Being Awake

The world is not just, but there is beauty everywhere.

The Volta River flows through Ghana and Lake Volta, the largest reservoir in the world. There is a tiny town at the mouth of the Volta River called Ada Foah.  One early morning during my visit to Ada two adolescent boys offered to take me down the river in their dug-out canoe.  We rowed slowly.  The boys and I chatted as we drifted past larger boats, painted colorfully with names inscribed on the side like, ‘In God’s Hands.’

When we neared the river mouth we passed a tiny village that was literally going under water.  Water lapped at the little thatched homes, sand bags and makeshift barriers were built.  

‘The sea is rising,’ one of the boys began to explain to me, ‘pushing this village out because God is Angry.  God is angry with all the wrongdoings that people have done throughout the world and that is why the sea is rising and pushing this little village out.’

And as I thought to try and explain global warming to them, I stopped, because in some deeply illustrative way, they had already explained it to me.

People of Ada. Volta Region, Ghana. August, 2009 by Rebecca Thom

1 month ago 56 notes

Tagged with:  #Ghana  #global warming  #Volta River  #Africa  #God  #photography

  1. leaking-gasket reblogged this from generalek
  2. generalek reblogged this from myheartisinafrica
  3. livinlifetodfullest reblogged this from malota4eva
  4. malota4eva reblogged this from gwumah and added:
    The simple things
  5. safarieastafrica reblogged this from myheartisinafrica
  6. inspiretoexpire reblogged this from myheartisinafrica
  7. myheartisinafrica reblogged this from beingawake
  8. tinycage reblogged this from beingawake
  9. whattheoceankeeps reblogged this from beingawake
  10. bossniggatez reblogged this from beingawake
  11. gwumah reblogged this from ghanailoveyou
  12. fleetingthoughts reblogged this from warriorsrise
  13. tobycele reblogged this from ghanailoveyou
  14. vssmcef reblogged this from beingawake
  15. awuralovex reblogged this from beingawake
  16. kookiemonsterxo reblogged this from amakathenigerian
  17. fantigirlonaquest reblogged this from ghanailoveyou
  18. osweetspoontaneous reblogged this from ghanailoveyou and added:
    But God, Volta is so beautiful.
  19. umm-abideen12 reblogged this from abdidahir
  20. neezybreezy reblogged this from abdidahir
  21. fearthefall reblogged this from ghanailoveyou
  22. disgirlslife reblogged this from warriorsrise
  23. dangercurls reblogged this from ghanailoveyou
  24. abdidahir reblogged this from ibethatlioness
  25. themindislimitless reblogged this from warriorsrise
  26. razzcoolkid reblogged this from amakathenigerian
  27. amakathenigerian reblogged this from mypurpleseptember
  28. warriorsrise reblogged this from ghanailoveyou
  29. theroguespaceship reblogged this from ghanailoveyou
  30. mypurpleseptember reblogged this from ghanailoveyou
  31. pinacoladaicecream reblogged this from ghanailoveyou