Tonight is the night of the Fire Festival. All of those that are participating in the festival will gather small sticks and bundle them to make a torch and they will parade themselves out into the bush. It is difficult to figure out what the fire festival is all about. It is one of the pagan rituals that have been accepted by the Muslim community. Zorash said that it is the celebration of their new year that follows a lunar calendar. Mr. Iddrisu and Nazo said that it is a celebration of Noah leaving the ark. They said that Noah left the ark in the night and that he had to gather branches to make a fire to light the way for everyone and all the animals to leave the ark. When they left the ark a new year started for them and now they have a Fire Festival to celebrate it all. This is the first time they have celebrated the Fire Festival in 18 years; 18 years ago one night of the Fire Festival the Ya-Naa, the king of Dagbon was brutally murdered. No one in the kingdom was allowed to celebrate any of the festivals until a new Ya-Naa was enskinned (enthroned). The new Ya-Naa was enskinned earlier this year. Everyone is excited and a little apprehensive about tonight’s festival.
Divine got the new engine put in his motor king and he made 2 trips to Kulkpeni and then back to Kpamang hauling sand for the school kitchen project. We saw him a little while ago and he had the motor king loaded with 9 bags of cement and a bunch of ladies and their goods. Today is Yendi’s big market day. He still has one more trip to make to get the last of the sand. He is happy to be back on the road making money again!
A baby with a double hair lip came to the Child Center this morning just as we were closing for the day. The baby looks good; the mother appears to be taking good care of her. Steve explained the process and told her where to go to get the child signed up for the surgery so the next time the team comes to Ghana the child will be ready to get the surgery. The last time we sent a child for the surgery there was no charge for the surgery so we helped with transportation, health insurance, and food for the duration of their stay. They do not do the surgery in our area; the people have to travel to the southern part of Ghana to get the work done. Hopefully they won’t have to wait very long to get the surgery.
Thank you for all you do for the people in Ghana and thank you for the money that you give so we can help these cases that come up. We know that the people appreciate the help and we are passing along their thanks to you.
In His Service,
Steve and Kandie
