Time with Afi

2 years on... It's been 2 years since you passed on to eternity. I know usually people say the year has come by so fast but for me, it seems like an eternity. Since I last wrote to you, so much has happened. I finished my MPhil in Sociology and then I got married. Yes! Just like you emphasized all the time. Ok. I am not totally done with the MPhil because my thesis has not returned yet from meeting with the examiners. I hope my examiners are reasonable because I did put in some good work. Yes. Back to the getting married part. I know right. The last time I wrote to you, exactly a year ago, I told you I had met Kojo who happens to share the same day name with you. Only yours is Kwadzo. Fast forward to July 16th and Kojo gave me the honour to be his wife. It was unbelievable. When I wrote to you last year I did not have an inkling of what was to come. I missed you a lot the week to the wedding and at odd times when I was alone, I would cry as mummy kept mentioning yo...

My brother is one of those people who wakes up one morning and they decide that they want to learn how to surf and they go buy a surf board and they go surfing. They decide one day that they want to learn how to play Long Tennis and they are it. They decide to build a company and they do. That is my brother. My brother has ventured into Quail eggs recently. He says they are super healthy and yes they are but I can’t bring myself to eating it. Quails look too much like owls and I think owls are transformed witches. So you see. I can’t enjoy it but my brother is beating their raw eggs and drinking it with gusto. My brother is one of those people who would fight with the sister and in the next moment he would come and lie beside you and give you a good night kiss. My brother is also one of those people who would not talk to you when they are watching a movie or a football match. They want to catch every action. He would not pay any attention to you. So don’t go asking a...

This not exactly a guide but it would give you some pointers to what you can do if you really want to help someone who has lost someone really dear. 7 Cardinal Rules. 1. Please avoid the cliches. They are so empty it just bounces off. Remember that the person is going through a lot of pain at the time. If you have nothing to say that feels right, please keep quiet. Your presence alone is appreciated. 2. Bear in mind that the person had had to tell so many people what happened so please don't ask what happened on the phone unless of course, the person tells you voluntarily. If you are with the person, that should be fine but you should be careful not to worsen the situation. 3. If you have not lost anyone so dear to you, please you cannot understand what it means to lose a loved one. Don't go and tell the person that "God giveth and God taketh". It is very annoying in spite of your good intentions. Rather pray with the person for strength.  4. If you know you...

I mean I know people die. I know that death is inevitable. I have attended funerals and seen corpses before but never did I imagine it would feel like this when I first heard my Dada had passed on. He was not sick or anything. His death was a freak accident and he was gone without a good bye. I lost my Dada. When I was first told the news, I was in a state of shock and numbed.   Could it be possible that my Dada is actually dead? I said no, I wanted to go and see him at the mortuary but I was advised against it. Kojo said "Trust me Emelia, you don't want to see your dad that way, keep and cherish the memories you have". So I did not go till the Friday when he was brought in. When I saw my dad, I was shocked, my first thought was "this cannot be my Dada" but indeed it was him. He had changed a lot but it was him. I always have heard that losing a loved one, someone really close to you and who you cared for deeply is terrible.  Trust ...

Who told you that Ghanaians are losing their culture and adopting European culture? Who told you that traditional festivals are losing their appeal? Who told you the youth are not embracing their culture? These were the questions I kept on asking my Ga friends who had come home from the States to witness, participate and enjoy the Homowo festival. As we stood at Koloko in Accra on a street I have never before seen in my life , we watched a grand procession of the Akwele Suma;a rite that is done for twins in the Ga communities on the Eve of the Homowo festival. Charlie, the pomp and the pageantry cannot be overemphasized. I really had fun. As we stood by the streets watching, I was greatly amazed and baffled at the enthusiasm of the crowd in the the procession which encompassed every class in society because I have been misled to think that the rich, the educated and youth are shying away from their culture and from what I saw which is just an isolated case, I am stil...