HISTORY, CRAFTS, AND FRIENDLY STRANGERS

Janyn and I have planned a busy day.  There is much to pack into the few short days she has here.  “I think we should take a taxi.” Janyn quickly agrees.  Taxi’s are cheap.  TroTro’s are more fun.  In the end taxi’s are more efficient and save time.  Our backpacks are loaded with water, nuts and other essentials.

We are on our way.  Matthew, the security guard, greets us and opens the gate.  We walk down the dirt road and within seconds we flag a taxi, negotiate the price and are headed to Independence Square, also known as Black Star Square, in the heart of the city.

President Kwame Nkrumah commissioned the square in 1961 in honor of Queen Elizabeth’s visit to Ghana.  It is the second largest city square in the world, the first being Tianamen Square in China.  It has two monuments, a large stadium and the arch.  There has been some controversy surrounding the square.  First, some felt the money could have been put to better use and second the name of the stadium.  Originally named Accra Sports Stadium, the name was changed to Ohene Djan after the first sports director in 2004 and quietly changed back to Accra Sports Stadium in 2011.

We are dropped off and walk over to the Accra Sports Stadium.  At one end of the stadium is the arch with rooms that I can only guess is for dignitaries.  At the other end is a soldier standing guard, representing their struggle for freedom, a common theme in Ghana.  The Stadium is used each year in observance of Ghana’s Independence as well as sporting and inaugural events.  Ghana hosted the African Cup of Nations at the Stadium in 2008.  It is easy to imagine 30,000 people in the stands cheering the Black Stars with a deafening sound.  Today it is peaceful and quiet, with a pleasant ocean breeze cooling the heat of the day.  There are only a couple of men under the arch, one looking at his phone and the other sleeping on the ground.

We walk past the stadium and head to the Gulf of Guinea.  It is time to put our feet into another foreign water.  There are homeless living on the sand.  As we move toward the shelter built from large branches and pieces of wood, we hear “Akwaaba”.  A word that is written and heard often, “Welcome”.  We introduce ourselves.  “Eta sen, my name is Ama”.  Janyn responds “Abena”.   These are our Ghanaian names.  They are hungry and want us to bring food on our way back.  They are not the first to make this request and I'm sure we will hear it many times again.  With no food available, we are again on our way, dipping feet into the water and walking along the sand and up the road. 

We walk back through the stadium and to the round-about.  Carefully, we cross the road.  Cars have the right-of-way and will not stop for pedestrians.  This is something I remember well from my days in Saint Lucia.  Like most areas, the grounds are unkempt.  Weeds are growing and there is trash on the ground.  Two men are sleeping under the arch, but again it is easy to imagine Ghana’s first President Nkrumah and QueenElizabeth here in the very place we are standing.   

We are headed to the Nkrumah Memorial site about a mile down the road when two Ghanaians standing outside the Cultural Arts Center stop us.  The title of this center is a bit misleading as it is actually a place where artisans gather to sell crafts.  They want to give us a drumming lesson.  I explain we are not there to buy.  We are on our way to the memorial site.  Of course, that is ok with them.  They know if they can get us there, we will buy something.  I am impressed by the marketing technique they use.  Many in Ghana will give you an experience, not just ask for a sale.  It is clever and it works.  I’m teaching marketing in Ghana and there is always something I can learn.

We agree.  It sounds like fun.  We walk into the center and into their shop.  There are many wood masks, bowls, drums and paintings sitting on shelves and hanging on the walls.  We sit on the bench and they begin playing drums, some of which are traditional Ghanaian Drums.  They give us each a drum and show us how to use them.  It is a good experience.  Of course we look for something to buy and decide on a wooden bowl. 

I design a custom bowl with two symbols representing independence and transformation along with my Ghanaian name etched on it. 

They take the bowl to be carved and I follow to watch him.  In terms of the Supply Chain, I decide there is someone who makes the bowls, someone who carves the bowls and the retail shop that knows the customer and what they want…hmm, the very subject I will be teaching next week in my Marketing Class.

I find Janyn in another shop negotiating a price for a pair of Ghanaian pants.  She makes the purchase and we are on our way, a few cedi’s less than when we started, but well worth the money and the time spent.

Just around the corner and only a ten minute walk is Nkrumah’s Memorial site.  We pay the Abruni price to enter the grounds.  It is very well kept, peaceful and beautiful.  

It has beautiful sculptures sitting in two pools of water with a path between them leading to Nkrumah’s Mausoleum, where he and his second wife are buried.  

We walk up into the gravesite and I think about this man.  A leader who took the country to independence, who was imprisoned in his early years because of his beliefs, but in the end let his ego stand in the way of greatness.  I wonder, did he die a broken man? Was he angry in the end?  Or, did he accept his fate with dignity?  I don't have the answers to these questions, but there is one more: Does he now know that the people of Ghana accepted him back and gave him what is considered by many as a proper burial site?

A testament to his downfall is just a few feet from this site.  It is a statue of him.  His body to one side and his head on the other, destroyed during the 1966 military coups d’état.

We walk through the mausoleum and to the museum steps.  There is a Ghanaian taking pictures of other Ghanaians.  Janyn says, “Would you like me to take a picture of all of you together”.  They respond, “No, he isn’t with us.  He is taking our picture.  Come over hear and take a picture with us”.  Huh?  Really?  Alright!  They are beautifully dressed and we stand next to them, backpacks, shorts and t-shirts; strangers bonding for one quick picture.  Turn-about is fair-play and so we ask them to use our camera for a picture of them.  We are a novelty and I accept that.

It is a small museum.  We walk through the timeline of Nkrumah’s life and then move on to see the artifacts, his furniture is at one end of the room and traditional clothing at the other end.  Pictures are not allowed. There are gifts he was given and pictures on the walls. 

The most interesting pictures were of President Kennedy with Nkrumah.  In the same grouping were Castro and Khrushchev.  I know they are trying to show heads of state in this group, but I also know that these pictures were taken at the height of tensions during the Cold War.  I wonder what Kennedy was thinking as he was standing beside a man who was leaning away from Democracy.  I also wonder about the political motivation of the United States Peace Corps as Ghana was the first country we supported.

After an hour we were off again.  We need to fit in two stores and buy something for dinner.  We catch a taxi back into Osu and go to Global Mama’s, a fair trade store for artisans.

Again we risked our lives to cross the street to go to Trashy Bags, a store that recycles old billboard material, used water bags and other discarded trash to make, among other things, purses, computer bags, wallets, reusable grocery bags.

And now it’s time to get back to why I’m here.  We return home, just in time to change and catch a taxi to Webster to teach my Management Class.  

We get home that night after 10:00 p.m. knowing tomorrow will be another early start, but not knowing this will be one of the most interesting and memorable days here in Ghana.