Worked with Challenging Heights in Ghana from April 2016 to June 2018.
The diversity of people in Ghana never ceases to amaze and inspire me. There are the proud Ashanti people whose great empire still echoes through today. Then there are the Ga who have shaped the culture around Accra. Up north, you can meet Fulani, a nomadic group of people who range across West Africa. In Western Region near the border with Ivory Coast, there is a small and unique village, Nzulezu, with its own people.
Every country, and indeed even ethnic groups, provinces and cities, are represented by a flag. When Ghana gained independence, it was crucial for the new country to assert its independence with a new flag, which is still in use today.
Because of centuries of colonialism and the slave trade that came with it, Ghana has centuries of traumatic history. However, I believe that it is important to face that history and to learn about it, as a way to gain a fuller understanding of present situations and as a way to prevent atrocities in the future.
The former slave-trading castles in Ghana have all been declared UNESCO Heritage Sites. The two that are most frequented by visitors to Ghana are the Cape Coast Castle and Elmina Castle. Elmina Castle also has another interesting designation – it’s the first permanent European structure built in West Africa.
When people think of Africa, big animals are usually what comes to mind. Think the Lion King. Being able to see those kinds of animals are typically associated with East Africa. While West Africa has significantly lower populations of those big animals, and some are extinct in the region, there is still a great place in Ghana for a wildlife experience.
Mole National Park is the largest national park in Ghana and one of your best chances to experience wildlife in Ghana.
On January 1 every year, Winneba hosts the Fancy Dress Festival. (In British English, costumes are commonly referred to as “Fancy Dress.”) A tradition that in a mix of Carnival and local flavor, the festival is a really fun way to kick off the new year.
In Winneba, there are different groups that compete against each other with different dance routines. At the festival, you’ll see hundreds of people dressed in masks and homemade costumes that have spent weeks working on their routines. It can be a long, exhausting day, but it’s a lot of fun to see the dancers, their costumes and the joy of the crowd.
Check out the pictures from this year’s festival!
Death is a part of life and every culture has its own rituals surrounding it. Some cultures dictate a quick ceremony and funeral rites while others allow for years. In Ghana, most funeral rites follow the major faiths of the country – either Christian or Islam. In the southern part of the country, most people are buried and cremation is almost unheard of. However, some people get what are called “fantasy coffins.”
“Agriculture not only gives riches to a nation, but the only riches she can call her own.” – Samuel Johnson
I think one of the best ways to try to gain an understanding of a country is to understand what are their top crops. Knowing what a country grows and can export can tell you a lot about the culture, such as what foods are important within the country and what is valued by other countries.
Ghana recently celebrated Farmers’ Day, so I thought I’d take a look at the top crops of Ghana.
A harsh and sobering part of history is the trans-Atlantic slave trade, which lasted from the 16th to 19th centuries and stole an estimated 12 million people from Africa. These human beings were taken from their families and homelands and sold into slavery in the Americas. By the late 17th century, the British were shipping the most slaves from their colonies in West Africa, including Ghana. One of the their slave trading forts was Cape Coast castle.
One of the first things that people think about when they arrive in a new country is money. Having local currency is key to any international experience, not to mention that many countries are cash economies. Ghana is a cash economy and the local currency is the cedi, which has a bit of an interesting history.
Music is an important part of Ghanaian culture, permeating nearly every part of life here. And while most people associate drumming with Africa music, Ghana pioneered an entirely new genre: highlife.