Taka, Tika and Gangale

During last year's national elections then candidate, now President John Mahama told a folk tail with origins in the Northern Region of Ghana about three birds who got more applause when they sang together than they did singing alone. He was appealing for unity in the interest of winning the election, but Ghana's first leader, Kwame Nkrumah also appealed to the people to put aside their differences in the interest of national unity- not only within Ghana, but in looking towards a pan- African future. Given the recent history of peaceful elections and stable democracy, it would seem Ghana is a standout when it comes to singing in harmony. Ghana is a peaceful nation, known for its relative tranquility since independence.  This is why, before visiting Ghana I created my research question around wanting to know more about the fabric of Ghanaian society and the forces that seem to bring and keep people together here.  I wondered if the school system, the government, or other cultural leaders had done something special to promote unity. There are multiple tribes and 79 languages.  English serves as a unifying force.  The British colonial period left behind this common language that is now the official language.  Twi is also widely spoken and serves as a Lingua Franca between the ethnic groups.  I have learned during my rural field placement in Sefwi Bekwai that people in the rural areas are not as fluent or comfortable with English as the people who live in Accra, so Twi is used heavily and the students are not as confident when speaking in English.

Schooling in Ghana also provides opportunities for building national identity.  Most of Ghana's secondary schools (high school in the U.S.) are boarding schools.  People who live in different regions and who are from different tribes must live together in close quarters and will bond as they form a new identity around the school they attend.  Below is a link to a video of the kids at Sefwi Bekwai High School singing a unity song at the morning assembly.  You will also here a pledge.  If the song is difficult for you to understand stand listen for the words SEBESS (Sefwi Bekwai Secondary School), School of Excellence.  College graduates in Ghana also must provide a year of community service to the country; and their service will likely place them in a different region of the country from where they grew up - forcing them to learn about the struggles of others as they walk with them through life for a year.

The chief who visited the school for the anniversary celebration was also a force for unity; at least judging by his public persona and his speech.  He acknowledged the Imam who was at the ceremony and was sitting up front with the other dignitaries even though the school had a strong Christian culture including a student pastor and worship services led by the headmaster.  His speech had a very gracious tone reminiscent of a wise grandfather.

Anecdotally, I asked one of the female teachers who was hosting me why everyone in Ghana seems to get along so well.  She said that she thinks the country is so behind and is trying to catch up and that people realize that fighting would only put them further behind.  So they will just "smoke the peace pipe," she said - and get over their differences.  I wonder if we could have them send some consultants over to the United States to impart some of that spirit?  I was so impressed by the lovely people I met and their country - so full of promise and poised for taking their place in the world.

Morning Assembly Video

*I wrote this post right after I returned from Ghana, but never published it.  Now I don't know why.  After reading it today I wanted to go ahead and publish it because it reminded me of how impressed I was with the strength of the Ghanaian identity.  The new citizens of Ghana could have focused on their tribal and regional identities starting back in 1960, but their leader showed them the strength they could have and how they could be better together.  The country stands out in the region in terms of its level of development and its per capita GNI, as well as in the talent of their soccer team (they beat us once and gave us a challenge again in the World Cup last summer)!  Ghana, stay strong and stay the "Hope of Africa!"