Ghana - Our Favorite Port - Again!!

Ghana is engraved in our souls.  In 2009, it changed us more than any other country on our around the world trip and it rocked us again on this visit.  It is hard to describe why Ghana affects our family this way.  In an effort to demonstrate why, we will include essays we wrote entitled Anticipations of Ghana and Reflections of Ghana.  These come from our Travel Writing class, which continually pushes Jay, Christy and Luke outside our comfort zone – just like Ghana did for us on our visit. 

Below is the overview of our visit to put our attached stories into perspective.  

We packed in as much as we could during our four days in Ghana and tried to experience different parts of the country than we did during our 2009 visit.  For our home base, we choose a beach resort near Cape Coast that is only 67 miles from Accra, but almost 4 hours away due to the unpredictable traffic.  Although we were often stuck in traffic, we were never bored because vendors swarmed the cars with baskets on their heads overflowing with items ranging from grapes to toilet plungers.  You could do your day’s shopping from your car!

The first day, we visited a friend from the Aspen Institute, Patrick Awuah, who left his job at Microsoft and returned to Ghana to start Ashesi University.  Patrick created what others thought would be impossible, the top university in Ghana.  It is producing the next generation of ethical leaders who are staying in Africa to change the continent.  Ashesi, and Patrick’s dedication, are an inspiration to anyone who wants to make a difference in the world. 

Ghana is infamous for its part in 400 years of the slave trade, where 60 million people were taken from Africa.  Of the 60 million people taken from their villages, historians estimate that only 12 million survived the trip across Africa, their time in the dungeons and the horrific conditions of Atlantic crossing to Brazil, the Caribbean and North America.   We were surprised to learn that most of the slaves were actually taken to Brazil, with only a tiny portion going to North America.  Read the stories in our next post to get a glimpse into what we experienced during our visits.  Warning:  it is not easy reading. 

Our favorite experience in 2009, and again this year, was visiting a local village and learning from the similarities and differences in our cultures and circumstances.  This time, we visited a school and orphanage in the village of Equafo.   Our photos and essays try to reflect the energy and struggles of the children. 

We took over 700 photos in Ghana trying to capture the vibrancy of Ghana’s people, markets and towns.  Here are a few more of our favorites.