My name is Els, I am 22 years old and after graduating in Public Relations I decided to do some volunteer work before applying for jobs. I spent four months in Kotobabi down, located in the suburbs of Ghana’s capital Accra. In this short period I gathered some life-time experiences…

I was placed in the kindergarten school, to teach 12 very cute 6 year old toddlers. Millicent, a friendly teacher of my age helped me to get started, because I had no experience whatsoever with teaching or with children. The first days were pretty difficult and at times I ran out of the classroom because the kids were driving me crazy. But the more time I spent with them, the more inspiration I got to teach them. I taught English, reciting poems, songs, picture reading, maths, environmental studies, religious and moral education, etc. Sometimes I would take them outside to stretch their legs and do some gymnastics or to play some games. Millicent and I even held some dance competitions in which we also included the three and four year-old.

The Ghanaian education system is terrible. The children have to learn everything by heart. While in Belgium we learned to use our imagination and to be creative, they just want to make copycats out of them. For example, the 3-year olds know this song by heart about the tables of maths: 2 times 2 is 4, 3 times 2 is 6,.. up to 9 times 12 is 108. But they have absolutely no clue what they are saying. They all know the alphabet by heart, but when I point out a letter on the board, they can’t recognize it. The same with the numbers, only four of my class of twelve students could recognize the numbers up to 10. I had some children who obviously needed special education, but there are no schools for mentally disabled children in Ghana. The children cannot focus on anything for longer than thirty minutes, and when their attention starts to slip, the teachers get annoyed.

The children were so happy with my presence, and only a bit of attention can make a world of difference to them.

I stayed with a Muslim family who lived opposite of the school. The room was separate from their house so I had plenty of privacy, but any time I needed them they were right there. The children, especially Cacius, have a special place in my heart. The family’s religion caused no problems what so ever, they had no comments on my short skirts or when I got back from dancing late in the night.

Of course I have lived through mentally challenging times in Ghana and at times I felt like giving up. You are certain to get sick from the African meals, or simply homesick, or at times the Ghanaians disappoint you terribly. All the better these experiences helped me to learn better how to deal with such situations and also helped me develop my social skills and independence. You can expect a huge culture shock, lots of attention, marriage proposals and love letters.

What I miss the most about Ghana are my friends, especially Millicent, and my children. I also miss the dancing, how there is always music on the street and how you can buy low quantities of everything. For example, you can buy one cigarette for 700 Ghanaian cedis (0.06 euros). I miss the way I could make those children happy with such little effort, and the way they kept pulling my nose and touching my hair. I miss people’s spontaneity, honesty and smiles, and, though it may sound strange to you: I miss the smell of Ghana. I miss plantain, fried rice with black pepper and fresh pineapple and bananas. I miss the horizontal moon, the sky full of stars, the beauty of Ghanaian nature, and the climate.

Tips

Don’t bring too much clothing, you can buy beautiful clothes in Ghana or even better: have your skirts custom made for a ridiculously low price. Don’t bring anything white because it will turn yellow and grey from the dust. Although I am not a fan of diaries, I took one with me and eventually wrote in it every day! It’s a great memory and it helps to write things down sometimes. Things I wish I brought with me were a mirror, some hair protection products and enough sunscreen and shampoo. (Although you can buy everything in the European supermarkets or in the pharmacies in Accra).

© OCEP Foundation