My volunteering at a school in Accra

At the beginning of August I flew to Ghana with a friend for 4 weeks. Arrived at the airport in Accra, our luggage was gone for the time being. Immediately everyone panicked, but thanks to the help of some Ghanaians, we knew what to do. Game also helped us immediately and drove with us 3 days later to pick up our bags. Arriving at the Student House, everyone was super nice and you felt welcome straight away. With the help of the other volunteers, you settled in very quickly and found your way around.

Work in the school in Ghana

We were in the school project and everyone there was very welcoming and the children always came over and hugged you. I fell in love with them all very quickly. We were really involved in the lesson right from the start. The two of us always had our own class and taught English and math.

School always started at 8 a.m. and ended at 13 p.m. The youngest were in preschool and the oldest in junior high school. Before class, all the children stood in the yard and prayed, which was very fascinating. It was so great how excited the children were to learn and after a short time they always came and asked if we would be in their class.

I noticed that everyone there is very enthusiastic about music, as soon as it came to singing and dancing, everyone was there immediately. During the break we always sat in the yard and all the children wanted to cuddle or play with us. The time there was definitely very formative and interesting.

Leisure activities in Ghana

Also on the weekends we have done a lot, you could take a lot and see from the beautiful nature to colorful markets and many lovely people.

As the first real trip we were in the Kakum National Park, so we drove to Cape Coast and stayed in a beautiful hotel right on the beach. In Kakum Park there were huge suspension bridges over the rainforest, so you walked right up from the treetops. An absolutely great experience.

The next weekend we went to Mole National Park for jungle safaris. First we drove almost 16 hours by coach to Tamale, but the journey was definitely worth it. On site we slept in an 8 bed dorm and went on 3 safaris. A lunch, a night and a canoe safari. We saw many animals up close, but my absolute highlight were the elephants.

The last and also most strenuous excursion was at the Boti Falls and at Umbrella Rock. We paddled a canoe directly to the waterfalls, the feeling was simply indescribable. Afterwards we took the path to Umbrella Rock with a guide, the tour should take 45 minutes there and back. However, our guide was quite quick and we walked the whole way in 20 minutes. We all looked like that. Despite the effort, it was definitely worth it, the view was beautiful.

My conclusion to 4 weeks Ghana

The 4 weeks flew by. Despite the short time, we all grew together like one big family. Saying goodbye was very difficult for me, but I was already looking forward to going home. I am very happy to have found such a great second home and to have had the opportunity to get to know so many wonderful people and such a great country.

I will all miss very much and hope that we will all meet again someday!

My volunteering at a school in Accra, by Lisa W., October 2018