Care and Community Volunteer Stories, Ghana

Care and Community in Ghana - Tracy Maryan Getting on the plane from Heathrow I felt like a character in a chick flick book I may have read but a very nervous, apprehensive, one at that but above all strangely calm. Going out to Ghana for 12 weeks of my life seemed like so the right thing to be doing. Leaving behind a house, car, family, running water and electricity, oh and the cold, going to using tro-tros, (I’d been told about them but knew nothing), an orphanage dormitory, (didn’t have a clue what to expect), buckets for showers (so I discovered) and, electricity, (well some of the time!)

Care and Community in Ghana - Rebecca McKeown After spending an incredible two months with Projects Abroad in Romania, I decided to get a taste of Africa. What better place to spend my time than Ghana - in my opinion the most friendly, safe and vibrant African destination. The streets of Accra bustle with humanity - people are everywhere and to be in the midst of all this organised chaos is an exhilarating experience indeed.

Care and Community in Ghana - Rachel Macklin I was working just outside Accra in a place called Adenta (it’s actually not that far but once you have negotiated the traffic it is quite a commute!) at Peace and Love Orphanage and Academy. The orphanage is home to about sixty children some of whom attend the school although some are taken to special schools. As school starts early in the morning Peace and Love is also descended on by lots of other children who live in the neighbourhood and whose parents cannot afford the fees at some of the other schools nearby.

Care and Community in Ghana - Alyssa Jones After living in Ghana for one month, I can’t go one hour without reflecting back on the trip and thinking about much I benefited from it. Not only did I grow as an individual, but I feel more motivated to make the best of my life. I was placed at Adom Day Care Centre for the full month and while volunteering there I gained experience with young children and teaching.

Care and Community in Ghana - Catherine Hughes When I arrived in Ghana to start my Projects Abroad placement I thought it would just be the physical act of building some classrooms for a local school that would benefit the community. Two months later, as I was coming to the end of my placement, I began to realise that it goes much deeper than that. Yes the volunteers provide welcome helping hands on the building site enabling the projects to reach completion before the rains come and wash any unfinished structures away, but the projects would not be possible in the first place without the money coming from volunteers' fees through Projects Abroad.

Care and Community in Ghana - Sarah Foley On arrival in Ghana everything seemed so surreal, I was suddenly in the middle of crowds of people and being an 'obruni' (white person!) I felt like I was the centre of attention when all I wanted to do was hide! However, within my first few days in Accra I slowly started to get used to all the attention and learnt that Ghanaians are some of the friendliest people and are so interested just to talk to you.

Care and Community in Ghana - Helen Baines I arrived at Accra's International airport 2 hours late on January 5th and was met by a wall of heat (which I tried to resist at first - it doesn't work) and a very excited Nyame. We then waited a few minutes for a couple of other volunteers to arrive, one of which was Sophie - the girl who I would be living and working with for the next 3 months.

Care and Community in Ghana - Sarah Miller In January I arrived in Cape Coast, and was taken to meet my host family. They always made us feel really welcome and we built up good friendships with our host brother and sisters. I was taken around Cape Coast for the first time and remember feeling really excited that I was finally there but wondering whether I would ever fit in - it was completely different to anywhere I'd ever been. After a couple of weeks though I felt really settled - I knew my way around, was used to the cries of "obrunni, where are you going?" in the centre of town and was confident enough to barter and argue with taxi drivers over the cost of a journey.

Care and Community and Sports in Ghana - Peter Gwilliam I arrived in Ghana on the 22nd of March 2006 full of excitement and nerves as I really wasn't too sure what to expect. When I landed, I found a land full of culture; Ghana is everything to the Ghanaian people and they're generally pretty happy whatever their situation might be, everyone is very eager to meet you, just to talk to you, as well as try and sell you the odd T-shirt or two!!

Care and Community and Teaching in Ghana - Susanna Mullard As I first stepped off the plane in Ghana I was met by a wave of hot, humid tropical air. I'd been working to raise money for five months since leaving school, and to have finally arrived in Africa felt incredible - I had to pinch myself to realise the dream had become a reality. There was an indefinable buzz in the air, and as I was swept along by the hustles of people at the airport, I couldn't help but smile.