During May of 2022, I traveled to Ghana with the PEACE Volunteer Center at the University of Tampa, Florida. This is my experience.
Background:
PEACE Volunteer Center schedules volunteer opportunities for students within the Tampa Bay Area. Alternative Breaks Program, a branch of PEACE, organizes longer volunteer opportunities for weekends, spring, and summer breaks. Summer Volunteer opportunities include one international volunteer opportunity, which in my case was Ghana.
Applying, The Meetings, and Preparation
I applied immediately after seeing PEACE’S Instagram Post about the trip and was notified on November 17, 2021 that I had been offered a position as a volunteer for the trip. There were 4 other students who volunteered to go to Ghana. At our monthly meeting, we were informed that we would be volunteering for community development in a small village in Northern Ghana called Nangodi. We were to work with the locals on community projects that they deemed necessary. However, we really had no general idea of exactly what we would be working on before heading to Ghana. We traveled with Kevin Fridy, the chair of the political science department and a professor who specializes in West African Politics. He has regularly taken students to Nangodi, Ghana as part of a study abroad course.
The Long Trip to Nangodi
We flew out of the Tampa International Airport on May 8, 2022 and, after a long layover in New York City, We arrived in Accra. Accra felt big; a bustling and vibrant city that due to time constraints, we were unable to explore well. We arrived pretty late and by the time that we got to the hotel, we only had time to eat. We were all treated to a bit of culture shock by the spiciness of Ghanaian Cuisine.
Despite this, we were all in good moods as we woke up early the next morning to travel to Tamale, a large city in Northern Ghana. After a long and uncomfortable car ride, we arrived at Bolgatanga, the town closest to Nangodi and the area we would be staying in. In the evening, we got a chance to meet with some members of the Nangodi Community and we discussed what we would be working on over the next week.
Arts & Crafts and Recycling
One of the first tasks we worked on was picking up trash around the community. According to a member of the community, Nangodi had tried recycling trash but eventually gave up as the company in charge of picking up recycled material had stopped coming to Nangodi. Because of this, it felt like the village was drowning in trash. We spent a good two or three hours picking up trash around the village, taking regular water breaks due to the intense heat. One thing that we had proposed was turning the plastic, especially the plastic water bags, into wallets and school bags for the children of the community. We worked on that for the rest of the day after the heat became too unbearable by midday. We headed back to Bolgatanga at 3 or 4 pm and we discussed our next task, which was planting trees.
Planting Trees and Market Adventures
Ghana has taken recent efforts to combat their high rates of deforestation by engaging in reforestation strategies which involve handing out free trees to religious institutions, schools, and other organizations. In Nangodi, several residents have complained about deforestation and how there is less shade for people to take shelter under during the heat. Therefore, we met with several schools near Nangodi and helped plant trees there. To say that it was easy would be a lie. The ground was extremely dry and we found it difficult to dig a hole in the ground for the trees. We eventually were able to plant several trees in two different schools. Once we headed back into Nangodi proper, we also had to plant trees and use bricks as a temporary measure to protect the trees.
Later, we went to the market to pick up a fence to protect the trees better, a volleyball net (which was our next volunteer task), and teaching books for the schools. After the market, we were supposed to go back to our hotel immediately but one of our guides decided to take me around Bolgatanga. I got my own private tour and I got the chance to hang out with his family for a bit before meeting with the rest of the group at the hotel.
The Schools
We volunteered with two or three schools in Nabdam Province. One of these volunteer opportunities was the building of a volleyball court. According to the students, they wanted a chance to play games with each other during their freetime. We dug a hole and used cements to keep the volleyball poles in place. We then proceeded to paint the poles so that they would look nicer and then installed the net. After doing this, we played a game of volleyball with the students.
The community leaders had brought up the idea for us to teach a lesson on climate change. I took it upon myself to work on this lesson, consulting with a fellow volunteer on what to write. I also had to make sure that it was simplified enough that the students would understand. For context, these students were around 8 to 14 years old. I wrote the lesson, distributed it to my fellow volunteers and taught it to the young students.
Our Last Day
The community invited us during our time off to a Church Service in Nangodi. Afterwards, we traveled to the border crossing into Burkina Faso, and visited the Paga Crocodile Pond. Monday was our last day of service and it was an interesting experience. To start, we gave bags that we created out of the recycled plastic and fabric to the schoolchildren. The Community organized a farewell service to us. The five of us volunteer spoke about our experience in Nangodi and we handed out the bags.
After the service was over, we were taken to another school (one I hadn’t been to before) to announce the recipients of a scholarship. The scholarship was given by the Nangodi Institute, a non-profit focusing on research, to a male and female student in Nabdam Province who scored the highest on their West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
Conclusion
With the scholarships announced, it marked the end of our week-long volunteer trip to Ghana. We did have an extra 4 days where we traveled to Mole National Park to see elephants before returning to Accra. Our last days in Accra involved visiting a slum area, visiting the local university, and loads of traffic. Writing this a year after the volunteer trip, I’ve had time to reflect on my volunteer trip. I fell in love with Ghana and with its people and I’m glad I got the chance to volunteer, even if our volunteer work seems like a bandaid solution to problems that aren’t easily fixable. I’m proud of the work that we did in Nangodi and especially that certain things have lasted till today (the volleyball court and the trees).
