Why Ghana?

Many of you may be wondering why Ghana. To be honest, it has been a life long dream of mine to go to Africa. I am so lucky and privileged to be able to study in a completely new environment and be pushed way outside my comfort zone. Everything in which I am familiar and accustomed to will be turned upside-down, which will hopefully provide me with a more global view of the reality of the world we share. It often troubles me the voice of Africa is forgotten and unheard within the US political realm, and I would like to hear those voices and understand our world from a different perspective. Furthermore, my goal in life ever since I was little, always been to become a Federal Judge - and I hope that my experiences and life lessons from my studies abroad will prove invaluable to making be a better Judge and person in general. For the first time in my life I will live as a racial minority in a nation struggling with poverty, health, and stability. Though Ghana has its struggles, as do all developing nations, it is supposedly one of the safest and culturally brilliant and colorful nations in Africa. I plan on taking every opportunity I can to gain new perspectives and submerge myself in the Ghanan society and culture. Even though I know I will be homesick and miss my family, friends, and lifestyle back in the states, I know I will come back a changed man full of stories and adventures.

University of Ghana

Source Wikipedia:
The University of Ghana is the oldest and largest of the seven Ghanaian public universities. It is by far the most prestigious university in West Africa. It was founded in 1948[2] as the University College of the Gold Coast, and was originally an affiliate college of the University of London[3], which supervised its academic programmes and awarded degrees. It gained full university status in 1961[3], and now has nearly 42,000 students.

The original emphasis was on the liberal arts, social sciences, basic science, agriculture, and medicine, but (partly as the result of a national educational reform programme) the curriculum was expanded to provide more technology-based and vocational courses and postgraduate training.

The University is mainly based at Legon, about twelve kilometres northeast of the centre of Accra. The medical school is in Korle bu, with a teaching hospital and secondary campus in the city of Accra.

Ghana Information (History, Culture, and Life)

Geography
A West African country bordering on the Gulf of Guinea, Ghana is bounded by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It compares in size to Oregon, and its largest river is the Volta. It is culturally vibrant with numerous and colorful with lasting traditions, dance, music, and rituals.

Government
Constitutional democracy.

History
Several major civilizations flourished in the general region of what is now Ghana. The ancient empire of Ghana (located 500 mi northwest of the contemporary state) reigned until the 13th century. The Akan peoples established the next major civilization, beginning in the 13th century, and then the Ashanti empire flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Called the Gold Coast, the area was first seen by Portuguese traders in 1470. They were followed by the English (1553), the Dutch (1595), and the Swedes (1640). British rule over the Gold Coast began in 1820, but it was not until after quelling the severe resistance of the Ashanti in 1901 that it was firmly established. British Togoland, formerly a colony of Germany, was incorporated into Ghana by referendum in 1956. Created as an independent country on March 6, 1957, Ghana, as the result of a plebiscite, became a republic on July 1, 1960.

Premier Kwame Nkrumah attempted to take leadership of the Pan-African Movement, holding the All-African People's Congress in his capital, Accra, in 1958 and organizing the Union of African States with Guinea and Mali in 1961. But he oriented his country toward the Soviet Union and China and built an autocratic rule over all aspects of Ghanaian life. In Feb. 1966, while Nkrumah was visiting Beijing and Hanoi, he was deposed by a military coup led by Gen. Emmanuel K. Kotoka.

slave trade
For almost 150 years, Ghana, on Africa’s west coast, was the center of the British slave trade. Western traders arrived in ships loaded with manufactured goods to barter or trade for slaves. Those who were sold had often been captured in tribal warfare; some had simply been kidnapped to sell to European slave traders.

Slavery existed in Africa prior to the transatlantic trade, and in fact the earlier, trans-Saharan slave trade sent more enslaved Africans east to the Muslim world, over many centuries, than would be transported west to the Americas. However, the large-scale organization of European slave trading and the development of industry and massive plantations dependent on slave labor gave rise to a trade in humans that was staggering in its scale. Approximately 10 million enslaved people were transported in the transatlantic slave trade, at rates of up to 100,000 persons per year.

The remnants of the trade in Ghana are still visible today — in dozens of forts and castles built by Europeans between 1482 and 1786.

Pre Departure Information

This is going to be my primary source of sharing updates on my adventures in Ghana Africa. Internet permitting, I will upload photos and stories weekly. If you would like to communicate, please e-mail me at jmanholley@msn.com or via facebook/ skype. Feel free to add this blog to your favorites! I depart from San Francisco January 4th and fly direct to Dubai then Ghana (23 hours in the air) I will spend the semester abroad studying political science at the University of Ghana, Legon/ volunteer work with the locals. I return home May 16th 2010. I hope you guys enjoy the blog!!

New Ghana Blog

Hello everyone, 

This is going to be my primary source of sharing updates on my adventures in Ghana Africa.  Internet permitting, I will upload photos and stories weekly.  If you would like to communicate, please e-mail me at jmanholley@msn.com or via Facebook/ Skype.  Feel free to add this blog to your favorites!  I depart from San Francisco January 4th and fly direct to Dubai then Ghana.  I will spend the semester abroad studying political science at the University of Ghana, Legon/ volunteer work with the locals.  I return home May 16th 2010.  I hope you guys enjoy the blog!!