Just like YOU

Yesterday I went to a travel clinic to have a 'consultation' regarding which vaccinations I should take before going to Ghana. And oh my did they ATTEMPT to scare me. According to this chart, I should've gotten 9 shots, because Africa is high risk to all malicious emails. Now I am not ready to dispute what facts show about the illnesses present in that part of the world. But I somehow get the impression that the nurse advising me was sending the message that my quality of life is worth more than that of the people in Ghana. Problem? Absolutely! Mind you I am completely aware that my immune system may not be familiar with some things I may encounter while away. I don't think it's appropriate to imply that the medical systems there are inadequate to handle me getting sick. Like who am I? Aren't I a human being just like you? Just like the people

This small scenario sheds lights on the broad complexities that exist between developing areas of the world and the developed. The fact that people here carry a perception about the value of life and education in places like Africa and Asia that is reduced to quantity and not so much on quality stems from attitudes like the one exhibited by the travel nurse assisting me. Some how my quality of life as a Canadian means more than the hundreds of people I assume live in Lollito and are exposed to the same things I will be?

I recognize that these misconceptions cannot be easily re-worked. And I'm sure it will be the ambitious activists like myself and the other participants of this trip who will be leaders in changing the way people think. But it's really unfortunate that with all of the resources and connections people across the globe have to one another, this arrogance still persists and often goes unchallenged. Well I'm sorry to the clinic that wanted to charge me $300 for vaccinations and meds and to the people who think I'm taking a risk with my health. But I'd like to have faith in the people, community and myself, that humanity is humanity and one life is equivalent to another.

This video by a great Ghanaian artist (that I hope to meet) speaks about the ideal connection one human should have to another.The responsibility we should innately have for our brothers and sisters in nations across the world. "I be human being oh....just like YOU".

...just going

With less than 2 weeks to the date of departure I am surprisingly calm and collected about heading to Ghana for 5 weeks. As one of seven participants on this service-learning trip I'm sure that everyone is going through their own roller coaster of emotions. Especially since 4 out of seven have never been to Ghana before. But seeing how one very important aspect of this experience is to learn, having no experience is a good way to start. I actually think that the best way to make the most out of this trip to Ghana is to make ourselves vulnerable to our surroundings. By letting ourselves be submerged into the culture, embraced by the people and melted by the heat (hehehe), the scenarios and circumstances we encounter will carry much more value and really impact us. Because of the nature of this trip, it will be a personal challenge to ignore the tedious discomforts I will have with the weather, the bugs and structural differences and such and prioritize our group's goals.  Journey for Change goals include: providing opportunities for children and youth, building meaningful relationships, and promoting open dialogue on relevant issues. 

Future of Africa (the name of the organization coordinating this trip) was first founded at Wilfrid Laurier University as a result of an international student's experience with ignorance by his peers about what Africa is really like. He was motivated to share the real story of what the motherland has to offer and the potential the people possess. So as a participant of this trip I am going to be put to use in ways deemed necessary by the people we encounter at the grassroots level. Although I've been to Ghana before, it was in a completely different context. My dad brought me to meet his side of the family for the first time back in 2001 and in all honesty I didn't appreciate it. Yes I was much younger and all but I was extremely tainted by the image Africa. I only focused on what was missing from 'normal' lifestyle back in Canada and couldn't wait to return. So now that I'm older, more mature and have done my own research, I realize that the continent has so much to offer its people first and then surrounding nations only if its resources are appreciated within their context. So instead of the  "Western lifestyle" ideals that people are fed as the only way to achieve success, I believe empowering them to appreciate their lifestyles for what they are and recognize the skills they possess, the strife the plagues our world today will be alleviated.

Anyway, that was just a bit of my thoughts. This video is of Carlos Andres Gomez, an amazingly talented artist. The first poem somewhat summarizes my thoughts about 'just going...'