When I think of Brando Akoto, whom Yo Ghana! will be honoring a week from tomorrow, at our Annual Celebration, I think of a bucket that never runs dry.
Think of your life as a bucket of water. Most of us would be worried about losing any of it. We would want to wrap our bodies around the top of the bucket on a sunny day to keep any from evaporating. We would want to make to make no sudden movements, lest some of the water be jostled out. Certainly we would not want to share our water with a thirsty stranger or friend. It's our water, after all. We need to make it last!
Brando was forever pouring out his water to the rest of us. He loved giving things away: his time, his attention, his possessions, his care.
My wife likes to talk about the "scarcity model" of life in which he hoard and guard our resources. Brando followed the anti-scarcity approach. And for all the water he poured out on the rest of us, his bucket always seemed to be full.
I get to hang out with a lot of people like Brando in Yo Ghana! People like Mr. Daniel, who took time out from the preparations for his father's funeral to personally print and deliver letters to a school that lacked a printer, or Ms. Ginny who makes time between her extensive work and family commitments to coordinate more than 100 letters with matchless care and skill, or Ms. Elizabeth, our young co-founder who lavishes her time and hard-earned money on us, or Mr. Essan, who sets aside entire days to visit our classrooms.
I hope you can join us May 14, 3-5 p.m. at Africa House in NE Portland. Here's a link to purchase tickets, or you can e-mail us at yoghana.org@gmail.com. We'll be honoring Brando, a man who poured out his life for others, and the room will be full of others who much resemble him.
Think of your life as a bucket of water. Most of us would be worried about losing any of it. We would want to wrap our bodies around the top of the bucket on a sunny day to keep any from evaporating. We would want to make to make no sudden movements, lest some of the water be jostled out. Certainly we would not want to share our water with a thirsty stranger or friend. It's our water, after all. We need to make it last!
Brando was forever pouring out his water to the rest of us. He loved giving things away: his time, his attention, his possessions, his care.
My wife likes to talk about the "scarcity model" of life in which he hoard and guard our resources. Brando followed the anti-scarcity approach. And for all the water he poured out on the rest of us, his bucket always seemed to be full.
I get to hang out with a lot of people like Brando in Yo Ghana! People like Mr. Daniel, who took time out from the preparations for his father's funeral to personally print and deliver letters to a school that lacked a printer, or Ms. Ginny who makes time between her extensive work and family commitments to coordinate more than 100 letters with matchless care and skill, or Ms. Elizabeth, our young co-founder who lavishes her time and hard-earned money on us, or Mr. Essan, who sets aside entire days to visit our classrooms.
I hope you can join us May 14, 3-5 p.m. at Africa House in NE Portland. Here's a link to purchase tickets, or you can e-mail us at yoghana.org@gmail.com. We'll be honoring Brando, a man who poured out his life for others, and the room will be full of others who much resemble him.
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