Thursday, September 24

Here is the quartet--along with Lucy's parents, who missed her!--that has travelled many bouncy and slippery miles across much of Ghana over the past twelve days.  Lucy Dawu us our Ghana coordinator; Godsway is our unflappable driver; Elizabeth and I are board members.  Our accommodations varied a great deal.  The food—from fresh bread purchased along the road to feasts rolled out by multiple hosts—has always been amazing.  And so has the company.

I remember when I started volunteering for nonprofit boards some thirty years ago being shocked that people who were volunteering their time to stop violence against women or racism or some other great cause so often found it difficult to treat each other with civility.  So when my wife, Wendy, urged me to start something—and that “something” was very vague until Elizabeth, Roy, Brando, Kofi A., Michael and many others started putting flesh on the bone—she also urged me share the work not just with people who were willing, but people who were of the highest quality, people who believe that justice starts with how each of us treats the people around us.

Certainly this trip has shown that, for once, I have followed my life partner’s advice!

Godsway didn’t participate in our presentations, but he worked very hard to make sure that we got where we needed to be both safely and on time.  Driving in Ghana is not for the faint of heart.  There are multiple potholes, mud holes, goats, dogs, chickens, and other obstacles to negotiate, not to mention the lack of signage.  Godway, we are grateful.

Elizabeth and Lucy were (and are) amazing.  The three of us came to rely on each other throughout, from figuring out hotel accommodations late at night in a strange city to sharing food and ideas to seamlessly passing the floor back and forth to each other during presentations and question-and-answer sessions. If anyone was exhausted or out of sorts, I only knew it because they said so.  And this morning we got up at 4:30 a.m. and drove for three and a half hours without a break over some interesting roads.

Brando once remarked that if Yo Ghana! takes care of relationships, everything else will follow.  This trip has revealed to me even more deeply than before that I work with people who are always thinking not just about about global justice and understanding, but of how to be kind in every-day relationships.  I am grateful.