“Fifty-two years ago, the eyes of the world were on Ghana. And a young preacher named Martin Luther King traveled here, to Accra, to watch the Union Jack come down and the Ghanaian flag go up. This was before the march on Washington or the success of the civil rights movement in my country. Dr. King was asked how he felt while watching the birth of a nation. And he said: ‘It renews my conviction in the ultimate triumph of justice.’” — President Barack Obama in Ghana, July 2009.
President Obama chose Ghana as his first visit to Africa as president because, he said, it is a good example of democracy on the troubled continent. It has a peaceful history that stands out among its surrounding countries.
Interesting facts about Ghana:
1. In 1957, Ghana, a British colony, was the first sub-Saharan country in colonial Africa to gain its independence.
2. Maya Angelou lived in Ghana for several years. She described it as a place “improving the quality of man’s humanity to man.”
3. The schools of Ghana are some of the best in Africa. Many African leaders, including Zimbabwe’s Mugabe, were schooled here. Almost 58 percent of the population is literate.
4. Major exports are gold, cocoa, timber, and, quite recently, oil.
5. Children’s middle names are often the day of the week they were born. Interesting. So my kids would be Noah Sunday and Sawyer … uh … Tuesday? Wednesday? Ah, thankfully we have such calendars online. Sawyer Wednesday. Don’t judge. He’s a second child.
Cape Coast Castle
6. The country was a major shipping point for Africans who were taken away as slaves to America. For so many slaves, perhaps millions, Ghana’s Cape Coast Castle (complete with holding pens and dungeons) was the last of Africa they ever saw.
7. Slightly smaller than Oregan, Ghana has a population of almost 24 million.
8. Music, drumming, and dancing are part of almost every gathering.
9. The most common foods of Ghana are fufu (pounded plantains and cassava), corn, rice, fish, hot peppers, and peanut soups.
10. The average annual income here is $400.
A volunteer at one of Project Abroad's orphanages in Ghana.
How to help:
• Volunteer at one of Projects Abroad’s orphanages in Ghana. The UK-based organization, which specializes in opportunities for a young adult’s “gap year,” has volunteer opportunities with working with children, building homes, or working on farms.
• Donate to Marie Stopes International, an organization that works in Ghana and other third-world nations to help women with reproductive rights, family planning, health screening, maternal health, and advocacy. Since beginning work in Ghana in mid-April of 2007, Marie Stopes has seen almost half a million clients. Each year, more than 530,000 women die during pregnancy or in childbirth, and three million die of AIDS. Most of these deaths are preventable.
[...] committed to feeding my soul with friends from Africa. And her husband, I learned that day, is from Ghana. I could see where this was going. If one believed such things, which I’m never quite sure I [...]