What Counts

While I was traveling through Ghana on my Semester at Sea study abroad, I stayed in a small village called Dekpor. I volunteered and taught at the... more

by Bailey Barry

Title

What Counts

Artist

Bailey Barry

Medium

Photograph

Description

While I was traveling through Ghana on my Semester at Sea study abroad, I stayed in a small village called Dekpor. I volunteered and taught at the local school along with fifteen or so other students. My time spent there was challenging, rewarding, emotional, and humbling. I had never experienced living conditions as poor as these. The people had nearly no belongings, but were so full of joy and strength. As we were packing up our stuff and getting ready to leave the village, I decided I wanted to leave my pair of TOM shoes for someone. A few people were staying an extra night so I just asked them to make sure our guide knew they were left on purpose. Literally right after I said this, my favorite lady in the village, "Grandma" as I called her, started telling us she wanted new shoes. She didn't speak any English but one of the little boys was translating for us. My shoes fit her perfectly. She was SO happy and funny. She started dancing and cheering. It felt so good to instill so much happiness in her with one little act of generosity. We came from two completely different walks of life and areas of the world. We weren't the same race and we didn't speak the same language. But I saw that she needed something that I didn't. There are so many more important things than ethnicity, wealth, age, and language. My experience in Ghana made me feel more human than any other moment in my life.

Uploaded

November 10th, 2014