Nyame Adom & Gaining Access

When I walk down Ghanaian streets, I stick out like a sore thumb. I have never been so aware of my own presence until I first came to Ghana where my anonymity vanishes. At times it is bothersome—especially when I simply want to enjoy the sites and events around me while everyone is urging me to notice the difference of myself. However, I have quickly come to embrace this reality. It certainly helps me make friends. Countless Ghanaians ask me, “How are you doing, white girl?” in the Akan language of Twi. When I surprise them with saying “Nyame Adom” (meaning: I am doing fine “by God’s grace”) and continue in an impromptu conversation in their native language, they first are amused and then seemingly impressed. I will be the first to admit that I am nowhere near fluent, but the few phrases that I can use here and there have given me a connection to people that I’m afraid most foreigners are not aware of. I am incredibly grateful that most of the people in the city know English, the country’s official language that unites all peoples from different Ghanaian tribes under a single speech.

Unfortunately, my knowledge of the native language has not gotten me complete access to my research site yet. Yesterday, I had a meeting with the directors of the Alpha Medical Centre, a small hospital located in a modest section of Accra called Medina. The meeting was quite intimidating at first, since it seemed that I could lose the main field site of my research with one wrong statement in the presentation that I gave. Thankfully, the presentation went well, and the administrators seemed to think my research is highly relevant and important to their clinic. I thought that was it—that the oral permission of the hospital administrators would suffice and that I could start to interview patients. However, after two days later, many calls and emails to US advisors, and multiple trips to rare Ghanaian printing stations, I have obtained the necessary paperwork for me to proceed at the Alpha Medical Centre. They tell me that I will start tomorrow. I am extremely excited and a bit nervous to actually be conducting the research that I have been planning for and talking about for months. While I am sad for the days that were lost, the entire process was a learning experience and quite an adventure—two things that I am quite fond of.

In order to avoid feeling like today was a complete research day gone to waste, I set up a meeting with Gori, a Muslim scholar that I interviewed last summer about the ways in which Islamic beliefs affect the way Ghanaian Muslims view their health and make decisions when ill. I wanted to ask him a few follow-up questions about his faith and about his interactions with biomedical doctors in the community. He is an incredibly friendly man, and he was excited and passionate to tell me about everything that I wanted to know. The most interesting thing that he mentioned this time was about the interactions between physicians and spiritual leaders in the hospital setting. It seems that some doctors and most hospital administrations are adverse to the idea of community spiritual leaders coming in to pray for religious patients. However, this is not due to anything against religious practices in general. Instead, it is due to the fact that some spiritual leaders bring patients special holy water or herbal concoctions that they intend to use to help heal the patients of their illness. Because the contents and side effects of these spiritual medicines are unknown and often used without consulting the physician, doctors often are highly suspicious of spiritual leaders in biomedical settings. This can often create an environment that is hard for any spiritual leader to come in to pray for patients, unless, like Gori, you have a special relationship with doctors who have similar spiritual beliefs. Gori and his fellow Muslim leaders often have personal relationships with Muslim doctors who encourage them to come to pray for patients, often undermining the wishes of the overarching hospital administrations. This complex dynamic between spiritual leaders, religious patients, and medical professionals is exactly what I hope to somehow shed some light on in the coming days of my research. Fingers crossed, it all starts tomorrow.

Humble Reunions

 There's just something about Ghana that will always keep bringing me back. Today that "something" became a lot less of a mysterious inexplicable feeling and much more of a concrete reality. It's the people. Since arriving in Ghana just two days ago, I have been settling into my home stay, meeting up with old friends, and preparing for my research which starts tomorrow. My first few days reacquainting with old friends and having deeply humbling experiences with new ones has given me a perspective that I have been lacking in the past few months back in the states--fostering a sense of gratefulness and humility toward all that life has to offer. 

The most prominent quality of Ghanaian culture is its hospitality. A foreigner could not step foot in this country without feeling completely welcomed. Upon my arrival, I was overjoyed to be invited back into my Ghanaian home by my host family. They have treated me incredibly well and are an amazing testimony to the phrase that is engraved upon the entrance to their home: “In God We Trust”.

One of the most meaningful conversations that I have already had in Ghana is meeting my new, younger Ghanaian host sister. Her English name is Bridget, but both she and I are very fond of her Ghanaian name: Melenya.* Just last night we spoke for about three hours in bed about Ghana, our goals and dreams, and about life in our respective countries. Despite the misfortunes of her life, Melenya embodies a sense of gratitude, but more importantly, joy. Her optimism is infectious and her curiosity is a pleasure to encourage. Her attitude towards life and her giggly and unassuming demeanor reminds me of the kind of perspective that I want to have when interacting with everyone I meet. She reminded me that it is not enough to just claim that I “don’t want to judge a book by it’s cover.” It means meeting people and not just giving them a chance to make a good impression on me but to actively bring out the best in them and to help to cultivate what they view as their best attributes, not what I think such attributes should be. I look forward to many humbling moments with Ms. Malenya in the future—our girls nights may just become a tradition.

A similar meeting with a little girl that continues to blow me away was a reunion with Giftie. I met the sweet girl when I made the mistake of putting African braids in my hair last summer while in Ghana. Needless to say, the braids did not last long, and Giftie and her hairdresser mother had the task of taking them out. Upon meeting Giftie, I was astounded by her intellect. She was an avid story teller and would not stop asking me questions. In fact, her asking an abundance of questions reminded me quite a bit of myself. I quickly became good friends with this girl, visiting her every other day and taking silly pictures and recording videos for her to enjoy. Upon leaving Ghana last summer, I vowed to call her on Sundays and to become her pen pal (See Picture).

Today was a big day for Giftie and me. I decided long ago that I was going to surprise her with my return to Ghana. The reunion was an incredible one. Her mother brought me into their house, and I found Giftie watching Tom and Jerry on her television set. She jumped up, started tearing up, and leaped into my arms while exclaiming “Auntie Jessie’s back”! She then ran into her room and showed me all of the things she has been collecting to give me. She gave me letter after letter with stories and drawings on them. (See picture). She even completely filled up the coloring book that I gave her last year with detailed drawings and colored pictures on every page. Her dedication was so high that she even colored to the point of using up ALL of the crayons that I gave her, rendering them useless stubs. This girl is one of the most brilliant girls that I have met—with proper education she could go so far. I am excited to watch her grow and to continue our friendship. The last thing she said to me made me emotional as I was leaving her home this evening: “Auntie Jessie, you have made me the happiest girl in Ghana—no you have made me the happiest girl in the world.” As I was walking out of the house and clutching the hundreds of pages of work that Giftie has dedicated her free time to give to me, I looked back to Giftie and realized that she has made me feel the exact same way.

*Melenya wants me to tell you all that she is very excited that I told her I would be writing about her in my computer blog :)