Ghana - Elmina 2002
As a third year medical student at Edinburgh University I only had a month for my Easter hols. I found Global Volunteer Network on the Internet and it sounded ideal... and just what i wanted to do. I really had my heart set on teaching, since the previous summer I'd been doing vol work building a nursery school in Tanzania (east Africa) but not really getting the opportunity to really teach the kids because I was busy laying bricks and painting walls! Ultimately, I just wanted the chance to discover how Ghanaians live, what's different (I was sure we had a lot of things that we could teach each other). Ghana was ideal because there wasn't the language barrier to overcome (unlike Tanzania). The educated Ghanaian generally speak English plus his regional dialect (one of the 46) which his area is fluent in.

I had a vague idea of what mayhem to expect after last summer's experience, and I was not disappointed! Africa is SO LAIDBACK, which is great, because you just end up so chilled and relaxed by the end of the project you don't want to return home. For example, a bus leaves not at a certain time, but "when it's full!" A meeting starts not at a set time but with the African logic... "When everyone arrives". This can be a pain at times but was ultimately refreshing. Whilst the developed world seems to be a slave of time, always in a rush with something to stress about, the Africans have the right idea being unrestrained by time...they call the shots.

I didn't have much detail to go on before I left for Ghana, all I knew was that I was going to a coastal village 2 1/2 hrs from Accra, teaching whatever subjects I knew. After an overnight stop in Accra, I was dropped at the small fishing village of Elmina armed with lots of things for the school, much enthusiasm, a few sweat patches and plenty of nerves and excitement!

The owner of the school (which takes kids from ages kindergarten through to high school leavers) also owned a small budget hotel in the village which was to be where me and my friend/co-teacher/traveller Emma were to stay. It was really great accommodation. I was all prepared for living in a shack, and we were given a big room to share with our own shower (to share with the insects and mozzis) and toilet.

I had squeezed all sorts of goodies out of generous drug companies and local organisations such as the big Murray field rugby stadium who gave me loads of mini rugby balls and posters of the Scotland rugby side (ok, so no else wants those, but the kids loved them!) So, with pens, paper, rugby balls (I didn't actually know the proper rules so these kids now play some poor warped version of rugby!) I was all ready to go (sweating like Pavaroti in a night club-this place is hot everyone, be prepared!)

The school was 5min walk away. I remember being quite nervous on the 1st day trundling up to the school with all these kids following behind shouting 'brunee' (later discovered this to mean white person...but not in a rude way!) Everyone was expecting us, and we got a very warm welcome, with hundreds of introductions to the various teachers, and classrooms of kids who were all howling and screaming like they'd just won the world cup! The school was pretty big, classes ranged from 30-50 kids and they went from ages 3 right up to 16 (plus older ones who were repeating years, which was v common there). Bear in mind that these were the fortunate kids whose parents could send them to school rather than to the farm to earn their keep.

The Headmaster (whom we were privileged to be able to call Uncle Albert) was a very wise old African guy who really appreciated the value and importance of educating the children of Ghana, and he was so lovely to us. He explained that since we were only to be there for a month, primarily he wanted the kids to just hear how we pronounce words, asking us to talk to them as much as possible (not a prob for me since I could talk for Britain!)...but primarily on topics of British culture. We were given a list of things to prepare lessons on....our family, home town, British education, food, housing, geography of UK, healthcare, transport, communication etc. This was when I realised and appreciated how useful all the photos of home, leaflets, old newspapers, coins, Walkman, etc would be. Everything was new to the kids and they were so hungry for pictures and things to look at. I had brought stickers with me to encourage the kids to contribute in class...these were loved (a good tip!)

So, that's how the teaching all began. Along side the 'English Culture lessons' (as we called them) I helped out with English grammar lessons (I recommend swotting up b4 leaving) and Science classes since this was my field. The school system is very similar to the UK, they do similar subjects...maths, science, environmental studies, moral education, PE etc. The striking difference I noticed in Ghana was that they didn't have the teaching resources to back it all up. The kids had exercise books (if they could afford to buy them), they sat on old plastic garden chairs, there was a black board, and a few textbooks to sparsely share around the class and a teacher if they were lucky! It was something of a challenge trying to teach science without a Bunsen burner or even a mirror to demonstrate reflection. The voluntary teaching in Ghana definitely requires a lot of improvisation and, well, just being resourceful basically. I would encourage you to take stuff out eg pens, paper, old school textbooks, as i did because they'd so appreciate it all.

The kids were brilliant, so enthusiastic, all the teachers friendly and the village was fascinating and beautiful. By living their for a month, you really got to make friends with the locals, and once you learnt a bit of the local language, they loved it when you chatted walking through the streets. Ghana is a very sociable country-as soon as the sun rises everyone is up and out in the streets selling their goods...fruit, biscuits, hankies, buckets whilst gossiping about what's happening in the village. Goats and chickens too socialise in the streets (and school classrooms). People and animals were occasionally shooed out of the road by a passing car (the driver with one hand casually steering whilst the other constantly beeps his horn to get people out of the road). Roads in Ghana are for the people, not the vehicles (which are everywhere!)...a stark contrast to the UK where you'd often get run down if you didn't use the zebra crossing!

Our spare time was filled with fun. We went to the play volley/footy on the beach with the locals, attended (and danced badly at the huge Easter weekend parties, we received a warm welcome at the beautiful catholic church each Sunday, visited the amazing Kakum National Park, giggled at the peculiar ostriches on a farm. Elmina and Cape Coast Castle were fascinating, the stories of the shocking slave trade that took place there is really moving. On a lighter note, the women in the hotel even kitted us out with our very own traditional Ghanaian outfit (we looked ridiculous, but they thought it was great!)

I went to Ghana with no real idea of what I was letting myself in for. Having no teaching experience, I was obviously a little apprehensive, but it was the best month of my life. Enthusiasm, friendliness and a big smile will get you everywhere in Ghana. Seeing such a different way of life was a real eye opener for me, and meeting a culture with not a lot in the materialistic sense, but such a joy for life, was really inspiring. I find myself day dreaming about my wonderful days in Elmina, and I will most definitely return as soon as my studies allow. I loved every minute of Ghana and would recommend it (and am) to everyone as an awesome experience! I like to think that the kids enjoyed our visit as much as myself and Emma did. Thanks to Colin at Global Volunteer Network, and Eric at (GVN's Partner) for giving me the opportunity.

Kim Rollinson
Edinburgh University