Sylvia's Journal

I woke up to the news that Ted Kennedy died. Someone reminded us how many people’s lives he affected and I thought of Said, now settled in Cambridge with MP and Wafa; that’s three people, right close to me whose lives he touched.

One of my first experiences of America’s internal politics was watching Axel’s parents mutter and sputter as they sat in the smoke filled TV room, each in their own naugahyde chair, hers white and his red, watching Teddy Kennedy speak. The political divide between Axel and his parents was always huge; they were staunch republicans and Reagan could not do no wrong.

Back in Ghana we met with our co-facilitators at the ADRA office which has become like a home away from home. The ADRA staff treats us as family members, looking after our comfort, picking us up, dropping us off. They do all this without us signing logbooks or collecting receipts for reimbursements from someplace else – an old fashioned kind of courtesy that is rare in my line of work. It’s all driven by a deep concern for our well being and old fashioned hospitality.

We completed our preparations for the senior leadership retreat and made a visit to the US embassy compound. I asked the guard who checked us in whether President Obama also had to hand over his cell phone, show his passport and walk through the metal detector [big laugh].  Everyone had been there to see the president; it had been a time of great excitement and tons of extra work, gladly done for the reward of seeing his majesty himself.

In the meantime Diane and I had a chance to get to know each other better.  Diane lived in Ghana some 12 years ago as Plan International’s country director. Her account of that time was so very positive that I did not understand why she had left the position, until I learned of the rather dramatic circumstances that spurred her family’s departure: she lost her mother-in-law, only days after she had returned to her native Bolivia from a visit to Ghana, to a particular malignant form of malaria; she nearly lost her then 2 year old daughter. Diane herself left the country seriously ill with the same disease and struggled to recover in Britain. While all this was happening their house got cleaned out by burglars. All circumstances combined to signal them that it was time to leave. The return back to Ghana is clearly an emotional experience.

Diane is rediscovering her old staff. They all seemed to have done well; most impressive is the one who is currently vice-president of the country. We schemed how she could get a message to him.   Conveniently we had dinner with Brian, a friend and member of the original leadership development facilitator team, who was part of the current president’s campaign and transition team. He will pass Diane’s personal message to the vice-president. How cool is that?