My Farewell Address

Today was the day. The day I would have to go back and face my realities of my American lifestyle and institutions after flying 20 hours to the “land of opportunity”. On the contrary, as my days in Ghana came to an end I began thinking about how I would adjust to the majority white fast paced society again? Now, if you know me well you know I have no problem with being around people who do not look like me, and I am at my best when I am moving constantly and caring for others. This is what I THOUGHT was my best before arriving in Ghana, but I can truly say that my best NOW is when I can reflect over my day, discuss it with someone or even a group of people, and see how can I make a difference in this world. So, I say I finally found it! Peace! This was the peace I was looking for in my life, the peace that God felt on his last days on the cross for me, the peace of knowing that I was selfish even when I thought I was not, the peace to know I should live life and care for ALL people. My peace is defined as being okay with my African heritage, telling my family and friends the untold stories of our African history, and the realization of who I am as a person. In my opinion, the stories untold in our American history about Africa account for some of my African American brothers and sisters struggles today. It is equivalent to the broken bondage between a mother and her children. This broken bond from the mother country caused her children to feed for their mother for centuries. Through years of colonialism, globalization, and assimilation, the African people have adopted and accepted their new white culture. I do not discredit my assimilation to the culture because I know it has made my experience as an African American challenging and rewarding at times. I realize the impact it has bestowed upon me as I continue into adulthood in a dominated white patriarchal society. In other words, the underlying feeling of being still, stuck, poor, different, and deceived by all of what a society such as this had to offer me, yet there is no more time to blame the victim anymore. It is time to stand up and speak out for African people in ALL places and remind people who believe that Africans and/or African descendants are uneducated, uncivilized, and ignorant that these stereotypes are no longer true. I must say farewell to those stereotypes and educate others about ethnocentrism, different cultures, and people around the world. This is essential for the progression of our culture and the movement of globalization around the world.

Moreover, my flight back was interestingly emotional and exciting. For example, my eyes opened during the night sky and I begin thinking about my experience in Ghana and my international service project with Ashaiman Senior High School. After reconciling my thoughts my eyes were full with tears, one tear rolled down my cheek while others followed. It was real. Ghana and its people would truly be missed and forever have pieces of my heart. The relationships obtained from Ghana were real and I did not want to let them shatter like a broken mirror on a dark wall of hopelessness. Especially since this was the same mirror that allowed me recognize my flaws, relationships with others, desires, and future endeavors. I am forever changed and blessed because of this trip. God has created a path for me now I must follow it and give back what I have learned and cherished these past four weeks. In for my followers I say Ma da’ ce (Thank you in Twi) if you have taken the time to keep up with me these last few weeks. I hope you see the difference this trip has made for me. However, I encourage to take your opportunities and learn from them for you one day will experience the joy of being with a group of people greater than yourself.

Ashaiman Senior High School Group (click link to see summary video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EU4ct3hmSzU&feature=youtu.b

A Week of Good, Bad, and Reality: Knowledge is REAl Power

This week started a bit rough for me. It was probably because of the malaria pills, but I not too positive. Those pills make me feel disgusting, but I must take them if I want to continue living right? Yes, no doubt! Anyways, I did not know how Ashaiman High School students were going to be. Obedient? Respectful? Quiet? They were ALL that and more.  

There were 19 peer counselors, also known as students, and most of them were girls but I made sure I reached out to the young men in the room as well. They were very timid and pretty much agreed with everything we had to say. It bothered my classmates and I at first, however, we begin to deal with the fact that it was a cultural difference. One that was meant to be authoritative, so the elderly, adults, or teachers were considered right even though the students may disagree or have a different opinion about something. It was definitely shocking, but understanding. We continued the next two days presenting workshops on the Importance of Education, Goal Setting, the African Diaspora, Money Management, Global Learning, and Mental Health. These two days felt emotionally draining. We heard some of the students’ stories and they begin to ask questions. For instance, there were three young men at my table who expressed their dream jobs. One wanted to be a reporter, another wanted to be an investigative journalist, and the third explained he would love to write plays similar to the famous William Shakespeare. This was the good part. Just to know they had dreams and aspirations. Yet, the bad came when they expressed that some of their parents or family members did not support their educational careers. There were even a couple of them who had to take a year off of school just to pay for this school year’s fees which was paid out of their own pocket. They spent a whole year working and losing knowledge just to help and support the family. This was no longer a trip for me any more…it was reality. You see… the reality is that the children of Africa want an education, a chance to see the world, a way to give back to their country, the reality to dream and believe that their dreams will come true and their goals complete. I ask myself can I assist and guide them to making their dreams and goals become true at least while here. Yes I can! So, after hearing their dream jobs and stories I tried making their goals and dream a reality. I took my camera and filmed them making a report about why are students were late to class. This is normal even in the United States. We joined the video clips together to create a student report. This was a start, right? I thought so, but I waited and edited the report before they could look at the “live” report in class.  It was incredible to see how iMovie worked as well. And to know that I always had access to this software I never used, but it now could help bring their dreams to a reality. It felt good, but not good enough. I wondered how would they get access to this report after I leave. Email? The Internet is not dependable. Flask drive? No computer and if they did they did not have access to it anytime of the day. Once again a reality check.

Moving forward, the next day we worked with the students on developing their own workshops to present to the 1800 students at Ashaiman High School. We worked tirelessly with the students and voted on topics to present. My workshop on global learning was chosen among the six we presented. Yay global learning! It was exciting to be working with my classmate Erica and a group of students who felt it was essential to globalize their learning and go beyond their borders to educate themselves about the world. They created their own way to present their workshop with our assistance and Erica and I felt like proud parents to these children on their presentation day. However, the next day was not a TGIF (thank god its Friday) day. This was the last day to be in the same classroom with these incredible peer counselors. We rehearsed and they performed and did excellent. They became vocal and proud to be in the position they were in and I could see the faces of the other hundreds of students who wished they had that opportunity. The bad strikes again. Yet, it the day ended in excitement and joy. We gave them the toiletries we brought from the United States they were so appreciative. The next order of business was the scholarships. My classmates and I raised enough money to give seven full scholarships and twelve half scholarships towards the students school and PTA fees. The thankful spirit these students had after the announcement took ALL of the emotions out of me. Most of the students jumped and yelled with excitement. It was the best feeling of the evening. It was too much of a reality for me to know that these students were even paying for their education. They cared so much about pursuing life outside of their circumstances and educating themselves. It took so much for me to not cry in front of all the students as if they were family and all I wanted to do is make sure they succeeded in whatever they dreamt of in the future. This was a wake up call for me to take my education and spread it and let others know the endless boundaries and opportunities I have been given to further my education. Ghana has brought this reality to my attention and I am so grateful for the experience. And I will always remember that education and knowledge is REAL power, so I must pursue it at all times.