Thoughts at Cape Coast and Kakum

Our visit to the Cape Coast Castle was one of the most impactful experiences I have ever had. Stepping into the first small cell of the dungeon, where at any one time 200 men were trapped, shackled, and suffering, immediately triggered a visceral response. Those who were captured and forced into these cells endured physical and emotional pain and terror that I can never begin to imagine.  

When it was time to write our reflections I decided to revisit the dungeon we first walked into that evoked such a powerful response in my heart and body. I sat to write in my journal on the same ground that the enslaved men urinated, vomited, defecated, and died on. The life I live is one of such privilege. I have never and will never experience the racism that so many endure, and it is not fair to say I can even imagine what it is like. In order to honor those humans who were held captive in the dungeon, I chose to sit on the same grounds to connect myself to their experiences as best as I could. I closed my eyes to imagine the sight of people dying around me, the smell of vomit, feces, and dead bodies, the feeling of chains wrapped around me, and the sounds of wailing or the silence of pain and exhaustion. As I opened my journal, I looked at the cover which had the words “Happiness, Peace, Hope, Joy, Appreciation, Love.” I immediately recognized the contrast between these words and the feeling inside the dungeon, devastated and furious that the people held captive were stripped of each and every one of those.

These injustices were appalling. The strength and resiliency shown by Africans who were enslaved at these castles are unparalleled. We have to remember that the injustices are not over and show up in many forms in our world towards people of color. There is so much work that needs to be done and we need to continue taking action and creating change.

The feelings of anguish that were brought forth during our visit to the Cape Coast Castle on Monday heavily contrasted with Tuesday’s visit to the spacious Kakum National Park, surrounded by calming sounds and overall peace out in nature.

For some, completing the long canopy walk was a thrilling adventure. For others it required overcoming a strong fear, which provided a sense of accomplishment and pride.

Walking across the canopy demonstrated how step by step you can overcome the obstacle set before you. You prove to yourself that your inner strength and perseverance can literally and figuratively move you from point A to point B. As long as you are moving forward, it does not matter how quickly you go because you are making progress toward your goal.

I think of my students with language based learning disabilities who are faced with challenges every single day. It is always humbling to be faced with a challenge and remember the butterflies and tense muscles that sometimes accompany the nerves when trying something new or conquering a fear. Stepping out of one’s comfort zone and facing a fear is not always easy but it is necessary. A quote on my classroom wall reads “The bird who dares to fall is the bird who learns to fly.” Only when we take risks and step out of our comfort zone do we have the chance to learn, grow, and transform.

The canopy walk was a reminder that success does not always come easy, and it is with the support and encouragement from the community around you that can motivate and guide you through the many challenges life brings. The words of encouragement from our cohort members generated smiles and motivation from each person crossing the bridge. The walk reminded me that each of us has the ability to empower another person, which results in a stronger community. I have seen the value of community embedded into Ghanaian culture by the way people help each other on a daily basis, and it is evident that the world needs more of that. Together we can help each other overcome obstacles that we never imagined we could.

 By Megan Saunders, Science Department Head, Carroll School, Lincoln, MA

Some Noticings

Communication is diverse, a fact that many around the world fail to recognize. The people of Ghana, however, not only recognize and furthermore appreciate this, they celebrate it.

Yes, we may communicate through sounds produced by our vocal cords. Yet, communication, when thought of as a concept as opposed to an absolute, allows us to exchange information and feelings with one another in an abundance of ways; through our hands, a gentle palm on the shoulder; through our eyes, an affirmation of friendship; through our smiles, a disarming ‘akwaaba’ to all who visit this country. Communication here is high context, visceral, profound, and never superficial.

We finally reached the beach after a long drive from Accra. I am drawn to a fleet of fishing boats lined up in unison. I admire the craftsmanship behind them. I lean in and see the hand-hewn beams of the hull. I run my hand along the uneven wood and can feel and hear the men who created them. Each boat tells a story.

The sound of humming suddenly catches my attention. I wander behind the boats and, underneath a pasture of palms, I see some 30 men stitching a long fishing net. I approach them. They first ask for money. Away from the group, I’m a little intimidated, but I persist. I lead with a smile and ask them what they are doing. They come closer, interested in who I am. I’m a little surprised that nobody understands English. Fante is the language spoken here. I mention my Ghanaian day name, which is Kwabena. They smile and come closer, excited that I have introduced myself in a way they can understand. A hand comes up further down the line of men. “Kwabena,” he says, pointing to himself. The man right in front of me points to his comrade to my left. “He’s Kwabena.” We exchange smiles. Another Kwabena appears. There are several of us. One more barrier broken.

Ghana’s most unique form of communication must be its transmission of feelings, ideas and meaning through music and dance. Music and dance as a concept, that is. It is not that Ghana has more of this than anywhere else, but it is a culture that discovers value in the everyday, inspiring people to find meaning in the sonic patterns and acoustic vibrations that exist all around us. These are given life through the minds and souls of the people and, in return, they become the heartbeat of the culture.

I’m awoken by the call to prayer in the early morning before traveling to Cape Coast Castle. I’m unable to fall back asleep, but I close my eyes and the sounds begin to appear. Listen closely, and you may summon them to your attention. The clipping of a ceiling fan as it whirls round communicates a rhythm…

Music - the arrangement of sounds with melody, rhythm and harmony - exists for myriad reasons. For most, it is a form of entertainment. For Ghanaians, it exists to help them save themselves. Without music, there would be no Ghana.

An impromptu dance party held on the balcony of Auntie Mercy’s Shebeen overlooking the Cape Coast was followed by a 45-minute bus ride to our hotel. It was late and we were all tired from a long day. We piled into the bus, prepared for a long slog back over the nighttime roads. For me, the purpose of this ride was to reach our destination. But for Kwesi and Dela, the purpose was different. Behind the djembe in the back of the bus, Kwesi began to pound out a beat. Dela joined him with the frikyiwa, helping to set the rhythm. They began to sing…

This 45-minute journey for them was an opportunity. Perhaps to break up the monotony; to shame the silence; to give us all a kick; to plant an everlasting memory in our heads... This journey home became about process. It strengthened our bonds and reaffirmed our collective friendship that had been building over the last several days. It allowed us to save ourselves.

Few places ask for one to be present like Ghana does. To truly experience all that Ghana has to offer, you must open yourself up, listen more closely to your intuitive self, connect more closely with your spiritual side. You begin to exercise certain parts of the mind, and especially the body, that you may not be used to using. You must surrender to a different form of communication and grow accustomed to the unconstrained energy of everyday life. These are all beautiful and transformative if you are willing to join the dance.


Tom Flint
Film School Manager at Raw Art Works
Founder of Filmbuilding
Cape Coast, Ghana

Sankofa

"Sankofa" is an Akan Adinkra symbol which depicts a bird with its head turned backward retrieving an egg from its back. The symbol expresses the importance of reaching back to knowledge gained in the past and bringing it into the present to make positive progress. As we travel as a cohort to places like Cape Coast and Elmina castles that held enslaved Africans, Ghanaians like me are reminded of Ghana's slavery past— long regarded as too sensitive to even discuss. Sadly, most Ghanaians are ignorant of their history of slavery, it’s significance and effects on Ghana are less and less taught in schools.

The fact is that there were over sixty slave forts bunched within a little over 290 miles of Ghana’s coast! How can that be ignored? Today Ghana’s tourism industry see these castles and forts as one of Ghana's most distinctive features, and places of historical significance. I believe Ghana is endowed with rich traditions and culture which are imbedded in our history and values including the horrors and legacy of slavery.
As a member of the WTIG cohort 1 and 2, 2022, I also realized and I agree with Dr. S. K. Kuwor, one of our WTIG lecturers, that Ghana's history, culture and traditional education should be at the heart of our formal education and not the western education of our colonial past.
Samuel Delali Awutey
Osuwem R/C Basic School, Asutsuare, Greater Accra

Welcoming

It might be in the eruption of applause the moment the plane touches down in Accra, or the steamy air that envelopes you outside the enclosure of the plane. It could be the simple “You are welcome” greeting of the immigration officer or the helpful porter. Things happen in Ghana that tell you you are welcome to be here.

The offering and drinking of water on arriving at somebody’s house is a gesture of peace, trust and good intention that is established before the stated “mission” of the visitor. So, welcoming is both giving and receiving. For a returning Ghanaian, like Tete, a welcome might be a favorite dish of food delivered by a friend or a sister. For my brother-in-law, returning from the middle of Missouri, he felt welcomed by being part of the human hustle and bustle in the airport and being surrounded by the familiar voices, gestures and expressions of so many Ghanaian people at the arrival hall. Later, a large family gathering to celebrate the life of my mother-in-law, a family matriarch who died in 2019 at age 91, was a welcoming home and a collective welcoming of siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, nephews and nieces.

Familiar food, drink and language; spontaneous singing and dancing were also welcoming factors. The ancestors are ever present and invited to share libation at gatherings and decision-making moments because the well-being of the living matters to them. Visitors are welcomed with gracious gestures, and foreign visitors are thanked for making the journey to Ghana, the most welcoming place you may ever know, a place that cherishes and honors human beings in communion with other human beings. Witness Tree participants of Cohort 2 have just arrived from the US and from parts of Ghana. They have been given water and told Akwaaba! Today we will all set off in a bus together for Cape Coast and other places ready to welcome what Ghana has to teach!

Elizabeth Cobblah, Maynard Massachusetts, retired art teacher Fenn School

Bookends

The Witness Tree Institute has ended its first of two sessions, and we are preparing for Cohort 2 to arrive in Ghana officially on Friday, July 22, 2022.

In my opinion session 1 has been a joyful and successful session because we had a dynamic, passionate and self-motivated, group of educators/life-long learners. I have said that the success of each cohort and program depends largely on the nature, efforts and attitude of the cohort, and this was confirmed!

One of our WTIG presenters described Cohort 1 as “..educators who experienced learning with their bodies, minds and souls..” Another described them as the most “diverse minds” they have ever had the opportunity to teach. Ariana, Cidi, Ofuriwaa, Dela, Tasha, Diana, Krista, Fametta, Osa, Kwasi and Jennifer: each one of you gifted those of us who have spent months planning this program, immeasurable spiritual and fulfilling rewards with your hunger, confidence, openness and generosity. When gratitude has no words to express its depth, words recede. So I can only say “Thank you” to all of you.

One of the goals of the Witness Tree Institute is to create transformative experiences for educators, so that the benefits of experiential learning- authenticity, passion, clarity, curiosity- can be aroused in their students. We also hope that, as committed Witness Trees, you would continue to use your experiences to raise up silenced and marginalized voices in your communities. Our world seems to be revolving especially unevenly, and we educators, may need to be the ones to seek and demand answers even in our little corners of the world. The greatest danger to our future is not the challenges themselves, but apathy and the lack of awareness on our part.

Cohort 1, as I listened to all of you during the Letter To My Ancestors exercise on our final day together, I sensed that what stitched all the different parts of our conversations, workshops, stories, identities, tears and laughter together is what is native to all humans. Where all of these woven threads of learning and spirits intersected also lie our common, raw and beautiful humanity.

Together, let us examine the life and brilliance of what is in the shadows, grayness and pain interlaced with the beautiful, harsh history and the inspiring culture we find. That way we can say with conviction and confidence that we have at some point in our lives, been witnesses to history, and celebrated all of who we are and what we’re making of our world so others may live.

Congratulations to WTIG Cohort 1! Akwaaba to WTIG Cohort 2. Ghana welcomes you home!

By Tete Cobblah

Founder and Director of WTIG

The Beauty of Makola Market

Constructed in 1924, Accra’s largest outdoor market, Makola has served as the heart and soul of the city for almost 100 years. As with many other markets across the globe, Makola has become the epicenter for the exchange of goods and services, connection, and culture.

 While there isn’t an “official” sign that leads you to the market, it’ll quickly become clear to you that you’ve arrived. Immediately upon entry, you’re sucked into the commotion. Thousands of people line the streets and inner corridors. On display, vendors sprawl an array of goods –  produce and livestock, jewelry, electronics, textiles, and household items – in eager hopes that their next customer is just a few steps away.

 As you walk the streets, you are enveloped in a cacophony of sounds, smells, and sights. You’re swept away by the fast-paced buzz that energizes the people. Mesmerized by the colors of the bright lights, beautiful products, and flashy signs. In the air, rings a sweet song composed of different sounds: the artful exchange between vendor and buyer as they contend on a price, a blend of local dialects and Pidgin English, and the enticing beckons and calls from determined vendors. Similarly, the scents of different tasty treats — fried foods, roasted meats and jollof — waft through the atmosphere.

 As a Nigerian visiting Ghana for the first time, walking through the streets of Makola, made me fall deeper in love with my identity as an African. In the eyes of some, a market such as Makola might seem chaotic, dirty and antiquated. But for me, the market is a testament of the best of what Africa has to offer: tradition, ingenuity, hustle, creativity and soul. 

 I hope each of you will be able to visit one day and experience what I felt. The market is really the place to be.

 Welcome, to Makola!

By Osa Osagie, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, The Carroll School, Lincoln MA

At Cape Coast

At Cape Coast we spread out to write in silence for half an hour. I find a small step in a narrow strip of shade against a high wall. A variegated plant is growing beside me. Swallows are swooping. The door of no return is within sight. Waves are pounding against the seawall. Intense sunlight fills the vast courtyard overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. It is noon. I think of the sheer audacity of the European colonizers to erect such an enormous imposing structure that out-scales the local buildings hundreds-fold, and the audacity of them to do this on other peoples’ shores. Even the equatorial sun did not deter them. The sharp heat, the blinding light, the pounding surf did not keep them from erecting this structure of dominance, exploitation and atrocity. I hear heavy loud machinery moving huge boulders into place for a massive seawall intended to protect this edifice from the rising seas of climate change. I sense some irony and symbolism in that. Near my feet I notice a rosette of green growth emerging from a crack in the impossibly thick stone floor. The plant speaks to me of all the human resilience and brilliance and determination and resourcefulness which have been stolen and squandered - and which have also survived and want to thrive - on both sides of the Atlantic. And I recognize how deep African human roots must be. 

By Elizabeth Updike Cobblah, retired Art teacher Fenn School , Maynard MA

Participatory Approaches to Problem Solving

It has been my desire for many years to experience the Kakum Canopy walk. The Kakum forest, that is home to the canopy walk, is a rainforest. The canopy walk hovers 30 meters above the rain forest and it is quite a source of pride for people who succeed in walking the whole length of the canopy without intense fear. At the end of the canopy walk, many tourists and adventurers pose proudly under a sign which proclaims, “ I survived the Kakum canopy walkway, I’d been told. I’d always wanted to do that- success after a challenge!

That is one of the reasons I wanted to do the Kakum canopy walk and to feel the thrill of the swaying canopy knowing I am floating about 30 meters above a rain forest!

But others were concerned, and for good reason. However, the more the concerns and sometimes discouragement were expressed, the more my desire for the experience.

When I joined the Witness Tree Institute cohort of 2022, I knew this dream, among others, would be achieved.

I knew it was a difficult activity for many, and I assumed I’d be no exception. But least did I know that some particular balancing is required.

As a person with visual impairment, who uses trailing mostly for independent travel, keeping in the middle of a walkway was going to be quite difficult and that helping me achieve this would be a challenge for the WTIG Team Leader who was trying to help me.

He made us go through a trial walk that gave me some further understanding of the issue.

Thinking through the problem, I brought it to the attention of the Team Leader and the Tour Guide with my suggestion how I thought I could do the walk.

The Tour Guide offered a modification of the different suggestions and soon, we came to an agreement on how I could participate in the activity but with an adaptation.

It was not exactly how others go through it but with my understanding of the problem, I gained more confidence.

With encouragement and assistance, I successfully walked the Kakum canopy, the experience I have longed for, for many years .

I noted the team work that yielded positive results, the feeling of accomplishment that I and the whole cohort felt, and the learning we all gained.

As a trained teacher I wondered how much more learning would be enhanced in Ghanaian classrooms if more schools would adapt flexibility in curriculum, encourage team work, adapt student centered learning and teaching and engage the learner/person with disability.

Perhaps a lesson to all educators, parents, and society as a whole? Thank you the Witness Tree Institute of Ghana.

The above is something I was looking forward to. What I wasn’t expecting was my emotional response to the dark history of the Cape Coast Castle and the International Slave Trade. I share the experience of my story through this video.

By Oforiwaa Fefoame

Global Advocacy Manager of Sightsavers, Accra, Ghana and Ambassador Advocate for Gender and Disability Rights at the United Nations