Nestled in the Bosomtwe District of Ashanti Region, just a few kilometers away from Lake Bosomtwe, the water-filled crater left by a meteor some 10 million years ago and the legendary site of the god Twi, for whom the traditional lingua franca of much of Ghana is named, lies the proud and newly paved village of Asisiriwa.
Boasting a quad-shaped community center and a new ICT (Information & Computer Technology) center currently under construction, Asisiriwa’s roughly 1,000 residents live largely without electricity or running water—a situation that seems impossible to Americans like me and Brady, but actually suits them rather well, as the dumsor (the power outage epidemic plaguing Ghana) doesn’t really affect them. The community includes a basic (primary and junior high) school, various chop bars, and a hole-in-the-wall drinking spot (quite literally a porch outside a half-sized door which serves as the bar, and possibly serves a single drink: akpeteshie, the earthy spirit made from distilled palm wine).
It is here that we will build our literacy center. (Yes, build.)
We first learned of Asisiriwa (ah-SIHS-ree-wah) from talking with Brady’s former Twi professor, Prof. Kofi Agyekum, and were immediately excited about the prospect of seeing it and learning more about it. But due to scheduling conflicts and missteps, we weren’t able to set a time aside to visit until 1 April, when we accompanied Professor Agyekum to his hometown on a whirlwind day trip from Accra to Asisiriwa (roughly 12 hours total travel). Professor Agyekum, despite his many laurels and accolades, and being well out of our league as a connection at all, was excited and talkative, welcoming us into the fold of Ghanaian life by asking his driver to stop several times on the way there and back to purchase fresh produce and roadside treats for us (Eastern Region’s special sugary kenkey was particularly memorable).
Upon our arrival in Asisiriwa, we were greeted by the chief and his council of elders, with whom Prof. Agyekum had been coordinating along the way. We were ushered into an open enclave buzzing with flies, where the elders and chief had already been seated. After pouring out the traditional gin libation for the gods, Guinness and Malta (a non-alcoholic drink) were passed around, and Professor Agyekum began the introduction, which was entirely in Twi, summarizing occasionally in English for our benefit. The chief spoke to us entirely through his spokesman, who then spoke to Prof. Agyekum, who then explained it to us. It was a very formal, very interesting experience for me—the first foray into traditional African culture I’ve had, in fact.
After introducing us and the project, Brady stood up and explained in detail about our vision, which Professor Agyekum then translated into Twi for the elders and chief. They asked salient and pertinent questions like whether we would be staying there and for how long, how we intended to fund the project, and what would happen to the center after we left. They were glad to hear that it would be left in the hands of the community, and I was glad to see the very real pride they took in the leadership, maintenance, and continued progress of their community. Unlike many projects in Ghana, the new ICT center is entirely community-funded, with no money coming in from outside Asisiriwa except perhaps from community members living and working in cities like Kumasi or Accra. I was reminded of a footbridge that is currently under construction not far from the University, at the tro-tro stop on Liberation Road for Accra Mall, which is being funded entirely by the Austrian government. The leadership of Asisiriwa, by contrast, is self-sufficient and even a little reticent to accept much outside help—qualities that reassured me that any collaboration would be a partnership in this community.
After assuring them of this partnership, the chief and elders seemed pleased, and informed us that we would do the whole thing again at the community center, where a large crowd had gathered. We made our way there, and Professor Agyekum began telling us the extent to which he had sung our praises to the chief; they were ready to accept us as citizens of Asisiriwa right then and there. We presented our project again at the community center, in a large, cool room to a gathering of probably 100 people, mostly students and teachers from the basic school a hundred yards or so down the road. After presenting our vision (to thunderous applause, once Prof. Agyekum translated), something a little incredible happened: they took us to see the land where our center was to be built.
Yes, in one single afternoon, in the span of some two hours listening to us and Professor Agyekum, the elders had decided not only that their community needed and wanted this center, but also that we should take possession of the land and, if possible, begin breaking ground immediately.
The site itself is beautiful, in a breezy, shady area on the grounds of the school, between a building of classes and the football pitch. The ground is sloped and uneven, but capable of being leveled, and large enough to accommodate future expansion. We made some rudimentary measurements, took lots of pictures, profusely thanked the elders, the teachers, and the chief (via his spokesman), then piled back into the car and headed back to Accra.
The whole experience was both a little unbelievable and extremely spontaneous, but there was also something still and small beneath the exhilaration of the trip and all it means for us and our organization. We felt grounded somehow, like a seed of belonging had been planted in our wandering spirit, and spent the trip home alternately thoughtful and discussing the details we foresee in building a center there.
We are returning to the US on 7 April (just two more days!) where we are already planning to redouble our efforts at fundraising, overhaul the website, and generally make our priority returning to Asisiriwa to begin building and operating the center. We hope to be back before the end of the year, meaning we have a lot of work to do in the interim months. There is still that seed, though—that still small something—that makes me believe we can do it.
AN ASIDE: It feels a little surreal to be introducing the site of our first literacy center while Untold International is still so much in its nascence, and I feel incredibly blessed that after only about four months, we have been able to determine where our first center will be, as well as have made connections with other schools and districts throughout Ghana that need help. Thank you so much to everyone who has followed us this far for your support, your generosity, your accountability. We still have a long way to go, but this feels like a pretty good start. Thank you for being a part of it.
