Never knowing the build schedule until one arrives in country, it’s impossible to predict whether a house will reach completion while we volunteers are present. It usually takes about 5 weeks to complete a single house from start to finish (carpentry work around the roof and plastering of the walls takes awhile), so it’s luck of the draw if a team gets to be present for the dedication or not. Even if a house is not complete and keys are not handed over, there is always a closing ceremony of sorts, when locals and volunteers can share a final few moments together and say goodbye.
This was a special build for me in that it was the first time I got to experience a real dedication ceremony. A dedication takes place when a house is complete (or very close to it) and the keys are handed over to the family. The ceremony is attended by members of the community at large, the Habitat volunteer team and the Habitat staff from the country. It is a very moving moment for everyone in attendance, but especially for the family taking possession of the house.
I’ve seen closing ceremonies before but this was definitely the most elaborate. The local tribal Chief and his entourage were in attendance. The drummers that I wrote about previously were in attendance as well as quite a crowd of people from the community. The whole ceremony lasted several hours with plenty of music, speeches and, of course, dancing. I was very honoured to have the chance to represent the team in two ways during the ceremony. First I got to perform the ribbon cutting ceremony with the Chief. Even more special for me, I got to hand over the keys to Kwajo Agyapong, the homeowner, and his family, during the ceremony. By the way, he was the one we visited the previous week who lived in the cramped quarters next to the makeshift saloon (where his landlord could keep a watchful and drunken eye on the tenants). All of this made the moment more meaningful for me.
The ceremony ended with plenty of music and dancing. It was near dusk by the time the fun wrapped up.
Early next morning we left Humjibre. As we were finishing our breakfast and getting ready to board the bus, our friends from the community came by to wish us well. Even some of the masons stopped by on their way to the worksite to say goodbye. These are never good moments. From past experience, I know it is extremely rare that we ever see our hosts again. But what is reassuring is that the construction we were a part of will continue in our absence, more teams will come from other faraway places and more families will get homes. We bid our farewells, climbed into the bus and spent the first few moments in silence as we descended the dirt roads out of the village.
Cape Coast
For those of you who have read my posts from past trips, you know that the team takes a couple of days at the end of the build for a little rest. In the past, for me at least, it takes the form of hanging out at a beach (India and Brazil), taking advantage of the local world-renowned sites (Victoria Falls in Zambia) or trekking on horseback (Lesotho). Ghana has its share of such touristy venues – beautiful beaches along the Gulf of Guinea and various nature reserves in its southern rainforest region. The country also offers visitors an opportunity to see up close remnants of a dark chapter of human history – the slave trade.
All along the coast of the Gulf of Guinea are castles built over the past 500 years to coordinate trade between Europe and West Africa. Most of these castles at one time or another were also used to imprison slaves brought from the hinterland before they were shipped to different places around the world (usually the Americas). We had the opportunity to visit 2 of these castles – Cape Castle and Elmina Castle.
I can’t begin to explain the experience of walking through these structures and having the guides explain what went on to the prisoners just metres away from where the European governor in charge of the castle would eat lavish meals and fornicate with the female slaves of his choice. I never realized before to what extent the rape of female slaves played a part in the horror of what went on in the slave trade. As the guide was talking, I wondered how it was these slave masters could justify the argument that their slaves were not really human while at the same time they would have sex with them. Somewhere this had to come into conflict with their Christian principles.
As for the men, they would spend 2 to 3 months shackled together in dark stone cells – hundreds to a single room – waiting to be shipped out. Their cells had no latrines; their minimal food rations were dumped from above their heads onto the floors below where lay feces, urine and the decomposing bodies of other slaves. When you hear the statistic that between 12 and 15 million slaves were taken to work in Europe, the Americas and other places, keep in mind that two-thirds of the slaves did not survive the trip. In other words, upwards of 45 million slaves passed through these wretched cells and the cells of other castles along this coast over a period of several hundred years.
When the tours of both castles were finished, our team had an opportunity to enjoy each other’s company on the beach and to have a nice dinner that night. Understandably, the tours cast a dark shadow on the rest period, but it would have been wrong to visit this part of the world without taking in some of its hard history. That night, I and the rest of the team parted company. While they had one more day together in Accra before catching flights home, I had to get up early the next morning to catch a 4:00 am bus to begin the rest of my adventure!
sedativegunk 