Leadership does not sit on a throne. It kneels. It listens. It serves.
(Ghanaian Proverb)
Some moments speak louder than words ever could. On a quiet, sacred morning in Assin Manso, as we walked the ancestral path, something beautiful happened after the emotional moments at the river side.
There he was, Uncle T, the founder and director of the Witness Tree Institute of Ghana kneeling and yes, one by one, gently, humbly, dipping his hand into the basin of Apunnuro (concoction of nyanya, salt and water) set aside for visitors after walking in the steps of the enslaved Africans to the Donkor River. The ritual of washing is often done by servers and servants in palaces and shrines. The basin is filled with a concoction used in rituals of protection for one’s spirit and considered a formidable spiritual shield against bad luck and evil spirits. The biological name of the plant in the basin is called Momordica Chantarantia, and today members of the Boa Me Witness Tree Institute Cohort of 2025, after visiting the riverside of Donkor Nsuo where pain, tragedy, and death once lined its banks, are going through a cleansing and fortification ritual administered by our leader.
This is not as a gesture of ceremony, but a language of love and humility, a lesson in silent leadership. Feet washing is a common practice with diverse cultural and spiritual meaning. It often reflects hospitality, humility and service. In some situations, it also allows for reconciliation and peacemaking.
As I waited my turn and watched our leader wash each foot, it touched something deep in me. Because real leadership does not command or demand respect. It is giving. It is not entrenched in raising your voice, but in lowering yourself so others may rise. This I was watching in real time.
Later, in the hush of reflection, after watching a stirring video presentation by Prof. Asare Opoku, I sat with a question. How many senses do we truly have? How are we using them? Like many, I have always believed in the classic five: touch, taste, smell, sight, hearing maybe even kinesthetic sense for the body aware. But that day, I learned something new. Or maybe, I remembered something ancient.
We are more than bones and breath. We are made of spirit (Sunsum), guided by soul (Okra), carried by body (Honam) and more. And these five senses? They serve only the body. But what of the senses that serve the spirit?
In that moment, something inside me stirred. I began to see with more than my eyes. I began to hear beyond sound. The sense of intuition, when your spirit knows before your mind can explain. The sense of empathy, when your heart beats for another’s pain. These feelings were greatly experienced during the Witness Tree Institute program.
The Witness Tree Institute Ghana is not just a professional development program.
It is a journey across time, across oceans of memory, into the inner chambers of oneself. It is also a spiritual and personal development journey. To lead is to serve. To teach is to touch the soul. To grow is to awaken all your senses not just the five “revealed” to you in school.
So here I stand, feet washed, spirit awakened, carrying more than memories. Carrying meaning. Lessons in humility, love, leadership and commitment. I am Kwasi and the journey with Witness Tree Institute has been more than a blessing for me. Medaase.
Kwasi Ntim Agyei is a teacher at Kpohe Basic School, Greater Accra, Ghana.