A Christmas Poem from Ghana

A Christmas Poem for Family and Friends
By Nichole Huck

Twas the night before Christmas
And all throughout Ghana…
Not a creature was stirring except for the goats, sheep, roosters, donkeys, Iman who announces on the mosque’s loudspeaker outside our bedroom window and the horn blasting taxi drivers.

Nichole and Shawn were curled up under their mosquitoe net covered bed.
With hopes that malaria would not strike them dead.

It has been only three months since they left the city that rhymes with fun.
In that time - the Saskies took power and the roughriders won!

Nichole spends her days at Radio Justice FM -
Where the first week she was told women are inferior to men.
A “human rights media trainer” - is what she was told.
But she’s much more of a student - learning from the young and the bold.
She does a show every Thursday - with the focus on rights.
Everything from disability to forced marriage to police brutality and fights.
She hopes that the message - rings out loud and clear.
But one things for certain - conflict is not something Ghanaians fear.
Four wives should be the maximum - insists one of her new friends.
"Unless you are a chief" - another defends.

The food is another thing - that took some getting used to.
Balls of colourless playdough - yams and beans, rice and Fufu.
Huts are everywhere - but no pizza to be found.
Peanut butter is plentiful and it’s sold by the pound.

Shawn splits his time between 3 worthy groups --
Skills for school dropouts, Soccer for Kids, and village eco-tourism - keeps him running in loops.

The months have been filled with interesting adventures -
Petting a crocodile, plenty of flesh wounds and malaria (his and hers).

The duo learned all about the Muslim holiday - Sala.
Where goats, sheep and cows are sacrificed- (it is quite a Gala!)
Instead of white on the ground - they were now seeing red.
The couple decided they’d seen enough bloodshed.

Even without snow --- Christmas must come!
So the couple invited Rick Mercer and Peter Mansbridge and had lots of fun.
They substituted guinea fowl for turkey and Burkina Faso for home.
And for 10 days they will travel - or as Ghanaians say “roam”.

Only six more months away from family and friends.
And the hope that they’ll both find rewarding jobs at the end.
But let us not wish away the time till return.
There are still plenty of things for this young couple to learn.
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year too!
And when it’s minus forty we’ll be thinking of you!

---- As you’ve just read…Shawn and I plan on spending Christmas and New Years in Burkina Faso (a French speaking country to the North). I’m just getting over Malaria - so we will try and take it pretty easy.

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