Blog Article: Abbie Brown, Ghana
Hi, I’m Abbie and I am currently living with Eliza, my project partner, in Anyako Kpota, Ghana.
Even though my time volunteering is slowly coming to an end, I want to share the amazing experiences I have had over the past 7 months.
Anyako Kpota is a very small town which is located in the Volta Region of Ghana. Anyako (the main town) is located on the island which is in the Keta Lagoon. We are based only a 15 minute walk away from Anyako and a few minutes walk away from the lagoon (we get a lovely breeze so are not suffering too badly from the heat!). Our school is only a 2 minute walk from the house and compared to other schools, it looks very big. We have the Basic School (which contains Kindergarten, Primary and JHS – Junior High School) and then we also have the Senior High School (equivalent to Sixth Form or College). I teach JHS 1 which contains 24 students with ages ranging from 12 to 20. I also teach JHS 2 which contains over 50 students and are between the ages of 13 and 22!
The subject I teach is Career Technology and it is certainly a challenging subject to teach. Career technology is a mix of life skills, science, home economics and business (it certainly covers a wide variety of different topics).
Despite being very busy with teaching and writing exams, I have had a chance to explore many different regions in Ghana. Some of the places I have been lucky enough to experience is Accra (the Capital city), Ho (the capital of the Volta Region), Tamale, Kumasi, Mole and also all the way across the coast to Busua. Even though every different area of Ghana has its own attributes, I have noticed that Ghana as a whole is such a warm-hearted country. Everywhere I have been to, everyone has been so welcoming and helpful even when we do not know them! This is something I am definitely going to miss.
The last 7 months have definitely been an emotional rollercoaster but I have had the best experience of my life! The initial month in Ghana was such a culture shock but I was too excited about starting to teach and explore a different country. Personally, I found Christmas time the hardest as I had been in Ghana for a fair amount of time and was starting to miss home. However, home was only a phone call away and I was able to talk to the other volunteers if I needed to. This start of this year has flown by and it will not be long till I have finished my journey in Ghana.
Between all the teaching and travelling, I have also been able to help with netball at the school. We have a full sized netball/basketball course that is well used! I have been sharing my journey on both Instagram and Facebook so people who have supported me throughout my Project Trust journey and also people who are thinking of volunteering, can gain a deeper insight on my experience. Recently, I started up a blog where I am going to share more about my day-to-day life; it is going to take a lot of work as I have only a few posts but it is a start!
Keep up with Abbie’s adventures here: Abbies Volunteering Year in Ghana (site123.me)