Paper short abstract:

This paper follows the trajectory of a container of used computers and furniture from Denmark to Ghana, analyzing the different meaning and decision making processes at various stages of the journey as well as from different locations and positions in the transnational space.

Paper long abstract:

This paper analyzes the donation, coordination and receiving of objects by following the trajectory of a container of used computers and furniture donated by a small Ghanaian association in Denmark to educational institutions in a smaller town in Ghana. It analyzes the different meaning and decision making processes at various stages of the journey of the container as well as from different locations and positions in the transnational space, including the sending NGO, the practical coordination of the goods in Ghana, and the recipient schools. A key question is what kinds of belonging and positions are established through charity and how these are enacted, recognized, or contested by different actors and from different perspectives. Finally, the paper analyzes the negotiations and mobilization of competing kinds of loyalties, such as kin, ethnicity, school affiliation, nationality, and a broader sense of solidarity.