The way I see it, you have 2 options depending on your drink preference.
One
of the many things that Africa has taught me is the importance and necessity of
overcoming the obstacles that life with inevitably throw you. Some of my classmates joke about “how easy”
it is for Westerners to commit suicide because our parents never beat us when
we were young – so when the going gets rough, some people jump. While I
repeatedly tell them that they don’t understand suicide because they’ve never
been to that level of desperation and depression, there may be some truth in
what my friends are saying.
Living
in Africa is difficult. It is difficult in the capital city, difficult in the
wealthy parts of town, difficult in the slums, and difficult in the rural
countryside. Even in the rich parts of town roads break down cars’ shocks. On
campus students face the daily challenge of getting water in their bathrooms.
In my neighbourhood, having electricity for a whole day is impressive. For many workers, one meal a day is all they
can afford. For many others, the recent fuel increase made transport fares
increase approx. $.05 – this may seem small but when you add that up for a 5
day work week, people are looking at paying the equivalent of an extra day
going to work- which can buy a meal. Of
course, living in a rural village is even more difficult. The price increase
isn’t the only worry – will a car even come must also be factored in.
And
Ghana is a fortunate country in the grand scheme of things in Africa. There are
countries like Kenya where an electoral process in 2007 lead to months of
violence, where the ethnic group you were born into was a determining factor
for your survival. There are countries like Zimbabwe who have never known
freedom of speech and who have had one leader since independence in the 60s.
There are countries like Nigeria where the potential of national wealth is
huge, but because of mismanagement most people are living in poverty, with a
few of the oil tycoons topping the list of Africa’s richest individuals. Many
countries saw years of dictatorship where political parties were banned. Many
still face authoritarian rule and live at the mercy of elites.
Yet
somehow through all of this, Africa is advancing. At the University of Ghana,
the number of female students is basically equal to the numbers of men. There
are two female presidents in Africa. The number of civil wars is decreasing.
Economies, for the most part, are growing despite the global recession that we
have all felt. While traffic is becoming
ridiculous, people have money to buy cars. Infrastructural developments are
everywhere. Those with thatched roofs are buying metal sheets. Mansions are
everywhere. There has been a visible rise in the middle class.
I
have faced some significant challenges while being here. Sometimes things have
gone seriously wrong – the complete opposite of the plan. Sometimes I have
wanted to go home; sometimes I have wanted to quit school. Sometimes I have
even wondered why I didn’t choose an ‘easier’ country to study in during my
scholarship year. I know Ghana has been
a good choice for me though. It’s not easy to give up on a one year course when
you hear that your friend walked across the Sahara desert to get to Libya to
seek employment opportunities and maybe get to Europe. It’s not easy to give up
on a project because of a bump in the road (however significant it may be) when
your friend whose parents both died when he was a kid has been able to complete
school and build a house for himself, his wife, and his brothers. It’s not easy to give up when a friend has
lived the last 25 years on the amount that some people make in 6 months.
It
would almost be embarrassing to give up.
