I wanted to add to the earlier post and share that we have prepared these girls well. They couldn't help but notice the similarities between the stories we heard in the slave castle in Elmina today and our own history with the Aboriginal people in Canada. The many hours we spent in the classroom with Eric Mitchell and Chris Marchand working through the Aboriginal Health Modules certainly helped our understanding today.
It was a difficult day...we had heavy hearts, but our guide Richard, and our colleague Vida helped us put it into perspective. Vida brings the voice of the women of Ghana and she taught our guide a bit of history today. We are so fortunate to walk this journey with her.
Jeanette
Jeanette I have to agree with you; we only have to think about the residential school experience for our Canadian Aboriginal peoples to realize that history everywhere has its heartaches - and we need to face them and learn from them, together. That is the only path to global citizenship, in Ghana or at home. And so the journey continues - thank you so much for sharing it with us, and safe travels as you move forward,
ReplyDeleteTricia Marck
On our trip from Accra to Enchi Philomena shared with us that all Ghanaian students are taught about this piece of their history, about colonization and the transatlantic slave trade by the Portuguese and Dutch. We had a great discussion about it. I was asking her some questions, and then it dawned on me. Their public school system was set up by the British when they came to the country. The English were the abolitionists who were instrumental in seeing the end of this transatlantic trade. It makes sense that this piece of history would be taught in their British school system. They were the saviors. All at the same point in history that they were colonizing our country. It's interesting to think about. Not right or wrong, just interesting. Perspective is a funny thing.
DeleteJeanette