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Everyone has a different reason for volunteering; I wanted to help at a global level and be part of a fostering cultural understanding…but any reason is a great reason to volunteer. When I first considered volunteering, I thought that raising the money would be virtually impossible…especially considering I was trying to do it in less than six months. Using the fundraising kit provided by Africatrust I set about contacting local organisations… After some months I hadn’t heard anything and became apprehensive as to whether I would be able to raise the money. Sitting with family and friends we spoke of possible fundraising avenues: I decided to hold a party at a local bar to assist my efforts; and asked friends and family if they would sponsor me for a day…This was a huge success – I managed to get nearly 60 signatures. Still reluctant about meeting my target I began writing to trusts, which wasn’t proving too victorious. But then one morning in July I received three letters, which included words of encouragement along with a cheque – I had successfully achieved my target. As a token gesture I offered to present a slide-show upon my return to show others what I had done. This finally turned into a DVD available from Africatrust Networks. |
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Kakum Rain Forest Northern Ghana Buildings |
For some reason I wasn’t worried about my safety upon arrival in Ghana; but this was helped by convening with some friendly faces at the airport…Ghanaian ambassadors for Africatrust.
I was assured, and was confident in this assurance that ATN programmes are carefully designed and located to offer a safe environment for volunteers and the local community.The first two weeks of our placement were spent in Cape Coast - the first capital of Britain’s Gold coast colony.
 People with Northern Ghana Building
 Relaxing Time |
The cost of the trip included a two week induction course, this provides volunteers with the chance to acclimatise to the new environment; but also included lessons in ‘Twi’ (local language); history; geography; experimental Ghanaian living; health and culture lessons…and we still had time to explore the beautiful architecture and relax in the atmosphere of the streets and alleyways amalgamating around the town centre. I was already noticing the strong sense of family and culture roots – and at the heart of this culture is an appreciation for taking time out for others; Ghanaians are famed for loving to talk and exchange with others. I remember walking through the town and the children came out running and shouting ‘obrunni, obrunni, obrunnii’, which means “person from over the horizon…i.e. foreigner and, usually, white man. They clung to us for the next few hours whilst we were made welcome by the elders. The elders opened their homes to us. The openness and laid- back attitude gives one the opportunity of getting to know the local populace in a comfortable setting. For Ghanaians spending time with volunteers is an opportunity to learn about different cultures, and backgrounds, as well as to share realities of their lives and break down some of the stereotypes about African life. |
As part of the orientation we had the chance to visit Cape Coast Castle and Elmina Castle – it’s difficult to know how to react to all the historic slave horrors that took place there. To revive our spirits we visited the magnificent Kakum National Park – renowned for its 40m high wood and rope walkway suspended by trees and broken up by a number of viewing platforms…a breathtaking experience and the highest and the longest such walk-way in Africa.
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Before our induction course concluded we had the honour of meeting the local‘Oheema’ (Queen Mother); a respected and powerful woman. The clan and tribal systems are part of Ghanaian culture, and many traditional chiefs along with the Queen Mother operate on a parallel system with the freely elected governmental body, the district assembly – this may explain why there are over 60 different languages spoken in Ghana. The Induction period really helped with acclimatising to our new habitat, and fuelled our confidence. The language lessons in Twi proved invaluable – one noticed this particularly when bartering with vehicle drivers, food vendors etc…but what I felt most rewarding was the appreciation from the Ghanaians when they realised someone has taken the time to learn their regional language. |
 Deportment Lesson One |
After our induction course in Cape Coast finished it was time to head inland towards Kumasi (Ashanti Region) – where we would begin our placement and meet with our residing host family.
We were provided with constant access to the local director of Africatrust who was familiar with the area, known and respected by the local community, attuned to local happenings, fluent in many of the languages, able to answer questions and come to our aid if needed. We were provided with a unique home-base on the outskirts where we were placed with a Ghanaian family – which provided us with an excellent cultural exchange and allowed us freely to explore the Ghanaian way of life.
We were placed in a clean and safe environment; with food and bottled water provided – occasionally we were given the chance to cook a meal for our host family, which I believe they ate out of kind-heartedness. I became good friends with some of the locals, and shared many memorable experiences together.
We got involved with family matters; prepared dinner together – normally involving the pounding of fu-fu; learned how to carry water on our heads and occasionally frequented the town together. Living with a Ghanaian family is a great of understanding and appreciating the Ghanaian way of life
 Vivian Boateng with Lynn Hobrough |
 Tree Instruction |
 Mystery time in the Rain Forest |
At first, the morning sights and sounds were new to me, but with each new day they became part of my morning ritual before embarking on my volunteer placement. I looked forward to the morning bartering and tro-tro journeys to work, locals filling the streets with their brightly coloured attire. One never managed to get used to the sheer beauty of Ghana and the benevolence of the locals. We were placed (one other volunteer and me) at Kumasi Children’s Home for abandoned and orphaned children and Garden City Special School for mentally handicapped children.
Kumasi Children’s Home
My self and one other volunteer sang songs with the children in the nursery, helped look after (feed and cloth) the younger children who were unable to fend for themselves; and assisted some of the older children with the homework. I had a vision as soon as I entered the building...when being shown around the grounds by the headmistress one couldn’t help but notice the disarray the children’s library had become accustomed to over the years. The few computers that had been donated by a nearby organisation had been ruined by a leak in the roof. I arranged to meet a local carpenter to asses the damage; we replaced three of the wooden panels in the interior of the room and two iron sheets on the exterior; after finishing this we moved one of the bookshelves to create more space in the room. After the building renovations had been finished we began painting with the help of the residents at the home – this was excellent as everyone began to help and really gave us a chance to get to know one-another. We decided to paint the room in the Ghanaian national colours - two walls facing green; other two red; the ceiling yellow; and the ceiling fan black to resemble the black star.
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Towards the end of my placement I was approached by one of the helpers at the home to have a look in one of the bedrooms where six children reside (two of which were transferred to Garden City Special School by a former ATN volunteer – and they have to come back home to the orphanage at Christmas). The roof there was in terrible condition; the damp had caused all the wood to rot and there was just an open space in the ceiling. I asked the carpenter for another quote for the room - and pleaded with him to reduce the workmanship salary. He agreed and the roof was mended. As a little gift to some of the helpers at the home we decided to fix the shelves in the kitchen, which had rotted away and fallen down. It was working at the home that one came to realise that the most imperative skills needed to volunteer are willingness to learn and an open mind. My work allowed me to immerse myself into a culture and provided meaningful work to the home and community at large. Having been placed by ATN into a project that was designed and driven by local people, rather than imposing foreign ways; I was able to support the community in a manner that was productive. This allowed one to make a meaningful contribution, whilst getting an inside look at a country through the eyes of its people. |
 Cape Coast Castle looking West  Cape Coast Castle looking East |
We had left the children’s home under the complete control of the painter…to my amazement the library had been completed…it looked wonderful. All we had left to do was to fix the computers; organize the books and design some section headers; purchase some cushions, mats and other accessories to complete the finishing touches.
Mid-Placement Tour
Africatrust Networks is unique in the fact that it arranges for volunteers to explore the historic and natural beauty of the country. The mid-placement tour provides volunteers with a mid-placement break – and allows one to reflect on their projects. We arrived at Lake Volta – the lake questioning our expedition – it’s the most expansive artificial lake in the world, with a surface area of roughly 850,000ha, length of 400km, and a shoreline measuring almost 5,000km…if this means anything to you – in other words it’s exceptionally big and we proposed travelling up two thirds of it… to Yegi. Our plans to arrive in Yegi by early morning were shattered when we realised we’d been travelling at 5knots hr. We were hoping to get a connecting ferry straight from Yegi to Makango…but arriving at 9pm didn’t help our quest… so we put our heads down for the night…rather pleasant considering our torment over the past 20 hrs. We decided to get a private boat across the lake to Makango; after pleading for hours to reduce the price…it’s amazing what knowing some of the local language can do for you (my thanks to Mrs. Comfort our Twi teacher in Cape Coast). We set off from Makango around 10am – destination Tamale – arrival time 2pm. From here it was another wishful tro-tro journey to Mole…our resting place for a few days.
But every unrealistic journey is something of beauty. From past experiences the worst of journeys…a fumigation of dust; pot holes; uncomfortable and painful modes of transport…synonymous to most economically developing world countries - makes for the most breathtaking and spectacular of times at the end. And this is most true of Mole National Park. The park conserves an area of relatively flat savannah lying at an average altitude of about 150m above sea level. We had decided to go on the morning game walk [no fancy tourist 4x4’s here!], as the afternoon walk would more than likely end in severe dehydration from the heat. The walk would begin at 6.30am…sleep depravation soon forgotten when worrying if an elephant may stampede at any given moment. The armed guide was forever reminding me to keep my distance…but resisting the enticement was difficult. After two hours walk around the park I was pretty bushed…so we retired back to the motel for breakfast. This wasn’t a relaxing breakfast as one was hoping for…more a constant effort to fight away the carnivore primates from seizing your food…seldom looking what you were putting in your mouth as a steady eye was needed to watch the monkeys at all times. After a strenuous breakfast we decided to adjourn to the swimming pool, which has been a mirage in the back of my mind since being in Ghana…this was the first one I’d seen since our time spent in Cape Coast. After a long swim we decided to start our hike to Larabanga (a predominantly Muslim community) – roughly a 6k walk – this was not our decision, but in the upper western region there are not a noticeable amount of bicycles…and, unfortunately, hardly any vehicles. The walk took about 1.3hrs and by the time we arrived in Larabanga, a straight desert road we were most drained. A local tour guide who liberated our health by providing us with water offered to show us around the town.
 Nelson Mandela Path |
 Educational Toys Programme developed by Adam |
 Learning to cook |
The next day we would meet the traditional assembly…Nana and other members of the royal family. We were introduced and informed the members of our purpose…to see the tourist attractions and carry out some small research on behalf of the NGO. The bat caves were about a two-hour trek up hill, on the way we were shown some traditional markings on rocks, which the ancestors were thought to have used for games. To get to the caves we had to crawl under mammoth rocks – before eventually entering the caves; we also had to pay libation to the ancestors – this involves pouring schnapps on the floor and saying a few words.
Garden City Special School
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The second part of my placement was spent at a school for mentally disabled children. At first I helped set up lessons for the day, shadowing the teachers and getting to know the staff and pupils…as well as touching up on the local language. Previous to arriving in Ghana I hadn’t had much experience working with disabled children, which proved rather daunting at first. But after a while I settled in, as though I’d been working with the children for years – and before I knew it I was given my own class. My class consisted of 6 pupils. The majority of the students in my class were autistic or suffered from cerebral palsy. Through my teaching most of the children could count to 20 and managed to learn the alphabet. May star pupil was a young girl named Gifty. |
 Leave your mark on theworld |
She was able to count from 1-30 and knows nearly the entire alphabet… I think her only problem is her speech and body movement. She seems to be moving faster (mentally) than her fellow students, which was difficult because all the children are at different levels. She was always asking me question in the local language - which I managed to get to grips with, and resorted to calling me ”Uncle Adams”.
The class- rooms were very bare so I decided to decorate the walls with pictures of the body, household objects, numbers and the alphabet - which I drew with another teacher. The room looked exceptionally better and also acted as teaching aids and materials. Some of the teachers have also used my ideas to decorate their own classrooms accordingly. I received presents from nearly all of the teachers at the school - mainly African clothing (I looked hideous – but felt rude not wearing these gifts at least once)…as an appreciation of the work I was doing. Sometimes the children’s concentration span was very diminutive. Some mornings I would purchase a loaf of bread to take to school and give out small pieces to the children who get the correct answers in class… an incentive to maintaining their attention. You may think it sounds ridiculous using bread as an incentive - but it’s quite a treat to these children… and boy did it help!
I designed some games to help the children with their balance, co-ordination, memory, and speech. We decided to stick to smaller projects than some of our more ambitious ideas…mainly due to time, but also because we wanted to see our gifts in practice; and also no matter how much you plan you cannot prepare for some of the bizarre circumstances and delays that will undoubtedly be thrown your way. I asked Jachi training school for the physically disabled to make the games. They quoted 200(pounds), which is excellent for the quantity I’d ordered. Lynn (other ATN volunteer) and I purchased 120 text books, with the hope of each child carrying the book with them at all times…endeavouring learning at all times. We handed over the gifts during a party we were hosting at the school that also tied in with us saying our farewells. Subsequently I also used part of my donations to help Charles Nkrumah [a beneficiary of Africa Bridge Club – www.africabridgeclub.org ] to purchase a PC so that he might supplement his income by giving extra private computer lessons. As a teacher now in a grammar school in Nigeria he receives a salary of 20 pounds a month. The donations were the funds that Africatrust had insisted we raise and then distribute ourselves – with the help of the Africatrust team in Ghana.
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Words alone cannot explain the experience I had at Garden City Special School, where everyone was met with smiles; one can only hope and pray that the school continues its work. I learned a great deal about attitudes towards the children both inside and outside the school…This led to me wanting to experience this understanding upon my arrival in Britain; and hopefully practice - pass on the teaching skills I had learnt in Ghana. The staff were incredible, so warm and welcoming – they are what’ll draw me back; I still stay in contact with many of them, and hope to for many years to come. Sometimes you question what kind of impact you’ve had…has your time and effort been of any crucial value to your housed community…did you present yourself as a good ambassador – then you remember each day when you walked home, remembering what your pupils had achieved…walking past other classrooms…seeing the impact you’ve had on other teachers…the confidence and passion that once again inspires them...even if you had an impact on one person – you’ve done a most remarkable job. |
 Drumming Practice |
One has to realise that the purpose of volunteering with Africatrust Networks wasn’t exclusively for the development of Ghana but also for my own personal enlightenment so that I shall pass on the word about Africa to others.
Adam Gallacher August 200