My YOWLI Experience

Once again...I'm back. Back in the US, and gradually getting back into the swing of things. YOWLI and going to Senegal was, in one word, breath-taking! And yes, I literally had to slow down sometimes at the enormity of the things I learnt, at the people I met, at the emotion of it all, and just at the sheer wonder of God's work.

I'm gonna be pretty busy with my senior year, my thesis (I am sooooo excited for that), future plans etc, but...I think its important that I share some of what I was privileged to learn with all of you - about globalisation, trade liberalisation, gender equality, sexual reproductive health etc . Because seriously, once you get the information....everything seems to make more sense, and you can understand the ENORMITY of our responsibilities towards our continent. So...I'm thinking, either articles...or webcasts (its about time I had my own 'talk show' what with the way the keep going on up here lol)...we'll see what we can work out, but I definitely won't keep you guys out of the equation.

Ok, so I'm back. And everything feels...mettalic. Mettalic in that its...unreal? Or just a mirage of the real. I miss the clean, fresh air of Goree Island...the smell of salt and fish mixed up in the air. I miss the sand...the soft, surprisingly clean, sand. I miss the sound of children's laughter...playing around...barefoot and shirtless sometimes, without a care in the world. I miss wading in the waters of the Atlantic...that feels cold when you're wading in, but warm and inviting once you immerse yourself in its wonder. I miss feeling closer to Ghana...literally, with the distance, the feeling of estrangement seems to multiply. And probably, what I miss the most is talking to people who have similar views like me on many issues. And gosh, what inspiring people I met!!!!!!!! (See video entitled 'Natural Living' about our first couple of days in Senegal and on Goree Island)

Now lets be realistic...there were some people who I simply didn't get. But hey, they brought about new dimensions in my understanding of people. And patience....my sister Annatu was the first to teach me about patience...and it keeps paying off, a thousand-fold lol. And one thing that stood out to me was how much one person can affect another...if it is allowed. At some times there was soooo much negativity, it was literally draining. I had to step out of those situations at least 3 times just to compose myself. Talk about exchanging energy!!!!! Another thing I learnt was how to keep myself composed, in check, positive etc when the exact opposite is prevalent in your surroundings...breathing exercises (Thanks Mariama Williams). And also how to give other people the space and time to express themselves.

One other thing that stood out to me, was the importance and reality of connections. When I say everything is connected, I'm not trying to be philosophical. Its the truth! The essential fibre of our existence. Now I have connections with at least 60 young women and men from across Africa and the Diaspora - Brazil, Suriname, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Congo, South Africa, Tanzania, Mozambique, Mali, Cote d'Ivoire, Kenya, Namibia, Malawi, Ethiopia, Egypt, Somalia, UK, Senegal, Ghana, the Gambia, Uganda, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Liberia, Cameroun, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, USA. And the mind-boggling thing is that we realized we all have the same problems....so why is it so hard to find and implement solutions??

One of the problems or issues we studied under Accountability Tracking was Water Access....and I have a very interesting tale to tell on that one....so the next article (or one of the next) is gonna be on Water Connections...and believe me, you don't want to miss it!! It was literally, an eye-opening revelation...and I believe it will be for you too. Alors, stay tuned....check in from time to time. Until then...don't waste water.lol

Review of 'The Perfect Picture' & the Ghanaian Movie Industry

The Ghana-Naija movie industry saga. That's always a tough one where I'm concerned. On the one hand is my allegiance to Ghana - my motherland, homeland and basically where most of my formative years were spent. On the other hand is my undeniable connection to Nigeria - my birthland and the land of my ancestors. Even though I barely remember that much about Nigeria, I do joke about when I will "finally return to my birthland." Maybe it's this umbilical connection, that makes me slightly biased towards Nollywood when it comes to the Ghana-Naija movie saga. Truth be told, I barely paid Ghanaian movies enough mind when I was growing up. I was more likely to watch a Nigerian movie instead, and even then, I was picky. Ramsey Noah or Genevive Nnaji had to be part of the cast. Why this bias towards Naija movies? It's simple really; their acting was generally better. These days, I'm more willing to watch anything Ghana-related. For one thing, the surges of homesi

Lifestylz GH Interview: Sangu Delle

As part of Lifestylz GH’s interview series, we bring you our premier interview with Sangu Delle. Profile: Sangu Delle Sangu Delle is a senior at Harvard University. He was born and raised in Ghana, and is the youngest of five children in a bi-religious family (his father is Catholic while his mum is Muslim). He attended Christ the King Catholic School (CTK) and went on to study at the Ghana International School (GIS) until his O-Levels when he transferred to the Peddie School (a college preparatory school in NJ) on scholarship. His areas of concentration in academics are Economics and African studies, with a particular focus on development. Aspirations To be involved in the development of Ghana and Africa at large in some capacity. In the past, he was more involved in non-profit and development work, but has increasingly become active in entrepreneurial and business ventures; a testament to his belief that there should be “less foundations and more entrepreneurs” in Africa. In his own

Interview: Maame Sampah, Emmanuel Lamptey, REACH Ghana

Circumspect interviews Maame Sampah and Emmanuel Lamptey, Executive Board Members of the Representatives for Equal Access to Community Healthcare (REACH) Ghana to find out how they got started, what projects they're currently working on, and what they're looking forward to. -- Circumspect: Tell us about yourselves. Maame Sampah (M.S.): I’m currently a graduate student. I’m with an HIV group right now, and so I basically do HIV research. Before then, I did undergrad in biochemistry and French at Grinnell College. I’m doing grad school at [Johns] Hopkins now. I went through the Ghana education system - Wesley Girls, Bishop Bowers before then. I can give you the name of my nursery school. And yeah, so here I am. I’m going to be in school for a while, and basically I’m going to end up in a career in clinical and research medicine. I have a huge family, I have four siblings. My parents both live in Ghana. My siblings however are kind of scattered in the U.K and here [U.S.] an

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