Mercy, AZIGBODI, Coolness

 

“Shake it up whine it up, shake it up I really like it I really like it ” we have arrived in Ghana and we’re in a taxi on our way to catch a tro tro (12-15 passenger van going towards a specific direction with multiple stops once we are there) that will take us to Takoradi, Ghana. We pass Cape Coast, the slave dungeons and people.  Driving through the red lands of Ghana I got a sense of the land, villages, how people lived and worked. What they did for a living. I saw poverty. But where will I not see poverty? I even see it in my own backyard in the US (figuratively speaking).  It was a long ride, due to the traffic because there are only two lanes, one going and one coming, a representation of the lack of infrastructure in the country.  So we arrive, in Takoradi, at a gas station where Jen and Leo await us to take us to the orphanage and they also await us with food. OMG, delicious to say the least! Finally, food that reminds of home. And hot sauce that numbed my lips…I don’t think I had tasted anything that spicy before, but it was sooooo Good. Sam and Gaby were in Heaven.

We’re driving to our first destination now, Mercy’s Dream Ministries. Dirt roads—bump bump, our heads waddle and before we know it among the green and the brown of the landscape, I begin to see smiles. Kids.  You see, Mercy’s Dream Ministries is a newly to be established NGO.  Once only Egyam Orphanage, two SAS 2010 Alumnae along with the director of the orphanage decided to found Mercy's Dream Ministries in order to aid the orphanage in providing clean water, nutritious meals, and education for each child. Mercy's Dream Ministries matches sponsors with individual children at $25/month.

The kids were so eager to play with us they literally took our hand, hung on our arms and hugged us without any reservations, without expectations. I was surrounded with girls perhaps betweenh the ages of 7-13. They taught me how to play some hand games, and it was so fun because everything they did had dancing involved in it, oh yeah!! It was a lot of fun. There was one young girl in particular, her name was Mercy, she is actually the one the orphanage is named after, Mercy hung out with me throughout our stay there which wasn’t long but quite memorable indeed. Mercy did not only play with me, but she also taught me about the virtue of agony. You see, although she did not articulate it, she reflected it with every smile and every hymn she sang to me, she wanted me to learn them. Her faith was so great. She wanted to know the names of my siblings: Dennis and Sinar. She then asked me to name my best friends and I did: you know who you are. I told Mercy, “they are my brothers and sisters just as you have your brothers and sisters here.” She then smiled and said to me: “maybe one day I can meet them.” And this was my first day in Ghana.

Throughout my stay in Ghana I also went to Kakum National Park and walked on the canopies: oversaw the rainforest, heard the animals roaming around as well as felt the touch of the fresh raindrops falling on our heads. I thought, just reflecting on my experience thus far, particularly on the day before, “How could they not believe? Not have faith? When this beauty is not a coincidence.” Once again, I reminded myself that agony is virtue.

I visited different sites in Ghana, also visited a more affluent elementary school as well as attended a traditional ceremony at Torgorme Village.  I saw a lot of things but not everything nor enough, and I had to find my own words to describe their world as best as I could. A world not all that different from mine, a world divided by borders, race, prejudices and privileges. But in the end, it is one world where people are just people and it is our individual conditions in our coming of age that marks the difference between our realities.

Yes, the Ghanaian people are the most benevolent yet. The humility that pervades their gestures and the tenderness with which they greet you reflect their gracious spirit, but I do not mean to romanticize their poverty and their situation. Because to do so, would be to ignore and neglect the issues that Ghana undergoes. We would fail to recognize that the reasons why Ghana suffers from the lack of infrastructure, education, water and health care, is because they were colonized, pillaged and left to settle their fate years ago. The land continues to be exploited by the capitalist elites, their resources (oil, diamonds, ivory, gold, etc) continue to be extracted and the people are again failed and not given any of that profit. Let me say also, I do not believe their faith renders them to a state complacency, but to the contrary, I believe it helps them envision a better tomorrow, a better humanity that gives them the strength and resiliency to continue on with their daily lives.

My last day in Ghana I went to Torgorme village, along the Accra plains and next to the Volta River, a beautiful place to say the least. Again, as we drove up and into the village, we saw kids running towards us—waving, smiling, laughing and anticipating our participation, as were we. We were welcomed graciously as we paid our respects and shook the hand of not only the chief but also the hands of the elders and their wives. As we sat down, I began to see the instruments—little by little we began to hear drums rolls and the children at the village were so eager, and so excited to show us what they had prepared. Before I knew it others and I were dancing with them, I definitely took notes. This was a traditional village ceremony, before not only the Christian God but also their deities; this was a naming ceremony. I was given my African name:

AKU meaning Wednesday born and AZIGBODI, my spiritual name bestowed upon me by the Gods. It means PATIENCE.

I was blessed to be in this land, to be among the Ghanaian people, to be among Mercy and be humbled. My troubles, my pains are almost trivial I thought as I left the Internet café one night in Accra. I had heard some news from back home; felt some uncertainties accompanied by disillusionment. But I put things into perspective. I thought about the different kinds of losses, the different degrees of pain and once again, the virtue of agony. I’m in Ghana, and there are worst things in life that can happen to me. Not to belittle my trials or those of my loved ones, but in the end, things can always be worse. In the end, life happens Destiny gets in the way. But if we choose to follow the sun and take life as it comes, one will see that it all happens for the best. In the end, agony is virtue—it’s good for the growth of your character, it humbles you and makes you gracious.

You know, when the Ghanaian people ask you “how are you?” They genuinely care. Because they are a community, they sincerely want to help you. Likewise, when you tell them what you feel, they listen to you free of judgment.

Lastly, I read for my music class a piece about the significance of music in Africa, specifically about one tribe, the Ewe, and how essential it is to their lives. They abide by an indigenous ideal—“philosophy of the cool” that means patience and collectedness of the mind. I have been bestowed with patience- AZIGBODI. Which, I humbly accept and I have to say I believe it to be true. I am patient indeed, but not complacent.

What is Love to the Africans—coolness.

Now, off to South Africa, ooooohhhhh yeeeeeea!!!!

Love, Jenny