GHANA! Well Takoradi, Ghana was quite an eye-opening experience. I can honestly say that this was my first culture shock of the trip, and I know it is not going to be my last! The first day we arrived I had a field program called Twin City Orientation. In this FDP, we drove around two cities in Ghana. We stopped and got out at a small fishing village where we learned about how they made the large canoes that they use to fish. The kids were so cute and were fighting and pushing each other asking to have their picture taken. The poverty of the village was overwhelming. Later on that night we all went out to the only local bar showing the Super Bowl! It was pretty amazing to watch the kick off all the way from Africa!
The following day I went to Kakum National Park and saw a cultural performance. Kakum was so beautiful and we hiked up to the canopy walk, where there were suspended wooden bridges strung across from treetop to treetop. It was spectacular to see a rainforest from the canopies of the tallest trees. After we went to a hotel, ate lunch and watched a cultural performance of native African dance and drums accompanied by instruments made from bamboo. We all got up and learned a few dance moves; it was a lot of fun! The next day I went see a water village, it was quite the adventure to get to; two hours on a bus and an hour canoe ride. It’s strange how canoes are becoming a common mode of transportation for me! Once we arrived it was amazing and unlike anything I had ever seen, an entire community was built on top of the water, all the houses were on stilts. The village had a small school and was run by a chief, we had an opportunity to talk with the son of the chief and listen to the history of the village. Later on that night a large group of Semester at Sea kids went to Axim Beach, a beautiful beach about an hour away where we rented bungalows. It was so amazing and the water was so warm and clear. Unfortunately, this is where my camera was stolen. The only thing that upset me the most is that I lost all my pictures from Ghana, those aren’t replaceable but luckily the camera is.
On the last day I went on another FDP, where we learned about the gold mining industry in Ghana. Ghana has rich gold deposits, but still finds itself in extreme poverty because a mere 3-5% of the profits of gold mining stays within the country. We went to the headquarters of a grassroots organization named WACAM, which helps empower locals to stand up against the injustices of mining, then visited a village displaced by mine waste rock and after proceeded to village that was built in order to replace the one destroyed. This was such an eye-opening experience; I was completely unaware of the corruption in the gold industry and how many of thousands of locals are being forced from their land because of mines.
Overall, I had such an amazing time in Ghana. It was a culture shock, but it was great to see a different country of Africa before going to South Africa. I learned so much from my trips and was greatly impacted by the poverty and injustices that I witnessed.
