Lessons from Ghana

It’s been 9 months. And they always say that it is good to take time to reflect, so I thought it’d be interesting to try to think about some of the lessons I have learned being in Ghana.

Being called “white man” isn’t so bad – I have to admit that it was pretty frustrating at the beginning with the shouts, following and staring (sometimes mouths open) but it kind of grows on you. And the best thing about being a “white man” is that it is SO easy to make people smile that even I can make it happen - you just have to look at them for more than 2 seconds or flash them a wave and you will get the greatest smile or laugh in return. Plus, I realized being here you can get into habits. Whenever a foreigner comes to town now, I find myself staring or trying to find out all about them! 

Moms are right - green stuff is damn good for you – I know this is not a great lesson, especially because moms are usually never wrong. But I never thought I’d miss the sight of lettuce, cucumbers (that one is for you Moe), spinach, peppers so much. On a more serious note, the lack of vegetables and fruits (and thus vitamins and minerals) is a big problem. It causes prevalent malnourishment and weakening of the immune system.

Everybody needs to wear name-tags in Canada – OK, maybe not that extreme (I kind of wanted to relive that Seinfeld episode). But one of the most noticeable differences between here and the Western world is the greetings. Everybody greets everybody. It doesn’t matter where you are from, where you are going, or who you are. And let me tell you, most of the time, beautiful thing. A simple greeting can lift you when you are down, make you feel part of something when you feel alone, and often lead you into awesome stories or exchanges that you would have never expected. That is definitely one thing I am taking home with me and I think we have to start a revolution where GO-Trains, subways, elevators and any other public places are no longer no-talk places.

Development is damn tough but there’s hope – this is probably the most depressing and most inspirational lesson at the same time. Before I came here, I thought it was all about the increase in the number of schools which were built, or the decrease in the number of malaria deaths. Yes, those are all important statistics but it is not as simple as that. There are so many who have gone to school and are not suffering from malaria, who are still living day-to-day because of lack of opportunities.

And how do you create opportunities? In places which have become rifled with politics and corruption? Places which are subject to constant threats of disease? Places which are near cut-off from markets for almost half of the year? Places which lose all their talent to big cities and big salaries?

There’s no silver bullet for sure. But I believe that there is a secret weapon and this is the people. The kids, with no parents, role models (and often no teachers), who are reading all the time to try to become a doctor because there are none in their communities. The young man, who graduated from university and had job offers from the south, but decided to come back and teach kids in his hometown with no pay now for one year going on. The single mother, who toils all day in petty jobs, to support her kids going to school and occasionally buy them new shoes to spoil them a bit. Or the civil servant, honest to a fault, and who works so hard in an environment filled with those who take all the resources and credit. These amazing men, women and children are the hope.

For all the hard challenges in development, there are many amazing people that are so worth fighting for.

We can never stop following our heart – There are so many people in this world who are forced to do things that they don’t want to do just to get by another day. They don’t have any chances to follow their dreams. It’s definitely not easy back in Canada and Amercia, especially right now, but we can always keep trying to do what we really want in our lives.

Some honorable mentions for lessons learnt: Toilets are the greatest invention in the world; the African music and movie industry are a completely untapped resource (e.g – Backstreet Boys, Celine Dion and Jacky Chan are absolutely idolized here), and ice cream and water packaged in plastic has got to come over to the Western side

PS – one last one - Everything you do, no matter how small, can make a difference – I had to include this because I think it is a huge misconception. And its one of the things I realized through my own failures. When I first came here, I had the huge plans of projects and ideas that would “change the world”, work that would eliminate poverty……..but I realized first off, that is not going to happen and secondly, it’s the little things that we all can do that really change the world. Every moment is a chance to something good and even though it is not grand, it is making the world a better place.

Thank you all so much. I’ll save the biggest take-away for last - that I would not be here without incredible family and friends. Your amazingness reminds me of that everyday. All the best.