Coming to Chia

Chia: /ʧə'ə/ a village located in Akyem Abuakwa one of the three Akyem States, found in the Eastern Region of Ghana. It is commonly referred to as "Small China" by its residents.

I hadn't been to my mothers' hometown since I was a child playing with my grandmother, one of the few memories that I have of her.

I remember wanting her to get out of bed, I was intent on getting her out of bed and into the sun. "If you don't get up, I'll pour this water on you." The half full glass of water next to her bed was just the leverage my four year old self needed to get her out. She told me she wanted to rest. Splash - the glass was empty, its content all over her. She called out to my mother "Akua, your daughter has poured water on me!" My mom hurried to the room trying to make sense of the scenario in front of her: Me, with an empty glass in my tiny hands, my grandmothers' entuma cloth, which she had wrapped around her, wet. My mom tried hiding her laugh and scolded me instead. I didn't know then that my grandmother didn't get up because she did not want to but because she was not strong enough and really needed the rest. "She's a strong willed one, this one." Of course I apologized and regretted my actions immediately, sitting next to her was the best I could do for her, so I did. My mom and I still laugh about it, a fond memory that I will cherish forever.

It was important to me to go with her so on my third day in Ghana, we started our journey early in the morning and about three hours later eating Hausa koko in the car, our backs getting acquainted with the ups and downs of uneven roads, we arrived. The first thing that stood out to me as we were about to enter Chia, was the red soil. It had painted houses and trees red. And then there we were. Proudly my mom showed me my grandmothers' house, we entered the same room where the incident had happened, a room now belonging to my mother. I felt her presence everywhere. 

I met cousins that were years and years older than me, I shook hands with everyone, took in the peace of it all. Behind our compound there were cocoa beans laid out to dry. Palm trees inhabiting coconuts immediately caught my eye, my cousin Kwasi following my eyes asked if I wanted some. 

Drinking pure coconut water out of the coconut that was just taking down from a tree was hydrating, especially with the heat of the sun burning its way through my skin. 

In my mothers hometown, I received prayers of my elders. Showers and showers of blessings.

It’s a day, I will never forget. And a place, I am determined to return to again very soon. 

Love,

Maame