Author: Alexandria David
Placement: 2 months at placement 071
Period:
May 2006 - July 2006
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Hello my name is Alexandria, my friend Tiffany and I traveled to Ghana May 2006 to volunteer for this project. There were many volunteer options we had contemplated however, after corressponding with Michael (director), we had decided here was exactly what we were looking for. Upon arriving in Ghana we were met at the airport by Michael and Godfred where we recieved a warm welcome. For the first few days we stayed with a host "mama" in Accra city. She was very kind and made us feel very comfortable in her home. We were both very surprised at the size of Accra. Despite the large city atmosphere people were incredibly friendly. We always found ourselves in good company and found Michael and Fred to be very good tour guides. There were so many amazing sites in the city its hard to translate my experience into words. In short it was amazing! We soon left the city for a hospital in a small city three hours east of Accra. The cab ride was filled with incredible scenery. Onced we arrived we were taken care of by our host Bukari who worked at the hospital. We stayed one night in town where we met many local people who were very eager to have their photos taken. I actually got taken house to house for 30 minutes so I could photograph all the families. I would then show them my digital screen and they would laugh. It was really touching how quickly people accepted you and how willing they were to care for you. The hospital was run by a Father superior and the reverend brothers. The accomodations were really nice as well as the staff. Tiffany and I had to leave early due to a family emergency, we are hoping to continue our volunteer services at another time. I was very satisfied with my choice. They provided a unique volunteer experinece in that we were not dragged around with a group of people sight seeing.
I feel that I really got to experience Ghana on a more personal level. I only hope that others will have the chance to visit this beautiful country. Please contact me if you would like further information regarding this project or to hear more about the trip.
Alexandria David science_alex_david@yahoo.com