Not the Africa Everyone Expects.

Fancy Building in a medium sized city, Takoradi

         As a I flew into the capital of Ghana, Accra, at night, the scene below was not one of a small city without electricity, but a massive sprawl of lights.  I was shocked by how big the city is.  To me Accra feels bigger than Boston or D.C., it may actually be.   On the drive from the airport to our house I saw fancy modern architecture that at first reaction made me think I have never seen a building so nice in the “paradise” I used to call home.  As we drive along the coast to do a site visit the scene reminds me of St. Lucia, the ocean, coconut trees and luscious green.  I even took a few pictures that if they got mixed up with my Lucian photos I would think I took them there.

Sunrise at the beach in South Western Ghana

Pool next to the Ocean Busua Ghana

             I have yet to see a mud hut with a thatched roof in Accra and I would be shocked to find one in the city (I have seen them in more rural areas).  I have however seen a 3-story club with fancy nice décor, went to a lounge with Ghanaian friends that was nicer than any place I frequent in the states. They served mojitos and other fancy mixed drinks and played a combination of old school US hip-hop/r&b, Jamaican music, and the latest from Nigerian and Ghanaian artists.  There are coffee shops, places to get gelato, sushi, Indian food, and even a KFC. 

View from the Lodge near Dixcove Ghana

            There is a lot of wealth and a lot of development.  Of course there is also poverty.  There may be more poverty than in other parts of the world; or maybe less hidden then in other places.   Maybe though its that when we come to Africa we seek out this poverty in a way we never would in the US or Europe.  There we do everything possible to avoid poverty.  When’s the last time you heard someone with a university degree say, you know let’s tour around the inner city, I want to see what life is like there?  It seems however anytime anyone comes to Africa myself included, we don’t feel we are getting “the real” African experience if we don’t see mud huts and poverty.  But the real Africa is the nightclubs and the development, it’s the Africa everyone in the development field hopes will start to happen isn’t it? So why do we try to hide from this part of the experience, why do we feel like we are cheating or aren’t getting the real experience if we have running water and hang out with African friends at fancy clubs?