If you knew, or found out, that Bridgeport’s Maya Flowers has been to Disney and rode on “It’s a Small World” it probably wouldn’t surprise you. If you were told that Flowers many years later found out that you don’t have to be at Disney to know it truly is a small world after all, you may wonder why.

 

Flowers, a 2015 Bridgeport High School graduate who recently returned home from an educational visit to Ghana, discovered the world to be a much smaller place than anticipated more than 5,000 miles from home on the African continent. The third year junior at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh found it all out as part of an elective trip to further her education.

 

Flowers had two classes during the four weeks spent in Ghana. The first class was the music of Africa, while the second was a Religions of Africa class. It was during the second of those classes – during the final two weeks – where she became part of a truly unique situation.

 

“We visited three different Catholic churches in Ghana as part of the class,” said Flowers, who attends All Saints Catholic Church in Bridgeport. “At one of those churches I met Father Eric Antwi.”

 

Father Antwi was teaching the class. Flowers said he was born near the capital of Ghana, but told the class he had lived in the United States. Not only that, he told those gathered he lived in West Virginia for a few years.

 

“I was the only one in West Virginia in the class so I asked where he stayed while in West Virginia,” said Flowers. “He said he stayed in a place that was called Elkins and also spent about 10 years in an area known as Bridgeport and Clarksburg. I was just amazed and thought the situation was crazy and told him that was where I was from.”

 

Father Antwi then inquired about those individuals he knew and wanted to know to, by chance if Flowers knew them as well.

 

“He brought up Father (Hilarion) Cann, Father Benny Capa, Father Harry (Cramer) and he knew Sister Anne Francis (Bartus) and the sisters who are at Immaculate Conception (Sister Berita Mhashu and Sister Maria Rukwishuro),” said Flowers. “I thought running into someone who knew people from my hometown that far away was crazy. Father Antwi was wowed by it too and the next day he texted people back home who knew about my family … It’s an incredibly small world.”

 

The chance and unique encounter was set up through Duquesne, where Flowers is studying occupational therapy as her major and psychology as her minor. Considering the health needs of Africa as a whole and Ghana in general, occupational therapy may be something that the continent will see a great need for in the future. Even beyond that the trip was beneficial, she said.

 

“It was a study abroad trip through Duquesne that I took advantage of and it’s something I’m really glad that I did take advantage of,” said Flowers.

 

The reason for that went well beyond the encounter with Father Antwi. Unlike learning about other cultures in a book, Flowers was immersed in it. Whether it was playing drums on the Ghana coast or visiting churches throughout the country or working with children, Flowers was exposed to things in these two classes no book or video could do.

 

“You can’t replicate any of it,” she said. “ … We wanted to immerse ourselves into something different on this trip that you wouldn’t see or do in Pittsburgh or Bridgeport.”

 

One of the highlights was spending time in a local elementary school. Flowers said the children were very young – ages two to seven. And they were thrilled with their visitors.

 

“We would spend a whole day with them, play with them and see how their day went. When it was over, we donated some things to them and they were so excited,” said Flowers.

 

While Flowers described Ghana as an up and coming country with hotels and businesses, she said there was extreme poverty everywhere. In the middle of that, there was something else that was to an extreme level.

 

“I had in my head I may experience some culture shock and to some level I did, particularly with the poverty, but I was really shocked by the amount of happiness we saw just about everywhere,” said Flowers. “We were in villages extremely impoverished and overcrowded and the happiness they showed just for being there and walking around really stood out.

 

“It impacted my perspective for sure,” she said. “ … It’s hard to explain because it made me happy and appreciative for what I have here, but it made you think hard to see a lot of joy in places that seemed so bad off if that makes sense.”

 

Through it all – from a hometown encounter, dealing with children and the key part of learning – Flowers said it was a trip of a lifetime. And there are no regrets.

 

“It was unreal to take classes and learn about history and culture and to just walk outside and be in that history and culture and form relationships,” the 20-year-old Flowers said.  “I made friends there and now I have connections on the other side of the world. To me, that’s pretty amazing and I’d love to go back at some point in my life.”

 

If she does, who knows who she’ll run into that she knows or knows someone she knows. After all, it’s really a small world when you get right down to it and Flowers knows it to be fact.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows Maya Flowers, front row far right, at the Holy Family of Nazereth School with Father Antwi in the back row with the white shirt on.Second photo and third picture show Flowers immersing herself in the culture by playing drums and getting up close with wildlife. In the fourth photo, she's shown with the local school children, while Flowers, second from left, is shown out in Ghana with others during her stay in the country. All photos courtesy of Maya Flowers.