Ghana celebrated its 50th birthday on March 6, 2007. The first African country to break free from colonial rule, the nation celebrated with fireworks, parades, ceremonies, and dancing. SIM Ghana Director Ruby Mikulencak attended the festivities in Accra, which were were "fantastic." This is her report:

The sun was hot. The crowd was huge. The atmosphere was electric with excitement, and we were right in the middle of it. What an experience! My coworker Sherri and I left for Independence Square at 7 a.m. It usually is a 10-minute taxi ride, but it took us a half hour to reach the parade grounds. By then, the stands were full, and we thought we would not get in. But we tried anyway and succeeded.

We got in, but seeing was another problem. Well, not really. Even if you didn’t see the main event—which was the march pass—you were on the parade grounds, so you made your own parade and celebration. It is one of the amazing things about Ghana: You can have the main event going on, but there are a lot of other smaller events happening around the main one. All that is important is that everyone feels involved and feels as if they are able to be part of the celebration.

A "Sea of Humanity"

We did not see the main event, but we were with hundreds of other people who were on the parade floor. The atmosphere was jubilant, warm, and friendly. Sherri and I were part of the crowd that would get jostled about every once in awhile when the police tried to keep order or to let vehicles pass in and out. I have never been in a crowd situation like that. You move as a crowd, and there is nothing you can do but be pushed along with the crowd. It is one sea of humanity moving in one accord.

No one was supposed to be on the parade ground, but so many people came to the celebration, and they kept letting them in. The police would let the crowd get a bit closer to the action only to push them all back again when they needed to let vehicles out. There was a time or two when the crowd was moved back by force that could have gotten dangerous, but fortunately everyone respected the authorities. We never felt afraid, as everyone was so full of fun and laughter.

Jubilation

At one point someone interviewed us, but we don’t know who. There were people everywhere, and many had their own little bands of drumming and singing. One such group was a group of women who surrounded me, singing and rejoicing. One of them kissed me on the cheek as if to say, “Thank you for joining us in the celebration."

It was truly amazing! What an experience to be part of and to feel the excitement of a nation celebrating its independence. Fantastic!