Village Rainbows

The insistant drone of the first call to prayer for the faithful assured me that I had returned home to Ghana. Shortly after that, early bird songs outside my window reminded me why I chose this lovely place in Accra as my base for the first days back. Bibie Brew’s New Morning Arts Cafe in Tesano is a an oasis of calm within the hustle and bustle of this city of six million souls, all striving to improve their hold on life, and each chasing their own dreams and avoiding their own devils.

I returned last week from a four month visit to Canada. While there I found myself reacting to a way of life to which I have become unaccustomed since my relocation to Ghana. Oversize pick-up trucks and overstocked “super” stores can be overwhelming for someone much more at home in a small village that relies on a few small kiosks and local women selling vegetables or fruit from wooden tables for most of its  daily consumables.

I have returned and I was reassured of my return to the familiar with an event that occurred within moments of my arrival – the lights went out and the luggage carousel ground to a halt in the arrivals hall at Kotoko International Airport. I looked over at one of my fellow passengers, a Ghanaian woman returning to visit family, as we waited for the electricity to come back on and we exchanged knowing smiles. I could not help but comment “welcome back to Ghana”.

This post will go up on my blog as soon as MTN is able to repair their connectivity – apparently they have had their own “problems” since last weekend, just prior to my return. But, no worries – this post and my blog are not all important and this “problem”, like the brief lights off delay at the airport are just reminders that “quality of life” should not be measured by how well “things” work but rather by the way people interact with each other.

I recall the comments from a friend of mine a few years ago when he was “out” to visit his daughter in Montreal. He remarked during his first few days there that it was such a pleasure because “everything works”. Some time later, he was expressing how much he missed Ghana – he was no longer so enraptured by the smooth running systems that he saw in North America – the electricity that was reliably on all the time; the smooth flow of traffic on well maintained streets; the prompt and courteous service at the fast food counters; the professional and uncorrupted conduct by civil servants. He was bored, and looking forward to his return to Ghana.

As I say, there is much more to life than the “stuff” that western commerce offers us. Last Monday afternoon at the airport, the uniformed woman in the Immigration booth flashed me a welcome smile as she stamped my passport and handed it back to me.  I exchanged some good natured bantering with the Customs official and he shook my hand and said with a grin, “Akwaaba, Nana” and I was on my way out to the taxi stand with my new driver friend, John.  In each of these interactions, as brief as they were, we acknowledged our common humanity and that is something much more important than any “problems” we may encounter with “stuff”.

I enjoyed my four month visit to Canada – it is always great to reconnect with family and good friends, and the memories of my time will remain with me as I go about my life here. A break in routine is always good, but it is good to be once more back Home Sweet Home.

Today at New Morning Arts Cafe, Tesano. New Words for a New Earth. Don’t miss it. Golda Ado and Bibie Brew and their amazing crew, talking and singing and acting and sharing to show us how we can all make a better world for all of us and for generations to come. New Morning – New Earth Day!!

NO BUSINESS, NO WIFE

Was this lorry owner in Half Assini (1973) publicly acknowedging his own responsibilities, or was he counseling others what would happen if they did not live up to theirs? Ghanaian women rarely tolerate husbands who are not capable of supporting their families, as this lorry testifies.

HOME SWEET HOME

It is said that home is where the heart is. In 1973 when I took this photo, I thought of Canada as my home. Times change, and now, almost 40 years later, it is Ghana that I think of as “Home, Sweet Home.”

GOD IS KING (and so is “Uncle Ben”)

In recent years in Ghana, we have seen an increasing amount of freight and goods being transported by semi-trailer trucks. Not so many years ago, that work was done by conventional single axle trucks (lorries). Drivers and their mates prided themselves in their great ingenuity and dedicated perseverance to ensure that no load was too big or too difficult to haul. During one of my stays near New Edubiase during the 80′s, a dugout canoe was brought out of the forest, to be taken to its destination on the coast where it would be used for fishing. Considering that the canoe was more than twice the length of any truck on the road at the time, I wondered how it would make the journey. However one day, “God is King” showed up, and with the help of many willing hands, it was moved on board and set off on its journey south. On another occasion, “Uncle Ben” passed through town, laden with a similar cargo, proving that where there is a will (and willing hands), there will be a way.

GOD NEVER SLEEPS

In 2008, this photo was taken in Accra where this lorry has been plying the roads for many years. The owner surely considers his lorry to be living proof of his belief that “God never sleeps.”

HONESTY

The arches of the Adome Bridge which provide the link between the Volta Region and the Eastern Region are in the background. The bridge is located a short distance south of the Aksombo Dam on the Volta River, and at the time of this photo in 1973, was still in very good repair. In recent years it has shown its age and load restrictions now apply. When reading in the daily newspapers of the various capers of the current crop of politicians, it might appear that “Honesty” is also not as healthy as we would like it to be!!

NEVER LOSE HOPE

This lorry box, sitting forlornly on the side of a street in Half Assini in 1971, looks like it still had many good years of service left in it, and was hoping to connect with a lorry chassis in the same situation.

BLACK POWER

In 1957, Ghana led the way for other African countries to reclaim their independence from the colonial powers.  This lorry, delivering a load of passengers to the market at Half Assini sometime between 1971 – 73, may be making a reference to that or it may be simply stating something that all Africans have always known – there is a power in Africa that comes from its people and that now can be found around the world.

TRUTH IS ONE

Even today many villages in West Africa are not served by passable roads, making it difficult to get farm produce to market. In the early 70’s, transport to the village of Newtown, west of Half Assini and located on a narrow spit of land that extends into the Tano River lagoon was only possible on the beach at low tide. Lorry drivers had to have a fisherman’s knowledge of tides in order to safely make their trips in and out of that area.