Unexpected Guests

Little Miss and our guests

One of the many (many, many) perks of Mr. And Mrs. O's life in Ghana is their oversized house. It is no colonial mansion with manicured gardens, but large enough that they have spare rooms (mostly used for warehousing their stuff) that are subject to a standing offer for any friends that happen to pass through. So they occasionally host friends and acquaintances in lieu of a pricey hotel or crummy hostel.

Recently, they hosted an old friend, Meghan, conducting studies in the Upper West Region (a 12-hour bus ride at minimum and a highly impoverished area). On her way back down, she planned to stop for a few days of nostalgia and living it up, Accra-style.

Unfortunately, it became a much different visit. Meghan sponsors a few children in the Upper West, including a boy with a severe but undiagnosed mental disability: think Rain Man, but very quiet and totally easygoing. Little K, as he may be called, has been semi-abandoned by his parents and tends to run around town with the other children. He has been taken care of by their friend, who arranged to place him in a special home North of Accra that takes special care of children like Little K.

Having fun at Club Obruni

A few nights into his stay at the home, he jumped the fence and simply ran away. So when Meghan came down, she came with a local friend (basically his caregiver) and they spent three days searching town, making posters, talking to residents, police and social workers - all in a place without services like Amber Alerts. Everyone hoped for the best, but in Accra, one can easily fear the worst.

Thankfully, just as Meghan was about to fly home, Little K was located by police and reunited with her. But the home would not re-admit him, so he would have to go back home to the Upper West for the interim. So Little K and the caregiver stayed with Mr. And Mrs. O for several days to sort things out and catch the bus back to the Upper West.

Little K was one of the easiest of houseguests - aside from his voracious appetite, he spent the days quietly watching TV, flipping through picture books and playing with toys. Little Miss was thrilled to have a playmate and they got along quite well, although she was not used to being teased by an older boy. She took the pinching and playfulness mostly in stride.

Crowded House (Hey now, hey now...)

In spite of this, having guests means a lot more work and logistics - food, drink, linens, water use (water rationing is occurring in their neighbourhood), transportation, entertainment, etc. Being able to provide hospitality is a great privilege, but it can be tiring. A Swahili saying goes, "Treat your guest as a guest for two days; on the third day give him a hoe." Unfortunately, Ghanaians do not speak Swahili. So when their guests did leave several days later, Mr. and Mrs. O enjoyed a quiet evening of television and chocolate, recuperating until the next time friends pass through.