Ghana Trip

Joyce Stokes Jones and, her daughter, Michele Jones Galvin traveled to Ghana, West Africa in March 2007. It was an experience of a lifetime. Kathy Ruscitto spearheaded the Heritage Project and called upon friends and community to send the Harriet Tubman relatives to Africa. In search of family ties to the Ashanti people and to celebrate Ghana’s historic 50th Anniversary of Independence, the mother and daughter team traveled to the Motherland. With greetings and proclamations from the former County Executive, Nicholas Pirro, and former Mayor, Matthew Driscoll, they made the Trans Atlantic flight. Arriving at the airport in Accra, Jones, Galvin and their entourage stepped on to the tarmac and were welcomed with exclamations of “Akwaaba. Akwaaba. Welcome Home”. The Tubman Relatives explored every aspect of Ghanian history and life. From meeting Minister Obetsebi Lamptey to being presented to King Osegufo of Abuwakwa to shopping in the market place to touring the Elmina Castle slave dungeons, they gained a more comprehensive view of the Ghanian people, the slave trade along the Gold Coast, the Ashanti Resistance and Ghana’s independence from Britain. Lessons learned are captured in the book, Beyond the Underground. Harriet Tubman, Moses of Her People. Changed by their Proud Heritage Journey to Ghana, mother and daughter returned to America with an empowering feeling that “we found a piece of ourselves that had been missing.”

Reader Reviews

Site by Ashtian Holmes