemingly closed in on us when Francis closed the gate shut and darkness filled the room. These were but many of the images we picked up on this tour, but these ones particularly had a profound impact on me.

On a lighter note, today, Cate, Juliana, and I linked up with a gentleman by the name of Nani, who organized a visit for us to film at an elementary school called "Ebenezer" in the heart of Elmina. He led us through various streets and communities, which secretly gave pause to the lot of us (although our pride would not allow any of us to admit it at the time), as we wandered into unknown territories. On the brink of questioning the sanity of our decision (can we trust this guy? Where is he taking us? Where are we?), to our delight, within minutes, we arrive at a small elementary school with about 50 children awaiting us beaming with smiling faces. Mind you, this is on a Saturday, and upon hearing of our visit, all of the kids rushed over, eager to meet the "Obruni's" (a term Ghanaian children coined to mean "white person" -- although they call me the same thing at times so I am still trying to figure this whole Obruni thing out). They embraced us in all their friendship and hospitality, inviting us into their classroom, as we filmed Nani giving the students a talk cautioning them about HIV/AIDS.

The school was by no means lavish. Windows were non-existent (along with doors) into the classrooms, feces covered the ground of certain areas of the premise, and chalk was a scarce resource. The school was built from the ground up by teachers, students, and administrators. There is much work to be done for a community with so much potential. I was amazed to see that these learning conditions had not deterred the aspirations of these brilliant young minds. Student's notebooks were filled with page after page of notes, the young-lings payed close attention to their teachers, and they seemed to know exactly where they wanted to be later on in life (a feat I am yet to accomplish!). This goes to show that it does not matter where you learn. It boils down to how badly you want to learn -- so long as outreach opportunities are available.

On the way back from our endeavor (which, literally, happened an hour ago from now), I could not help but to revel in the way these people, who live in such downtrodden conditions, were still able to find contentment and peace within themselves. Reflecting further, I realized that even though many Ghanaian people are surrounded by poverty, they endure it together. Crime is low, as it is trumped by their community values and dependence on one another.

There is so much more to say. Unfortunately, my internet time has expired. Much of everything (and more) depicted here is on film, and will be edited for viewing in the coming months of our return. This blog is to-be-updated!

All the best to all of our family, friends, and followers. We love you

-PIBV Ghana - May