As I sit in Portland this Thanksgiving, thinking about all I have in life, shooting off texts to friends I haven’t seen in months or years, looking at old photos of family holidays and trips around the world, and beginning the food prep for my thai chili sweet potato dish, my mind can’t help but drift to Ghana. And I realize again what a big part of my life is in Akatsi, sitting quietly near the Togo border.
I’m reminded of our many trips there, which are nearing double digits now. I think about the warm welcome we receive every time we step out of the airport. I see the wide smiles of the women we train, fresh in my mind. And I feel the bond of family.
Sometimes people ask me why we do the work we do in Ghana and sometimes I’m at a loss for words; I can’t find the explanation they’re looking for to quickly sum it up. It doesn’t feel right to say “it just feels right” or “it seems like the right thing to do”, even though sometimes that’s the truth. Today, my answer goes like this:
We are all in this together. We’re living in this world as one people, experiencing pain, joy, inequality, thankfulness, frustration and even anger, hope and sadness, life and death. We don’t all feel these things in the same ways, in the same amounts, or at the same times. But somehow we all feel them together. We are connected, regardless of distance or culture, and in some small but profound way, this sense of humanity is alive in our connection to Akatsi.
Today I’m grateful for time to think about the why. And I’m so thankful for colleagues here and in Ghana, family really, who are part of my journey.
– Jason
