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Interview with Chief Nana Boakyewa Yiadom Apeadu from Ghana
By Stephanie A. Oduro
August 2005
- Where did you grow up?
I went to school in Aburi, Ghana. Aburi is in the Eastern region of Ghana.
- What was it like growing up in Ghana?
Aburi is up in the mountains. It's nice and cool there, and we enjoy very wonderful weather. Aburi also has the only botanical gardens in the country. I think Aburi has everything. We have many different vegetables and fruits from outside because it's an agricultural experimental area. We have strawberries, raspberries, cinnamon; you name it, and we have it.
- You are the first female chief traditional leader in your area. Why did you want to be a traditional leader?
Firstly, I was a queen mother for a long time, nearly twenty years. In Ghana, women are queen mothers and men are chiefs. We call them ohene and ohemaa in our language, Akan.
About 13 years ago, my chief died. It is the duty of the queen mother and the elders to elect a queen mother or a chief. Since a woman has never become a chief before, we elected an educated qualified man. We were very happy with our new chief.
Once day, I was called by the head of the family and the elders. When I was asked to come to the house, I thought that maybe something happened. So I went in my car, and the people followed me. When I arrived at the house, I thought the lights had gone off because everything was dark.
As soon as I went in, all the lights came on and people were drumming and dancing, and they poured powder over me. I asked them, "What's happening?" They said "You have now been elected as the chief." It was my greatest surprise because the whole family, including the men and the man that we had elected, were all a part of electing me. That's how I became a chief.
- What is it like to be a female chief?
I don't like to think of myself as a female chief. I'm a chief, and it doesn't matter what gender I am. The men accepted me because, as a queen mother, I brought a lot of projects to the town; I was involved in so many things. Even chiefs from other clans came to support me. We all cooperate and work well together. They regard me as one of them, so they think of me as a man.
- Do they think of you as a man or do they accept you as a woman?
They know that I'm a woman, but they accept me as being in a man's position. Since my position is that of a chief, I was given a man's name, and I dress like a man. I'm also registered in the house of chiefs in the eastern region of Ghana.
- At Global Action on Aging, we do a lot of research on the aging population in the US and around the world. How do you feel about aging in Ghana?
I've done a lot of research on aging in Ghana. In the past, there was the family system with familial support. Our old women lived with us, and there was no problem. These women helped out a lot. They helped with the little children when the parents went to work, and they listened when you needed to pour your heart out to someone. They were there as our support, and we looked after them. I come from a society where age is widely respected, and the aged mean a lot to us. Now, with urbanization and migration, things are not the way they used to be.
Many children have traveled to the cities, leaving their mothers and aunties alone in the rural areas. Those who live in the rural areas used to be farmers. In Africa, about 80% of the people that supply us with the food we eat are women. These women have been very productive in their lives, but now, they can't do anything. The young are busy working, and they don't have the time to come and listen to their older relatives. People are just not bothered as they used to be about the elderly plight, and it's a real problem.
The elderly also don't have medical insurance. Fortunately, the government has made it possible for them to be treated for free at the hospitals; that's a plus for our government. The problem is that the elderly need transportation to go to the hospital. They often need someone to take and bring them back. Because of these difficulties, many elders decide that, even though hospital care is free, they'd rather use traditional medicine to heal themselves.
- What other obstacles have you seen?
There are two big obstacles that I've found in my research concerning the elderly. The elderly have a problem with
mobility; they can't walk. They are strong and like to go out and walk. But as soon as they fall down, it can be the end of the person if he/she is not taken to the hospital.
Eyesight is the other obstacle. Going to the hospital to get their eyes checked can help the elderly a lot if they are blind or becoming blind. But some cannot find the means to get to a hospital, and they go blind. It's a pity because when an elderly person falls blind in Ghana, people think that the person is useless because he/she cannot do anything for themselves. Some of them are not well treated by their own children as well as the rest of the community.
Mobility and blindness are two things that we really need to concentrate on.
Some of our elders also lack basic necessities, like soap and quality food. Some of them have to wait until the afternoon or evening food is prepared before they can eat. Otherwise, if they are hungry during the day and they have their own money, they can send someone to buy something for them. Sometimes it's difficult for them to get money to buy the basic things that they want.
Unless you have children or relatives who are kind enough to give you some money every month, it isn't easy. Some people have children abroad who send them things and pay for people to look after them in their homes. We don't have
a tradition of nursing homes in Ghana like in the US. I know there is a recreational center in Accra for older people, but there aren't any in the rural areas.
If you ask elders what they would like, one of the basic things they will tell you is that they need company. Some of them have everything but they are still very lonely. They don't have people to talk to because they are in seclusion.
If they can have a center where they can go talk or do some creative work, it would be appreciated very much, especially in the rural areas. I think nursing homes would be useful to have. In our society, though, people feel that if they send their mothers to a nursing home, it means that they cannot look after her. I think nursing homes are needed right now because not everyone can hire someone who will look after their aging relatives well.
I hope that Ghanaians do something to save our family system. If you have family to look after you, it can help you live longer.
-Is there a pension system in Ghana?
For those who have worked for certain organization and the government, like civil servants, there are pensions. Many ordinary people, especially women, have what you call the table business. They put a little bit of milk here and a little bit of sugar on a table by the road and they sell them. Who is going to give them a pension for that? They haven't worked for anybody so they don't have pension.
For people who were farmers, there are no pensions. A majority of people have not worked with the government, especially people in the rural areas. They're people who have really helped us, but as soon as they become old, they are forgotten.
-It wasn't that way in the past, right?
These people are the ones who helped in the house, and we asked them for their advice. They were highly respected, but unfortunately, it is diminishing.
I can't say that it has completely vanished. I still consult with wise old women. They tell me about land boundaries, our ancestors and so on. They also baby-sit the children. Although they are highly respected now, I think they're more respected in the rural areas than in the other areas.
-How old are these wise women?
Now in Ghana, people are living up to 100 years old. They go to funerals, Kumasi, Cape Coast, everywhere. I think the climate and the food has something to do with it because they are living for a long time. They also work.
-What is it about the food and the climate that help people to live long?
Our food was very basic and natural. We pick our food, cook it, and eat it. In the past, people did not eat butter and those things in the cities. Of course, there are rich people who can eat it, but the other people did not eat those kinds of foods.
In the mountains of Aburi, where I'm from, the air is clean because we don't have factories. We also walk all the time.
I find that older people take things in stride in their old age. They have reached a point where they have a license to say anything they want, and people don't answer back.
Religion helps the elderly a lot as well. Most of the elderly either believe in our traditional religion or in God, if they are Christians. They live a simple kind of life.
-Would you rather age in Ghana or elsewhere?
I like Ghana. I also like being here in the U.S. because I've lived here for a long time. I go back to Ghana all the time because I love the people and the sense of humor in Ghana. I've found that if you invite an older Ghanaian to come here, they always want to go back to Ghana. There are so many people who have invited their parents to come and the parents don't enjoy themselves here..
When elders come here, they are left all alone at home because their children go to work. They're stuck because can't go anywhere without a chaperone. Back home in Ghana, they have a farm that they can tend, they sometimes sing in the church
choir, and they can attend funerals with friends. The amenities of the U.S. do not compare to the company of people back home.
It all boils down to company. Our culture is different because we like people, and we want to be with them. That's why it's sad for older people not to have company.
-What are some things that you think could be taken from the social system in the States and brought back to Ghana in order to improve the situation for older people?
One of the things I would like Ghanaian elderly people do to is feel that they can dress up in their old years. They should look at themselves in the mirror and say "Yes, my face can change but I'm still the same person." During my research, I found that the elderly don't like to dress up, in some places, because their sons and daughters will tell them that they are old.
In Ghana, for instance, people have a lot of gold because Ghana used to be the Gold Coast. Unfortunately, when they reach a certain age, they don't want to dress up unless they are going to church or a wedding. Everywhere I go, I always tell people that every age has its beauty. I really want the aged to take care of themselves.
There is one advantage in the States to the fact that when people reach fifty or sixty, they can still go to school. I tried to create an adult education program in my community. When the women came, though, they laughed and laughed and wouldn't learn anything. According to them, they were too old to learn.
We have to insist on adult education for our people. They are not dead yet, so they can to learn things that could really help them in their lives.
The elderly also need a way to earn money. If they can earn their own money, they won't have to depend on anyone.
I believe that we should provide our elderly with some kind of entertainment or outing once in a while. Many people have forgotten that the elderly get bored too. The aged are very happy when they go out. They've been in the house day in and day out, and it's really tiring. They hardly go outside. If they can walk, sometimes the best they can do is go out on the veranda. If they can't walk, then they're stuck in the bedroom. When you see some of them, you want to cry. You can find some of them just lying there in the bed. They are not sleeping, but they can't get up. Fortunately, I had a mother who was completely different.
One thing that is killing us in Ghana is the fact that when women become elderly, people think that they become witches. This doesn't happen in all homes, but if anything happens in a particular home, the old woman is blamed for bringing misfortune into the house. Sometimes it's even reported in the news papers.
-What about elderly men?
Some think that men are witches but they don't do any harm. If a son doesn't do well in his business or a daughter doesn't have a good husband, then it's because of the older woman. This is about the older woman, it's not about men. The old woman, of course, is not really a witch but they place the blame on her.
-Why?
That's what we have to find out.
People are looking to blame everyone but themselves. A daughter in law will blame her mother in law if anything bad happens to her or in her family. It's an excuse to mistreat an old woman that you don't like. I once met a woman, here in the States, whose baby was sick in the hospital. The woman told me that her mother-in-law in Ghana was the reason for the child's illness, even though she and the baby had never met the mother-in-law before. It's a Ghanaian mentality that must be stopped.
-Nana, I would like to thank you for this fun and informative interview. Do you have any closing comments?
You should talk to your grandmother. The elderly have a lot to teach and tell us about the past. It's also a good way to connect with who you are. They must also be respected. Older people are part of us and our society. They are very useful, and we should use them in a positive way.
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