I am sorry I have not been in touch before now, but it is only because I have been having such an amazing time and everyday has been full. The family I am with (Phyllis and Wallace) have made their home mine and welcomed me into their family. I cannot believe it has been less than two weeks because I have met so many people, seen so many things and found myself so at home already. The children are amazing of course. Since I am not a teacher at home it is a welcome challenge for me and I have found that things come back to me from other times that I have worked with children. If your other placements experience even a fraction of the hospitality and friendship that I have so far, they will have a great experience.

I love Ghana and am positive that I will be back. For now I continue to embrace all of the opportunities and experience every moment of everyday.

Kim

Thanks for the letter! I do miss Ghana, my host family the most...they were great to me and so much fun. I'm travelling around europe for a bit before heading back to the states, so my vacation hasn't ended yet.

Feel free to give my email to inquiring volunteers and i'll definitely work on writing something up when I get back in early August.

Regards,

Kara"

I am now in Ghana and enjoying my time very much, though I have only been here a few days.

My placement will start tomorrow. This weekend Alicia and I and 3 volunteers from Australia (with another organization) who are staying in Akropong as well went to Ho in the Volta Region. It is nice to travel a bit.

Stephanie

All is well here on my front. I have been challenged in many ways personally, but in terms of your program and the arrangement with Mr. Arthur and Mr. Otu, I have no complaints. Please note that Mr. Otu's hosting has been excellent in every way and that his school should receive top priority for the placement of future volunteers.

Yours,
Adrian

Hi, Everything is fine over here! At the moment I am in Togo visiting some friends! I will be returning to Ghana on Monday, because the border will close due to elections over here!

I am here now almost two months and I am enjoying it very much. No difficulties what so ever! The people already want me to stay for more than a year! I think I want to stay one academic year!

My family will visit me in January. A group of 6 will come... I am really looking forward to that!

See you later!
Dennis

Hello, thanks for writing. I am finding everything just fine, although I do not start teaching until Monday, but that is okay. I am at a Kindergarten which ends up being good because I brought a lot of supplies (crayons, colored pencils, paper) that will be good for that age group.

Have to go but thank you for writing.

Bye,
Naomi

We are home from Africa and missing it already! We had a wonderful time and can't wait to go back. We started building the KVIP before we left Africa so I think it should be done now. We have never felt so excited about a project!

We asked the elders if they were interested in more volunteers in Tokokoe. They are very interested, but only when students are in class. The village is so special, so all I ask is that you send the best of the best volunteer applicants out there (hehe).

I hope everything is well at Global Volunteer Network. Thank you for having the initiative to start an volunteer organization that people can afford to do!

Cheers, we will be in touch soon!
Clare and Adam

Bluebells is a very nice school and the Gbedemal family is so great that I hope to visit them in the future.

Thank you for this unique experience.

All the best,
Julie

Thanks for checking on me, everything's fine here. I just had to travel almost two hours on a bus made to convince us all of our own mortality and walk through a market which, I'm convinced, is a sure candidate for Bombay and Calcutta's lovechild to email - explaining why I've taken so long to get back to you!

The school is great, I'm feeling Western guilt daily, coming from schools whining about not having IT labs, to here, where the kids don't all have chairs, or pencils. I can't believe how much trust they've put in my teaching ability, I hardly feel inspirational.

My host would do anything for me, he's also here now, he wants to learn to use email! Anyway, I have about a billion family and friends to contact now, so thanks again for all your help.

Laura

Thanks for the message. I have been having a wonderful in Ghana. The host family I am staying with have been so kind and welcoming to me. The teaching is really enjoyable too, all the children have been nothing but keen and interested in everything I do. So it is great, I only wish I had longer here. Thanks again for all your help organising the trip.

Regards,
Lucy"

"I am doing very well here in Accra. The family I'm staying with is quite nice. I have been spending weekends traveling with other volunteers and having a great time. Teaching is sometimes rewarding and sometimes very frustrating, but I feel I have made some progress. The schools here are incredibly different from what I'm used to, though of course I expected that. Thanks for this opportunity- it's something I'll never forget. Got to go now, I'll write again later.

Sincerely,
Colin

Yes, my flight back home was so uneventful. I cannot believe how much I miss the children there. They've impacted my life in an inexplicable way. Teaching my Ghanaian children was by far the highlight of my trip. I would like to say that my students were some of the most grateful children ever! I was happily shocked when I was in the middle of a lesson on food and my class 3 requested to stay in from break and lunch to hear the rest of my lesson. They were very interested in everything I had to say, even about mundane life in Canada.

Ghanaians are the friendliest people I've ever met. The scenery I've seen in Ghana was some of the most gorgeous I've ever seen. The landscape is as beautiful as is shown in Hollywood movies!

Cheers,
Andrew

Thanks for the follow up. I'm doing great here. Everything is ideal. The proprietor {Mr. Tettegah} and his family are taking unbelievably good care of me. Everyone has made me feel so welcome. Even the local people are really friendly. I was way more nervous/scared when I first arrived than I thought I'd be. But it only lasted the first day. Once I was brought here with the family, it's been fantastic. If there are any other questions don't hesitate to mail. Thanks for all your help with lining this up. It's better than I could have expected.

Loree

Everything is so great here! The family has been so kind and welcoming and I am in love with the children of the school. Thanks for my placement!

Sincerely,
Erika

Thanks for your message. I arrived home yesterday morning. I had to leave Ghana a week early as I needed to sign some papers - my partner and I are in the process of buying a house.

I had 3 weeks at Grace Academy but this was not long enough! I enjoyed my stay and loved teaching the children. I was very sad to leave them. Madam Grace, the proprietress, was very welcoming and she treated me like a daughter. I am now trying to re-climatize to the English winter weather!

Thank you very much for organising it for me.

Regards,
Sheena

Things are wonderful in Ghana and I'm really enjoying teaching at the school. I have been very busy travelling with other volunteers and I love the Ghanian culture and people. I feel very at home and accustomed to the town I live in. Thanks for checking up on me and I assure you that all is well.

-Amber