A landscaper who left Canada last year to become a chief of his tribe in Ghana has returned to his old job.
Eric Manu left his landscaping post in 2015 to assume his rightful position as chief of the Akan tribe in the West African nation however he decided to return to his old job in British Columbia in order to raise vital funds for the tribe.
In an interview with CBC Manu said he was disturbed by the tribe's poor facilities and the indifference showed to them by the Ghanaian government.
'The [Ghanaian] government wasn't really concentrating on those villages, cottages or hinterlands. Their focus was mainly in the cities. And that was really, really, really disturbing,' he told the On The Coast show.
'They were having challenges with their borehole water system, electricity, telecommunications network… the hospital, poor facilities.'
The landscaper left his home country in 2012 after a marrying a Canadian woman whom he met in Ghana.
He inherited the position of chief when his uncle died last year and said moving back to lead his people taught him many life lessons.
'I feel like I am for the people and I'm accountable and responsible and they look up to me,' he said.
'It makes me a totally changed person.
'I feel more mature. It gives me a broadened idea and mind to think far and accept people, irrespective of who they are. Either young or old, physically challenged or able. Everybody.'
Manu's return has surprised many in his community although he says he has only temporarily relinquished his tribal duties in Ghana.
'Sometimes we go to the (job) site and they say, "You are the chief. I saw you on TV. Why are you doing the landscaping?"' he told CTV News. 'This is humbleness you understand. Anytime I'm in Canada, I'm proud to work for my boss.'
Manu and his Canadian boss Susan Watson started the To the Moon and Back Foundation to raise money and donations for the tribe before he left last year.
The foundation already shipped a container with medical supplies, school materials and clothing that arrived in Ghana this spring.
'The whole village was quite poor. The clinic only has a midwife and a few nurses. There is no doctor on site,' said Watson.
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