Volunteer Blogs

Name: Shamistha Selvaratnam from Australia,

 Project: Human Rights/ Children Centre/Teach In Ghana

Period: January - February 2013

I arrived in Ghana, Africa will a little bit of international volunteer, however not in Africa. I was accepted by VPWA to undertake a Human Rights Internship with the Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) for 5 weeks whilst staying at the VPWA Children Centre. I think the best decision I made was staying at the Children Centre. There was never a dull moment whether it was visiting the farm to collect food for dinner and fruits, helping with the daily tasks including bathing the children and playing with them or collecting water from the well for cooking and for our bucket showers. The children were gorgeous and always wanted us to help them with their school work and play games with them.

As a volunteer I shared a room with other volunteers working in the village and we had our own bathroom and kitchen. Each day Martha provided us with amazing, tasty Ghanaian food for dinner and she was always willing to cook us something when we were hungry!

I travelled for about an hour each day by share taxi and tro tro to my workplace at CHRAJ which was in Amasaman. My main task was to

work on a research project with another intern where we conducted research primarily into child maintenance cases looking at the details of each case that CHRAJ received and noting trends with the aim of proposing some sort of intervention that could assist Ghana in reducing the amount of maintenance cases they received. I was also able to assist with data entry tasks and had the opportunity to sit in on a mediation session between two parties. Unfortunately I was unable to complete the research task during my time working at CHRAJ, however the work I did complete has been left in the Human Rights Dropbox folder. I also had the opportunity to visit the school that the children attended for a couple of days. I was able to spend time teaching the school children in Maths, English and Religious Moral Studies. It was so much fun being around all the children! 

The most memorable moments for me in Ghana was the time I spent with the children and the relationships I built with them. Having the opportunity to visit the villages they were originally from was incredible, just seeing what a different VPWA had made for them. I will miss waking up and helping them getting ready from school, I will miss them running to greet me when I got home from work and most of all I will miss chatting and playing with them everyday. 

VPWA was an amazing organisation to volunteer with. All the VPWA staff were extremely friendly and always willing to help out with anything. VPWA was an affordable organisation to volunteer with and had a great range of projects to choose from. Living in Darmang gave me a truly authentic experience of how it is for the locals to living in Ghana. I would definitely love to go back to Ghana and to volunteer with VPWA again!

Name:                         Rachel Carter  /New Zealand

Volunteer Period:         January 2013

Project:                       Street Library Ghana

My experience as a volunteer at VPWA in January 2013 was eye opening and rewarding. I worked on the Street Library Ghana project with another volunteer, Sarah. Our main role was to get support from businesses for a book drive to raise the resources needed to establish permanent community based street libraries.

I was surprised at the generosity of the publishing firms that we contacted. During one month we received over 700 books including comics, textbooks and storybooks. Much more work is however needed to get very basic books suitable for teaching children to read.

A highlight of my time in Ghana was the opening of the first community based library at J’Ann Royal International School. Joseph, the Principal of the school is clearly dedicated to improving the education of children in his community and it was amazing to see the varied program that the school runs on a very limited budget.

Travelling during the weekends was a good chance to see more of a very diverse country and learn about its history. I went with some other volunteers to Mole National park, which I found most interesting for gaining insight into rural life in Ghana, and to the Cape Coast.

As a small, locally run NGO, VPWA has a personal approach to its volunteers. People were matched to roles that suited their interests and Hayford and his wife, Portia hosted us for dinner each week. As Hayford included me in meetings with local organisations, I got a sense of the Ghanaian business environment.

These aspects helped make my time in Ghana very worthwhile. I think that in order to make the most impact to local communities during your time volunteering, it is useful to keep an open mind about which projects need the most help from foreign volunteers.

Although I originally planned to do a placement more related to my current studies (nutrition), I feel that I gained a lot from working on tasks that are really core to the success of a NGO, such as proposal writing and sponsorship, while also having opportunities to interact with locals through the library opening at J’Ann.

I hope that this short volunteer experience will not be my first and last time in Ghana!

Fabian Willskytt, Sweden - VPWA MicrofinanceI was born and raised in Sweden, but I studied marketing and international business at an American university. Before moving on to  a master program, I wanted to volunteer in a developing country. I  have traveled a lot around Europe and America, but had never before set my foot in Africa. Ghana is considered one of the more stable and developed nations of the continent, and since West Africans have a reputation of being a friendly people, it seemed like the best place to go. I wanted to work with something related to my field of study, so I chose to focus on micro finance. There are countless micro finance organizations in Ghana, but through my research I found VPWA was one of the few that was both affordable and credible.

When I arrived in Ghana, I did not really know what to expect. Although the VPWA website is very thorough and detailed, it is difficult to project how an experience like this is going to plan out. But my worries turned out to be in vain. I was picked up at the airport and taken to the apartment where us volunteers where to stay. The living arrangements where beyond my expectations. It was clean and spacious. Since there were only four volunteers at the time, we all had our own rooms. There was running water and electricity, at least for the most part, and the fans kept it cool and nicely tempered. The best part in my opinion was probably the food we were served. One of my favorite parts of traveling is trying the local cuisine, so I was thrilled to be served the local varieties of rice, beans, plantains, and chicken every evening.

The micro finance office was located just a short bus ride from the apartment. The program was in place to support local business women who needed additional funds to expand their small enterprises. Some of the women were selling fried yams or plantains, while others where seamstresses or hair dressers. Through a micro loan they were able to invest in new equipment that could increase their revenue or cut their cost. Around the time I was there VPWA were also in the process of implementing a program where they were leasing the equipment directly instead of just lending the money for it. This system, called micro leasing, provides additional security compared to the traditional lending since the equipment can be used as collateral. It also ensures that the funds are actually used for the intended purpose, and not for personal expenses.

We worked normal business hours, 9-16, but the pace was considerably slower than what Europeans or Americans might be used to. There were certain administrative tasks that always needed to be done, such as book keeping and handling loan applications, but to keep busy it was important to take initiative and show a bit of ambition. The program was in constant need of funds and we therefore spent a great deal of time  writing grant proposals. This is a specific skill and can be very time consuming, but grant funding is essential to any NGO. During my four weeks with VPWA I wrote grant proposals for two separate foundations, hopefully enabling the program to further expand. In addition to the office work, every Friday we visited the different beneficiaries around the community. This offered a great opportunity to experience the living conditions as well as business climate of the area.

The greatest advantage of volunteering for VPWA in my opinion is the size of the organization. Since it is relatively small scaled it allows the volunteers to get close to the core of the operations. Even though I was there as a micro finance volunteer, I was able to get a good understanding of how the entire organization was set up and operated. Hayford, the director, spent a great deal of time with us individually answering questions and asking our advice. Every evening we were able to go through our individual projects and grant proposals with him. Hayford is very helpful and I learned a lot during these chats.

During weekends, we were free to do what we wanted. This was a golden opportunity to explore Ghana, something I highly recommend all volunteers to do. Traveling around the country is very cheap and there are plenty of sights to visit. Along the coast there are excellent beaches and the nature is amazing. One of the highlights is a natural park with a canopy walk, a network of bridges situated 30 meters up in the air that offers a unique view of the rain forest. It is not recommended for height sensitive people, but is truly a great experience.

All in all, volunteering with VPWA was great experience. I will always remember the kind people of Ghana, all the food, the rich culture, and the friendships I created with the other volunteers. If you have a chance to volunteer with this organization, you should definitely take it. I recommend everybody to make the most of the experience by enjoying the local food, traveling around the country during weekends, and trying to contribute as much as possible to the organization. No matter if you spend four weeks od six months in Ghana, you will be well taken care of and have a great time.

Name: Arne Van de Vyver  (Summer 2012)

Date of birth: 13 October 1991

Nationality: Belgian

Education: Medical school, University of Antwerp

 -       Your background

I am studying Medicine at the University of Antwerp. I am currently in my fourth year of Medicine. Last year I obtained a Bachelor degree, which is given after completion of three years in Medical school. Now I have started my Master degree, which will be finished within 4 years.

-   Program I worked on while with VPWA

Because I study Medicine, I chose to participate in the medical program of VPWA. We were placed in the Amasaman hospital, a public hospital near the capital city of Accra. I worked there for four weeks. During these four weeks I learned about the way the hospitals function in Ghana and the differences with Western hospitals. I also got a unique chance to participate and help the nurses and doctors the best I could.

It is difficult to get a function in a hospital if you are only there for four weeks. However, the nurses and doctors were very pleased to show us around and teach us new things. The main goal was observing the nurses and doctors, but to some extent we could also help out a hand. It is very interesting to see how medical techniques are performed in Ghana. I saw caesarian sections, circumcisions, vaginal investigations, labour, eye examinations, ENT examinations, buruli ulcer skin transplantations, woundcare and general consultations. I actually expected that the hospital would be more rural with less equipment, but I even saw surgical procedures, which was very unique for me. Still, the hospital has limitations. The infrastructure of some departments is in need of improvement. However, I found it very amazing that hygiene and sterility are always tried to be maintained to the best by the medical workers.

In some situations we were allowed to be of help to the medical staff.

I have worked in the wound care department, where there are always a lot of people queuing for treatment. It was nice that I could be of help so that the patients were helped quicker.

The Buruli ulcer department is very interesting, because this disease is almost unique to the area where the hospital is. The skin transplantations are done once a month and we were very welcome to come and observe the procedures.

At the labour ward, you are confronted with a non-Western way of giving birth. The tradition is very different. I found that this department gave me a perspective of the Ghanaian tradition, which not a lot of foreigners can experience. The relationship between nurses and patients is so much different from my country.

The ENT- and eye department are both limited in space. A small room is used, and the equipment is too big for the space. This is a pity. Once, a salesman came to promote a machine for the eye department. However this would be a great investment, there was no place to put it, and so the machine could not be bought. Again, I refer to the limitations they have to face in the hospital at some points.

A hospital is not only therapy and procedures. The nurses and doctors explained us the health care system in Ghana and the fact that not everyone has health insurance. We also experienced the fact that this is a reason why a lot of Ghanaians don’t go to hospitals, because it is too expensive. A girl of 10 years old had one record in her health book, namely her birth issues. This meant that she didn’t go to the hospital for 10 years. It is clear that follow up is thus very difficult for health workers. History is almost non-existent, which makes giving the best health care you want very difficult

In general I experienced that nurses and doctors are very motivated to help other citizens. They have to deal with more limitations than we do in the West, but still they try to give care in the best way imaginable.

-       Living arrangements

With a group of about twenty volunteers, we lived in a house in Pokuase. I did not expect it to be this comfortable, but it was. A gated house, with all the comfort we have in Europe. I slept in a room with four other guys, all participants in a specific VPWA program. A water pump in the courtyard constantly provides the house with running water. There is no hot water in the house, but that was not an issue for me at all. The water is not drinkable, but you can boil it to make tea, soup,… On the street you buy food for breakfast and lunch. Dinner is brought every evening by a VPWA co-worker. There is a supermarket on the other side of the street, which is very convenient. Dinner is served in a plastic box, so you can eat it whenever you want, for instance if you come home later from work. We tried to eat together with all the other volunteers as much as possible. Even the volunteers, who lived on the first flour, mostly came downstairs to eat with us.

My working day started at 8 a.m., so I woke up at 6.45 a.m. This seems early, but I experienced that while in Ghana, the days are very different from my own country. Because it is light at 5.30 a.m. and dark around 6.30 p.m. the days start earlier and end earlier. Mostly we went to bed at 10.30p.m.

-       What will I remember about Ghana

 The thing that has struck me the most is the hospitality and kindness of the Ghanaian inhabitants. People will notice you because you have a light skin, but there is no hostility. I had never been to Africa and was not sure about what to expect. Because there are also a lot of poor areas in Ghana, I expected that we would have to pay a lot of attention for pick pockets and harassment.  None of this is true. Of course you are always careful about your stuff, but I never felt unsafe. People talk to you as if you are their best friend, they dance with you,… They want you to feel welcome in their country. Also the streets are very lively, which is very fun.

Also in the hospital you can build up nice bonds with the patients, because they let you in their lives. They are very open and tell you about their living conditions, their families, what made them end up in the hospital,… This is so nice, because this way you learn a lot more about the Ghanaian way of living.

-       What makes VPWA different from other organizations

This was my first time I did volunteering work in a foreign country, but I think it is special that you can participate in a local organization, managed by Ghanaian people. They now their culture and people much better than foreign organizations that do volunteering work in Ghana too. This way they have a better perspective on different situations, and know exactly how to deal with them.

     -      Advice for future volunteers

The main advice I can give is to be prepared to work in an environment you are not used too. In the beginning you can have some difficulties with adapting to the Ghanaian way of living, but if you are open to everything it will be a great experience. Also sometimes it might be frustrating that things in Ghana are not done as quickly as in the West, but try to understand that they have to do a lot of things with less than we have. It might be easy to have a lot of comments on the Ghanaian way some things are done, but if you try to keep in mind that you are not in Europe or America you will find it much easier to go with it and see the positive things, instead of what you would do different.

Scott Heneveld - July/August 2012 , USA

I am an American college student who was looking for an opportunity to spend some time in the summer of 2012 abroad in a constructive

My overall impression of Ghana was incredibly positive.  I thoroughly enjoyed my stay in the country thanks largely to the extremely helpful nature of the people I encountered there and the beauty of the country and culture.  The community I stayed in was very helpful and supportive of the center's goals.  While communication was sometimes difficult since some Ghanaians spoke limited English, I had very few problems finding and procuring anything I needed during my stay.  I cannot stress how helpful and honest the people I interacted with were and how much that enhanced my stay.

My advice for future volunteers is to have a positive mindset at all times.  If you tell yourself you're gonna have a bad time and that you dislike the cultural differences of the country, then you're not going to be as useful as you could allow yourself to be.  It is important to realize that volunteers working with children are there to help those children realize their potential within their society and not to try and conform the children to the volunteer's personal and cultural opinions.  While I personally didn't travel, most of the other volunteers I spoke with during my stay traveled during weekends and expressed  positive responses to their travel. 

In conclusion, the time I spent in Ghana working under the guidance of VPWA was extremely rewarding and I would recommend it for anyone who is willing to work while experiencing a beautiful and supportive society.

Georgina Hagan, United Kingdom (August 2012)

Background

I lived and worked at the VPWA Children’s Centre in Darmang, during July/August 2012. I had just graduated from the University of Leeds (UK) studying BA International Relations and French. As well as the work at the Children’s Centre, during my time spent with VPWA I also assisted with the Ghana Street Library Project.

Darmang Children’s Centre -  My Work

At the centre, as well as undertaking various day-to-day tasks such as washing, dressing and helping feed the children, my role included providing both emotional and academic support to the children. Through play, the maintenance of structure and routine, and acting as a positive role-model for the children, I helped to settle the children into a homely ‘normalcy’ that would prove conducive to their emotional and intellectual development. Additionally, I taught the older children maths and English, setting them various tasks and correcting their work with them. After an initial assessment of their capabilities, I was able to tailor the work I set to each individual child, to ensure they were working at an appropriate level and were concentrating on the areas in which they most needed improvement. I tried to keep the work as fun and interesting as possible, by using quizzes and songs, for example, and breaking up maths and English with creative activity sessions such as making jewellery with beads, and decorating glitter stickers.

Darmang Children’s Centre -  My Thoughts

The time I spent at the children’s centre was brilliant. Working with the children there was a highly rewarding and formative experience that I will never forget. Being at the centre 24/7 was quite intense and at times challenging, but was actually highly beneficial to my volunteering experience because it enabled me to become fully immersed in life at the centre, and as such the daily lives and activities of the children. Living arrangements at the centre were comfortable and I am very grateful to Martha, the house mother for all of her cooking, and for adapting the spiciness of some dishes for us volunteers!

VPWA

I found VPWA to be a highly organised, genuine and professionally run organisation. The range of projects being undertaken is very impressive, and VPWA is proactive in expanding its remit and continually improving and developing existing projects. The energy, creativity and passion of Hayford, the director, was especially striking and inspiring.

Advice for Future Volunteers

I would advise anyone planning on living, working or volunteering in Ghana to be patient – things don’t get done as quickly as they might do at home, but they will get done! Travellers needn’t be wary of the open and friendly nature of the Ghanaian people, which can at first feel a bit strange to those from other cultures where people don’t greet and talk to strangers as much! Be prepared for many people that you meet to take a great interest in you and your life! For those volunteering at the children’s centre, it would be great to bring along some small activities, toys, games and learning materials that can fit in your luggage to teach and play with the children. 

Bettina Jamy-Stowasser, Austria (July-August 2012)

1. Your background

I’m a 24 years old student from Vienna, Austria. I’m currently enrolled in the Master program International Marketing & Sales at the University

I would get back from school in the afternoon around 3pm and then I would do any preparing for the next day’s lessons or some reading. In the late afternoon a few of us would go running around the town which sometimes involved very young children following us in bare feet and making it look easy while we sweated away. After a refreshing shower we would all sit down together to enjoy the food which Lizzie had prepared for us. She was a great cook and I loved eating the traditional Ghanaian food, in particular red-red (a bean dish), yams and fried plantain. Later in the evenings we would sit and chat at the house or go to one of the local bars (well really a little hut on the side of the road with some very loud Ghanaian music!) The teaching

I had spent 3 ½ months on my Gap year teaching in Tanzania which did give me some confidence. This was a totally different experience because this time I wasn’t teaching classes of 80 children, but around 15 and I was teaching social studies, as well as English. I found it just as challenging teaching smaller classes because it was easy to see who wasn’t listening and who didn’t understand.

I chose to teach social studies as I am currently studying geography and education but I was very lucky there was a text book as I would have been out of my depth in certain areas, especially Ghanaian history!!! Many of the children were very enthusiastic and we had some very lively debates and discussions, including whether there was a second planet inside earth and whether I thought it was a good thing that Britain had colonised Ghana!

I was pretty much left to myself to decide what I taught and when I taught which was a bit frustrating at times. It was the beginning of term so things were a bit slow to get started but a timetable would have helped! I did have many interesting discussions about the future of the school with the new director.It was a shame that I wasn’t able to stay longer in the school but I think in the time I was there I was able to share some new ideas with the children and they were so much fun to teach. One of the highlights has to be watching a chicken get dissected during a science lesson.  The Ghanaian experience

There are so many things about Ghana that I really miss and it really is a great country to have explored. I think it is only

Since returning home, I have been bombarded with questions from friends and family: ‘How was it?’, ‘Why did you go?’, ‘What exactly did you do?’. Although I’ve grown accustomed to giving the generic responses, explaining my experience in Ghana with VPWA takes more time and reflection than that. I can honestly say that my experience was great, educational, and worthwhile, and although there were a few tough times during my trip, the positives by far outweighed the negatives. First, Hayford and Portia were very helpful in the entire application process and preparations for traveling to Ghana. After being accepted as a volunteer, they assisted with the visa application and answered my (and my mother’s) endless questions about the accommodations, arrival, etc. Once I landed in Ghana and made it to the compound without Spider breaking down, I was a little culture shocked, but eventually settled into the VPWA life.

As a volunteer in the microfinance office, I worked with the women who had already received loans from VPWA, as well as with various other women’s groups in the area. On a day to day basis, the work might have been considered slow, but the administrative tasks required to run a finance organisation anywhere in the world aren’t always that thrilling. Two days out of the week, Comfort (the only permanent microfinance employee, and our own personal source of local information), the other volunteers and I stayed in the office to collect repayments. During the rest of the week, we would travel to two or three other women’s groups to teach bookkeeping, which often resulted in teaching basic math and business skills. These lessons were perhaps the most rewarding part of my time with VPWA because they offered a chance to connect with the local women and teach them skills that would outlast my own personal time with them. Although often very difficult due to the language barrier and lack of education, the lessons were pretty successful and at the very least gave us both a chance to exchange cultures. In addition to these lessons, I also was able to make visits to the homes and businesses (sometimes one in the same) of the VPWA beneficiaries. The volunteers and I became friends with a few of these women, and hopefully my memories of them will carry on and vice versa.

Aside from the microfinance work, I was also able to explore and learn about Ghana on my weekend trips. I was able to visit towns all along the coast, almost all the way to the country’s Western border. Ghana has some very nice beaches, although sometimes littered with trash, but nonetheless beautiful. I was also able to go a bit north to Kumasi, the second largest city in Ghana, which was very different than Accra! With traveling, however, comes difficulty and frustration. The transportation in Ghana is pretty bad at times, and one piece of advice I can offer future volunteers is that nothing is reliable! Tro tros (the small buses/vans which can take you pretty much anywhere you want to go in Ghana) break down frequently, which can sometimes be fixed in a matter of minutes or more likely, force you to find a new mode of transportation (sometimes even the back of a moto). Although at times these difficulties can be frustrating, the best thing to do is laugh it off and chalk it up to having a real “Ghanaian” experience.

As for some other advice on traveling and living in Ghana, I will offer my personal thoughts on a few other areas.

Living conditions- The accommodations at the VPWA compound are by far the best, compared to other volunteers in Ghana. The electricity (most of the time), running water (albeit cold), and daily dinner are perks you will grow to appreciate. I did not mind having cold showers for nearly 2 months, because the weather was just so hot!         While traveling, most hostels that I stayed in were on the cheaper side, and usually had running water, but don’t be surprised if you are forced to take one or two bucket showers.

Food – Coming from a big city in the US, where you can get pretty much any cuisine you could possibly think of (including Ghanaian food), the food in Ghana may have been the biggest shock for me. Everything is cooked in palm oil, and excessive amounts of it. Dinners usually consist of some sort of rice or yams with an oily/tomato/spicy sauce, sometimes with chicken or goat. In my opinion, this food was good at first, but it got old kind of quickly. That being said, there are definitely great dishes that must be tried, including coco yam stew and red red with fried plantains. You may not like all of what they serve, but you must try it and find out for yourself.

People – The people in Ghana are extremely nice and outgoing. I was skeptical at first, because if you say hello to someone on the streets of Washington DC, they would either slap you or think you are crazy. However, you MUST greet people in Ghana, even with a simple “hello” or “how are you”, or you will be considered rude. Furthermore, if you need help or are lost, usually the locals are happy to help and love talking to you.

Health – Be prepared that at times you might feel sick. As long as you are conscious of what you eat and drink (no vegetables washed in dirty water!), you should be fine.

Keep an open mind and a sense of humor – This is by far the most important piece of advice!!! If you can laugh things off like being called an obruni (white person) 100 times a day and having a 5 hour bus ride take 9 hours, you will learn to look past the minor frustrations and enjoy your time in Ghana. 

Marlene, Austria

I spent nine weeks in Ghana this summer (2010) and it was a great experience!

Six of the nine weeks I was working for the Getty Childhood Academy not far away from Pokuase, our home. My main occupation was taking care of the younger children. I played with them and gave them a lot of attention. Another one of my duties and responsibilities was teaching the older children, mostly Mathematics and English. At the beginning the teaching was very hard for me, but I got used to it very easily and in the end it was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed working there, the children are awesome and I miss them a lot. Also the staff there is really great, Gertrude the headmistress is an inspiring woman who does great work!

Another two weeks I was working for the orphanage Hayford is building at the moment. Another volunteer and me, visited children who were possible candidates for the orphanage and their caretakers. It was a hard job because we saw really poor children with very sad stories. But it was nice walking through the small villages, talking with the elders and other people and to see how people live there. So we got a very good insight in the Ghanaian way of life. In the end we chose ten children for the orphanage and another twenty who should get a sponsorship.

Then I did one week of traveling.  I went with two other girls northbound to see the Mole National park. It’s a huge area with many animals to be seen, at least if you’re lucky. And we were very lucky! We saw monkeys, antelopes, warthogs and most impressively elephants. It was amazing to see these huge and powerful animals in the free nature. We even saw them swimming in a water hole, fantastic experience! On our way north we also saw the cities Kumasi and Tamale and the Lake Bosomtwi near Kumasi.

Even on the weekends we had a lot of time to travel. I drove to the Volta region to see the amazing waterfalls and a monkey sanctuary, I visited Cape Coast and Elmira, two villages next to the sea which are famous for their slavery castles and did a lot of trips in and near Accra. All in all there is a lot to see and I can only recommend to travel around while your stay!

One last thing I can tell you is not to be too nervous. No question, it’s an adventure, but people in Ghana are very friendly and helpful. I never felt unsafe or had a critical situation. In addition Hayford is a great help, he is very supportive and you can come to him with any problem that should occur. Volunteering is a wonderful opportunity to do something valuable and to get to know a country which is so different to our own.