My time in Ghana

I had wanted to do hands on volunteer work for several years and after researching many organizations decided to travel to Ghana through Village Volunteers. I’ve just returned from a 3 week stay in the Volta Region where 3 friends and I divided our time between an orphanage called Missahoe Charity Home in Kpando and helping in the renovation of a library in the village of Have.

We quickly became adjusted to life in Ghana… The burning fires on the side of the road, roosters waking us up at 2am, meals of fufu and banku, the very relaxed laid back attitude and locals wanting to shake our hands and greeting us with “You are welcome” wherever we went.

Working at the orphanage was incredibly rewarding. As we walked to the orphanage each morning, 27 adorable kids would run up to us to hold our hands and carry our bags. Since school was out for Christmas vacation our days were spent playing soccer and football, coloring, reading stories, teaching the kids American songs and dances, and helping to prepare meals.

Spending Christmas at the orphanage was truly special. We first accompanied the children to Church where we caused quite a stir as we were ushered to the front 4 pews. That afternoon we purchased and then served lunch to all of the kids which consisted of chicken, rice, Coca-Cola and cookies. The children were grateful and I will never forget their smiling faces on that afternoon when most of their friends were sitting at home with their own families enjoying Christmas lunch.

The orphanage is run by two of the kindest most sincere women, Mawusi and Baby. They care for the children like they are their own, and it shows because the children have nothing and yet are happy and playful and kind and well mannered. They have been through so much at such a young age and it shows in their maturity. Saying goodbye to 27 crying kids was difficult and I will never forget the time I got to spend with them.

In addition to the orphanage we spent 5 days in the village of Have helping to renovate a building which will now be used as a library for 10 local schools. Working in conjunction with the townsmen we chiseled, laid cement, painted, installed new doors, built bookshelves and purchased books to fill the library. Our donation went a long way and the village chief along with the local MP came to the ribbon cutting opening ceremony, which was covered on the radio the next day. Our work was greatly appreciated and although we were sad to leave Ghana, we were pleased to know that the library would benefit the village and be used by the schoolchildren immediately.

Joanna Kornfeld
New York, USA
Missahoe Children's Home Kpando &
Have Village, Ghana
Dec, 07 - Jan, 08

My Experiences in a Herbal Clinic in a village in Ghana

Antie Esi is back in Accra!

There are not enough words of beauty to describe my experience here in Ghana. I worked in a village called Owuram located in the Eastern Region. The village is small with no electricity. I was placed at a Herbal Clinic where I worked along side and witnessed the excellent work of Dr. Normesie. I saw amazing improvement in the stroke patients who live at the clinic and became close with them and their caretakers. The village life is full of nature, beauty and loving hospitable people. I’ve learned many things about herbal medicine and had a lot of hands on work with the plants themselves. I saw all the processes of herbal medicine from collecting the plants, to the manufacturing, packaging and sales. Owuram will always have a warm place in my heart. The 4:00am wake up call by the rooster, bathing outside as the sun rises with the occasional visits from the goats and chickens, the bushwacking hiking trails, fufu (a local meal), the children calling me “OBRONI OBRONI!! (whiteman!)” everywhere I go, the caretakers and their patience, doing my own laundry, the cocoa farms, the music, and so much more of the culture. And it’s true Ghanaians are really the nicest people you will ever meet!! When I first entered the village I was greeted by the elders of the village, they performed a prayer for me which was very powerful. The prayer was said to protect me from the evil sprits. I felt very honored to have this prayer.

The excursion with Gunadiish to the Ashanti Region was truly a treat. The bamboo forest was one of my favorite spots in Ghana. I also took the Batik and tye and dye class in Accra one weekend. I was able to make my own bayic and tie and dye local cloth which are going to make wonderful gifts for the family!

I’ve only stayed here for one month, but I’ve learned so much and made so many friends here in Ghana. It’s been the hardest thing I’ve done in a long time to leave this place. I will always remember the memories that Ghana has given me. Thank you Village Volunteers for allowing me to have this great opportunity here in Ghana. It’s truly been a trans-personal experience.

Shoshanna Rome
Sommerville, MA, USA
Health for all Clinic/Research Institute
Awuram, Asamankese, Ghana
Dec, 07 - Jan, 08

My Days in Ghana

I spent three months living at the Kumasi Institute for Tropical Agriculture (KITA) in a rural area near Kumasi. As an International Development Studies major in university, I wanted to gain some experience volunteering through both an international NGO and a local organization, and Village Volunteers fulfilled that experience for me. I found their support before, during and after the trip extremely comforting and was especially glad to have the in-country coordinator, Gunadiish there when I needed him!

I was blown away by the hospitality and kindness of Ghanaians, and after the three months was comfortable having some degree of conversation with them in the local language, Twi. KITA is an non-governmental agricultural college, and staying there I got the opportunity to learn much about tropical agriculture, grow my own vegetable garden, and also care for mushrooms and rabbits. However, my main project was a community development youth program in the surrounding two villages, Apromase and Domeabra. I facilitated a club where, with the help of the KITA students, we tried to encourage farming as a sustainable livelihood for the future of junior high school students, through the creation of school vegetable gardens, production of mushrooms and snails, and other lessons on sustainable, organic agricultural methods. The children I worked with showed amazing commitment and leadership throughout the program, and they always managed to make me smile. The students I met at KITA showed me that they are just the same, in so many ways, as my university-aged friends at home, and I made some great friendships with these amazing, hardworking people.

I was glad that I was able to be in Ghana long enough to experience both the challenges and benefits of working for an organization, of trying to immerse yourself into a whole new culture, and of facilitating a program in a completely different cultural context. I learned so much that I have taken back with me, which I can apply to my school, work and general outlook on my life. To any future Village Volunteers, I highly recommend trying to stay for a longer period of time, as the more time you spend in a place you gain real insight on how to become a part of that place. Ghana will always be a part of me, and I hope to return there someday.

Michelle Schram

Winnipeg, Canada

KITA Village Volunteer

October-December 2007

Apromase-Domeabra, Ghana

Teaching at Have village, Ghana

Akwaaba, I arrived in Have weary from long flights from New Zealand, however the hospitality of the local community was simple incredible. From Alex and Jimmy who were assigned to look after us volunteers, to Florence the cook, to everyone who was just walking down the street and happy to say “Hello” and “You are Welcome”. One moment that touched me was at the bus station in Accra on the 2^nd night in Ghana, we were waiting for the bus to depart and this local kid who we had not met before invited us to join him with his dinner, that is something that you just don’t see back home, but here where people have much less, people were much more willing to offer things like this. When I got Malaria, the doctors and technicians at the clinic were very sincere, but not only that, they were very fast and efficient, diagnosing me quickly, getting my bloods taken, getting the results, and providing me with the drugs to beat the parasite. They were much faster than hospitals back home, and I was very impressed with the care they provided.

My main purpose of my time in Ghana, and in Have in particular was to teach the kindergarten kids, this was something that was a huge challenge for me as I had never done any teaching before, but it was a great experience and really rewarding. Seeing the kids improvement over the 5 weeks was really special, and getting a “Thank You” from fathers of the kids meant a lot to me. At the start the kids were struggling with their colours but by the end they knew what colour Green, Blue, Red, Yellow, Brown, Purple, Orange, and Black were. They also improved dramatically in writing letters and numbers, and seeing a kid who kept making the same error in his writing, finally get it right and the smile on his face, is something that will stay with me.

The kids smiles were infectious, and they loved being able to colour in some drawings, something I don’t think many had experienced before. By the end, some of their drawings were very impressive, so I decided to make a mural of their drawings on the last day to brighten up their classroom, something I hope they will enjoy.

The sunsets in Ghana were absolutely stunning, pictures don’t do them justice as the redness in the sun is unique to Africa. The landscape when the sun was setting was brilliant with the haze of the Hamatan making the landscape somewhat of a blue, with the red sun burning in the background. I will miss the people I encountered a great deal, I will miss the kids smiles and them yelling out “Teacher” and “Sir” as I passed them in the street, I will miss the tro-tro rides, theres something about being squashed in a minivan that becomes really enjoyable.

Marc Byers,
New Zealand,
January 2008
Have, Ghana.