MI-010 - Volunteering Holiday in Ghana

Before I get going...?

We had a great time, didn't get ill (much) and I like to think that we did some good things, and that we will continue to do more in the near future. I guess the most important thing I learnt was that things do not often work out how you expected, and things are often do not go how you think they will...

I have just got the photos sorted out, have imported all the video but not edited it yet - there is some great stuff - I just have not had time to sit down and edit all yet - things have just been crazy since I have been back. But I will get some vids up on YouTube as soon as I get some stuff done and add links here, but i think it will be a little while off yet. I have been trying to figure out a cool "lightbox" effect, but I just can't get it together, so clicking pictures will open them in a new window.

I'm not sure where to start...

So I will start in London... We had raised quite a bit of money (about £2000, $4000) from the generous donation from the good viewers of justinguitar.com and from many of my friends and private students that gave us things to take. I think I distributed it well, I will add some more info on exactly where it all went after I have done the main story part, because as of now it is unfinished.

I had to move out from my old studio and flat before I left so it was very manic and rushing around something crazy...

So we started buying things that we thought they might need there - LOTS of medical supplies, toys, art stuff and musical instruments. The first challenge was getting it all in the suitcases, we got there in the end but had to leave out quite a few toys that people had given us as we just ran out of space and suitcases!!

We left on Dec 21st from Heathrow airport. The plane was delayed by about 6 hours so there was a lot of hanging around and we felt pretty tired by the time we left. The flight was uneventful, but it was our first experience being the white minority, something that we had to get used to, we were often the only whiteys around anywhere, not that it was ever a problem... well not in the ways you would think...

Arrival...

We arrived in Accra at around midnight and the volunteer coordinator, Gunadiish, met us at the airport, and suggested that we go straight to the village in a taxi. We had heard that traveling at night was a bad idea and we were tired so we stayed at his house the first night. In hindsight I am a bit grumpy that he wanted us to travel at night, but at the time we were just tired and wanted to go to bed.

Gunadiish's flat was nice, small but well equip and we stayed our first under the safety of a mosquito net for the first time. The next morning we went for a little walk around the area he lived in, Dansoman Estate. We had our first taste of being white and having people stare, but it was not an issue, I guess people were just curious. We went to the cash exchange point, got some local currency and then jumped in a cab for the 3-4 hour drive to Kpando, where we would stay and work.

Typical suburban street in Accra.

That first drive introduced us to a few things. Driving though Accra was quite an experience, very busy roads, people everywhere, really busy city. Life is on the street, the majority of the traders have their good on display on the street, not inside shops and there were people everywhere with the wears balanced on their heads. It was a lot busier than I expected, almost a bit like New York for the hustle and bustle!! The open sewers were quite a shock, something common to most cities we went. Basically beside many main streets was a 2-3' gutter where all waste water went! The powerful odor is something that stays with you, it really turned our stomachs, but really it is nothing, and something we got used to, but the first sniff, whooh...

Once out of the city we encountered the pot hole filled roads, and the crazy tro-tro's. Many of the roads we traveled on were full of quite deep holes, up to about half a foot deep, and people just swerve all over the roads to avoid them, quite scary and a shock when you suddenly lurch over to the wrong side of the road. Our driver for the trips to and from Accra, Chris, was great though, and drove very well, and was a really nice guy.

We did feel pretty unprepared. We had been told that we would have a talk about what we would be doing but it never happened. At that point we were just open to whatever. We had NO idea what to expect at all. I think that the volunteer experience is about the unknown, but some more orientation from Gunadiish would have made those first steps a little easier, and possibly helped us find our "direction" more quickly.

We passed through small villages with mud huts and through more affluent (relatively) areas where there were some nice houses. It was a shock the first time that we saw a village of mud houses with thatched roofs. The majority of places had brick built buildings too, but many of the dwellings were just made of mud bricks. There was often no paving or concrete floors and it was strange to see people sweeping the dirt! They of course were cleaning away leaves and rubbish, but the first time I saw it I thought it a little strange! Many of the villages seemed very peaceful places and the people really cared about their village life. Many people we met were very proud of their basic homes, something that I felt was fantastic, and we were often invited inside to check out the way that people lived.

A typical mud hut in a village.

 

Arriving at the orphanage in Kpando

Kpando main street.

When we first arrived in Kpando I was a surprised at the size of the town. It is pretty big, although no-one could give me a population estimate! I would guess about 5,000 people, but I could be way out. Like Accra, the shops and people are all on the streets, the majority of the cars you see are taxis - and they all have the yellow side panels and you can see in the photo. They range from quite nice, to falling apart and we were lucky to find a great taxi driver for all of our trips around Kpando, a guy called Fo Fo, who you will meet later ;)

We drove down a main road, past petrol stations and shops, turned off onto a dirt road, full of huge pot holes, followed that a while and then ended up tuning off again, past some small houses and ended up at a large white building with a big fence, kind of colonial looking, the gate opened and some excited kids came running out to greet us. Our journey had begun!

The kids all ran out, opened the gate to the compound and we drove in. They helped us up to our room and we took a few minutes to collect our thoughts. We had electricity! big smiles. We were not told if we would have access to electricity or not and we were very glad we did. The bed was a large double and quite comfortable, and had a mosquito net hanging over the bed. There was also a large (locked) cupboard, and an electric fan. It was basic, but clean and comfortable. There was a bathroom down the hall - with a toilet and bath and shower, that was also a pleasant surprise, although they did not work all the time, only when we had running water, which was about a quarter of our stay, so not bad at all.

Meet the family!

There were 6 boys in the orphanage when we arrived. One got sent home just before we left, and was replaced by two twins the day after we left! There were plenty more great people that we met on the way that I will introduce as we go on!

	Mama Esi Mama runs and owns the orphanage She also cooked for us the whole time we were there and really did a great job of earning money to feed everyone. She kept pretty good order in the house and the kids respected her, tough but kind. She was always helpful and did her best to make us feel welcome and comfortable and made our stay with her a really fab experience. :)
	Wisdom Wisdom is the eldest boy and spoke the best English of all the children. He did a lot of errands for Mama and was very responsible and well behaved. Really good kid. We are sponsoring his education now at The Delta Preparatory School, the best private school in Kpando. When he grows up he would like to be a pilot, and I really hope he can realise his dream. His younger brother, Love, is also at the orphanage
	Komola Komola was great laugh, always smiling and dancing and loved music. Wants to be a preacher when he grows up and he certainly has the personality for it! He also spoke some English and was really good fun and was always keen to help. He liked to play the harmonica and before he was taken to the orphanage he was traveling with musicians, helping then set up things. He studied hard and has a sponsor from Denmark (a previous volunteer) who pays his schooling at Delta. He was the "Jenga" champion, he beat us all!
	Matthew Matthew was a nice but naughty boy. He did not speak English, or the local dialect and was not happy at the home. His mother was still alive but could not cope with him, and was very ill. He left the day before we did, but we did not hang out much, he was too badly behaved and so as punishment we excluded him from some activities. I felt he had a good heart but was struggling because he did not understand much, even from Mama, as she did not speak his language either. I hope he does ok...
	Mowli Mowli was also a little naughty but improved a lot during our stay. I think all he needed was a little attention. We think he has ADD, he could not concentrate for longer than a few minutes, but by then end our trip he was enjoying paining and drawing and was a lot better behaved than when we arrived. His mom was a drug addict and we think maybe that may have effected his head. He loved the bouncy ball and was smiling lots by the time we left.
	George George is a really cool kid. Well behaved and nearly always seemed happy. He loved drawing and painting and always wanted to hold your hand. He did one really cool picture with chalk, quite and artist for someone so young. He didn't speak much English, but understood more that he let on!
	Love Love is Wisdom younger brother. When we arrived he never smiled at all, seemed really down and when we left he was running up to us with his arms reaching for the sky demanding to be tickled :) I really felt that we made a difference to him. Pretty well behaved and loved being picked up and swung around, I think he just needed attention. I found his name a little odd when we first heard it but we got used to the strange religious undertones that effect most of Ghana. He is too young for school, but we intend on sponsoring him when he is old enough.

 

Activities

There were not any pre-defined things for us to do so we were glad that we bought along some toys and things to do.

 

THIS REMAINS UNFINISHED....
I will get more done asap, there is so much to tell, and so little time at the moment, getting the rest of this site finished!!

There are more pictures on my myspace - click the pics link under my photo at the top. But I will get a lot more here really soon.