A Tribute

A Tribute

The death of a loved one is more difficult for some people than for other people. In Ghana, when somebody dies it is tradition to celebrate that person’s life instead of mourning their departure from this earth, especially if the person lived a long live. If the person was young, they might not celebrate with a party, but the service is still much more upbeat than it would be in the US. As Americans, this is weird to us.

A few months ago, the wife of a good friend of mine gave birth to twin boys. She was in labor for about 24 hours with a midwife before finally going to the hospital. Once she was finally able to deliver, one of the babies died. They brought him home and buried him, but I didn’t see one person shed a tear. This is not because they don’t care, but Ghanaians just have a different way of expressing emotions. Also, most people in my area are Christians meaning that God can give, and God can take away, but by all means you will see that person again in heaven. In the US if parents were to lose a baby they would be devastated. It would seriously affect their mental and emotional state and they would find it difficult to function in normal situations. Here, life goes on. It has to.

So they brought the second baby home. He was tiny, but they said he was healthy. About a month later he developed a cough, which sounded to me like some sort of respiratory infection, maybe pneumonia. Within a week, he passed away. This one seemed to affect the family a little more. It was clear their spirits were a little down, but once again, life went on. In some respects, Americans could learn a lot from Ghanaian culture.

The third tribute I’d like to make is to Danielle Dunlap. She was a PCV here in Ghana who was almost done with her service here. She was due to go home and start med school at Emory to become a doctor. She was beautiful, talented and full of life. Unfortunately this life ended much too soon. She passed away on Sunday April 28^th, 2013 after a brief illness. I didn’t know Danni that well, as she was from a different group and sector than me, but the stories I’ve heard of her are just amazing. The work she did here truly inspired many volunteers to actually get work done instead of maybe staying in the house all day. A memorial service was held for Danni on Friday May 3^rd, 2013. It was beautiful. After the news several volunteers rushed to Accra to start the planning process. Many picture slide shows were made. A collection of videos that Danni was in were compiled. Her group of volunteers made a tribute video. Cloth was made in remembrance of Danni with a Dr.  Pepper stamp, which she designed herself some time ago, but was never able to use. We presented gifts to her mom including a memory book, fabric and copies of all of the videos that were made. This service was different than the typical Ghanaian service. I’d say most people cried for about 3 hours straight as her friends shared their funny, sad and favorite memories of Danni. Many of the Peace Corps staff members spoke who were close with Danni. I think this was truly a cross-culture exchange for them, and it may have been even more difficult for them than most of the Americans. They are not used to expressing their emotions in that way, but being surrounded by so many people who are reduced to tears can have quite a strong effect on any person. Danni and her mom went back to the US yesterday. As their plane flew over the Accra Peace Corps office around 10:30pm, we all waved and said our final goodbyes to Danni with a toast. Although she has left this world, she will never be forgotten.  I think that if we’ve learned anything as volunteers in Ghana it should be that it is more important to celebrate the life a person had, no matter how short.

Keep smiling Danni! RIP