Its about 6:15pm and Session 3 has convened for dinner in the basement dining hall at Papa Henry’s in Asetey. Little do they know that they are about to consume the preeminent dish of Ghanian gastronomy. As they nibble at the Banku that they have just served themselves , they dont realize that by escaping their comfort zones for a mere nanosecond they have eaten something that most human beings will never have the opportunity to eat, not to mention make an effort to discover. This is why they are here in Krobo, they are here to forget status quo and be their true selves through discovery and diligence.
On a daily basis our ability to better understand who we are is seen through trying new things- Bucket showers, Batik, and hawking are all concepts that we didnt know of before our arrival in Ghana, yet the more we become familiar with them, the more we grow fond of our new experiences. They help us understand the Ghanian and Krobo way of life better, but ultimately they help us understand who we are and why we came to Ghana in the first place.
Our time has flown by but what he have been able to achieve will last forever. From brick making and teaching to our time with the kids at the park, we have given so much and yet it feels as though we have received even more in return. You see, we came to Krobo thinking of everything that we wanted to help with and provide for others, and we feel confident that we have put a lot of effort into everything we have done for the last 14 days, yet we cant begin to express how much love and sustenance our experiences with the children have filled us with. The unconditional exchange of love that has taken place during our time in Krobo is something that can be measured or recorded, as Henry often says, it can only be felt.
We came to Ghana as students but we are leaving as leaders. One of the biggest takeaways for us is how much we learned about ourselves and also from the children and local community. This is leadership in motion; through things like the “Single Story” Ted Talk, and our poignant contact with Ghanian people, we were able to see how many of the images and pre-conceived notions about Africa and African that we have been indoctrinated with since we were children are simply not accurate . Through our experiences in Ghana we are able to make our own observations and think for ourselves.
We’ve been to amazing places like Sajuna and Bodhi falls. We did great service at the Edmon Nursery School and elementary school (we made a ton of bricks too! 🙂 We made beads and batik and got Kente cloth clothing custom made for us. Our capstone speeches and song night were amazing and helped us come closer together. We had countless meaningful conversations and discussions with each other and our friends at the park. These are all special things that we need not forget and they remind us that we need to be proud of all of our accomplishments in Ghana.
Let us do our session and time in Africa justice with a quote from Dr. Angelou who spent many years in Ghana:
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” We choose this quote because we leave Ghana knowing that our greatest memory will always be the love and feelings that we shared with the Children of Asetey.
William Korte, International Director
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