After school, Francis works in a kente cloth factory, weaving the traditional, brightly-colored fabric for which his Ashanti region is known. After just a few minutes talking while he worked, we agreed to be pen pals. As I left the building, he handed me his address. He then reached in his pocket and pulled out something else: a strip of fabric he had woven, white with lavender and silver threads. Though unfinished, the beautiful cloth represented days of work and a good bit of income. "Here," he said, and pushed it into my hand.

© 2000 Tim Zielenbach/Contact Press Images

This, then, is Ghana.

Where people greet with "You are welcome." Each syllable pronounced gently and clearly, a slight emphasis on "wel." You are welcome.

Where current events mix with an evocative history. Coastal fishing villages thrive at the base of former slave forts. An Ashanti chief, surrounded by his court, gathers his community to discuss AIDS. A cable bridge dangles above an ancient rainforest, allowing visitors to glimpse butterflies and, if they're lucky, monkeys.

Open and good-humored, Ghanaians make it easy to explore their country. And there is much to discover.

Located on Africa's west coast, Ghana offers white sandy beaches with palm trees waving in the breeze. Adventurers seeking the chaos of a vibrant West African market bargain to their heart's content. Intrepid travelers pursue baboons, elephants and hippos.

But there is much more to the country than the highlights of a tourist brochure. Ghana was the first colonized African country to gain its independence (from Britain in 1957). The country's first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, touted a Pan-African vision of a united Africa, an influence still felt today.

© 2000 Tim Zielenbach/Contact Press Images

In addition to producing the world's highest-quality cocoa, Ghana exports more gold than any African country except South Africa. Following gold and cocoa, tourism is the country's third-largest earner of foreign revenue, generating $233 million in 1995.

Yet, despite these accomplishments and U.S. President Bill Clinton's 1998 high-profile visit heralding an African renaissance, Ghana remains one of the world's poorest countries. Most of the 19 million people live on just over $1 per day. Only two-thirds of Ghanaians have access to clean water. Half the women and one-fourth of the men are illiterate. Life expectancy is 60 years, and 4 percent of people carry the AIDS virus.

With these contrasts in mind, I traveled to Ghana to document CARE's work. Photographer Tim Zielenbach, driver Seth Ofosu Asamani and I visited CARE projects in southern and central Ghana. We met farmers, chiefs, school principals, miners, forestry experts, students, market women, nurses, shopkeepers, artisans, fishermen and the CARE staffers that work with them to improve their health, education, environment and quality of life.

You are about to spend six days in Ghana. Like Francis Konadu's instinctive hospitality, Ghana will delight you with the unexpected. You are welcome.

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