Newspaper Page Text
Monday, October 14
THE MAROON TIGER
PAGE 12
FEATURE
s
Strange, Yet Familiar: My Experience in Ghana
By J. Todd Phillips
Special to The Maroon Tiger
Mom has always said, "To
whom much is given, much is
expected. This summer, I was
given the opportunity of a
lifetime. I spent almost three
months in Africa as’ an
exchange student. My
hometown, East Orange, NJ
has a sister city in Ghana and
this was the first year of a
student exchange program. I
was selected along with one
female student to participate
in the program.
From May 25 to August
10, I lived with Mr. and Mrs.
Ofori Boahene and their
children in Akropong-
Akuapem, Ghana, East
Orange's sister city. My host
parents, like all Ghanaians,
were very warm and loving.
The 12 children that lived in
the house, ranging in age from
nine to 24, became my brothers
and sisters and taught me a
great deal about Ghanaian
home life. Living conditions
were comfortable but lacked
the amenities we in the United
States take for granted. There
was no hot water heaters; and
the electricity was not always
working; so cold showers and
candle-lit nights were very
popular.
I worked at Akrofi-
Christaller Memorial Centre
for Applied
Theology and
Mission Research.
Under the
supervision of Rev.
Dr. Kwame
Bediako, a world-
renown theologian,
I started a
concordance of a
Bible in Twi, the
local language, and
designed a
database to input
the information on
computer. This
allowed me to gain
insight on the Bible,
learn some of the
language and
sharpen my
computer skills all
at the same time!!
I also had the
opportunity to travel
throughout the country. I
visited Tema, location of many
major industrial plants and
operations. There, we toured
several industries including
VALCO, an American owned
aluminum smelting plant that
offers over 20,000 jobs and
exports a major portion of its
product to Europe and the
West. We also walked through
a cocoa processing plant
where chocolate was made, a
textile factory where beautiful
African prints were weaved
from raw cotton, and Unilever,
an international domestic
goods company whose
products include Lever 2000
soap. In Kumasi, the heart of
the Ashanti region, we visited
several museums, the largest
shopping district in West
Africa and other historic
places.
Perhaps the most spiritual
experience was when I visited
the slave castles at Cape
Coast and Elmina. I stood
in the very dungeons where
millions of brothers and
sisters were chained and
shackled before being
shipped off to Europe and
the Americas. These,
previously owned by the
British and Portuguese,
respectively, are two of the
oldest and most well-
preserved castles. In fact,
there were over 60 castles
and forts that housed slaves
during the 17th, 18th and
19th centuries.
While our ancestors
fought off slave traders in
the past, the new enemy is
a fast-growing
technological society.
Ghana is a developing
country and is trying to
compete in a world of
computers and high-
performance machinery. The
government has a huge
responsibility of providing
competitive schools and
training for the population. In
Akropong, I taught a class of
30 primary school students
basic computer skills. With
one ancient computer, these
eager students learned about
hardware, software and how a
computer works. They
enjoyed playing the games I
designed and familiarizing
themselves with this foreign
machine. With the help of the
Computer Science department
chaired by Dr. Arthur Jones,
Morehouse is attempting to
donate some of her old
computers to this and other
needy villages throughout
Ghana.
This experience has truly
been a blessing for me. I have
learned a great deal about
Ghana, Africa as a whole, and
perhaps most importantly,
myself. This opportunity has
opened my eyes to a myriad
of new possibilities and a
world of knowledge beyond
the United States. Mom has
always said, to whom much is
given, much is expected. I
have received so much from
this experience; I hate to
imagine what she now expects
from me!!
/. Todd Phillips is a senior Computer
Science major from East Orange, NJ.
He is currently working on a book
about his experince in Ghana, based
on his personal journal.
Photo Courtesy of J. Todd Phillips
J. Todd Phillips '97 and his Ghanaian
parents Mr. and Mrs. Ofori Boahene.
People Distinguish The Way We Work.
Bain & Company
cordially invites
the Morehouse Class of 1997
to a presentation
on career opportunities
in Global Strategy Consulting
Thursday, October 24th
at 6:00pm
Living Learning Center II
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Two Copley Place
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