Photo of the Week #6

Just before the Easter weekend I made a quick trip back to Bole to visit some old friends and colleagues. 

I left for the Tamale Metro Mass Bus station at 5:00 AM which is usually early enough to get a good seat on the bus which can leave anytime between noon and 4 PM.  But when I arrived I couldn’t even see the ticket booth through all the students crowded around it hoping to get a ticket.

Easter is apparently a popular time to take a break from school and travel back home to see the family.

I waited in the mob for two hours before I pushed my way into the office only to be told they sold out of tickets at 4:00 AM. Thanks for letting me know.

Later that morning, through the rumour mill, the Bole Director of Agriculture found out I had not been able to get a ticket.  From 300km away he made a bus ticket materialize for me, as if by magic. All I had to do was go back to the bus station, drop the name of the Union Chairman, and the ticket was mine.

Within the hour I find myself sitting in the best seat on the bus (front row behind the driver with lots of leg room) and feeling incredibly guilty and lucky in equal measure as I watch the desperate students swarm the bus, yelling and crawling over one another in a violent effort to secure a standing space in the aisle between the seats.

As we pulled away there were students clinging to the outside of the bus holding their grip with one arm through an open window. One small boy who had a ticket couldn’t get through the mob to the door and chased the bus down, struggling to keep a hold of his suitcase and weeping. The bus driver, frustrated by all the attempts of others to enter the bus nearly ran the boy over and but eventually realized he had a ticket and let him on.

Amidst this unfavourable showing of humanity the young woman beside me was overcome with an angry sadness. She confided in me through tears that she hates how in Ghana there never seems to be enough to go around; someone is always suffering at the hands of another. Finally, she gave in and put her head in her hands muttering “People care more about money than people these days.”

Photo of the week #5

My landlord, Alhassen, is a successful shop owner, school teacher, loving husband and proud father to three adorable children (the youngest of whom is still a little terrified of me).

When I asked the question “What motivates you?” (to help a colleague with a photo project) it sparked a long discussion about the drive to succeed, taking pride in the work you produce and preserving your integrity along the way.

I truly admire this man. He spoke of how hard he works to make sure the job gets done, even when all others have gone home.  This is likely the reason he is one of the only people to accumulate the wealth needed to move out of his village and into the city to pursue his academic and commercial aspirations.

His shop is extremely popular and well run and he finds creative ways to invest his money to ward off the double curse of rampant inflation and hundreds of distant relatives all asking for a piece of his wealth.

More important than his hard work and business sense, I admire him because he has shaken the traditional dominant male role and treats the women in his life with love and respect. His wife is his equal in all respects and he is insistent that his daughters receive the highest quality of education to help them succeed. 

Through his deep caring for those around him, his entrepreneurial nature, and the integrity and hard work that characterizes every thing he does, Alhassen shows me everyday how bright the future can be for Ghana.