On Friday the 15th of July we started our volunteer placement at the Savior Children's Foundation in Kasoa, Ghana. Feeling a little nervous and obviously way out of our comfort zone for a number of reasons we tried our best to settle in.
Fortunately for us there were already some other volunteers there who were able to show us the ropes.
We quickly learned what our responsibilities would be. Basically, we helped wash and get the children ready for school, serve their meals, wash dishes, help them with their homework and provide first aid if needed.
The only really hard part in all this was scrubbing the hudge cauldrons that reminded me of something that witches sit around and brew whatever it is witches brew.
It's a dirty job but someone has to do it.
The second day after we arrived we went to church. We had heard church in Ghana is something that needs to be experienced if possible. Well it certainly was an experience all right. Filled with numerous sermons, hand waving prayers, songs and dances it was an experience that lasted over four hours.
It was an event that reached such high powered emotion and spirit that numerous times we thought it must have reached the grand finale and then it would somehow reach an even higher level of Holy Ghanaian Spirit. At one point we were all on our knees in a giant circle yelling hallelujah and pounding our chests and at another point we ended up in a congo line.
I held out three hours before I finally gave in and helped my self to some water in order to prevent the whole thing turning into a funeral service. Needless to say after 4 hours and 28 minutes we were left amazed at what we had witnessed and completely drained.
Although religion is likely the most important part of life in Ghana I would have to say music and dance are well up there as well. It seemed like pretty much every activity is done along with some kind of a beat.
Although religion is likely the most important part of life in Ghana I would have to say music and dance are well up there as well. It seemed like pretty much every activity is done along with some kind of a beat.
Jueun always the dance teacher, took great pleasure in teaching the kids some new moves and as it turned out they taught her a few new ones as well.
We were amazed how enthusiastic the kids were with everything they did. They seemed to enjoy their daily chores like carrying water and cleaning. They went to class full of energy and seemed to enjoy doing their homework to a point they would often fight over who we would help work with first. The kids craved attention and it was obvious how much they appreciated any amount of time we could give them.
As for us, it took awhile to get used to the heat. Minor stomachs issues, heat rashes and dry mouths didn't bother us too much. We made a constant effort to drink as much water as possible to keep our selves hydrated. We got used to not having flush toilets and washing our clothes by hand.
We tolerated putting mosquito repellent on daily and sleeping under a net. We got used to having power only certain times and quickly learning just how refressing those bucket baths really are.
It was an amazing couple of weeks. At times the work was hard and dirty and at times the whole thing was emotional and overwhelming. Are we glad we did it? Absolutely! Taking a few weeks and stepping out of our comfort zone gave us a lot to think about. Thoughts that didn't include anything on CBC or CNN. It made us think about how good people can be.
The staff and children at the Savior Children's Foundation make the most of so little and they seem to do it with a beat in their step, a sense of humour and always a smile.
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