Konko Zone

As my time in Ghana came to a close, I can't help but feel sad at what I'm leaving behind. The experience has been one that I will never forget and the memories I have made will last me a lifetime and hopefully inspire others to do something similiar. Africa is a beautifull, vibrant, musical and joyful country which is sometimes not shown as fairly as it should in our media. Yes there is poverty and suffering, and many many orphan children due to AIDS, death or any other circumstance but more often than not these people were the ones that would offer me a seat, a meal or even somewhere to sleep. They were the ones making the most out of life, and not merely the things they have in it or dwelling on the lack of things. They had nothing, but would always greet me with kindness and warmth. The joy they had was in life and play. In the music and dancing. There is a lot to be said for the way many people I have met here live their lives. Speaking with a 6 year old girl at the orphanage were I worked about how she lost her mother to AIDS, and had never known her father. And how she was concerned that she might die, absolutely broke my heart. That is something no child should have to think about or really even know about and never be worried about. The words like, 'putting things in perspective' come into play when things like that happen. I can only hope that the small time I spent with the school and other projects I was involved in was useful to the people around me. Ghana has certainly been good to me and I can't recommend it enough to other people. The work is tough, the hours long and the weather (well, at least for a lad from Scotland) extreme, make it is an experience you will never forget, but the emotional rewards are well worth any sweat and tears they may have caused.

Posted by Kevin Feb. 1 2009

Jeff was the organiser of the charity in Ghana and helped us with everything! On the first night we stayed with his family in Accra before we took the bus to the village the next day. They were very hospitable and not only cooked for us but his sisters took us for a night out in Accra. The bus journey to the village took about 2 hours and even though the three of us didn’t pack light we were able to fit our luggage onto the bus. Once in the village Jeff introduced us to the teachers in the school and very briefly told us what he wanted us to do. We are quite resourceful and as we are trained teachers could see what kinds of lessons would benefit the children but for an inexperienced volunteer this could be quite daunting. The village was very self sufficient but one of the things needed were resources and training for the teachers. The teachers there were not all trained and found it difficult to provide exciting and inclusive lessons for a group of 40 children of all mixed age groups. Jeff introduced us to people in the village who included us in everything – from church to the Easter celebrations and we even got to meet the chief of the village! He cooked our meals too (although we did insist that we would!) and was our guide when we went to the cape coast for a few days.The children in the village were great! They were well behaved and were enthusiastic about any task. They absorbed the instructions quickly and soon learnt the songs we taught and simple English phrases and words. They loved doing arts and crafts and this was a great way for them to have fun and learn English. The accommodation was very comfortable. We had a hut with two rooms. We shared a toilet with the house next door. I wouldn’t say the accommodation was basic. There was no electricity but we had comfortable beds with mattresses, a toilet hut with seat, a separate shower cubicle and a spacious cooking area. When we weren’t at school we spent our time with the children in the village. Jeff organised football and we played and chatted with the children sometimes helping with homework. Overall a great experience and one I would love to do again. Thanks for sending me on it.

Posted by Anne April 20 2009