Kushea Ghana Trip 2018 Recap

Matt Barr of Barr Photography and his daughter Jessi came with us to Ghana in March. It was wonderful having another set of eyes to see Kushea in a new light, in addition to having to connect with on the trip. Matt has traveled internationally personally and for his business, and it was a return trip to Ghana for him. We appreciated his thoughtful insights, his friendly demeanor, and of course, his amazing photography. Matt quickly became the favorite visitor from our group with everyone in the village because he had a fancy camera and could immediately show them his photos.

Neatest City in Ghana and Friendliest People

Matt has spent time in a few other cities in Ghana in past years, filming for other NGOs. We think Kushea is pretty special, but it was nice to hear it from someone who’s spent time in other places in Ghana as well.

“One of the things was evidently unique was that Kushea is a beautiful clean village. My previous experience in Ghana was in villages that were full of trash. I spent time in a larger village that was trying to be more commercial, or more westernized. There were cell phone towers, gas stations, much more of a city. My experience in this other city Kushea feels like a quaint village where people were peace in their space. There was a feeling of contentment of Kushea, where people weren’t looking for handouts.”

We have to agree with Matt, both in Ghana and in Congo, Kushea is so neat and tidy, and its inhabits Nana Prah has so much pride in Kushea and has instilled that in the village. Every Wednesday is a city-wide clean up time from 7am – 9am, before the farmers go out to the cocoa fields. Everyone, parents and children, pick up trash, clear weeds and work on community projects together. There are iconic garbage bins throughout the streets, painted the color of the Ghanian flag, to encourage cleanliness.

The people of Kushea are so friendly. Lots of smiling eyes, friendly waves, and invitations to chat. Our first evening there we talked a walk through some side streets. We passed by one family and a lady called out to us “Nana! Nana!” Nana is a title of royalty and respect, any chief or subchief would be called Nana. Because Robert was appointed the Chief of Development in a ceremony two years ago, he is recognizing in the village. This lady remembered him from past trips and wanted to take a photo with him.  (Photo: 231_042018 Ghana Tife.jpg)