Ghana Journey: WATER OF LIFE

Friday 7 June 2013

Early wake-up this morning to give us enough time to drive to Yinduri  for the community's celebration of their new water pump. Mohamed, a CRS staffer, explained to me that the region is made up primarily of farmers who are at the mercy of extreme weather that vacillates between droughts and floods. Until CRS helped them build a water pump last year, the village water supply was a contaminated source of disease. Thanks to the new pump, the villagers have a regular central source of clean water. They can now hike to the pump, fill their containers, and bring fresh water to their homes.

Like yesterday, we were welcomed warmly by dancers and singers and smiling children. The village chief expressed his gratitude as the community organizer thanked us Americans for the generosity of our youth. Turns out that LIFETEEN ministries raised $200,000 to help build the pump here. Two of my fellow musicians, Sarah and Ben, are involved in LIFETEEN at their parishes and expressed to villagers how thrilled they were to participate in this vital project. We sang our songs after their music presentation, including a rousing version of "We Are Marching" led by ValLimar. Afterward, the villagers gifted us with straw hats  to protect us from the African sun. Good old Greg was honored by the village as our team "elder" and invested with the appropriate headdress and responsibilities. (All hail, Greg!)

The day ended with an outdoor sunset Mass at the beautiful Marian Grotto in Kongo with Monsignor Roger Aboteyuure, followed by a cordial happy hour and dinner at his residence. Monsignor is a diocesan official and his gated house is deep in the woods, a sprawling compound filled with Catholic statuary and shrines. Dinner was traditional Ghana cuisine. I can't remember the names of the dishes, but it looked like creamed spinach, rice jollof and some kind of sweet white paste with a sticky constituency. There was also barbecued chicken and a meat pasta dish for the carnivores.

Some of us had the honor of sitting with Monsignor Roger and he was quite a conversationalist. His views on the ministry of the Church in Ghana reflect the challenges of pastoral ministry in Africa. 

"The Church is very positive, powerful and progressive," Monsignor said. "The Church really does make a difference."

Monsignor went on to explain that the Catholic Church is the second largest provider of health care services in Ghana with 30 percent of the health facilities. The US Church focuses so much on sexual morality. In Ghana, the focus is on poverty, death and isolation.  "When confronted with 'my child is hungry', he needs food.  If my child is dying, she needs a clinic."

How does Monsignor hold on to hope? "We have to learn to turn to the Lord, knowing that we can only do so much."

When does Monsignor want us to tell the people in the USA? "All we want is to be loved. Solidarity is not a written check, but the willingness to know us."

It was a wonderful evening. Monsignor Roger was a gracious host who went out of his way to make us feel welcome.

We then checked into our fourth hotel in four days: the Ex-Tee Crystal, a modern and nicely appointed hotel with flush toilets (yay!). It was a long and fulfilling day, and I look forward to sleeping in as scheduled. Tomorrow we visit the CRS AIDS/HIV center.