Good People, Part I

Let's be serious for a minute here, people. I want to introduce you to a future nobel peace prize winner, and possibly the kindest person I have ever met.

His name is Emmanuel Sackey, and he is a 35 year old father of three. He currently lives in Kansas City, MO, but he is Originally from Ghana. In case you are not familiar with Ghana, it is a country in West Africa that borders the Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Togo with a population of about 24 million people of several different tribes. Ghana is one of the most successful examples of a constitutional democracy in all of Africa.

"There is an old African story," Emmanuel tells me, "A man once lost his job, and deep in despair, goes to a tree to hang himself. He takes off all of his clothes and leaves them in a pile and then climbs the tree."
"As the man gets ready to hang himself, another man, poor, starving, dirty and wearing rags, happens upon the pile of clothes under the tree, and immediately drops to his knees in thanks. 'Oh lord, I have been hoping and praying every day that I would find some new clothes! Thank you for answering my prayers!'. The man then puts on the clothes and walks away, a happy man."
"The man in the tree is then reminded that he has a home, he has a family, he has something to eat, he has many things to be thankful for.. this other man had nothing, and the clothes were an answer to his prayers."
The Story is was told to Emmanuel by his father to illustrate that someone out there always has it worse than you do. This is one of the first stories that Emmanuel told me, and I have to say, after talking to him, my world perspective has changed quite a bit. It is truly amazing what we as Americans take for granted.
I was also shocked to learn (sarcasm) that what we hear on the news about Africa isnt always the whole story. We here all about the poverty, the violence, the political unrest, rampant disease, and so on. We don't hear much about the culture or customs of Africa. We definitely dont hear about the people of Africa, who according to Emmanuel, have a profound understanding and appreciation for family and community that Americans seem to have lost somewhere.
"Everyone in your neighborhood, they all know you," He says "You walk by someone on the street and you say hello to them."
At home, meals specifically in a typical African household are a shared experience. Everyone sits together and eats around a table, discussing their day and spending time with their family. Actually, pretty much everything in Africa is a family affair.