Pay Back Time

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1994

It was November 1994 in the small village of Bole, Northern Region, Ghana. The news that reached me had a strange effect – on one level it was unbelievable, on another level it made total sense. Either way, I knew it would heavily influence my future life choices. Bole secondary school where I had been teaching English for a year through Voluntary Service Overseas had been burned down by stoned, drunken pupils, with teachers beaten and chased to town.

I remember a shift in my state of consciousness when I heard. I didn’t feel fear, but a grim determination to do what I could with my life to make sure that this kind of thing didn’t have to happen again.Continue reading