Ever since I was a little girl, I have wanted to travel the world. My family didn’t travel much while I was young but it did not stop my deep seeded desire to leave home and see what the world had to offer.
I chose to write this article on one of the places I have explored, Ghana. Africa has so much culture to offer and in my eyes, it’s a very difficult task to decide where to travel within that great Continent. I chose Ghana because of my connection to it.
I sponsor children through Compassion International. The moment I graduated from college and got my first job in the real world, I sponsored a child named Doris. I chose Doris because her picture spoke to me. Doris lives in Ghana and we have been corresponding since 2006; she was six years old.
After a year of writing letters, I decided to visit Doris. During my visit, I was able to see the many sides of Ghana. It was an experience like no other. I can’t even describe the feelings that ran through me as I experienced an African culture but I can say that while being there, I felt a sense of home.
I have never felt a deeper sense of belonging as I felt in Ghana. A few years prior to visiting Ghana, I participated in the National Geographic Genome project and the results were that my maternal DNA is linked to the Western part of the African Continent. I was very disappointed in the results because there DNA test did not link me to a specific Country in Africa but being in Ghana made me feel like I found the Country of my forefather’s birth.
The time I spent with Doris made me feel like I was doing the right thing and gave me a life changing experience that will carry me for the rest of my life.
Look Within 