What is means to be twins in Ghana: Peter and Paul's story

These kids don't smile much. And most have never had their picture taken so they really don't know what to do in that circumstance either.

In the U.S., the arrival of twins is mostly looked upon with delight.  "Double the fun" as they say. Parents and grandparents scurry around buying 2 of everything and the next several years are spent oohing and ahhing over the twins. Twins are stars here.

It's a little different in rural Ghana.

People have a lot of superstitions in the Upper West.  Twins and triplets are many times looked upon as a curse to the family. Surely, the mother (almost always the mother, not the father) has done something horrible to bring the curse of multiple births upon the family.  Many twins are killed at birth. Some are abandoned in orphanages, or along roadsides.  Many mothers run away because of the shame of having twins.

Which is what happened with Peter and Paul.  Their mother ran away shortly after they were born, leaving them with their grandmother.  There are a LOT of grandparents raising their grandchildren in Ghana, with varying degrees of success.

Peter and Paul's grandmother is a seamstress. She's doing as much as she can for her grandsons but that's not all that much.  She struggles to keep the family fed and clothed. Most days, they can eat one meal. Most days. She used to keep the boys hidden in the house for fear of what may happen to them outside. One of her former neighbors told her twins are demons.

The grandmother was fearful when she brought Peter and Paul to school the first time. Fearful that they would not be allowed to attend. But she was relieved when the head teacher welcomed the boys, even though they were a little older than a P1 kid should be.

Peter and Paul are doing well in school. Peter would like to fix cars (and also ride a motorcycle) and Paul would like to build car engines like he saw in a book once.

Sounds like double the fun.