⸻ MY FATHER’S HOME AND THE HOUSES OF THE RICH: LESSONS THAT SHAPED MY LIFE My father never built a house, but I am happy that he taught me how to build a home. I grew up in a small single room in a crowded compound house in a very poor community in Accra with my parents and six siblings. At night, we slept like canned sardines but woke up in the morning like sharks, ready to face all the challenges that life in a poor community like ours presented every day. My greatest joy was returning to that single room after school or church, because my father had succeeded in making our room a home. He didn’t have a car, but he cared. He didn’t have a television set, but he was fun to watch. He didn’t have money, but he managed us well and taught us good manners. He couldn’t always give us what money could buy, but he gave us what money couldn’t buy—the fear of God. I will always choose a father who can build a home over a father who owns a thousand houses. The beauty of a house is not in its architectural design, the treasures that fill its rooms, or the fleet of cars in the compound—but in the home that lives within it. Happy Father’s Day to all fathers who are building homes, like my father did. Dr. Bishop Titi-Offei