African king returns to humble roots at landscaping job in Canada

Eric Manu was declared chief of the Akan tribe in southern Ghana, but he's coming back to B.C. in Canada this fall to work at his old landscaping job.

TheGrio Staff

Sep 19, 2016

Last year, Eric Manu was declared the chief of the Akan tribe in the village of Adansi Aboabo No. 2 in southern Ghana, but he is coming back to B.C. in Canada this fall to work at his old landscaping job.

“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 inherited the title of chief after his uncle, the previous chief, died, placing Manu in charge of a village of 6,000. And even while he is apart from them and working in Canada, he is still caring for his people, using this time to raise money for their health care and well-being.

Manu, along with his Canadian boss, Susan Watson, has also started a foundation called To the Moon and Back Foundation, which is raising money for shipments of medical and school supplies to the local clinic.

“The whole village was quite poor. [Their] clinic only has a midwife and a few nurses. There is no doctor on site,” said Watson.

They were able to raise enough money for one shipment container full of supplies, and already they are raising money for a second.