MEANWHILE back in GHANA… (The Night Watchman)

Broken bottle heads concreted into the walls surrounding the compound got me thinking…Is this a safe place? The RATA education aid team from Aotearoa/NewZealand was about to begin our short term stay, working in slum schools in Accra.
Val and I had very little sleep that first night as we along with the rest of the team were ‘wired and tired’. Early in the morning I noticed the sound of someone repeatedly walking past our bedroom window.  A tad worried I partially opened the blinds to see (with an outside light on) an old man shuffling past. As it turned out my temporary confusion was soon swallowed up in exhausted sleep. 
Breakfast was devoured later that morning, then time for a walk around the grounds. Noting a sentry like box at the entrance I recognised and approached the old man I’d seen the previous night. He warmly greeted me.
“Akwaaba” (Welcome). We shook hands and smiled at each other. 
He was the Night Watchman. A guard. Someone who looked out for us and kept us safe. He was awake so we could sleep. A reassuring presence in a ‘foreign land’.

POINTS TO PONDER
Are you a reassuring presence in your home, workplace, community or wherever you are?
You don’t need a big physical presence to be a ‘Night Watchman’, you just need to be you. Someone who follows their heart and is kind.





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