COUNTRY: Ghana
PROGRAM: UniBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Health
WRITTEN BY: Eloise Davidson
Our last week has gone by in a blink of an eye it seems. On the weekend all of us girls headed down to Winneba to enjoy some beach… the day it was actually stormy and overcast. Travellers tip: check out Summerland vegetarian café for some awesome Ghanaian food and juices. Whilst we were enjoying the glorious weather. Maddy and Alex were sauntering about Accra enjoying the finest steaks at Cuzzi Bros and exploring more of the market.
Monday came and then Laura and Isobel began their project of painting their classroom whilst Alex, Madeleine and I got our donations ready. Our last three days were spent again on the hospital wards seeing different cases present themselves and the nursing characteristics of Ghana to go with it.
Monday and Tuesday were intense days for Isobel and Laura; both painting days were kicked off at 8am and on Tuesday they didn’t get home till 7pm. They were not leaving until those walls were full of colour and the room walls dust free! Luckily, the students and some other local children insisted upon “helping” the girls clean up the dust and paint. Apologies had to be made to the teachers when multiple mini handprints were found on the schools outside walls… thanks kids.
However, nobody cared about the rogue paint because all the staff could not get over the animal illustrations on the walls (Thank you Alex and Laura) and the brand spanking new whiteboard.
Laura and Isobel
Our days at Calvary Methodist School were full on and really tested our university taught behaviour management techniques. We couldn’t have done it without each other – by the end of our placement we’d nailed the “good cop” “bad cop” routine. Our days were divided up by three sessions which we decided to split up between the two of us. We struggled through teaching religion, managed with natural science, breezed through maths, had a laugh in English, and managed to incorporate singing or drawing into every lesson.
The kids went crazy over the white paper and coloured pencils we bought them. During our placement there were some amazing days where we saw the students really connect with our teaching and take everything in, there were also days we got home and crashed, but every day we cherished our time with these amazing kids. Each and every one of the students brought something different to the table, and each and every student made us laugh and smile until our cheeks went numb. We left with very heavy hearts and promises to ourselves that we would return soon.
The female ward I will miss the most, my mentor Linda was the most lovely 'ombibini' to be around. Between both of us we taught the first year students how to take accurate vital signs, get an IV set up, remove cannulas, wash and reapply wound dressings and how to correctly document patient case notes and care plans. They were thrilled with the amount we were able to give the female ward. Whilst it may not seem like a lot it will go far and today improved tenfold using tourniquet instead of IV lines.
In paediatrics were Alex and Madeleine; who started the week off with the donation presentation with the doctor and matron. They spent the next two days spending quality time with the inpatients and decorating the ward with pictures, postings and colourful streamers for the children.
Nicola
I’ve been teaching at Central Lyceum School based at the local ICGC church and I’ve very much become part of their little community. At first I was quite overwhelmed teaching a class of four and five year olds on my own but quickly figured out that drawing time was also a big hit with my kids. The school was quite small so I got to know pretty all the kids there which was great. The teachers were also all so helpful which made the 7 hour day manageable.
I was also lucky enough to be able to experience one of the church services at the school. It was quite funny showing up at the church and recognising a lot of the faces after being there for three weeks. Meeting some of the school children’s parents was awesome!
As Wednesday crept up on us it was time to say our goodbyes. With tears in our eyes we said goodbye to our lovely staff and made the journey to the orphanage. The orphanage was more than we expected I presented my donation to the orphanage which I’m hoping will help the kids with their learning. We had lots of cuddles, plenty of pictures and stayed till it was time to say goodbye. Some of us were lucky enough to receive letters and pictures from some of the boys there.
On Thursday morning we left Swedru in our rear-view for the last time and road-tripped to Accra to spend our final night together at Big Millis before we go our separate ways.
First we say goodbye to Madeleine and Alex who are off on safaris lucky girls, Laura and I were second to leave for a week in Thailand (woohoo) and Isobel and Nicola make the trek back home to good ol’ Australia. Ghana has been then the most incredible experience for all of us, it’s amazing how some people live (no, none of us are white able to carry things on our head)! But we hope to be back sometime in the near future.
Till next time,
The January Ghana Group!
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