Akwaaba! Welcome! Our first day in Ghana we received a warm welcome from Chris Dadzie, a human rights advocate and Director of ISODEC (Integrated Social Development Center). Ms. Dadzie, whose daughter Christabel is a SIPA alum, coordinated our tour. Her orientation was our first glimpse of the inviting and innovative people we would meet throughout adventures in Accra and the Cape Coast. We appreciate her efforts to orient us in Ghana’s rich culture and history, as well as its current political, economic, and social development. During our conversation, Ms. Dadzie shared personal stories and elaborated on Ghana’s transition from a British colony to military rule to a new democracy. Threaded throughout her talk, she expressed the importance of the press in strengthening the new democracy and its role in promoting a more robust civil society. Lunch with Ms. Dadzie was the perfect introduction to our tour of Accra. Our first stop was the Freedom and Justice Square. After, we visited Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, and learned about Ghana’s first president whose successful leadership united Ghana’s different ethnic groups. The daytime tour concluded after we haggled for masks, jewelry, and African Cup 2008 T-shirts at the Art Center. In between stops, SIPA students were spotted snoozing on bus, recovering from jet lag and rejuvenating for dinner with Alban Bagbin, the parliament’s Minority Leader.
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