Jamestown is one of the oldest districts in Accra, Ghana. Fort James was built by the Royal African Company of England in 1673 as a trading post for gold and slaves. The iconic red and white lighthouse was built by the British in 1871, a symbol of their expanding colonial ambitions on the coast and African continent. Today, Jamestown is a bustling fishing community in a state of semi-decay. It is crowded with subsistence fishermen and market women slowly smoking fish for later sale. I visited Jamestown in 2017 and was impressed by the determination of people who live and work there. I visited a small elementary classroom—the inspiration for Kofi’s school—where students (the children of local fishermen and market women) learned their A, B, C’s, geography, and culture of their community. Despite the hardship that is so obvious, the spirit of the people, their grit and fortitude shines through, and one leaves with the sense that these people will overcome their hardships and–as their ancestors before them–realize their dreams for a brighter future.
