Primary Volunteer in Ghana field report

Make sense to spend the holidays with volunteer work

During my summer holidays I wanted to do something meaningful, so I decided to go abroad for 4 weeks to work on a project. After some research I came across the organization RGV. The preparation and planning of my stay abroad went smoothly and all of my questions were answered by the organization as quickly as possible.

Mama Mina & introductory week

I was immediately picked up at the airport and brought to Mama Mina. When I got there I was warmly welcomed by her and got to know the other participants. The introductory week began the next day. There we were shown the city, we learned how to wash our laundry by hand, there was a drumming course on the beach and we were given a Ghanaian SIM card. After that week I joined my host family and started volunteering at the elementary school.

My motley patchwork family

My host parents, Mama Sophia and Daddy Georg, gave me a very warm welcome and I soon grew very fond of them. They took me straight into their "family" and I immediately felt like I belonged. My host family there consisted of 2 Ghanaian volunteers, 2 English volunteers, always at least 2 grandchildren, 2 domestic workers, a woman from Nigeria with her children, myself and another German volunteer. That means there was always something going on and it never got boring. If you needed some time for yourself, you could go to your room.

Everyone was warm!

The people of Ghana are very friendly. This also became clear in elementary school: the children were always happy to see me and approached me directly. The teachers were happy to engage me in conversations and made many suggestions as to what we could do together after school. During school I helped the children in class, corrected their homework and was even allowed to teach.

Weekend trips with other participants

On the weekends we had time to travel the country with other participants, which was always very nice. We also went to the Art Market together or met for ice cream.

My conclusion to Ghana: Absolutely recommendable!

Ghana was a very nice experience and I was really sad when I had to go home, although I have to admit that I was also looking forward to a warm shower. I can recommend volunteer work like this to everyone! You experience so many beautiful things and at the same time finally learn to appreciate the German standard.

Primary Volunteer in Ghana Review by Patricia T., 15.09.2015