After moving to my new address in Sofokyere, I gradually learned, from careful observation, that the caretaker’s family consisted of his wife, two girls, and two boys. The girls were the eldest. One of the boys was only a toddler, and over five years, I watched them mature into older people. I routinely gave the toddler candy daily as often as he requested it. The two girls, and one of them was twenty, never asked for any. But the older boy, who was eight years old when I first moved to that location, always needed something. He was too old to be doled out candies but routinely requested some. In fact, he was always begging for something. Either shoes, clothes, food, or some other paraphernalia. Neither of the two girls indulged in that kind of conduct.
The property’s caretaker was rarely here. He spent most of his time caring for the Cocoa plantation owned by my real estate landlord. He was away for several months at a time. However, he would chop wood for his wife’s business whenever he came home. She would cook a popular broth known as Kenke every morning, which she sold to community members. Firewood was the least expensive fuel available to the poor and was the most popular alternative to gas and charcoal. He made sure that there was an ample supply of that fuel for her daily needs. Whenever I looked through my window each morning towards their wooden kitchen. I would see the flames dancing beneath the large aluminum pot where the Kenke was being boiled.
Providing an abundant supply of chopped firewood was only one of his responsibilities whenever he visited the property in Sofokyere. He also routinely cut the grass, forked part of the land, and planted ground provisions such as corn, coco yam, and cassava. Along the inner side of the wall separating the property from the road were some small trees which he regularly pruned. He was an industrious handyman.
“Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Half effort does not produce half results. It produces no results. Work, continuous work and hard work, is the only way to accomplish results that last.”— Hamilton Holt, American author
Their eldest daughter always did her best to help her mother, and they all rose from sleep at around 4:00 A.M. each day to start the fire and cook the Kenke for their patrons, who came religiously to purchase the portions they needed every morning. Men, single women, mothers carrying their infants on their backs, boys and girls, marched through the large iron gates to acquire the nutritious morsel they needed to commence the day.
“Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, Which, having no captain, Overseer or ruler, Provides her supplies in the summer, And gathers her food in the harvest. How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep—So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, And your need like an armed man.” Proverbs 6: 6-11 (NKJV).
By and large, the eldest daughter was a nice person. She was ambitious and hard-working, and like most young people her age, she yearned to get out of Ghana. One day, she summoned me and said, Mr. James, I see that you live by yourself. Are you happy? “Of course,” was my reply. “But it’s very bad here she continued, this is not a nice place.”
I had no complaints. I was able to pay my rent annually and promptly. I routinely purchased all the food I needed, bought electrical credits and water for my apartment, and hired a helper who assisted me in caring for my two bedrooms, large hall, large kitchen, large dining room, front and back porches, and 21/2 bathrooms receptacle. Moreover, unlike America, Ghana has sunshine and warmth all year round. One chronic problem in this country is the paucity of employment opportunities. In fact, jobs are so scarce that many talented graduates have Bachelor’s degrees. Yet they must purchase employment positions and sometimes wait several years before employment. According to this problem, my neighbor’s eldest daughter came to me one day to ask if I could loan her 6000.00 GHS so that she could purchase an entry into the local Police Service. This idea wasn’t new to me because a good friend of mine had worked as a volunteer at a local government office and, after three years, was actually offered a position at that facility if he was willing to purchase it. He accepted the proposal and divvied up six thousand cedis to secure the position but waited another three years to be officially hired after paying the full amount.
Although sympathetic to her case, I had no interest in perpetuating an archaic and corrupt local custom. This seemed very similar to something I had encountered in Jamaica, where poor peasants were forced to purchase a contract to cut sugar cane in North America. The contract didn’t materialize in many cases, so technically, they were robbed. This kind of chicanery was widespread in Ghana.
(TO BE CONTINUED)
aadventuresinghana.wordpress.com 