How do you describe Ghana? The sharp juxtaposition of barefooted people softly eking out a living in the rural villages of the Volta Region to the diesel choked throngs of humanity clogging the roadsides of the capital, Accra? From the acrid smell of smoked fish and urine to the sweet juice of a coconut just hacked with a machete and cool rain hitting straw roofs? From the deafening cacaphony of mongers and motorcycles to the crow of a rooster at 4 am and the open laughter of children playing with a bottle on a string? It’s impossible to define.
I’ve just returned from volunteering with The Big Little Caravan of Joy’s 4th Annual Empowered African Child Conference. It was time to see how and where all the charity money we’ve raised with our 10 years of musicals is put to use, hands on.
Under the amazing direction of Sarina Condello, 20 of my Bedford Park Players cast-mates hauled 2100 lbs of supplies to Dagbamete village. in the Akatsi region of Eastern Ghana, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the south and Togo to the east.
Our mission was to introduce arts techniques, as specificied by the Ghanaian curriculum, to 64 regional teachers. We also taught these modules to the gorgeous children of Dagbamete’s primary school.
After a night in Accra at the Airport View Hotel (close, comfortable by African standards), we drove to the village (population 1000). We were welcomed warmly in the home of Chief Torgbui Klu Agudzeamegah II, along with the Queen Mother Adzorhlor III and the village Elders.
The Chief told us that we were safe in his village: no harm would befall us as we were now citizens of Dagbamete. And in that oasis of a village we were: we walked the dirt roads at night carefree.
We stayed in the Kathy Armstrong Lodge, built by master drummer Kwasi Dunyo, who has been a longtime mentor to Sarina. It was comfortable dorm-style living with running cold water and toilets. 
Meals were prepared over open fires outside by a team of women, some with babies strapped to their backs, and featured rice, cassava, cabbage, fried fish, eggs and chicken. (I kept to a vegetarian diet as there is no refrigeration).
At the heart of the village is the Apetorku Shrine where they practice the Vodu African traditional religion. We have been taught, in our Western culture, to believe that voodoo is the worshipping of evil, but it actually revolves around spiritual and physical healing, honesty, unity and peace.
As part of the Shrine rituals, two major festivals are held annually and we were guests at the Mid-year celebration, featuring traditional drumming and dance. This was a real and rare backstage pass to see true Ghanaian culture, not found on any Me to We or Abercrombie and Kent tour. We greeted rows of chiefs and Elders with a special Ghanian handshake.
“The [festivals] are a time of spiritual renewal for each and every member of the village shrine, including even the Chief Priest. Everyone gives an account of their activities over the past year and receive their blessings for good health and success in the coming years.
They are joyous occasions with much ceremonial dancing, drumming and feasting, and disputes between families, friends, co-workers, etc., are resolved at this time. The priests and the chiefs play central roles leading the processions and conducting the rituals.”
Sarina explained to us about the iconic polyrhythmic drumming and dancing in Africa. It is the simultaneous use of two or more rhythms that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another, but together create the basis of a piece of music or complicated dance.
One of the most endearing things about Dagbamete was how the children were so trusting of us. You can be walking down the path and suddenly a small hand will slip into yours.
Without the distraction of electronics, the kids are keen to play any game. They’ll climb onto your lap, not knowing your name, and easily fall asleep, as happened with Suzanne at the festival.
The next day, Sunday, we were guests at the special festival Shrine worship day called Tululu and witnessed the confessions (as I understood) to the Shaman — known as the Bokor — who then advised them on how to best lead their lives and what sacrifices to make to cleanse them of evil spirits. About 50+ people brought chickens or goats, which were strangled. While some in our group couldn’t watch animals being hurt (understandably), I was oddly okay with it. The animals are immediately slaughtered afterwards and the meat is given to the poor first and then shared with the whole community. This was charity being practiced.
As a side note, many of my Team Joy comrades visited the diviner — the Bokor — during the evenings. I have never seen a tarot card reader or fortune teller in my life so this was a new and somewhat daunting experience. I must say that, although this man didn’t know me at all, and his “reading “of me was spoken in Ewe (the local language) which was directly translated by the Queen Mother, he clearly articulated some serious truths about me. I was crying during the whole reading. He didn’t provide predictions or prognostications per se, but more how my current interactions with others need to change so that I become a healthier person. It was astoundingly accurate. I can’t say why.
For the next three conference days, we worked with our local teacher partners to present our arts modules to the attendees and implement them in the schools, including creative math, sewing, cooperative games, puppetry, visual arts, poetry, choral singing and traditional Ghanaian drumming. Dignitaries from the education board were in attendance, and the conference was filmed by Ashaiman TV.
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Godsway, me and Shari: the Visual Arts team!
Shari’s and my partner was a wonderful man named Godsway, who is a graphic artist in Accra but hails from the village. In our visual arts module, we taught negative prints and marbling using basic food colouring, cooking oil and water.
We also introduced traditional Adrinka symbols. “Adinkra…represent concepts or aphorisms. They are used extensively in fabrics and pottery among the Ashantis of Ashanti Kingdom and the baoules who historically migrated from Ghana. They are incorporated into walls and other architectural features.”
Working with the teachers and kids, grades JK to 6, was simply unforgettable. The teachers have such difficult jobs, grinding it out in hot, overpopulated classrooms with little to no supplies or support. They are heroes.
They were so grateful to learn new creative techniques and arts programming, like sponges soaking it all in. They truly are warm, fun-loving, dedicated people.
Each conference day, Sarina included a traditional Ewe performance by a local dance/drumming group, such as the Afiadenyigba Gadzo or the Dzogadze Atsiagbekor troupes. We were enthralled by Kofi, a phenomenal performer, whom Sarina subsequently invited to be of the Caravan’s Team Joy and will soon travel to Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and South Africa. I’ve never seen such athleticism, rhythm and unbridled talent bundled into one human.
A highlight for me was working with Team Joy’s Cliford Ndlovu of Zimbabwe, a playwright and theatre director, and Nicholas Mamba, a phenomenal musician and head of Team Joy Eswatini.
Both have endured great hardships in their respective countries to bring the arts to children and teachers. Nicholas has worked with Sarina in the slums of Kibera, Nairobi, and spent months with the refugee camps of the Rohingya Muslims of Burma, who are the vicitms of horrific ethnic cleansing. I wish I could bottle up their optimism, joy and bravery and sprinkle it around the world.
Another highlight was delivering the school supply donations, made by our family and friends in Canada, to the school kids. Every primary student received a full backpack and we gave duffel bags of much needed supplies to the teachers and headmistress. The reception was overwhelming and I was in tears. THANK YOU TO ALL OUR DONORS!!!
Finally, I want to say how remarkable my friend and leader Sarina is: her energy is unflagging. She gave 150% the entire time we were on this trip, organizing 300 students, 64 teachers, a big team of local volunteers, cooks, drivers, 3 dance troupes, and 20 bewildered Canadians with fierce dedication and energy. She cares deeply about education and raising the bar for teachers in Africa and Canada. It look a trip halfway around the world to understand the impact of The Big Little Caravan of Joy.
After eight incredible days in the village, we traveled in 3 vans to Accra. Unfortunately, one van broke down and a group was stranded roadside in the dirt and heat. They managed to get to the airport to rent another van.
The other two groups made it to the huge, outdoor Accra Art and Craft Market where we haggled for paintings, masks, jewelry, instruments, hand-made fans and clothing. It’s best to meander through it in pairs as the vendors are very aggressive.
That day was harrowing and tough. We spent 11.5 hours in stifling hot, unaircondtioned vans, due to unbelievable traffic congestion and teaming rain, trying to reach the oasis of Brenu Beach Lodge in Elmina. We did get to put up our feet, drink, eat like kings and lounge in hammocks the next day! The owner, Agnes, and her team were lovely hosts. Note: do not wander far on the beach, though, or tell the cops your true destination as you will be targeted for robbery. We did venture to see the locals bringing in their nets (even pretending to lend a hand) and setting off in their long canoes to fish.
Our final day was an eye-opener. Like visiting the Auschwitz or Mauthausen concentration camps so that we may never repeat our history, the West African slave castle is a necessary stop. We had a sobering tour of Elmina Castle, one of three slave castles still standing on the Gold Coast.
The atrocities perpetrated by the Dutch, Portugese and British are unimaginable. It is hard to fathom humans treated other humans like animals, making them live in cramped, airless, pitch black dungeons for months in their own feces, vomit, blood and urine, and then, after raping and beating them, shipping them — if they were strong enough — like cattle in the holds of ships to be sold as slaves. Approximately 15 million Africans were captured and shipped; only 5% made it.
With ghanaecotours.com, we also toured the incredible town of Elmina: this is the best way to see it, for safety purposes and to fully comprehend this salty, frenzied fishing port and market — a remnant of brutal colonization. The town, which lies on a narrow jut of land between the Atlantic Ocean and Benya Lagoon, is entrancing…a riot of colour and sound.
You’ll see the slum streets with open sewers, the Methodist Church with the congregation singing loud hymns, the jam-packed fish market crammed with thousands of people, the shipyards, and hundreds of long canoe-like boats, draped with people, clothing and flags, bringing in their nets and catches.
Upon leaving Ghana, to acclimate, a group of us stayed in beautiful Amsterdam for a few days on the way home. We hit the the must-see Anne Frank House (buy your tickets online weeks in advance as it sells out) and world class exhibits at the Rjiks Museum, and walked cobbled streets happily. We were treated to a private canal tour with www.sebiboattours.com that was magical, thanks to our friend Kevin and his local friend John. We stopped at the oldest shot bar in Amsterdam, called Wijnand Fockink, established in 1679 — very cool.
So, to Ghana and it’s beautiful people. Sarina and my travelmates — thank you. This was a life-changing trip. I know that I won the life lottery being freely born in Canada, with its abundances. And I know that I’ve much, much more to give. 
TREDSUP 