Go Outside And Say Hello

I walk around Damongo and other parts of Ghana passing out small 'dum-dum' suckers to children. Yeah, I know. Kind of weird. I'd be hauled in by authorities in the US. Believe it or not, there's a method to my madness. 

80% of the area I live in is Muslim. Today was a little slow at work and I left a little early , as it's one of their biggest holy day celebrations: Eid al-Adha, which is a commemoration of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son, Isaac at God's request (Yes, God was bluffing. And, yes, Muslims, Jews and Christians all share this story, among many other writings and traditions. Go figure.).

As I walked home, I passed a house where a few children regularly come out to collect their tribute. There was more activity than normal and a lot more kids emerged from the house. Thankfully, I was well supplied. We shared greetings and suckers. But before I left, one of the adults beckoned for me to come inside their fenced-in yard. Soon I was sharing pleasantries and smiles with 30-40 people despite the language barrier; snapped a few pictures; and was invited to their feast of roast lamb tomorrow when I pass by again. Because of my strange little habit, I now have 30-40 new friends.

Why am I telling this story? Like the US and every other country, Ghana has all sorts of cultural diversity; based on tribes, languages and religions. As we all know, these can be wonderful things but can also lead to mistrust and worse. I find that people are people- everywhere in the world- sharing many more similarities than differences. Often your ethnic group, government, religion or favorite media outlet will try to convince you otherwise. Turn off your TV. Go outside and say hello to someone you don't know. Offer them a piece of candy! You never know. You might end up with a new friend or even a plate of BBQ. One thing for sure: you'll never know unless you try.