Photos: Meet Yenongya and Yenintombi

I have placed four final separate posts online today. They cover a variety of things; they introduce our team who I think you would like to meet; they provide pictures of the Enskinment ceremony, and they show you a bit about Vida's life as a lecturer at the University of Developmental Studies in Tamale. . Yes, Vida does have a life outside UBC Okanagan and I wanted to share a bit of that. We fly out this evening and I wanted to have all posts completed so that I could leave this modem with Cynthia. I know when Vida returns to Ghana, she will need to stay in contact with UBC so will be handing the modem off to her. Meanwhile, Cynthia and Josbert can make good use of it. The fourth blog also offers a final story of our journey back to the coast...yet another bus ride with its challenges although no flat tires I am happy to say. We have been told that it is finally raining in the villages which is good; the rains were late and we worried for the farmers.

A personal thank you to everyone who followed the blog. Knowing you were with us and reading of our journey made a big difference and allowed us to feel connected. We look forward to sharing stories with you when we get home, but having you all with us for the journey was wonderful; it was great to share and being a bit of an insomniac here, it gave me something to do during sleepless hours.

Thanks for joining us on our journey and enjoy the blogs below.

Enskinment ceremony; Here the Chief is inducting me into the community. It was a very moving and unforgettable moment.








Once the chief has placed the robe over me, he then kneels and places shoes on my feet. For the chief to kneel in front of me, a woman and a stranger was a very powerful gesture. Needless to say, that gesture was not lost on me.










Jan's turn; the man who is performing the ceremony is second chief, and chief of the Nangodi people nearby. He is also an adult education supervisor so I though his induction of Jan was fitting since it was adult education that inspired Jan to come with me in the first place.










Traditional gifts are presented in the form of eggs, live guinea hens and a case of coca cola. We both wondered what customs officials might have thought if we brought the guinea hens on as carry on baggage.









Once the ceremony was completed, we were danced back to our chairs. The Chief's normally very stoic expression was a delighted smile all the way back and he is very happy to have this project in his village. I am encouraged by this young man; his daughters are in school, he is very progressive and welcoming and he wants the very best for his community. He is young, not even 30, but has a presence and dignity far beyond his years. The Enskinment ceremony was indeed the highlight of this whole trip and I knew in that moment, that I would come back. Connection is everything.