Postcards from Africa

The photography, people, thoughts and events of a year spent in Ghana, Africa. Sister blog to Postcards from India @catandfinchtoo

[catandfinch]

It’s a very cool thing to be a smart girl.

Jamestown, Ghana

[africashowboy]

Peace and Love in overload mode. #idealworld #utopia

Photo by Nana Kofi Acquah @africashowboy (Copyright: 2016).

[catandfinch]

Be captain of your own ship and master of your own destiny.

Ghana, Africa

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The school children of Noyaa.

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2/23/2019: Yesterday I discovered the sound of a breaking heart sounds a lot like boards being ripped off a school. The school day began like any other day, but it ended in heartbreak. Without notice a Chinese contractor, with permission from the Ghanaian government, demolished the Noyaa schoolhouse. Children were in the school when the demolition began, one child was injured in the evacuation. Since 1965, the government has threatened to build a harbor at the Jamestown landing beach and with the aid of China, those threats now look like a reality. The Noyaa students who have so little, now have even less. How do you protect children from the agenda of a heartless government?

[catandfinch]

Thumbs-up optimism.

Jamestown, Ghana, Africa.

photo @catandfinch

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Good morning, Africa.

photo @catandfinch

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A young girl in Old Fadama.

photo @catandfinch

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The only man I envy is the man who has not yet been to Africa- for he has so much to look forward to.

Richard Mullin

[catandfinch]

Sometimes the load is heavy, and sometimes the road is long. 

photo @catandfinch

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One last goodbye.

photo @catandfinch

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Postscript to an Adventure

It all started with a simple question from my husband: “Would you like to live in Africa for a year?” Immediately, I said yes. Without any thought to the preparations or vaccinations required to go. Without even knowing in what country we would live. The logistics and location were secondary to the great, grand adventure of living half a world away.  

Those are the words that began this blog. Before I had met the people I photographed. Before I had written stories of taxi rides and street vendors, Jamestown school children and Ghanaian tailors. Before I knew what I now know is true. And definitely before I fell in love. 

Yes, I fell in love. Ghana is impossible to resist. It is filled with color and spice. The temperatures are hot and the people are warm. It became a home- only not like any home I had ever known. Falling in love was inevitable. Everyone asked, even the taxi drivers asked: “Do you think you will miss us?” It was almost as if they knew the answer. They knew I would miss them. They knew I would miss their country. They knew the adventure would forever change my heart.

People might think it’s cliché to say travel changes you. But the truth is that you can’t move half way around the world and not have it change you. The people you meet, the things you see- sometimes they are heartbreaking, sometimes heartwarming, but always, they are heart changing. You learn a lot when you live in a country that is not your own. You learn the importance of taking time to greet a stranger, you learn not to take anything for granted, and you learn we need to help one another in this crazy world. But the most important lesson you learn is there are good people wherever you go. Take a look at the posts below and you will see. You will see the inevitability. And perhaps you will fall in love too. 

[catandfinch]

Headed home.

Cape Coast, Ghana

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Headed out to gather the catch of the day.

Jamestown, Ghana

photo @catandfinch

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Silhouette in the Harmattan.

photo @catandfinch

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