20 Accra: Soul Searching on Leaving Ghana

 Today is Friday, the final day of my stay in Ghana and I’m soul-searching. What has been my motivation for spending and tipping freely, giving gifts, for volunteering, in making on-going commitment to projects and taking on personal cases?

If I’m honest with myself I admit I want to be liked. I’ve long been approval-seeking and a people-pleaser. And it sure is easy to win approval when you’re the one with cash to splash amongst people who are scrambling to survive day to day.  It’s easy to play the Big Shot. 

But coming into maturity I now realise that trying to be liked by others is not necessarily the right motivation. I want to like myself. Like all human beings, I have to live with myself and it feels good to be kind, compassionate and generous. This is how I want to be; living every moment in my core values. 

I want to be a practical Christian, following the scriptural teaching in Matthew 25 when Jesus instructed us to feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, give shelter to the homeless and clothes to the shivering, help the sick and visit those in prison.

However sporadic handouts by well-meaning tourists like me are not a lasting solution. We who live in the privileged part of the world must assist those living in poverty to solve the problems of food production, clean water, housing and infrastructure, education and employment in sustainable ways.

Redressing the balance requires scrutinising the underlying causes of inequality, facing the uncomfortable reality that our high standard of living in developed countries comes at the expense of people in poor countries, exploited by governments and corporations for their resources and labour. 

‘Sickness’ is a broad term covering emotional and mental heartache and despair as much as physical illness and injury. Caring for the sick means embracing the world as one family, accepting we are responsible for mums and dads, brothers and sisters and children in other countries as much as those in our own families and neighbourhoods.

I believe ‘imprisonment’ includes the entrapment of millions of people globally who are robbed of their safety and freedom through abuse and violations of human rights and the immoral business of war. ‘Visiting those in prison’ means the recovery, rehabilitation and redemption of those traumatised by war and abuse. 

I believe in the power of compassionate people working together to end war and abuse, poverty and social injustice.

So my three-week experience in Ghana has come to an end and I cap off the trip with a delightful visit to Pastor Charles’ beloved mother. Big brother Arnold collects me from the Paloma hotel and takes me to meet Ma Anita, an inspirational, beautiful, intelligent lady.

A legendary cook, Ma Anita has made fresh chilled watermelon, pineapple and mango juice, a scrumptious healthy salad, creamy beans and the best deep fried plantain I’ve eaten in Ghana! We sit outside in her tranquil tropical garden.

With her twinkling eyes and smooth skin, Ma looks much younger than her 82 years. She is the dignified matriarch of a large high-achieving family of two sons and two daughters and numerous grandchildren. She raised her family on her own, putting her children through university by working in insurance then turning to baking bread and running a store.

Well-travelled and well-read, Ma has a vast general knowledge, sharp intellect and, I’m told, a lovely singing voice and she is still active in her church where Arnold is pastor. It is a great honour to meet her and Arnold and enjoy their company for a few hours on my final day here.

Ma shows me the family photo albums, we have an entertaining skype call with Charles and Theresa and Ma gives me an exquisite Ashanti hand woven shawl which I will treasure.

Meeting this well-educated, accomplished family has given me another insight into Ghanaian society. Clearly, education is the key to succeeding in any culture. Ma Anita gave her children that life-changing opportunity and now her grandchildren are all university educated with high-powered careers ahead of them and the strong desire to make a difference.

Hope for positive change lies with new generations of clever, creative and compassionate young people.

Arnold and his lovely wife Elizabeth kindly battle peak hour city traffic to drop me at the airport. We hug goodbye knowing we have bonded as friends.

So here I sit in the departure lounge, waiting to board the 10.45 pm overnight flight with British Airways that will whisk me back to my regular life in a three-storey terrace in West Ealing on the Piccadilly Line.

I suspect I will experience culture shock in reverse as I re-enter normality. My values have been subjected to a major tweaking. I know I will be less consumeristic and less complaining, more appreciative of my privileged lifestyle, education and job opportunities, creature comforts, good toilets, electricity, air conditioning, safe water and nutritious food, and more grateful than ever for my loving, supportive family and friends.

I have directly touched the lives of hundreds of Ghanaians and they have deeply touched my heart. I have given a few little tokens but received immeasurably more intangible gifts of the heart I will cherish forever.

I will honour my promises to those whose dreams I now carry beyond the constraints imposed by poverty into the developed world of opportunities. And I will continue to strive to make a difference for my new friends, their families and communities.

So now I will sign off and say Goodbye Ghana. May God bless you and keep you in peace, kindness and faith and throw in a dash of prosperity too. Thanks you for your warmth and friendship and adventures.