Car Breakdown in Ghana

A few weeks ago I had an eye opening experience on a the side of a small road in West Africa. I hadn't eaten anything besides a banana and it was almost 5pm. In a few hours my trip to Ghana would be over. I was hungry and we were finally on our way to dinner.

The last two weeks had been a fever dream of stimulation & new experiences. My dad was invited to Ghana to do an activation event for the [Sports Equity Lab](https://sportsequitylab.com/) at the African Games, and decided to let me tag along. The last two weeks had been full of challenges, eye popping colors, and big smiles.

The saga I'm going to tell you about was short-lived and frankly unimportant compared to many of the other lessons I learned on this trip. But, I learned something unexpected. Nothing about how people live in another part of the world, or some grandiose learning about how corruption is the most evil practice we accept (it is, and we do). Instead it's about responsiveness.

Before my flight home, my friend Kofi and I were winding down and on our way to dinner. We had the chance to continue our three day long (for him life long) conversation about development and corruption. It was hot outside and the air was like soup.

The car started sputtering, and our driver ran out to pop the hood. A car breakdown on the way to dinner is not what a hungry hippo wants to hear. We watched as he got out and examined the situation. After watching his backbreaking internal dialogue, the driver began grabbing bottled water and using it to cool the engine.

When it gets hot, a broken down car can ruin your day. Once you've been caught in the heat a few times, you know how to check fluid levels and make sure they're always topped up. That little bit of maintenance makes a massive difference.

After struggling and complaining for a few minutes, I did the only reasonable thing, opened the window, sulked and accepted our situation.

Kofi and I started chatting. As we got into the conversation I saw that he was consistently managing relationships while we were on the move. Updates, checking in, planning. Everything happened so smoothly.

After watching him I noticed how often I had seen this a lot over the last week. High burst communication. Every time I had texted someone from Sports Equity Lab, I got an answer within 5 minutes, or a call to help me figure it out. Sometimes it was for chuckles and to make plans. Other times it was calling a minister and demanding he follow up on a promise he made.

What impressed me most was how this spanned across the people we had met. These were top tier professionals, who knew that the only way to get things done was to work with the people around them.

One of my favorite communication strategies is also one that leaves a lot of room for error. It assumes everyone is on the same page. Seeing a group of people who was kept everyone in the loop at all times was different, and obviously worked. It was like seeing someone walk around upside down, only to notice that you were the one doing a handstand.

Back in the car, it was getting hot and I was hungry.

In a last ditch of effort I got up and took a look at the engine. I looked around, and found the answer... no coolant! My mother would be very proud. In the most German fashion I had identified the problem and proceeded to make it known exactly how we could have prevented it. I then sat back down, and again... accepted our fate.

Once I pointed this out, Kofi calmly said that there wasn't really a word for maintenance in Twi. I think he was kidding, but it got the point across. Then we did as we had done so many times over the last week. Sat down, and accepted our situation.

Take from this what you will. I learned that when things go sideways, quality communication has a massive premium. And was once again reminded that sometimes shit happens and you just have to roll with it... even if you're hungry.