In mid-November I graduated from with a degree in PR and given some time to reflect I had reached two conclusions; I had no idea what I wanted to do next, but I definitely wanted a chance to spend time with my family – not just my brother or parents, but family in the broadest sense possible.
It’s been almost eight years since I was last in Ghana … over 1/3 of my life (scary). Things have obviously changed since then and I was starting to feel disconnected from my national identity in terms of culture, language and lifestyle. Travelling and living across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia had given me an understanding and appreciation of people and places beyond my background. I was able to read Arabic and speak French but couldn’t understand a word of my parents’ secret dialect – that didn’t seem right. Also, the recent passing of my grandmother (Old Lady, as she was lovingly referred to), makes now an important time for me to feel a physical presence with family and not one that depends on the connection of faulty phone lines.
After grad, my dad started planting the notion of attempting a Master’s degree and I slowly started leaning towards an interest in International Affairs/Global Development. Ghana is a developing country with a lot of opportunity for growth and positive change. I wanted to take the time to understand the complex cycle of social (and political) issues that affect people on a daily basis; people that I even know personally. Volunteerism with a local NGO was something that I definitely wanted to pursue and knew would be beneficial on a personal and professional level.
It’s been almost eight years since I was last in Ghana … over 1/3 of my life (scary). Things have obviously changed since then and I was starting to feel disconnected from my national identity in terms of culture, language and lifestyle. Travelling and living across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia had given me an understanding and appreciation of people and places beyond my background. I was able to read Arabic and speak French but couldn’t understand a word of my parents’ secret dialect – that didn’t seem right. Also, the recent passing of my grandmother (Old Lady, as she was lovingly referred to), makes now an important time for me to feel a physical presence with family and not one that depends on the connection of faulty phone lines.
After grad, my dad started planting the notion of attempting a Master’s degree and I slowly started leaning towards an interest in International Affairs/Global Development. Ghana is a developing country with a lot of opportunity for growth and positive change. I wanted to take the time to understand the complex cycle of social (and political) issues that affect people on a daily basis; people that I even know personally. Volunteerism with a local NGO was something that I definitely wanted to pursue and knew would be beneficial on a personal and professional level.
So it was decided - take some time off for R&R in Ghana with family whilst giving back to the community.
Being a Comms major, I couldn’t just leave my goals for the trip so open-ended. That’s right, I’m busting out some objectives:
- See/visit/greet as many relatives as possible. Unfortunately I can’t give a number because it constantly fluctuates in Ghana with the sheer size of families plus births and deaths. Family is also a loose concept as there tend to be very strong ties even between extend family members - I’ll try and keep a count going.
2. Learn conversational Hausa (pronounced House-ah). Hausa is a common West African language so my mom suggested that I try and learn it first instead of a local dialect. I’ve already started with the title of this blog so you can learn along with me!
3. Volunteer with an effective (and efficient!) local organization. I want to get my feet wet by learning about local development initiatives. I’ll be working with Youth Alive Ghana, an Action Aid initiative that aims to help street youth end the cycle of poverty within the community.
3. Volunteer with an effective (and efficient!) local organization. I want to get my feet wet by learning about local development initiatives. I’ll be working with Youth Alive Ghana, an Action Aid initiative that aims to help street youth end the cycle of poverty within the community.
This is more of an intro on the basis of my stay in Ghana and of this blog. I start writing my thoughts and experiences here as a way to document whatever valuable time is left before life becomes full of other obligations and time is no longer mine. Hopefully, these words will become the bridge between the romanticized idea of Africa and the unknown truth of its society.
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