There are literally signs of well-meaning non-Ghanaians all over. Signs on the sides of major roads indicate that they (the roads, not the signs although I suppose both) were built with the assistance of the government of Japan. The country's electricity infrastructure has been backed by other Asian nations. Many schools have big signs that read HiPC benefit (Highly Indebted Poor Country), meaning that money was made available from international donors for their construction because of Ghana's high debt. These signs, with HiPC underlined in bright, cheery, rainbow colors never made international debt look like so much fun. On a smaller scale, I've seen latrines (the deluxe kind) decorated with the stars and stripes with a sign indicating that they were a project of USAID.

 

More locally, the Minnesota Bible School is right outside of my town. And my town boasts a Methodist church that was built by some Europeans in the 1920s, and it is modeled after a medieval cathedral. It similarly dominates my town's "skyline." Non-Methodist town residents seem ambivalent towards this towering structure, but it's inevitably the first thing Peace Corps volunteers notice about my town ("what is THAT doing here?").

 

And then there's my school's library. It seems that most of the collection is donated from somewhere. There are definitely some good things: a complete 1993 World Book, textbooks about English, math, and science from Ghana and abroad, books by Dickens (but does anyone really like Dickens), world maps, and Al Gore's "Earth in the Balance."

 

But my favorite part of the collection are five (5) middle school textbooks sent to us by the Church of Latter Day Saints titled, "The New Utah's Heritage" ('The New' is written in smaller letters, indicating this edition is far better than the original). Jessica Bunting had one of the books in 1996 at Bingham Middle School and listed the book as issued in "good" condition. Jessi Hunn had the book in 1999 and described the condition of the book at issuance as "boring." And then some Mormons decided that this book would be better used in Ghana.

 

Chapter 1 is objectively titled, "Utah: A Great Place," but the introduction warns, "This book will open the door to Utah's history and people, but you will want to read more books about Utah to fully explore its rich past." Indeed. If only my school had more books about Utah. That's exactly what we need here. Thank you Mormons for identifying this critical need in Ghana and promptly filling it.

 

I suppose some Mormons may think that everyone should learn about the "western Zion" (as the chapter on Mormon religion refers to Utah).

 

 

Addendum #1: The epoxy has been used. But I still have plenty left so no need to run out and ship more to me.

 

Addendum #2: The computers in my lab all have viruses. It's horrible. I hate trying to fix computers.