Volunteering in street children Project in Ghana Field report

travel arrangements

Now I would like to tell you about my time in Ghana: I lived in Accra for 6 weeks and worked in the street children project there. In the time leading up to my departure, I mainly took care of my health care (vaccinations and tablets against tropical diseases) and read the pages about the country, culture, history and language in my travel guide - and of course I was also very excited about what to expect would.

Arrival in Ghana

And then I was already on the plane…. The first week after my arrival, I was picked up as promised (almost on time) and was able to sleep with Mama Mina for the first two nights. It was pretty difficult for me to settle in in the first week because it's just completely different from Germany - I knew that beforehand, of course, but once you're actually there you have to get used to everything first.

Although we did really interesting things (tours of the city, drumming, cooking,...) I hadn't quite got there yet. But after spending the first night with the host family and getting to know my project, I felt much better and almost at home!

The street children project: The best choice!

The street children project takes place directly in Mama Mina's garden and is mainly designed and kept alive by the volunteers. The children are divided into four classes and then taught math and English. During the breaks we prepared tasks for the children and of course we played with them - it's really amazing how inventive the children are and what simple games they can play for hours. For example, I learned a hopping and clapping game from the girls, which every child in Ghana seems to know and which is really funny! After class there was lunch for the children and then they went home around 13pm.

The street children project was really perfect for me and I couldn't have made a better choice!

My host family

I stayed at Mama Grace's place during my stay, about 5 minutes from Mama Mina. That was very practical, since I got breakfast and dinner from her and my project was right there. Mama Grace is a very nice elderly woman and when I was there she had one of her daughters and her granddaughter Mame Yaa staying in her house. I shared my room with another volunteer - we had a huge double bed, a small chest of drawers and luckily a fan. Mame Yaa used to come visit us in our room when we were there and talk to us - she's awesome!

The bathroom is also very clean at Mama Grace's (which is not a matter of course in Ghana), but there is no running water. But that's not too bad and no need to worry, you get used to it very quickly! All in all, I was very satisfied with my host family and it couldn't have been better here either!

Excursions and leisure activities

During the week (Monday to Thursday) we often visited the Art Market, the Kaneshie Market or the Osu Mall in the afternoon to stock up on souvenirs (at the markets) or to eat frozen yoghurt. Sometimes you just sat in Mama Mina's garden and spent the afternoon eating pineapple and talking.

On the weekends we went to the most beautiful corners of Ghana with the Trotro: I especially like Cape Coast (Kakum National Park, Cape Coast Castle and the Oasis Hotel there), Ada Foah (beautiful fishing village between the Volta River and the sea - a paradise !) and the Volta Region (the hike to Wli Waterfalls and the Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary)!

On my last weekend, however, the greatest trip of all was planned: A trip to the north! The coach took us 12 hours to Tamale, from there we took a Trotro another 2 hours to Larabanga and then another 30 minutes to Mole National Park. But the drive was worth it and wasn't as bad as it sounds. We did a total of 4 safaris there - one walking, one by jeep, one by canoe and a night safari and we saw lots of antelope, warthogs and monkeys including a giant monkey. The whole thing is definitely worth the trip and well worth it!

Tips and things to know in advance

Here I want to share a few things that you should know in advance and that I consider to be very useful:

Smarthpone

When I was in Ghana I left my smartphone at home because I figured there would almost never be electricity and so it wasn't worth it - but in hindsight I would say it's worth it because power outages are now too are not that common again and you can simply have an old spare cell phone with a longer battery life with you. The mobile internet network is really good in Ghana and such a smartphone makes communication back home a lot easier!

power outages

But if the power fails, you should have a really bright flashlight. Without electricity it is pitch black and in the summer months the sun sets in the evenings between 18 p.m. and 18.30 p.m.

fruit peeler

In addition, I would have found a fruit peeler to be very useful, because it is better to avoid eating apples with their skins on, especially at the beginning.

backpack

For excursions, it is advisable to have a backpack that fits everything you need at the weekend, because it is often very difficult to get through the crowds at the Trotro stations with several pieces of luggage.

German mobile phone card

It would also have been very good for me to take my German mobile phone card with me to remind Mama Mina that I am at the airport and would like to be picked up.

Leave unnecessary things at home

Personally, I definitely had too much stuff with me that I ended up not needing: Speaking only for myself, I definitely carried too much sunscreen, sanitizer, and clothes (I actually only have the small bottles of hand sanitizer needed!). In the end, I could have used the space in my suitcase for the unbelievable number of souvenirs – there are just sooo many beautiful things there!

Travel guide for excursions

You should definitely have a travel guide for planning excursions: I had Bradt's, it's in English and almost without pictures, but I found it very good!

Favors

When it comes to gifts (for, in my case, the street children), there should be as many small things as possible that all look the same (balloons, adhesive tattoos, toothbrushes, stickers, caps,...), because the children can be very jealous , if one gets something different than the other!

In retrospect, I think things like homemade jam, honey or something from the city you come from (cup, ...) are best as gifts for guests - body care products such as shower gel are not so ideal for a host family with a bucket shower...

Set to other culture

In general, you should keep in mind that Ghana is never really clean (I was looking forward to a shower the most!), intestinal problems are the order of the day and that Ghanaians are much more relaxed about punctuality and reliability.

Conclusion of my volunteer work in Ghana

But such a voluntary service is simply a great thing that I would definitely do again. You get used to everything and afterwards you almost don't want to leave. Ghana is a great country and the people there are very open-minded and friendly (sometimes a bit too friendly – ​​you certainly wouldn’t get that many marriage proposals in one day in Germany!).

I really enjoyed my time in Ghana, even if it wasn't always easy - but overcoming difficult situations is what you remember most afterwards. I experienced incredibly great things and gained experiences that I could never have had in Germany!

Volunteering in street children Project in Ghana Field report by Swenja G.