Kasoa, Ghana 2014.

Why?

After the stressful 2013-2014 school year I had, I was looking for something to make me feel more alive- something to help me feel my purpose, to elevate my gratitude, to make a difference, and look at the world in a new lens. In my nature and as a teacher I have a strong care-taking instinct. I genuinely love to help others, give, and nurture. I felt like volunteering was calling my name, specifically with children, and even more specifically children in need, perhaps an orphanage? I thought to myself, "They could help me as much as I could help them." I had no idea how true this would be.

Within a few weeks of research, I decided that I would book my trip through International Volunteer HQ (IVHQ) and I would travel to Ghana working at one of their orphanage programs- Savior Children’s Foundation.

Before Trip: Vaccines.

I was excited- abroad on my own in Africa! This meant getting a lot of things ready. First things first- SHOTS! Don’t take this lightly, our immune system is not like the Ghanaians. Two roommates and I all caught a strain of Malaria- high fevers, shaking chills, and flu-like symptoms. One of those roommates and I also had a food borne illness simultaneously, and stomach problems for months. So, YES-as much as no one wants to take meds, take your meds! Prior to this trip, I had received my Hep B vaccine (Ladies, I know your doc recommends it, you may have turned it down, but check before you pay for a vaccine you already have… and Gents, I have no clue what happens at your “man” doctor so look it up) Any who!

You will need to get…​
  • Yellow fever vaccination (or you cannot enter the country)
Strongly encouraged are...
  • Hepatitis A vaccination (series)
  • Typhoid fever vaccination
  • Malaria pills (Many options: various daily, weekly, or monthly. I took the daily ones that aren’t affected by sunlight. The ones you take less often sound better, but have severe side effects and some have to be taken until 4 weeks after your trip)
Also recommended are...
  • Hepatitis B (series-This one most people get at their doctor.)
  • Meningitis 
  • Rabies

Before Trip: Packing.

Next- actually packing! I brought a medium-sized duffel, it wasn’t very big, but bigger than my typical traveling backpack. I was staying in Ghana 18 days, but only brought clothes for a week. I planned to wash my clothes and hang them with the kids when they did their laundry.

So packing included:
  • 7 shirts (tanks and tees)
  • 4 shorts (longer kind/athletic)
  • 2 skirts (a midi and a maxi; Guys, these both mean long)
  • 1 Light rain jacket
  • 18 undies (Didn’t want to hang my knickers for all to see)
  • 3 sports bras
  • 1 bra
  • 1 maxi dress
  • 1 Modest bathing suit
  • 5 pairs of socks
  • Tennis shoes
  • Sturdy/thick flip flops
  • 3-4 headbands and a 6-6 hair ties
  • Toiletries
  • Body wipes (Water isn’t guaranteed)
  • Journal
  • Cross body purse and wallet
  • Case of my favorite Cliff bars, White Macadameon
  • Digital camera
  • Headphones
  • Ear plugs (Lots of late preaching over large 90’s speakers, night fights upon animals)
  • Pocket knife
  • Duct tape
  • First Aid kit
  • Adapter
  • Melatonin

Before + During Trip: Fundraising!

Of course you plan to pack light, but I also fundraised money and had a clothes/school supplies drive for the orphanage before I went. It had an awesome turn out! It was truly amazing to see all the people donate and care about the children at Savior Children Foundation. We raised a total of $1,342 and every single penny went directly to the foundation.

Some amazing things the money went towards were:
  •  Wood and materials to build and paint cubbies for the orphanage (We decided this because clothes were always laying everywhere in the orphanage and we thought the ownership of their own space would be something special to them.)
  • Wood, screen and other materials to build doors in the orphanage separating the boys and girls sleeping areas. (Although there are many young children, the orphanage has many young teenagers as well.)
  • Tint roofing and large pieces of woods for new classrooms
  • Pesticides for termites (The kids had bites all over their back from school chairs without pesticide.)
  • Bath soap
  • Laundry soap
  • Handkerchiefs
  • Fabric for specific cultural clothing
  • Underwear
  • Rice
  • Chicken
  • Fresh fruits: pineapples, mangos, plantains, grapes (The kids love fruit, it is always special when they receive it because they are expensive.)
  • Orca
  • Ice Cream (special treat!)

So, I had lots of clothes, shoes, and school supplies to bring… which calls for a second duffel! So two duffel bags; one for donations and the other for me, including a backpack rolled up inside that duffel for the weekend.
You can see in the first photograph above how the children had their belongings in stacks next to their beds. Using donation money from friends and family, the kids now have large cubbies, as well as large bags to hold their things in their cubby! The last photograph is Appentag, aka Junior showing one of the cubbies off before painting it.

During Trip: IVHQ

Now a little about IVHQ. The program was great for me. I received airport transportation upon arrival, very friendly, had a sign, paperwork, and other volunteers being picked up. He drove us to the IVHQ Ghana volunteer house. This is where all volunteers met for orientation, go over cultural differences, learn a few phrases, met other volunteers, set up phones for international minutes cheap, sleep and then split up the next day based on our location and program. I found this orientation great because it gave you an opportunity to meet the contacts you are given if you have any questions prior or during your program, allowed you the opportunity to meet other volunteers and exchange contact info for travel on the weekends, and was a beginning transition into the Ghanaian culture. The IVHQ workers also hooked us up with different friends for transportation and accommodation. For example, a few volunteers met up and traveled to Cape Coast in Southwest Ghana. I had one of the IVHQ workers, Giedon’s number and told him the number of people who wanted to go and he set up a (tro-tro a.k.a a large van with row seats) to come get the volunteers from each locations, told us the time, and set up rooms for us in Cape Coast as well as tips for safety and where to go in the town.

During Trip: Savior Children Foundation

When we arrived to the orphanage, the children were in school. The school is on site with the orphanage, so the children came running up to greet us. The sweet smiles, welcomes, and hugs were all I needed to know this was right for me. The foundation itself consists of a large orphanage behind the owner Mr. Patrick’s house, a school –which consisted of six make shift classrooms, as well as an outdoor/shed-like kitchen. There were 44 children there at the time, but almost 200 children attend the school. The kitchen is for the school children’s lunch and the children of the orphanage’s breakfast and lunch. Mr. Patrick was a normal man, with a wife, two sons, and a preacher. One day he explained to me, before he started SCF he had a calling from god to help the poor children of Ghana. He said that he sat alone without food or water for a couple days thinking about this calling. He talked with his wife and decided to take in children who weren’t being taking care of…. Go to IVHQ website.