A beginning, a middle and an end in Ghana.
Author: Ellie Schimelman
Artist-teacher-world traveler-director of Cross Cultural Collaborative, a cultural exchange program in Ghana. I focus on traditions and cultural history of Ghana with opportunities for people to explore creativity in a culture they may not be familiar with. We do this by offering tours - workshops - visits to traditional villages and personal interaction with our many collaborators.If it's in Ghana we can do it!
By Ellie Schimelman, also known as Aba Obroni Kakraba
Director of Cross Cultural Collective in Ghana
A beginning, a middle and an end… and you have a story. I’m not sure about the beginning and that’s what most people ask about. “Why did you decide to go to Ghana?” Because of apartheid I didn’t go to my first choice. Because I like African art and culture, and by a process of elimination, I chose Ghana. It helped that the official language there is English. Whatever the reason, it was a good choice. I feel a connection to the culture, my speech slows, my body acclimates, I can handle the culture shock and I found a community of welcoming, creative people. The Ghanaians gave me a name. Aba Obroni Kakraba… small white woman born on Thursday.
The middle encompasses my frequent returns, and finally, not wanting to be a tourist I started a tour company, bought some land next to the ocean, built Aba House and started an NGO. Of course, it wasn’t that straight forward. It was typically Ghanaian and never went in a straight line. Sometimes it was sad, sometimes it was funny and it was always an adventure.
There was no 5 year plan – every business is supposed to have one. A walk along the ocean prompted a spontaneous purchase of land. Once you have land you have to build something or squatters will move in. Because I had been doing volunteer teaching of art, people said, “Aba’s building an art school.” My interest was always, and still is, centered on African traditional art and culture so I modeled the building, somewhat, on a traditional mud house. It became a cultural center/guest house where we offered residencies, cultural awareness programs, interactions with local artisans and a comfortable introduction to Ghanaian culture away from the tourist trail.
We saw visitors coming to Ghana and having superficial contact with the locals and then going home thinking they had experienced Africa. So we chose to locate in a village away from the touristy things and offer programs that focused on traditional culture and to give participants an opportunity to interact on a personal level with our friends and neighbors. And that’s how Cross Cultural Collaborative came to be.
At first we only worked with adults and the neighborhood kids hung around outside our walls. One day we decided to let the kids come in and gave them some paper and drawing materials. That was a life changing experience for the kids and for us. Visiting artists started teaching whatever their specialty was. We started a small library and taught the students how to sign books out to borrow. Because the books were donated most of them were not culturally relevant so we taught creative writing. The kids wrote stories about their culture, illustrated them and we got a small grant to print some of the stories and share them with local schools. Some volunteers taught how to make paper out of sugar cane leaves and then taught bookbinding so the kids could make their own story books. This was such a successful program that we now sell the books and use the money to buy school supplies and provide other educational needs.
Creativity by definition is always changing. We are flexible ( and sometimes accused of being too spontaneous) but over the years we have offered what feels needed both by our children and visitors.
Recently , due to extensive damage by a storm, we sold our beloved center and moved down the street where we built a new Aba House. For this new beginning I have a new partner who has fresh ideas for going forward. My partner Michael Bortei was one of the children who came into our program when he was 7 years old. Now he is a young adult who is perfect for the job. He has been with us from almost the beginning and is dedicated to our vision. He is truly a renaissance man managing the cultural center/guest house, acting as a guide for visitors, and teaching classes.
And the end.
When a Ghanaian dies they become an ancestor who watches over the living.
Libation is poured to include them in important decisions.
I will always be part of Aba House.
