Today the Lord blessed me to wake up enjoying the pleasure of some of my faculties. Thankfully it included a presence of mind.
Our first attraction of the day was a drive-by the US Embassy. It is considered
one of the most fortified complexes in Ghana. We were dissuaded from going
in because of dangers in other parts of the world; the Embassy was on lock
down.
Next up was the W. E. B. Dubois Museum. We were reminded how important it is
for African Americans to learn our history. The museum was located in the
house that Dubois and his wife lived in for the last 30 years of his life.
He was a Giant in America and was celebrated in Africa as well. He was
asked to come to Ghana to take on the project of researching and producing
a seventeen volume biography of Africans and their important descendants.
Before he died he produced three volumes and the originals were on display
along with his other seventeen books. While he did not complete the original
project, he lived until he was ninety-five. He was an inspiration to Ghanaians’ and
African Americans as well. He is entombed at the site and his wife’s
ashes watches over him.
Our hearts stopped at our next attraction. It was indeed a heart-wrenching
visit to the Street Academy. My first sight of the school reminded me of
comment made by the King earlier in the week. He said, “ PWO is,
in America there is Poverty With Opportunities, however
in Ghana there is Poverty Without Options”. It tears
at ones soul to encounter the overwhelming conditions in which the people
have to live and learn. There is despair in the faces of the adults in
the marketplace surrounding the school, but there was hope in the eyes
of the children when Pastor distributed the school and art supplies. This
gift was made possible by one of our travelers, Minister Sylvia Samba.
We learned that there is work to be done, children to be saved and hope
to be nurtured which can be tangible evidence of our faith in action.
We arrived next at an impressive memorial for the first President of Ghana,
Kwame Nkrumah. He was revered for guiding Ghana to independence from Great
Britain over 50 years ago. The tour guide was very passionate and knowledgeable
about this great Ghanaian leader and his history. He had a full and fascinating
life, he started a country, was overthrown, had an arranged marriage for
his country, tried to unite all countries in Africa, and he was buried
three times. His final resting place is entombed in a beautiful modern
edifice. Although he was labeled a socialist, I wondered what would have
happened if he was not a threat to capitalism and had been successful in
uniting Africa!
During the course of this day it was abundantly clear that if we don’t
learn from our history, we are bound to repeat it. It was encouraging to see
the role our people have played in history and the impact that we can have
if we embrace education, faith, and unity.