General Impression
Overall Rating: / 10
I spent three amazing weeks in Ghana; it was my first time volunteering abroad and what an unforgettable experience it was. I travelled to Ghana with a friend and we stayed with Sally and Nana whom are wonderful, they made us both feel very welcome and contributed greatly to the amazing experience we both had. We stayed with Sally and Nana in Kumasi which is about 4 hours from Accra. We travelled from Accra to Kumasi by coach the following day after we had landed. However just to mention I believe there is an alternative route by air. The journey to Kumasi wasn’t at all bad as the coach we travelled on was air conditioned with comfortable seats and had a television so we couldn’t complain.My friend and I both volunteered in a local Orphanage which we spent most of our days, we volunteered at the care center from Monday to Friday for three weeks. Our time at the Orphanage was mostly spent playing with the babies and young children as well as chilling with the older kids. Our time with the children was very heart warming as we could tell that they loved spending time with us and would greet us with big hugs and always wanted to entertain us. The children and young people in Ghana who we were fortunate to meet all are such lovely, talented individuals; they don’t have much yet not a day goes by that we were there, that they were not smiling. My experience at the project also included supporting the class teacher to teach the children, supporting them with their literacy and numeracy.
The children also taught us many African dance moves as well as introduce us to their favorite afro-beats (type of music) which by the end of the trip I knew most of the words to the songs. I had a lot of fun with the children and young people as well as taking an interest to hear about their stories.
Ghana is such a lovely country and I would highly recommend traveling there to volunteers looking to experience African culture. The local people are all friendly and are willing to help you if you find yourself lost, this can be the case especially if you visit Kumasi market (the big market). The food in Ghana is also lovely, the meals often contain rice, plantain, yam, fufu, chicken and fish just to name a few; however each day you will often be provided with a different dish or get the chance to go to a restaurant.
During my time in Ghana I also had the chance to visit other cities such as Cape Coast, Takoradi and of course Accra as this is where flights land in Ghana from England. Sally and Nana also helped me and my friend to arrange these weekend visits and advised us on other activities that we could do to make our trip worthwhile.
I would definitely like to return to Ghana one day God willing and would like to also thank the Love Volunteers team who have supported me throughout the volunteering experience. I would also like to thank the team in Ghana for also taking care of me and my friend and making my experience in Ghana one that I won’t forget.