Meredith MorelleVolunteering through Humanity World International includes much more than being provided room and board or being placed according to your area of interest.  Most importantly, it represents an opportunity to experience daily life in Ghana and to develop lasting relationships with truly wonderful people.

HWI Executive Director, Paul Badasu, and his brother Joachim are incredible ambassadors for their country.  They immediately made me feel welcomed and comfortable in their home.  They demonstrated a genuine interest in getting to know me and helping ensure that my experience in Ghana was a fulfilling one.  And, they are both extremely informed about Ghanaian politics, history, and culture.  I immensely enjoyed learning from them and sharing our viewpoints; in fact, our discussions about current events and human rights issues in Ghana are among my favorite memories from this trip.

I have a master’s degree in human rights studies and was thrilled to learn about HWI’s human rights volunteer opportunity.  This internship was largely self-directed, and I appreciated the flexibility I was given with regard to my research and schedule.  My primary responsibility was to help develop content for the human rights monitoring website, Humanity Action, which Paul plans to re-launch this month.  During my three weeks in Accra, I learned a great deal about the human rights challenges facing Ghana and the government bodies and NGOs that exist to address them.  I also now have a firm working knowledge of the Constitution of Ghana; the country’s obligations under the regional and international human rights treaties to which it is a party;and the major barriers to Ghanaians’ enjoyment of their fundamental rights to education, healthcare, and access to justice, among others.  Through research,  meetings with human rights organizations, and discussions with Paul, Joachim, and other Ghanaians, I learned much about the most pressing impediments to the protection of these rights—chief among them are government corruption, lack of resources, and inefficient systems. 

In order to help further Humanity Action’s work, I developed a human rights guide to document what I had learned.  I compiled a directory of human rights-related organizations operating in Accra and across the country (I found no such directory through my research and felt it would be a useful reference) and outlined documents and articles related to human rights issues.  In addition to creating this guide, I scheduled interviews with several key human rights activists and organizations in order to develop articles for the Humanity Action website. 

I was able to meet with the unofficial leader of the gay community in Ghana—through my research, I quickly learned that homosexuals there face discrimination of an individual, cultural, and institutional level.  It therefore became my mission to argue for gay rights and against the homophobia that is deeply entrenched in Ghanaian society—I hope I was able to change at least a few minds during the course of my trip.  I also met with the Human Rights Advocacy Center, the UNDP, and WISE, a group that provides support services to victims of domestic violence, and runs programs designed to empower women.  On the last day of my trip, I accompanied WISE’s executive director to the closing ceremony of the organization’s African Women’s Leadership Institute and attended the morning session of the 5th Biennial Conference of District Assemblywomen. 

My educational journey to develop an awareness of human rights issues in Ghana was greatly enhanced through the meetings I arranged, as they provided me valuable insight regarding the country’s greatest strengths and most urgent challenges.  I look forward to finishing the articles I have been writing and I hope they will contribute to the national dialogue on human rights.

When I was not conducting research or attending a meeting, I spent my time exploring Accra during the week and heading out of town on the weekends.  As with all of my trips abroad, while I will of course remember the natural beauty of Ghana—from the palm-lined beaches west of Takoradi and the lush forest of Kakum National Park to the impressive Wli Falls and the green hills on the way to Kumasi—it is the people I have met and the culture I have experienced that I will remember most.

I will never forget the frenetic energy of Accra; from the hawkers on the street (whose lives I desperately wish I could help improve), to the conductors on the tro-tros, and the incessant honking of the taxis, this city at first seems nothing more than a chaotic cacophony.  However, a kind exchange with a hawker, navigational assistance from a fellow tro-tro passenger, or a meaningful conversation with a taxi driver all betray the fact that underneath its dusty, traffic-clogged facade, Accra is the kind of city that can make you feel— after just a few days— like it is exactly where you belong in the world.

This notion crystallized for me when I was on a jog in Nungua, the neighborhood where HWI volunteers live with Paul and his brother.  The first few times I went running I received lots of curious stares.  Whenever I responded with a “Good Morning” or a smile, however, suspicious expressions melted into sincere smiles.  Soon people began to recognize me, and I started to get more and more waves, along with numerous requests to join me on my next run.  Several people who lived or worked in Nungua even learned my name.  Hearing “Hello Meredith!” and seeing the beautiful, kind smile that accompanied this greeting gave me a true sense of belonging.

In addition to this feeling, I will also always remember what I have learned about the history and cultural fabric of Ghana, from my disturbing, powerful visit to the Cape Coast slave castle, to my fascinating experience at the Ashanti Palace in Kumasi, and my inspiring visit to the Kwame Nkrumah park and museum—where I learned about a revolutionary leader whose vision to overcome colonialism and unify Africa was nearly realized before he was overthrown by a military coup.

And, I will always appreciate the delicious, spicy Ghanaian food prepared by HWI’s talented, kind cook Mildred.  The sense of fellowship I felt with her and the other strong, beautiful women I met in Ghana will live in my memory.  One such woman was the program officer I interviewed at the UNDP.  Hilda and I abandoned our discussion of human rights work in Ghana for a while and just discussed our own lives, dreams and beliefs.  I was deeply inspired by her drive and passion—she somehow balances her full time work with being the mother of two young girls and attending law school at night.  I was moved by the warmth with which she treated me and by the encouragement she gave me to pursue my goals.  We met only for a couple of hours but I left feeling like we had known each other for much longer.  This connection made me admire the fact that women in Ghana refer to each other, and are referred to by men, as “my sister.” 

I felt a similar sense of sisterhood with two other HWI volunteers: Assal, an aerospace engineer who is from Iran and is pursuing her PHD in Madrid, and Huey, a brilliant nursing student from Massachusetts.  The three of us clicked instantly and had such good fun exploring Osu, traveling to Cape Coast and the Volta Region, and laughing together like old friends.  I respect these strong women a great deal and I know we will keep in touch.

I believe attending the  WISE ceremony on my last day in Ghana was a fitting way to end my trip, as sisterhood, human kindness—like that demonstrated by Paul and Joachim—and empowerment emerged as defining themes of my experience.  The ceremony concluded with one of the women saying goodbye in more than twenty languages to represent the countries and cultures of the participants.

The next morning, as I boarded a flight to London to spend the night with a friend from graduate school, tears rolled down my cheeks because I was not ready to say goodbye in any language to the people I had come to care about and the country I had fallen in love with in such a short time.  My desire to stay in Ghana is the greatest testament to the quality of my experience with Humanity World International that I can offer.

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