Warm Welcomes

Yoko discussing the "warm welcome" she has received 

in Ghana with the Rotary Club of Accra.

This week Pete, Yoko and I presented to the Accra Rotary Club. We are all hosted by Rotarians from this club, which has been in existence for 50 years and is the oldest Rotary Club in Ghana. The meetings are held at the gorgeous Labadi Beach Hotel on Monday afternoons. We were invited to enjoy a lovely buffet lunch of jollof rice, chicken stew, bean stew and fried plantains. A meal fit for kings!

We were spread out among the tables to meet the Rotarians. I had the pleasure of sitting next to a Korean man who has been in Accra for 3 months, and has adopted the Accra Club during his work/holiday trip. His home club is actually in New Jersey, and he has been a Rotarian for 25 years. It is pretty neat that he can maintain his Rotary service and fellowship here in Ghana.

On my left was a Ghanaian woman, Juliette, who has returned to live in Accra after raising her twin daughters in Massachusetts. She taught at Harvard Medical School and her daughters both attended Yale, where they hold records in track and field!

They did not know me, or know where I was from when they sat down, but as chance would have it, we had a little East Coast Pow-wow! I was able to give Juliette a District 7890 pin which is the state of Connecticut with a little sailboat on it. She was very appreciative and I was glad to share it with her!

Our presentations went very well, but it is fair to say that Yoko stole the show! Her speech was wonderful. She discussed her hometown, Nagasaki, Japan - she is the first Japanese Rotary Scholar to study in Ghana! When discussing her impressions of Ghana she mentioned how friendly and warm she found people - everyone says hello even when you are not acquainted, and she has already had five marriage proposals! The Rotarians thought this was hysterical - later during the "fines" (when Rotarians raise money through charging members with funny fines), everyone at Yoko's table was charged 1 cedi for having the pleasure of her company! It was money well spent, as Yoko is a wonderful person to talk to, and I always enjoy spending time with her and learning about Japan!

We look forward to working with the various Rotary Clubs in Ghana as they celebrate their 50th Anniversary this year. There are a lot of fun activities planned. In a few weeks, we will volunteer to help in the Polio Vaccination Day. Rotary has been instrumental in eradicating Polio around the world - and Ghana is very close to declaring Polio has been eradicated from within its borders. I am glad that I can participate in an activity that is such a proud part of Rotary's history of international service.