..God bless our homeland Ghana.Have you heard of Ghana? Of course you have, haven't you? You know..Ghanacocoa, gold, and now oil Ghana, the country President Bush and Clinton visited and loved.Ghana, the first African Country to gain its independence in 1957.

Ghana.

The name alone sounds refreshing, doesn't it? There's cold ice water, Coke, Sprite, Fanta, and Ghana yes, it is appealing, no?

Ghana is on the West Coast of Africa, nicely snuggled between the Ivory Coast and Togo. Ghana is surrounded by French speaking countries but yet English, not French, is the official language of Ghana. Of course there are other dialects, such as Twi, Ga, Fante, but Twi is the one most natives speaks. If you go to Ghana and arrive at the Kotoka International Airport, you will be greeted with the words "AKWAABA" which means "Welcome". Welcome to this beautiful land which is rich in natural resources and filled with some of the friendliest people on earth.

In March 1957, when Ghana got its independence from the British, Ghana's first leader was Kwame Nkrumah. Kwame Nkrumah took Ghana by the hands and fought for the great country. Nkrumah did many great things for Ghana, but one of the greatest visions he had for Ghana was the building of the Akosombo Dam. This dam has provided power to the Country for over 30 years and it is one of the biggest dams in the world.

Ghana is also home to some of the best universities in all of Africa: the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology a.k.a Tech, and the University of Ghana, Legon.

Accra is the capital of Ghana but Kumasi is equally important.

In Ghana, there is no middle class. You are either rich or poor. Many Americans have gone to Ghana and created successful businesses. In Ghana the money is there and people are willing to pay for services that they need. Don't think that because Ghana is a "third world country" that the people are shabby. WOAH! If you go to Ghana right now, you will see how the people dress and follow fashion. When you pack for Ghana, you better pack your best clothing or else the people might think that you are homeless.

Kente cloth and gold are synonymous with Ghana. Kente cloth is a cloth that is woven on a loom. Individual colored threads are taken and woven to form strips. The strips are then sewn together to make the fabric. Kente cloth is expensive and each pattern on kente cloth tells a story. The kente cloth that the President of Ghana wears has a pattern on it that no one in the world will ever have. The weavers sew it in a special way just for himthe pattern will never be duplicated. Nkrumah and his wife had special kente as well.

Ghana's flag: From top to bottom, the colors of Ghana's flag are red, yellow, and green. There is a black star in the middle of the yellow. What do the colors mean?
Red stands for the blood that was lost when the ancestors were fighting for their right to independence from the westerners
Yellow stands with the gold
Green stands for the natural resources which are in Ghana's Land, the rich vegetation.

The star stands for the number 1, Ghana was the first country to gain independence in Africa, so it was the lone star.

Ghana just celebrated its 50th year of independence last year. I was in Ghana and the celebrations were dynamic. To be in a country celebrating 50 years of independence is unbelievable and a once in a life time opportunity. To see everyone waving the country's flag everywhere, on the streets, in schools, in restaurantseverywhere, was amazing.

Ghana is rich. Ghana is good. Ghana is blessed. God bless our homeland Ghana.

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