Right Hand Only: "Kwaku"

In April of 2018, my partner and I began planning and developing a cultural exchange program for students in Ghana. The purpose of the exchange was to use art and sport as a way to create a cross-cultural bridge that explored our similarities as people. The hope was to begin to break down the unknown aspects of life among us to eradicate stereotypes, especially after vicious politically charged words were so recklessly used to describe African countries in the beginning of 2018. “Right Hand Only” is an exploration of you and I, experienced through the collective consciousness, set in Ghana, West Africa. The title “Right Hand Only” is a play on the cultural norms of Ghana. For most actions in Ghanaian society: eating, waving, writing, etc. it is forbidden to use your left hand. This series of images is from the first part of this project, “Kwaku.” Kwaku is the middle boy of the family with whom I lived during my time in Obuasi Ghana. This series captures life through his eyes. Many of these images were taken with Kwaku during our walks after school. Each subsequent visit that I make to Ghana for the cultural exchange program will provide a new opportunity to capture life through the eyes of another one of the children with whom I lived and consider family. The following are excerpts of discussions that occurred between Kwaku and myself as well the collective voice of Ghanaians throughout the course of my stay in Ghana. “Kwaku” Hello. I am Kwaku. I am twelve years old. I am from Obuasi. Obausi is a city in Ghana and Obuasi is in the Ashanti region of Ghana. We are the ancestors of a royal lineage, the Asante. Ghana even means “Warrior King.” I’m called Kwaku because I was born on a Wednesday. In Ghana, everyone has a birth name given to them by their parents and another name that is determined by the day of the week on which you were born. You are Yaw, because you were born on a Thursday. Sometimes, the region in which Ghana is located is called the Gold Coast because the ground holds immense treasure. There is so much gold here, that companies come to Ghana to remove it from the earth. But the people who live here don’t really get to do this job. That job is reserved for people from other countries. I think if more Ghanaian people were allowed to work in the mines, we wouldn’t be looked at like such a poor country. Ghana is more home than you probably think.Today, people focus so much on the potential pinch from the thorn that they forget the beauty of the rose. I want the world to know that we are no different. We are not “other.” We have neighbors just like you do. When one house cooks we all eat. This is just how it is. We work, we study, we dance, we play, we cry, we cook, we eat, we struggle, we worry, we rest, we wonder, we laugh, we hope.