Experiences of an Old Nomad: Buduburam, Ghana
Sometimes you never know how good you have it, until you do.
Some of my most poignant memories are of the times I spent going back and forth from the west coast of Florida to Ghana and Uganda between 2010–2015. Those trips began with research but ended in complex bonds of relationship and honesty that sometimes made the professional and the personal difficult to untangle.
A trip to Ghana was my second to the continent of Africa. Ghana was the start of many trips between 2010–2015 to learn about local populations and refugee experiences.
Why Ghana?
Having worked with resettled refugees in the US since 2002, I wanted to understand the refugee journey in a way I never could from reading research articles. My first opportunity was in Ghana in 2010 when I got the opportunity to spend time at Buduburam Refugee Camp, about 27 miles west of the capital of Accra. This stay was facilitated by a former leader from my Florida university who took a consultant position at the University of Ghana.
The trip began with several days on the University of Ghana campus with my gracious hosts, attending a couple graduate classes and a lively party held by the former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, who was the chancellor…
