Felicity Moorman, SouthamptonI had wanted to do volunteering abroad for a few years but only really seriously decided to organize something after my university course required me to do an elective placement.

Along with my friend Emma Sewell we both decided that we wanted to work with children in Ghana for two weeks and booked it up. On the flight from London to Ghana, although we were both still excited about what these two weeks would be like, we both wondered if we were truly prepared for life in Africa! Paul Badasu the creator of Humanity World International collected us from the airport and talked to us in the car on the journey back to his house in Teshie-Nungua where he then briefed us on what our placement would involve. Paul tried his best to calm our nerves but the anxiety about what lay ahead was still going strong.

As myself and Emma tried to take our new surroundings in and to adjust to the cultural differences we were going to experience in Ghana we began to settle into the house more and started chatting to the other volunteers in the house who had arrived three weeks earlier. Lewis, Carrie, Mattie and Anna filled us in with what to expect from life in Ghana and how much they were enjoying the Ghanaian way of life. The house itself was a lot more luxurious than we expected, with running water most days of our stay, electric fans and western style mattresses.  After a night’s sleep we were feeling much more relaxed in the morning and enjoyed a day of chilling out at the house and exploring the surrounding area before the hard work started the next day working at Aristoland Montessori Center, A school in Teshie Nungua, where there would be plenty of small children to contend with!

The people in Ghana are so friendly and welcoming and the staff at school was no exception. We were asked what sort of age group we would like to work with and Emma and I both decided the smaller children. The class I worked with had children from one and a half years old to two and a half years old. Due to the children being so young I was mainly working one on one with the children helping them complete their work and trying to get them to focus on the task at hand – definitely not easy with that age group! I was astounded with how intelligent the kids in my class were as the entire class could count to thirty and knew their alphabet and many of them could write many of the letters and the numbers up to ten. A typical school day included playing, singing, working and assembly as well as giving out the lunches and then helping the teachers to prepare for the next day. On Fridays the children were not required to wear uniform because every Friday they had a fun day. In the morning, lessons would proceed as usual but in the afternoon the younger children would make something in art and the older children would do some traditional Ghanaian dancing and have a Tae-Kwon-Do class. The children on the whole were well behaved. The other volunteers had prepared us for the different way the teachers discipline the children compared to the Western World. In Ghana the cane was a common place disciplinary tool for children of all ages.

Food

Fruit was cheaply available from street vendors who would even cut up your pineapple or mango so it is ready to eat. Pineapples and mangos cost GH¢1 (40p) each and bananas were around 10 Ghana Pesewas (4p) each. Delicious snacks can also be brought on the street such as Kelewele (spiced fried plantains), plantain chips and Ghanaian chocolate. I enjoyed the plantain chips so much I bought several bags to take home with me!

Weekends were our own time to do whatever we wanted. Travelling anywhere in Ghana takes a considerable amount of time due to the number of potholes on the road, the dirt tracks, the traffic and the general condition of the vehicles. One of the main methods of transport in Ghana is the tro tro (a minivan) which takes you from the Brigade (the main area of shops) in Teshie Nungua to Accra central for 50 Ghana Pesewas (20p) where you can then get air-conditioned Ford minivans to many different regions of Ghana. The Tro Tro ride from Teshie Nungua to the Accra central takes at least an hour depending on traffic so an early start is a must to be able to make the most of your weekend for trips.

Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary:

On my first weekend in Ghana, Emma and I went on a trip with Mattie and Anna to Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary and to Wli Falls (the tallest waterfall in West Africa). We set off from the house at 05.30 so that we could ensure we would make the first Ford car to leave Accra. The journey took around three hours to get to Tafi Atome where we got off after asking the driver to stop there as it is on the way to Hohoe. From the main road in Tafi we all got on the back of motorbikes which took us along the 5km dirt track to the main entrance of the Sanctuary for GH¢1 (40p) each – Definitely worthwhile splashing out on. At the Monkey Sanctuary you do a tour with a guide who gives everyone a banana to feed to monkeys which costs GH¢4.5 for volunteers (£1.80). We bought some extra bananas with us which I would definitely recommend so that you can get lots of good pictures of the monkeys unpeeling the bananas held in your hand.

Wli Falls:

After exploring the Monkey Sanctuary and cultural village we made our way back to the main road to catch a Tro Tro to Hohoe (the nearest main town). From Hohoe we negotiated with a taxi driver to take us to Wli falls, wait there for us until we were finished and then drive us back to Hohoe for GH¢20 (£8) between the four of us. The journey from Hohoe to Wli falls took us around an hour and there was a further 40minute walk through beautiful greenery over 11 log bridges with a guide to get to the waterfall costing GH¢5 (£2) but it was definitely worthwhile as at an estimated 50 metres high the waterfall is breathtakingly beautiful. We all decided to take a swim in the plunge pool and get as far under the waterfall as we could possibly get whilst contending with the massive force of the falling water meeting the still plunge pool area. There were plenty of Ghanaians in the plunge pool who found great pleasure in splashing us and dragging us under the water. The experience of the waterfall was an unforgettable experience. After being at the waterfall for around an hour and a half we decided that we had better make a move and embarked on our long journey home, absolutely exhausted from our day out. Eventually we arrived back in Teshie Nungua at around 23.30 and decided to go to the Royal Palm for a much needed beef kebab and ended up meeting up with Paul and the other volunteers and didn’t  leave there until around 01.30. Definitely a long day!! Sunday was a day of rest and relaxation with plans of going to the beach. However, the weather had other ideas, so we all ended up going to Accra to go out for lunch.

Cape Coast:

The second weekend it was just Emma and I who went on our trip to Cape Coast in the Central Region of Ghana. We got onto our air-conditioned Ford car at Circle Kaneshie station to Cape Coast which cost GH¢7 (£2.80) and took just over two hours.

Cape Coast Castle:

After getting dropped off in the town of Cape Coast we got a quick taxi ride to the castle costing GH¢2 (80p). Cape Coast castle was used to hold the Ghanaian people rounded up for the slave trade before shipping them off to American and the Caribbean Islands. We took a guided tour of the castle costing GH¢5 (£2) which told us about the history of the castle and the punishment the captive Ghanaians faced if caught trying to escape which was being locked in a small room with no ventilation, no food and no water in the pitch black with all of the other failed escapees and after two days the door was unlocked by the guards and the bodies were dumped in the sea. The guide shut us in the room for a minute with the light off for us to see what it was like. It was horrendous. We were shown the door of no return where the prisoners were lead through to board the ships for America. The other side of the door was called the door of return after the sudden influx of African Americans returning to their motherland after tracing their roots.

Kakum National Park:

After stopping off for some lunch we negotiated a taxi to take us to Kakum National Park where there is a canopy walk. The taxi cost us GH¢20 (£8) to go there, for the driver to wait and then take us to Hans Cottage to see some crocodiles. The canopy walk cost less than GH¢5 (£2) and took us about an hour and half due to a lot of queuing – if you don’t like waiting I would suggest getting there earlier in the day! The views from the canopy bridges were amazing and were definitely worthwhile conquering any fears of rickety bridges made from ladders!

Hans Cottage:

Hans Cottage was also a worthwhile visit because you got the chance to touch crocodiles – again another fear to be conquered! We arrived back in Teshie Nungua at around 22.30 extremely tired after another packed day full of site seeing and travelling.

Overall I had such an amazing time in Ghana. I really fell in love with the country and really want to go back in the future and explore all the places I didn’t have time to get to. The accommodation we stayed in was much more luxurious than I had thought it would be and it was really good being able to socialise with the other volunteers. Some aspects of life in Ghana were challenging but I soon found that I adapted to the Ghanaian way of life and really enjoyed not having much, not looking in the mirror or caring how I looked. Volunteering in Ghana is an experience I am always going to remember and hopefully some of the people I worked with in Ghana will remember me too.  I would definitely recommend volunteering with Humanity World International in Ghana to anyone who wants a challenge and who wants to make a difference in some way to other people’s lives.

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