EL-J
Five years have passed, but not enough has changed, except maybe ourselves.
When back in Ghana visiting family, we left the city to convene in the country, typical for Easter. It was EL-J's first trip to Ghana, and we were cautious about how seeing the plight of many Ghanaians would affect him.
EL-J returned home half-naked on day one. He had been out to play and seemed happy enough and of no harm. It was EL-J's first Ghanaian summer; maybe it was simply the heat. Day two was the same thing, but EL-J wouldn't say what was going on. On the third day, we watched a local football match, and right before our eyes walked four boys, one proudly sporting EL-J's favourite basketball jersey, another draped in a designer shirt, and so on.
That was 2017. Looking back, we were so very naive. Through the eyes of a child, we learned that being respectful and gracious during our frequent returns to my home country was not enough. It is too easy to think one must be rich to make a difference, but EL-J changed this perspective and our lives with it.
In the UK, we work in property rental. Life is ideal, and we are blessed. Part of this work is dealing with what tenants leave behind. Now we had a plan. We started collecting these discarded items. Our house was full of boxes of random objects, and when the room was near full, we paid for a shipping container to take them to Ghana.
In truth, I couldn't believe the response and appreciation of those receiving these items. We discard so much of this stuff in the UK, yet here it brings happiness. In 5 years since we have had the great privilege of doing these small things to make a big difference back home. In 2022, Giving 2 Ghana CIC will continue this work and, with your help, can do much more.
