COUNTRY: Ghana
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Care work
WRITTEN BY: Sophie Bisset
Week one complete!
From day one we knew we were in for an adventure, a legitimately bumpy ride, and a whole lot of laughs. We stepped off the plane and into the heat and humidity of Ghanaian life, full of colour and noise.
Our first few days in Ghana were a whirlwind of lessons on the country, trying new foods, getting used to having a few near-death experiences everyday due to the bumps, holes and lack of speed limits on the roads and hoping Jess would never stop making us laugh at anything and everything. So far, we've mastered the art of buying things off people's heads, saying no to people who try and pull us into their shop, telling us that their goods are different to the persons next door and whether to trust the things we buy out Tro Tro windows.
From Accra, we moved to Swedru, to our placements in Tina's Orphanage and Helping Hands. The moment we drove up the road to Tina's we were greeted by the faces of 27 smiling, laughing and excited kids, singing a song to welcome us to their home and thanking us for helping them. The same goes for Helping Hands, we got out of the car and kids were clinging to us, asking us what our names were, asking us what their names were, and if they could play with our hair (even if we said no they'd do it anyway).
Maddie and Robyn went back to Tina's, and Kiya, Jess and I stayed at Helping Hands with Gladys and 44 kids aged from fourteen months, to fourteen years old. Our days are a mix of washing clothes and dishes, tidying rooms, and playing with the kids. After three days, we knew we were going to have so much fun with these kids, it's going to be hard work, but such an incredible experience.
For the weekend we went on a two hour Tro Tro ride to Cape Coast, to Kakum National Park where we walked 40 metres above the jungle on quite a wobbly bridge (a beautiful yet terrifying experience). After that, to a Monkey Sanctuary owned by a Dutch couple where we got up close and personal with very sweet monkeys. And finally to beach to lie on. While we enjoyed the weekend of relaxing, we're all keen to get back to the kids and into the work we came to do.
In five words, our first week in Ghana was hectic, overwhelming, sweaty, random but amazing.
Love from,
The Girls in Ghana
(Robyn, Kiya, Maddie, Jess and Sophie)
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