A DAY IN THE HEAT OF THE SUN: The Crucible of patiently and impatiently being baked in Ghana’s Sunshine

The weekend spent here in Cape Coast almost seems like a waste. Many people would think so. People who had promised to meet with us have not shown up for appointments. The professor was in Kumasi on the day we were supposed to meet him. The pastor and the I.T. guy didn’t show up on Monday after dinner. The contact at the polytechnic says the students will be out at sports events and will not be on campus. Forces us to ask, “Why did you mention these dates and these times if you didn’t think you could make it?” The answer, as rude as it sounds is, “This is Africa. Welcome to Africa.” Don’t believe the song, “there is matata.” This is not hakuna matata. This is a bad way to operate. Living in a perpetual state of breaking promises. Then again, this is how things operate in most of Africa, and Peter had warned everybody that Ghana is no exception.

When minutes turn to hours and when hours turn into days and when days turn into cancellations, we are left holding the sand and watching it trickle through our fingers. Once again, another one got away. I have alternated between frustration and chuckling. Frustration because I know that this laissez-faire attitude sometimes unknowingly portrays the picture of not wanting to work together, when in truth, the absentee may be very willing to cooperate and partner with you. Things inevitably happen and interfere with the best laid plans of men. In Africa, you roll with the punches and live to fight another day. “Wasted” time and “wasted” trips are a part of everyday life. If you get tired of standing in queues, surviving through the traffic and “no-shows” to meetings and appointments, get tired, BUT DON’T RUN. Keep fighting. Hence the chuckling: Even though I knew and expected this to happen, I was still caught whining and complaining when it happened. Bemoaning the lateness and tardiness as if it was a revelation of something I had never encountered before or expected.

We have made progress in ways we don’t even notice. We are becoming better friends as a team and actually brain-storming all the time. When swimming, when eating, in the van, when going for morning walks. Life is all about building relationships. Work in Africa is all about building relationships. Lest we think that these three days have been a waste of time, we should remember that everything about NAPE has taken a long time. Every big breakthrough has been a hard-fought victory. Lee talked about how it took three days over a thanksgiving break to write the intricate grant proposal draft. We all know that it took years to finalize the 501-c-3 designation through the IRS. We also know that it has taken the last five years to build a relationship with a University of repute to partner with in this endeavor. Therefore, if it took these slow laboring PROCESSES to build relationships in the U.S. (land of fast food and drive-thrus) we should not deceive ourselves when it comes to working in Ghana.

It will take months, years to build relationships and gain a foothold in a way that establishes NAPE firmly in Accra, let alone Cape Coast, Kumasi or Tamale. The trips in the van are long. The days tracking down people are long. The walking in the sunshine is tiring and the appointments falling through the cracks are disappointing. BUT this is the nature of life, and this is the nature of work, especially in Africa. It takes time. Oh…it takes time.

As Bee-Jai reassured us during dinner tonight: Let us not put a do or die pressure on ourselves that sees this month as the make-it or break-it test of NAPE’s legitimacy. God will work in His time, and especially in this other-worldly nature of “African” time to make His will be done for NAPE, for the students and for us. This month is a journey. This month is a process. We are learning patience and perseverance whether or not we like it. There is hope for the future, because we keep our hands to the plough. There is no hope for the future, if frowns dominate on our brows.