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My Journey to the Motherland- Accra, Ghana-Day 5

On the fifth day in Ghana, our out of town driver Leo picked us from the Gallery which was the Airbnb where we stayed.

This time he had two people in the SUV with him. First there was Nana who was the husband of Delia who owns ACC Tours and had organized our trip to Ghana. Nana was Ghanaian but lived in Brooklyn with Delia and their family. He was in town visiting his family so he decided to tag along on our trip to the village of Kumasi. Also with him was his cousin, Natalie which she beautifully pronounced Nah-tuh-lee. Natalie was also from Ghana but was a pharmacist in London.

The trip to Kumasi was about three hours. Again, I stayed awake for as long as I could but ended up falling asleep. When I woke up, we had arrived in Kumasi.

 

Journey to the Motherland GhanaWe met our amazing tour guide, Sammie who spent the next two days leading us around Kumasi and the Ashanti Region. This is him with his awesome Afrochella cap and Adinkra Symbols shirt.

 

 

We toured the Ashanti Palace where I learned about the rich traditions of the Ashanti people including the story of the Golden Stool and the Okomfo Anokye Sword Site.

Journey to the Motherland Ghana

Journey to the Motherland Ghana

Journey to the Motherland GhanaJourney to the Motherland Ghana

Journey to the Motherland Ghana

After our tours, we had lunch at Ike’s then headed to check into our hotel for the night, the  Golden Bean.

We rested then got dressed for a little Kumasi nightlife. But first we had a special treat. One of Nana’s aunt’s lived in Kumasi. She was a retired educator and had actually lived in Ashanti Palace. It was so wonderful talking to her and her daughter in her beautiful home. She served us fruit and drinks (real drinks) then we headed out after our enlightening conversation.

We enjoyed this outdoor party with food and music then headed to another spot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was like a typical bar at home with good drinks, hookah, and fun people. My speaker friend, Justin, had fun on the pool table. When I saw this shirt with BOTH of my names, I had to get a picture.

My Journey to the Motherland- Accra, Ghana Day 2

I think it was close to 3am when we finally left. We called an Uber (which we had done throughout our trip) and headed in.

We had a big day planned for the next day. We would be heading to the school in the village where Justin’s father was born and had grown up.

And we would have the incredible opportunity to speak to the educators and the students there.

I was beyond excited but had no idea just how deeply it would affect me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Journey to the Motherland- Accra, Ghana Day 6

 

 

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I’m Summer Owens, and my passion is helping youth and young adults realize success no matter what obstacles they face. As an international resilience and leadership keynote speaker, author, S.O. What! Success Coach, and creator of the S.O. What! Literacy, Life Skills, and Character Education curriculum, I empower people to say, “So what!” to even their greatest challenges.  provide a framework to help people see past their challenges and focus on solutions using the S.O. What! Success System (Overcome Obstacles + Eliminate Excuses + Calculate Choices = S.O. What! Success). Through keynotes, workshops, books, online courses, and workbooks, I use life’s challenges and my own story of resilience as a rape survivor and teen mom success story to help others confidently pursue their dreams.

Looking for an inspiring college motivational speaker? A high school literacy curriculum? A middle school life skills workbook? A great example for teen mothers? A women’s empowerment or single mother’s conference speaker?  I’m your girl and will help any audience say, “S.O. What!”.

 

 

 

www.SummerOwens.com