“Welcome! Welcome to Liberia!” This is a greeting that I heard many times during my five-day stay in Liberia to visit my son, Nathan, and his wife Anna. This was inevitably followed by a Liberian handshake; which involves a normal handshake, followed by a thumb grip, and ending with our two hands clasping with fingers […]
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A familiar face emerges from the dark, striding into the warm embrace of a flickering orange street lamp on the edge of town. He carries a white box and a toothy grin, “Erik, you have to see. They are here.” Peeling back the tattered cardboard flap, a flutter of red and white feathers leap forward […]
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I was sitting in the soil science lab grading papers when one of my Liberian colleagues struck up a conversation with me. It started out with him noticing that I was once again wearing a lappa outfit (lappa is the African fabric) and him teasing me and saying how much of a Liberian I have […]
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There was nothing but silent anticipation as I approached Korm. It had been 10 months since I left the place that became to be second my home, my family, and tribe. I sat in the front seat of the taxi unsure what to expect; would the 4-H club still be thriving, would the community still […]
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As a child my favorite question, like most children, was “Why?” I remember asking it repeatedly to anyone that would listen. Car rides with my parents were filled with questions like: “Why is the sky blue? Why is it called ‘lime light’?” or my favorite to ask, “Why did that person do that?” With my […]
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And there I was, riding in the back of a flatbed truck through the bush in north central Ghana. I was precariously perched upon one of the twelve 100 kg sacks of charcoal we had just loaded up into the truck bed as red dust, and charcoal soot swirled around me with each bump that […]
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Recently, my 4-H Club held its Handing Over Ceremony to honor its past officers and induct the new ones. It was a brief ceremony and I kept it simple—it was the Friday of Sports Week, and I managed to secure a sliver of time between the morning footraces and the Friday prayers observed by Muslim […]
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You all know poverty. You’ve seen it on TV; you’ve seen it in your region’s city center; you’ve seen it in rural areas; or maybe you’re living in it. The majority of the world’s population live in poverty–3 billion people live on less than $1.25 per day. Even I, growing up in an affluent and […]
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As I walked down the dusty road towards the AgriCorps house I could hear the young children playing before I could see them. It was the first week back in school after the winter holidays and the students at the Tamale International School were running, swinging and catching up with their friends. Because this is […]
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They say ask and you shall receive. In Ghana, it’s more ask, then ask again, and again, then you shall receive. Recently, I found myself wandering through a market with the president of the Kumbungu 4-H club searching for a jerry can to convert into a nursery. If you don’t know, a jerry can is […]
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