Letters from Ghana: Akwaaba

Ghana is a country of beats, heat, and hospitality. We arrived a couple of weeks ago and were hit by a wave of heat as we stepped from the plane and made our way down the stairs to the tarmac in the darkness of the African night. As we exited the terminal, many locals shouted “Akwaaba" to us, which we learned is the traditional Ghanian greeting of welcome. This spirit of hospitality has been our constant companion since our arrival as we are repeatedly greeted and welcomed by everyone we meet. As hospitality is constantly present, so is music. There is not a car or shop front that doesn’t have a driving beat booming from within, the favourite station being 101.7, “The station your neighbours listen to, whether they want to or not,” which is a fitting slogan. And then there is the heat. The days here start early, with most people being up, dressed, and ready for the day by 6 am, which we can only assume is to beat the heat. We’ve followed suit and have learned to go to the market and run other errands in the early morning hours to avoid the heat of the afternoon sun.

We’ve completed our first full week of classes with the women here in Asamankese. We have quickly realized that while we came to Ghana with big ideas of creating opportunities for women in Asamankese to develop their businesses with the help of our literacy workshops, many of the women have much simpler reasons for wanting to learn English. One lady stood up and told us that she is a farmer and has a son in America. He left here 15 years ago and no longer speaks Twi (their native language). With tears in her eyes, she told me that when he calls he only speaks English to her and she can’t understand him. She came to the classes so that she can speak to her son again. Another woman told us that she sells water outside a school where the children make fun of her for not speaking English. She came to learn English so she can reply to them. Desiree's business project corresponds with the English project, so hopefully we’ll not only be able to develop the women's literacy, but also show them how it can help in their personal and professional lives.

We are ever aware of our limited time here in Ghana and are eager to have even the smallest impact on these women. However, every day we are realizing how much we have to learn from the women of Asamankese. I suspect that Desiree and I will receive every bit as much as we give and will leave Ghana as affected and blessed as we hope the women of Asamankese will be.

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