A person is not a palm tree, that s/he should be self-complete

Last night we had our first meeting of  (most of) Yo Ghana's Portland-Area teachers.  Eight local educators and three board members/volunteers got together.  And it dawned on me again--before, during, and after the meeting--that Yo Ghana! is primarily about relationships.

In our living room was Jane, who three years ago decided to take a chance on an organization that was little more than a vague idea.  Now she is offering advice and encouragement to teachers contemplating sharing letters with Ghana classrooms.  And Julia who despite putting in twelve-hour days jumped in with unmatched enthusiasm with her second graders a few months ago.  And Brando who talked with me about education and development in Ghana for two hours straight when we first met a year ago and has been devoting himself to Yo Ghana! ever since.  And Essan who is going to school and working two jobs to support himself and his family back in Ghana but is always there when we need to work out an issue with the Ghana school he was once headmaster of or when a teacher calls on him.

I am accustomed to approaching non-profit work as a series of tedious tasks to be performed so that some greater good will eventually result.  Yo Ghana! is prompting me to re-think that assumption.  Last night one of the teachers asked about the role of development in our work.  Brando replied that if we took care of relationships, of learning about and caring for each other, the development would take care of itself.

"A person is not a palm-tree, that s/he should be self-complete."  Akan maxim.