This weekend was one of the best weekends of my life. These are the experiences that make the heat, the inconsistent power, cold showers, uncomfortable tro tros and even the malaria all worth it. Dr. Amadahe picked Katie, Shane, Jamila and I up from the front of campus Saturday morning, and to our surprise he was in a Cape Coast University van and several members of his family were along. After a very pleasant ride we crossed the bridge over the Volta river and we stopped for breakfast. They had bottles of water for us, OJ, and these little sandwiches. It was so cute!! After we passed through Ho we spent at least an hour down a very bumpy dirt road towards Kpoeta. We started at Dr. Amadahe’s house which was super nice. The women stayed there to cook and the rest of us left in the car, but shortly switched to walking by food because of a flat tire. We arrived at the chiefs house and were welcomed by the linguist and introduced to several elders and the stool father. The chief stood and thanked us for Periclean’s partnership with Kpoeta in order to build the clinic. That moment helped make all the stress and difficulties of fundraising beyond worthwhile. He even said, “maybe someday we will have a township named after one of you.” As is tradition, they brought out a new bottle of Schnopps and we were offered a drink. Shane and I agreed and I was poured the equivalent of 3 shots of the strongest liquer I’ve ever had. Everyone took a drink and then they brought out cokes and tons of bananas. After finishing our drinks we all walked to the clinic, of course at a Ghanain pace. Seeing the physical representation of the hardwork Periclean Scholars and the people of Kpoeta have contributed made me feel all encompassing satisfaction and joy. We toured around the inside and talked about the steps needed—supplies being the major thing. We went back to the chief’s house and met the nurse and said goodbye after discussing our trip back at the end of the semester. Back at Dr. Amadhe’s house we were served the most amazing meal I’ve had since I’ve been here. Joloff, plantains, fish (no scales, tail, or head!), yam balls, beans, and salad. And as if that weren’t enough we had fan ice and sweet bread for dessert! We were stuffed to say the least and wrapped up some leftovers in paper towels for later. We left Kpoeta with at least 50 bananas, full stomachs, and the joy and satisfaction that can only be experienced, not explained. Dr. Amadhe and his brother (who shares is spectacular grin) dropped us off at the YMCA where we got rooms. After shopping for a bit of fabric, Katie, Shane and I played cards and talked in the room for several hours.
Today we woke up and caught a cab to Sokode, the site of Periclean’s partnership to work on Heifer project as well as build a Kindergarten building (KG consists of children age 3-6 in Ghana). When we arrived in Sokode we called the chief (who we referred to as Togbe) and he came and picked us up. We met the pastor of the Evangelical Presbytarian Church, Alice, and introduced ourselves. Togbe took us to the church, and Alice left because she had a service in Ho to attend to. As the service began we were seated behind the pulpit which was semi-awkward because as Obruni we don’t really need a stage to be a spectacle. After we stood and introduced ourselves though Togbe took us into the congregation and spread us out amongst the members. He sat me right in the middle of the choir. What an experience! 2 and half hours later the church service, which was in Ewe (the language of the region) ended and we went to Togbe’s family house. With hospitality uncomparable to anything I’ve experienced in the US we were given Malta, which despite my dislike for the drink, I accepted with thanks. Togbe also gave us a coconut which we drank and then ate as well as some crackers. He showed us the grasscutters which 18 families in Sokode now have thanks to Heifer. Grasscutters look sort of like very large gerbils or rats, but they were much cuter than I expected. After feeding the grasscutters which Togbe clearly was excited about, he led us to the parliament representative’s house. There we were also given a drink of coke, and we talked about the area and our thoughts of Ghana. Togbe called his “driver” and went with us to “Vag hall: Goldfinger restaurant” We had fried rice and chicken, but what made the experience wonderful was talking with Togbe and also recognizing the status he has as chief. He was driven around, we got ridiculously prompt service at the restaurant, and he didn’t pay. We have decided that our plan in life is not to run a tro tro, but to have Katie be the chief of a village, I’ll be the stool father, and shane will be the driver!
When we returned to the Village Alice had returned and we talked with her about the Kindergarten. She was so well spoken and wonderfully sweet. She is both the pastor of the community and in charge of the Kindergarten. We went to the see the building which had 3 small classrooms. Alice told us that they had around 40 children in each room (can you imagine 40 3 year olds?) and had to turn children away because of lack of space. I look forward to working with her to finish the building and create more classrooms. We were sad to leave, but I am so excited to return at the end of the semester!
The world is so big and I am so little or small small as the Ghanains say. But this weekend the world felt a lot smaller and I felt a lot bigger.
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