Can I describe this day.

Nope.

This has been the most incredible experience today, from morning to night, from work to relax....and there's no way anybody in their right mind will have time to read the whole thing.

Alfred picked us up this morning with a gift, credit union cloth, from our first credit union, St. Martin de Porres.  Credit union cloth is something to be treasured, and each of us has a bolt of it to make into a treasured moment of our time there.  Ramseyer CU gave us some cloth as well, and I am going back to my seamstress sister (and seamstress sister from another mother) to figure out how to best honour these treasured items.

We are at Asawasai St. Theresa's CU today and yesterday.  A woman CEO.  A brilliant, engaged, vibrant woman.  In a man's world.  Another inspiration, quite like many of the women we have met on this journey.  Regina, the CEO, has been blessed with the ability to build and maintain relationships, and she (somehow) managed to convince the King of Asante that her members would like a plot (50 acres) of his land, but could not afford it outright.  The King agreed to a payment plan, and not only did he take the payments, he deposited them with her credit union!  It was exciting to see her open the Indenture yesterday, it means the land now belongs to her members....and the next step is building infrastructure and individual homes.  Like I said, another amazing woman...with a capital "A".

Regina, another inspiring woman

Regina took us around her community on foot today, it is apparent that she is respected in this area.  She took us to another CU, Asawasi Presby, which was a terrifying jaunt across some streets away.  We met Joyce, the manager, another strong woman who we chatted with before she walked us half way back to St Theresas.  It was lunch time, and we passed by a permanent stall where there was a big stone oven and two men pulling out the most YUMMY smelling bread you have ever smelled.  Now, we have been warned not to eat anything off the street due to our poor stomachs but this was too much to resist.  First I just asked if we could take pictures.  Then the smell, oh, the smell.  Imagine your Mom's kitchen, close your eyes, you walk in from school and that smell....OK, we will take a loaf.  Two Ghc and 50?  We will take two.  You get a deal for two, only Ghc4.00.  That's less than a toonie for all you Canadians.  Oh, what a lunch!  Hot bread and unmeltable yellow spread!  It was a delight I may never experience again!

Remember the King?  The one who Regina got to sell his land on a payment plan?  He's out of town unfortunately.  We did, however, get a chance to see his palace, hear the incredible story of his kingdom, and tour the museum by his house today.  Too bad he takes the Golden Stool with him, we didnt get to see that, but I will tell you that story one day....

The day ended with a meeting of the Board and off we went with Alfred home for one last night at the True Vine.  We sat in our usual spot, and the owner was in there with another man and they asked us if we would take a drink with them.  Stop here, we could have said no [Daabi, daabi] but we decided to sit down.  This was one of those moments for Louise and I that you could sit back and reflect on "wow, what if we had said no?"  I can tell you because reflect I have done....

I never would have met the man called Kofi [born on a Friday].  I never would have heard his story about being a successful businessman here, friends with the president, when he became an enemy of the state and was arrested during the military takeover.  I could have been sitting on Facebook instead of hanging on the edge of my seat imagining what it was like as he spent time in jail, without a charge, was blindfolded and driven to a fake tribunal where he was sentenced to 18 years in prison.  Could have been eating my chicken and rice instead of hearing how he bribed a guard, fled to just inside the Ghanain border only to be caught again, then used his very last money for one last fleeting attempt at freedom.  Yup, I could have hung out with Louise [not a bad thing] instead of listening to how this man, exiled from the home he loved, rebuilt his life in London...children, now a granddaughter, none of whom wish to come back to the homeland he missed so much for over 30 years.  He says sometimes it is lonely, even with 4 children, because his heart and home are here in Ghana, but fate chose England to be his children's homeland.  I will post his picture when I can.  

How can Kofi be 80???

Because he represents, to me, the value of choosing to speak to a stranger rather than politely declining an invitation to chat.  This man will be 80 in January, I hope he lives to see his new granddaughter decide that she loves the country that her grandfather so adores.  He carries his tribal mark proudly on his cheek like so many people I have met here, and, rather than turning his back on the country that turned its back on him, he is back here....he followed his heart back to his home.

I miss home.  I am also truly thakful for saying "yes" instead of "daabi" to the invitation to a wonderful story tonight.  I wish I could have had you here with me, I did no justice to Kofi's story, but it was the end of another memorable day in Ghana,