Opinions of Thursday, 11 August 2016

Columnist: Adu Sarpeah

The impact crew: 'The land of my dreams'

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Beneath every cover, which is the human body, is a human heart which craves for love and attention. We must get beneath the cover that houses every human spirit and see its works; for there's a vast potential waiting to be developed.

To envisage this, I've always believed that we are all born with a clean slate and that, it is what we write on that slate that's what we execute! No one is useless! Admit that! Given the right "environment" and the tender loving care, every viable seed will germinate, grow and bear tasty fruits.

Although, there is a vast difference between one's origin and one's achievement, however, one cannot deny the influences and limitations the surroundings of one’s birth have on his or her achievement.

Virgin dreams are dying, ambitions are loosing their ecstasy whereas the will power to succeed is dwindling as a result of the land of our dreams. There can be numerous areas that can be used to support my argument. All those who mostly stay glued to their television sets can attest to this and those who travel to different places.

Growing up at Nbótowa near Mpaha(Central Gonja) in the Northern region of Ghana and some deprived communities in Ellembelle constituency can be equated to illusions in a dungeon where the only source of light is the sun and the moon.

Students almost swim to school daily in rivers without bridges arriving in partially wet uniforms. People in the vicinity experience natural curfew from 6:00pm-6:00am because vision becomes blur as a result of non-existence of electricity. How can dreams be realized when all structures needed are missing, when living in such a deprived community like this?

Living in a place where the entire community members resort to subsistence fishing and farming to earn a daily bread, where lies one's income? Living in a place where students cannot learn nor do their assignments in the evening because there's no electricity, where lies ones solid education foundation? Sadly, the community members are not left out during elections.

Where lies their share of the national cake? I was perplexed when a man interviewed sometime ago by TV3 news reporter at a place called “Fefe", a suburb of Eastern region of Ghana affirmed that he has never seen GH50 note before in his entire life.

This tells you where he is coming from. The influence the land of our dreams have on us is very powerful. Many vibrant dreams died at a tender age as a result of where the dreamer lived. There must be a change of environment in order to avert this.

The pacesetter, Jesus Christ, never stayed in Nazareth nor Bethlehem to propagate his ministry; He moved. Prophet Muhammad also moved from the land of his birth before making it. Gautama Buddha also did the same thing. Our own Dr. Osei Kwame Despite of Despite Group of Companies is no exception.

Meaning, many dreams can be shattered with reference to where one is born and lives. A child born in a community where getting access to basic necessities of life becomes a struggle can never be compared to a city born child 'all things being equal.'

Do you think Christianity would have been the religion with the largest membership worldwide if Jesus Christ had stayed in Nazareth or Bethlehem to propagate? Think about it! Do you think the Chief Executive officer of Despite Group of Companies would have been what he's today if he lived all his life at the land of his birth and dreams?

Ask yourself the motive behind the proclamation of Jesus according to the Gospel of Mark chapter 6:4, "But Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives and in his own house."(NKJV) Peter Tosh, a well known Reggae musician once said, "Nobody was born criminal, but the society made him so."

To elaborate further, most people are living their lives as dictated by their immediate environment. Our society is inflated with corrupt personnel and vagabonds because of what mostly go on in the dreamer's environment.

There's hope! Yes, there's hope; the only motivation our forefathers left behind. However, these realities can never be covered and one cannot pretend as if they don't exist as prevalent in deprived areas in Ghana. Therefore, to celebrate life, a change of environment is very paramount to every dreamer. Our dreams and visions need a proper environment where all structures are working in order to be fulfilled; places where supportive mechanisms and dream builders are easy to come-by.

We must nurture our dreams at places where the inhabitants acknowledge courage, truth and reality. No man was born to suffer, but certain circumstances that can be avoided when detected early can make our story different. It is not the number of years one lives on earth that matters, but the quality and the positive impact he or she makes.

Dr. Mensah Otabil, a respectable man of God, once posited, one should not live his or her life like Methuselah, because apart from the quantum of days and years he spent on earth, he achieved nothing. Human beings were created by God primarily to live a meaningful life and not just to exist as creatures.

Therefore, one must strive to make it in life after having the dream and the will power to succeed. If where one finds him or herself is not supportive enough to make the dream realistic, a change of environment must be the best resort.

Writer's e-mail: theimpactcrew.gh@gmail.com