An interesting thing happened the other day. I arrived in Ghana with sixteen of my colleagues and after about a day and a half of touring through the Accra region, we had a chance to meet some of our new and adorable neighbors. These adolescents wasted no time racing over to greet us white people or “obrunies” as they say. Carson, Kelly and I played Frisbee with about a dozen kids and got to know a little bit about each one before we suggested taking a few pictures with them. I might as well have been waving a boxes of candy because they went crazy at the slight of my camera. Afterwards, I uploaded one of the pictures to Facebook and needless to say I got more “likes” than I ever have before on a post (not even close).
Now I want to apologize for posting this picture, or at least not putting it into proper context. I captioned this photo, “Met some new friends in Ghana” but afterwards it was reposted by my brother under the caption “My brother is saving the kids in Ghana.” I did not come to Ghana to save anyone. I came to learn about a culture and to work as an intern in my chosen profession. In order to save someone they actually need to be saved. While any casual observer can see that circumstances are not ideal for these young children, or perhaps for most of Accra’s population, that most definitely does not mean that we are the heroic “oborunis” (foreigners) who have come to save them. Sadly, that is the western stereotype that defines Africa. 
One kid in particular represents this well. Mary is a young girl in about the fourth grade if you translate the Ghanaian school system to the U.S. She is well spoken, well mannered and above all happy. In fact, early on she has served as a guide to a few of us who do not wish to overpay on purchases or when riding the dreaded tro tro (more on that later). She is quite intelligent for her age and with good fortune will ultimately attend the University of Ghana in the future. Like any child in Ghana or the U.S., there are needs that could be addressed to help aid her, but by no means did my colleagues and I embark to Ghana to save the children.
I hope that those who viewed this picture (and there were plenty) did not interpret this photo the same way as my intelligent but sometimes naïve younger brother. This journey is so that I may share my experiences with my friends and family back home to hopefully show them a more balanced view of Ghana. JM
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