If you are on Route 202, and a FedEx truck is in front of you, roll down your window and listen; chances are you will hear uplifting and enthusiastic singing. And behind the wheel of the truck will be Michael Doku.
Doku lives in Brattleboro and, for the last four years, has driven a FedEx route starting in Keene that covers approximately 100 miles, generally making deliveries to Antrim, Bennington, Hancock, Harrisville, and Stoddard. Cutting through the Monadnock region unfolds a stark contrast in topography for Doku from his native Ghana, which has over 300 miles of spectacular Atlantic coastline plus tropical forests, dry zones, and a savanna.
The country has a population of 31 million. Doku was born in Ghana and has four siblings. He speaks four languages and studied English, which he also writes.
Several years ago in Ghana, Doku met an American woman, and they fell in love. When she returned to her home in the Brattleboro area, Doku was heartbroken. After a couple of trips to Europe and the UK for both music and family, he knew he had to get to the States, particularly Brattleboro. He arrived in 2011, in winter.
That was a shocking transition from a country that is hot and humid, twelve months a year. New England’s rural nature was also something new for Doku, who grew up in Ghana’s capital, Accra, with a population of 2.3 million people, three times the Boston size. There was one substantial similarity that Mike noticed. “The people in Ghana have a rich sense of community,” he says, “and so does Brattleboro.”
The reunion took place, they were married, and they had a little boy. The relationship faded, but Doku, like most parents, had established a strong relationship with his little boy. Returning to Ghana meant 5,000 miles of separation, a penalty Doku knew that was something he couldn’t bear.
So Doku decided to stay in the area and, with his ex-wife, worked out an amicable relationship whereby the boy has unlimited visitation rights with his father. In addition to seeing his boy almost every other day, Doku has amplified that love – literally – through his second life as a musician.
He plays numerous instruments, including hand percussion, bass, piano, keyboard, and drums, and it’s all stitched together with his singing. He has made several appearances around New England.
However, it’s his music videos that not only showcase his musical talent but also underscore his love and devotion for his 7-yr old son. All of the videos include his son in brief cameo appearances as the music unfolds.
One of these, a YouTube offering (http://bitly.ws/9ZY6), is entitled My Kind of Praise.
A second YouTube video (http://bitly.ws/9ZYF) is called Somu Yie (Hold on Fast)
Both were shot in Ghana and are replete with indigenous lyrics and music. And both are dedicated to his son.
His current project is to raise funds to create a lyric video that unfolds how Ghanaian children are named. Ghana has about 56 spoken languages in total, and each community has its way of naming newborns. There are a few similarities here and there, but many communities have their own unique approach.
According to Doku, “naming is the most wonderful and beautiful thing in our human existence.” In Ghana, newborns are given names that can identify and locate their surrounding environment. By mentioning a child’s name in cases of missing children, anyone with a strong knowledge of the names and the community to which they belong can quickly return the child when the child approaches him or her. All the child has to do is to say his or her name to the person, and the person can trace the child back to his own house.
The new video is estimated to cost more than $14,000, and like the other videos, he will shoot it on location in Ghana. And yes, he plans to have his son accompany him to Ghana for the filming.