I received a phone call from Africa at 3am this morning. It was our Director of Operations in Ghana, David Sefe. He called me during the latest Kekeli meeting because the women wanted to say hi and wish us happy holidays. Groggy, eyes half open, I spoke with Comfort and Esther about their villages and wished them and their families well. They assured me they too were doing well, that life in their villages was slowly improving.
These conversations are the reason we do the work we do. When we hear the voices of our friends we are reminded that our collaboration is more than a necessity, but also relationship. We do the work we do because we believe that together we can make a difference. The Kekeli women share this mission just as much as we do.
As a thank you to the Kekeli women for their hard work this past year we are giving each of them a 5kg bag of rice and 1 liter of cooking oil — a Christmas gift of sorts. At a time when we often give and receive gifts of plenty, the women requested a gift of necessity. It was a reminder that while in many ways we are all the same, in many ways we are not.
At the end of our phone conversation this morning David told me, “Christmas in Ghana is a time of work.” May we remember this Christmas that there is always work to do.
~Jason
