Saturday, October 23, 2010

Life in the village of Okurase


Chris and lived in Ghana for 7 and a half weeks and it was truly amazing! We were different people while we were there, not different unlike ourselves but instead more ourselves than we had ever been. We woke up every morning with the sun around 6am to the children sweeping the dirt off the dirt out side our door calling each other and probably beating on a drum. We were alway happy and ready to go because we knew we had a purpose, we each were fulfilling our individual passions in life side by side and being loved by the people around us while doing it.

At first, walking through the village we noticed poor living conditions and shattered clothes. After a couple of weeks our focus shifted to seeing the joy of the people in the community they share, which we were invited into. We were excitedly greeted by "Uncle Kwame" (Chris's given name) or "Anti Adjoa" (my given name) or other names people came up with for us every where we went in the village, sometime by the same children 10x a day who would jump up and down and run up to hug us every time. We realized that while the people of the village of Okurase do need a lot of help, they also have a lot they can offer to teach us about living life and being happy with what you have.

I will never forget, Celestina, a little girl I taught coming up to me at our celebration after our performance and I told her to get in line for her food she said "No, you go if your not eating I'm not eating." Then at least five other children before even touching their bowl of food came to me and said "you're invited." Community and unity is part of who they are what they have they have to share.

I know that Chris and I will never forget this trip and know that we will probably be a part of this project for many years to come. After this adventure, we are certainly living our lives to a new drum beat. Your invited.