Today was the mid-term review for my program, led by Dr. Gilbert Buckle. The review took nearly the entire day (with a break for shopping…I’m now 20 cedis poorer, or rather 3 African masks and 3 beaded bracelets richer).
Part of the day was taken up with The Life of Ray Charity Fund. Dr. Buckle was very enthusiastic about the project and my fellow scholar and I have a meeting with him tomorrow night to discuss the advanced structure that our charity can take on. We have already raised nearly $1,000 in just three days! Thank you so much everyone! To all the family and friends who have donated, those who are thinking about it, the people who have sent me emails, and everyone who let this crazy dream be possible. It truly does take a village, and I’m so happy with the village of people I live in. If you are reading this or have read anything in my blog I am so proud to have you in my life.
Dr. Buckle anticipates that we will be makes hundreds of thousands of dollars in the future (really Dr. Buckle???) and must plan wisely. Given that we are making Ray’s mother work for her money he is impressed with our eye on sustainability…I hope we can keep it focused in that direction.
Dr. Buckle also spoke eloquently of Ghanaian culture, particularly funerals. The Ghanaian funeral has even been a hot topic in the NY Times. An article on Ghanaian funerals was sent to me by Danny (my boy) through Conor (some guy) - http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/12/nyregion/12funerals.html?_r=1 - I joked with Dr. Buckle and said that I wanted to attend the ceremonies with him. He laughed and explained how funerals were a person’s life insurance…and the premium that someone earned was in how good a person they were during life. If people liked you and respected you, your family made money during your funeral. If not, your family went into debt. People would come to eat and drink and dance and party and either pay or not pay depending on how upstanding an individual you were. How good a person you were in real life determined how much you made in the afterlife…I hope one day people are dancing on my grave with hundred dollar bills.
So Dr. Buckle…if that invitation to the funeral real I need to know two things:
a) how many cedis should I bring?
b) should I eat breakfast beforehand?
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