The Ghana Experience

During the year 2003, I was able to make one of my lifelong dreams come true by visiting the Motherland. The trip took me to the beautiful country of Ghana, West Africa.

This journey was not as I expected. My expectations was that as soon as I touched ground that I’d have this incredible sense of joy, but when I arrived that feeling, that I was expecting in it’s intensity was not present. So, I wondered to myself why was I not feeling the way I expected to feel. Little did I know that Africa did not work that way It had It’s own plan for me. I went with a group of (7) people myself, a young man that was a teacher, a probation officer, a retired Chicago policeman, my girlfriend from LA, another teacher, my husband, and my neighbor (A Ghanaian) who was our host. We stayed in the Capitol city of Accra our first days there and then went to Cape Coast, a city along the coast where the Castles were that held the slaves awaiting ships that took them to the Caribbean and the Americas. It was here that my spiritual experience happened. While visiting the dungeons where our people had been housed, the grief and anger that engulfed me was so intense that I could not contain it. On our tour, the guide took us through a door that was the last door that the slave went through and the last time their feet touched the ground of their ancestors. This door was called the Door of No Return. Before we returned inside the door that was now called The Door of Return, our guide welcomed us home. At this very moment I heard a hand clap, real or imaginary I do not know, but I do know that upon hearing that clap I immediately started sobbing, a loud sob that came from the depths of my soul. I felt a heavy weigh leave my body as I sobbed uncontrollably until my companions came and embraced and consoled me. My husband whom had never seen me display such public emotion did not know what to do. At that moment I knew that I had accomplished one of my destinies, which was to take my ancestors spirits back home. Mission accomplished! After leaving Cape Coast, we traveled up to the Asante region where we stayed in the city of Kumasi. On one of our outings we traveled to the village of Bonwire, where they made Kente cloth. Upon arriving in the village a young girl approached the van in which I was sitting and started up a conversation with me. I was so impressed with this child. After leaving the storefront I had to use the restroom. Of course, in Africa we just couldn’t pull over at a gas station as we would in America and use a public restroom because there was no such thing. My host said to me, “We’ll just pulled over and go to one of the villagers house so you can go to the restroom”. I was shocked and said to her “Do you know these people”, because you know in America if we tried something like that you could get shot or at the very least not even have the door opened for you even if someone has home. But again, Africa had it’s own way. Not only did we find a home where we were welcomed with open arms, the lady inside said to us in wonderful English, “If I had known you were coming I would have cooked more food. Another spiritual experience, because at that moment I knew that I had to do something to help this village. I then told my host of my intentions and she said that she would take care of it for me. In Africa there is a ritual for everything and before anything is done the ancestors are consulted. The very next morning a young man showed up at the house where we were living (again Africa had something in store for me) he was the grandson of the Chief Weaver of the village of Bonwire. My host had not had the chance yet to act on my previous request, so this was another case of extraordinary spirits working on my behalf, and he took my request to his grandfather and this is how I adopted the village of Bonwire.

On my return home I was so excited about this trip and the people that I had met that I was overjoyed to share my experiences with my family and friends. Upon telling my book club members about the children in Bonwire we decided that we would start collecting school supplies of which we did for over a year and on my next trip back in the summer of 2004, I presented the school supplies as well as two lap top computers in which I and a client of mine donated, to the Village. They threw a big bash for me and the Delegation that went with me which consisted of my husband, one of my book club members Dedra and her mother, both of which had the same dream of going to the Motherland and that like myself they brought their dream into reality. While I was there I vowed to the Village that I would come every year as long as I lived to help them. I intend on keeping that promise.

By: Frankie