If you have been keeping up with our blogs lately, you may recall hearing about the Be Boundless Ghana Trip where we said we would be sending 11 youth from our community to travel into the most memorable journey of their life thus far; a cultural exchange to Ghana during the 400 th year anniversary; known as the Year of the Return. Well the youth are back, and we have an update!

Travelling halfway across the world allowed our BE BOUNDLESS team to expand their horizons and view life through a different perspective. The trip was full of experiences where our youth explored their history, culture and identity. There were daily tours into the grass root communities of the country, which evoked discussions on the impact of slavery, the legacy of colonialism, the impact of the media, and the strength and resilience of our ancestors. They examined their personal bias and prejudices, and the role that they play in shaping a better future.

Beginning in the Volta region, the group participated in traditional enstoolment ceremonies at the Nkonya Tayi and Ho Ziavi villages. Dance, music, and traditional practices told the stories of the communities and the history of the region. Next, the group traveled to the Monkey Village in Tafi Atome where they learned how the locals protected the ecosystems for the monkeys. This also helped promote tourism to the region. We can’t wait to show you all the videos from this day!

The next few days the group travelled through Togo and in Benin to visit the world-renowned Songhai Centre, an environmental and sustainability project founded by Dr. Godfrey Nzamujo in 1985. The group received in-depth tours that highlighted the structure of the centre, their agricultural practices, their self-sufficient model of production and management. It was a surreal experience seeing the highly sophisticated level of integration between nature, science and tradition.

On day 8 of the journey the group ventured to Kpasse in Benin to visit the sacred Voodoo temple, the Python Temple and Ganvie, and the water town known as the Venice of Africa.

The group then travelled back to Ghana visiting the Kakum National Park where they went on a canopy walk. During the visit at the infamous Cape Coast Castle, our team learned that there were slaves who were housed here during the dark 400 year history of the Atlantic Slave trade.

Then, it was off to Kumasi where they would visit the Assin Masso Slave River, which was the final link in the slavery route from northern Ghana to the largest slave market for merchants supplying slaves to the forts and castles on the coast.

The trip concluded in Accra, where the group visited one of the most impactful historical monuments in the country! It was the house of W.E.B. DeBois and the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, before heading to Washington, D.C for the day, to visit the Smithsonian National Museum of African American Art and History.

The journey was challenging, emotional, inspiring, informative and eye opening all at once. New friendships emerged as experiences shaped unique conversations each evening. Discussions about life, music, money, health and identity would fill the air as the group bonded and created a new sense of unity.

Over the next couple of months, back here in Toronto, our BE BOUNDLESS team will breaking it all down. We will be creating an in depth version of all experiences. BE BOUNDLESS the Ghana Edition was truly life-changing in every sense and we can’t wait share it with you!