Akwaaba is the formal greeting for when you arrive in Ghana. Welcome! And it is accompanied with infectious smiles, song, dance, drums, and deep belly laughter that reinforces the reality - this is a beautiful land full of joyous and generous people eager to share. Ghana, named for an ancient and prosperous African empire, is a "Gracious Space", where strangers come together to learn from each other and to broaden perspective. It is within the confines of this Gracious Space that 14 American and Ghanaian educators begin a journey of exploration and self discovery to bear witness. Later this summer, 16 more intrepid souls will embark on their journey. It does not take long before those strangers are transformed into friends, and become "witness trees" to all that surrounds. The Expedition of The Witness Tree Institute of Ghana for 2022 commences!
This is a video of the dancers and drummers who welcomed WTIG 2022 Cohort 1!
New sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and feels greet you like a gentle slap on the face as you depart Kotoka International Airport and enter Greater Accra, the bustling capital city of this thriving African nation. A vibrant cityscape of glass and steel silhouette the horizon and punctuate the quiet, more subdued residential zones. Incessant beeps and friendly toots of car horns, not out of annoyance or anger but out of courtesy, announce presence amidst a steady stream of flowing grid lock that declares a symphony of busy-ness. On residential avenues, the elegant and gentile hand horn's melody of the cycling frozen yogurt vendors promise refreshment and relief from the heat and humidity.
Additional vendors hawking coconuts, fresh fruits, grilled fish or meat, and kabobs, line the avenues. Pulsating musical beats and melodies blare amidst the steady din of human voices that echo the sounds of a vibrant street life that rarely sleeps. The fragrances of the street food intermingled with the flowers that grow roadside swirl in the nostrils, and invite to taste local dishes such as joloff, fufu, and red red. If it's your fancy, domestic lagers quench thirst, refresh, and wash down the spicy foods that touch the palette. All the while, in this tropical climate heat and humidity coat the skin with a thin layer of perspiration, which is not an uncomfortable sticky feeling. Instead, it necessitates attacking daily life at a more measured and pleasant pace, providing time and space to absorb additional sites and sounds of this magical land.
Those sites and sounds make up threads that woven together connect two nations on either side of the Atlantic. Professor Pash Obeng and Dr Kuwor remind us of those connections during the initial workshops. The connections between the US and Ghana are tragic and inspiring. The Ghanaian coast was a portal of the Slave Trade that stole the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of generations of African souls from these shores. Civil Rights icons came to Ghana to find solidarity and the inspiration from the liberation movements that toppled oppressive colonial regimes. Portraits of those American icons of the Civil Rights movement adorn the walls of historical sites. W.E.B. DuBois emigrated here, attained Ghanaian citizenship, and served as an informal advisor to the country's first president, Kwame Nkrumah. There is an impressive contemporary Ghanaian Diaspora in the States and throughout the world, and music and arts from Ghana are popular on both sides of the Atlantic. Ghana was the first country to accept and welcome Peace Corps Volunteers, heeding the call of John F Kennedy, after Ghana became the first Sub-Saharan African nation to shed the suffocating cloak of colonialism and gain Independence. Since then, a burgeoning consumer economy continues to emerge as Accra's glistening malls attest, and Ghana is an international leader for the market for the commodity, cocoa, a product that is deemed the world's premium. The expeditions of The Witness Tree Institute will bear witness to these tangible connections as our journey proceeds.
Before getting ahead of ourselves though, first the members of the Witness Tree Institute of Ghana are formerly welcomed by the Elders of the Ga, the traditional owners of the land where the capital, Accra, sits. The Elders perform a formal Naming Ceremony that welcomes this year's Witness Tree members and anoints them with spirits. This baptismal-like rite centers on being introduced and christened with a Ghanaian name. Ghanaians are named for the day of the week on which they were born, and since I am born a Saturday, I am Kwame! The welcome ceremony culminates with dance and drums.
This blog intends to provide a forum that shares the experience of this year's expeditions and amplifies the voices of the Ghanaian and American members of The Witness Tree Institute. In doing so, it carves out a "Gracious Space" that enhances learning and broadens perspective as we collectively share images, thoughts, emotions, and sensations. The motto of The Witness Tree Institute is "Tete Wo Biribi Ka" - The past has something to say. As a means to listen and bear witness to the past, we also pay attention to the present. Medaasi (thank you) for following the present adventure, and welcome to the Witness Tree Blog. Akwaaba!
by David “Kwame” Duane, Chair of Science Dept, The Fenn School, Concord MA