JUSTICE IS STILL A PART OF MY UNIVERSE

It has almost been a month since I was last at Radio Justice, yet I am still connected to the place. Though I am still in Ghana, Accra is another world from Tamale. The bus ride there is almost as long as the flight from Canada, yet the price for the bus is about 1% of the price for the flight. That is a sidenote, as interesting as it may be.

The point is this. Earlier this week I was traveling through Accra with Ato, the JHR country director. He was mentioning that he would like me to have some involvement with the orientation on the next group that is coming in to work in Ghana. I was eager about the invitation as that transmission from those going-out to those coming-in can really aid in ensuring a great impact in the work being done.

While having that conversation, I got a call from Radio Justice. It was Layata. I had good news for her, that I would be returning to visit Tamale sooner than I had expected. She also had good news for me.

She let me know that “Freedom Thursdays”, the station’s human rights show, was doing very well and as vibrant as ever. She let me know that some guests that we were working on bringing in while I was still there were coming in this week and that they had interviewed the Director of the Tamale Teaching Hospital which was maligned in the annual report from the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice.

When I left, there was uncertainty about who would continue the program as a few key people opposed having the secretary of the station, Layata, filling that role. TO my delight, the show has been the centre of attention as of late…in a good way.

I was also told that Somed, who was a volunteer with the station at the time, has impressed the management through the work that we were doing and is being offered a position at Radio Justice.

When I spoke to Somed this morning, he wanted to pass my contact information onto a woman that would be returning to the Univeristy of Ghana from Tamale – he thought that we could work together on some human rights journalism topics. When I told him that I would be coming to Tamale shortly I was touched by the warmth and excitement in his voice.

“We have a lot to talk about”, I told him.

He echoed my sentiment, “we have a lot to talk about”.