From Brazil to Ghana

Crossing the Atlantic brings forth an odd sense of grandeur. Certainly a moment in life where the world (in this case the Atlantic ocean) becomes bigger than I am, humbling me enough to pause, close out the chaos and appreciate the moment of crossing such a large body of water by ship. It’s been three weeks onboard. Andrew and I have been busy giving lectures about our work with Freedom in Creation in Uganda, coffee and conservation in Dominican Republic, ecological economics, child soldiers and conflict and nonprofit management to a ship board community of 600. Over 50 students have stepped forward to get involved; either to host a FIC chapter at their school, start a collaborative art project or to bring the "Story of Freedom" exhibit to their home community. The excitement is palpable. The opportunity to share, to learn and to travel to new countries continues to enrich my worldview as it regards people, politics and development.

We spent ten days in Amazonia, Brazil; six along the river and four in the bustling port town of Manaus. The air was thick with humidity, the sun equatorial and the people I encountered; open to share their way of life. Along the way we had the opportunity to interact with diplomats at the US Embassy and visiting lecturers from the University of Amazonia. Our conversations were rich as we discussed Brazil’s status as a rising international superpower, the on coming demand for biofuels, avoided deforestation, flavella uprisings in Rio, trade policies and the Brazilian socio-political systems. Brazil will host the World Cup in 2014 and Olympics in 2016, which will provide the country with its ultimate test to become, rather than forever to be called, "the country of the future."

We are now just three days from Ghana. Today we learned that over 60% of the world’s cocoa comes from Ghana and the Ivory Coast. Child slavery is an issue and one the industry has reluctantly chose to deal with sufficiently. See the BBC film "Chocolate: The Bitter Truth." As we cross the Atlantic we must reflect that there are more people today in slavery than there were at the time of the transatlantic slave trade. We have to do more! Much as in coffee; traceability, monitoring and evaluation is difficult. Fair Trade certification plays an important role in addressing some of these issues. As consumers we must demand this kind of due diligience from companies with our purchases. This Valentines day, tell Cadbury, Nestle and Mars they can do more. Purchase only certified products!! More from Ghana soon.