Arkuh Bernard Tettey, Director of Soul of Somanya, Ghana, is also one of its co-founders. He runs the day-to-day operations there, which is no small feat, since Ghana is not an easy place in which to do business according to Western standards. Though he confers with Mel on a regular basis, he is ultimately responsible for pretty much all decision-making in matters Ghanaian, since Mel frequently gets bogged down in cross-cultural confusion and has finally learned to take his advice about nearly all West African issues. His other responsibilities include (but are not limited to) hiring and (with the help of Isaac, who was promoted to supervisor in May) supervising the work force, helping with their training, quality control, local marketing, keeping track of where the cedis and pesois are going from day to day, negotiating the prices of various supplies, buying and tracking supplies, making sure that all licenses and documentation are kept current, handling local public relations, keeping Soul of Somanya's place of business clean and in good repair, clearing the surrounding land of fast-recurring brush, and letting Melody whine by telephone on his distant shoulder when she gets stressed out about money.
He's a little busy.
Bernard is a Ghanaian citizen and a life-long resident of Somanya-Krobo. We hope to get him over to the U.S. to work on a degree in business at some point, and to learn this side of the business, but right now he can't be spared from the project.
Contact Bernard at: soulofsomanya@gmail.com
Local: 028-540-7907
Int’l: 23-328-540-7907
P.O. Box SA 319
Somanya-Krobo Eastern Region, Ghana
Melody MacDuffee, a.k.a. Manye Dede Adanki Banahene III (she was made an honorary queen mother by Manye Mamiyu of Somanya-Krobo in November of 2007), is the Executive Director and founder of Soul of Somanya, Inc. She's the one who takes care of all the money worries, including raising, allocating, disbursing and gratefully accepting funds both great and small. She is also responsible for marketing Soul of Somanya products throughout the Western world, as well as keeping the books, maintaining accountability, handling the promotional and public relations stuff, and making all the decisions in matters American, since Bernard has yet to experience first-hand the unique joys of doing business in the West. A beader from way back, Mel is also the one who does the bulk of the training.
Though she more or less sort of sometimes lives in Mobile, Alabama, Mel is becoming increasingly aware that, while her feet are most often on American soil, a big chunk of her heart lives 5,500 miles away in a little town called Somanya-Krobo. She spends an inordinate amount of time wishing her body could rejoin it.
Note: In the interests of doing business with complete transparency (especially for those of you who are used to thinking of Soul of Somanya as an all-volunteer organization), we want to let you know that Mel finally reached the end of her personal resources and had to begin drawing a salary for her work with this project. She HATES that, but a woman's got to live. She is currently sharing her one-bedroom apartment with Soul of Somanya, which has entirely usurped her bedroom and walk-through closet, as well as part of her living room. She's never been happier.
Contact her at:
soulofsomanya@gmail.com 251-391-1008 6200 Airport Blvd. #99 Mobile, AL 36608
The Soul of Somanya Ghana Crew
Rose with Bismark Grace with Romeo
Janet
Issac
Theresa
Solomon Doris (No Photo Yet)
Soul of Somanya's place of business...and of living...in Somanya-Krobo,
with Kathie Power Johnson and Sarah Thomas, guest teachers from the U.S.
Domelivo, the world's most useless guard dog, at a moment of unusual fierceness
responsibilities include (but are not limited to) hiring and (with the help of Isaac, who was promoted to supervisor in May) supervising the work force, helping with their training, quality control, local marketing, keeping track of where the cedis and pesois are going from day to day, negotiating the prices of various supplies, buying and tracking supplies, making sure that all licenses and documentation are kept current, handling local public relations, keeping Soul of Somanya's place of business clean and in good repair, clearing the surrounding land of fast-recurring brush, and letting Melody whine by telephone on his distant shoulder when she gets stressed out about money. 
Melody MacDuffee, a.k.a. Manye Dede Adanki Banahene III (she was made an honorary queen mother by Manye Mamiyu of Somanya-Krobo in November of 2007), is the Executive Director and founder of Soul of Somanya, Inc. She's the one who takes care of all the money worries, including raising, allocating, disbursing and gratefully accepting funds both great and small. She is also responsible for marketing Soul of Somanya products throughout the Western world, as well as keeping the books, maintaining accountability, handling the promotional and public relations stuff, and making all the decisions in matters American, since Bernard has yet to experience first-hand the unique joys of doing business in the West. A beader from way back, Mel is also the one who does the bulk of the training. 
Grace with Romeo
