Volunteering in Ghana

hey everybody!

In December this year i will be taking a gap year volunteering in Ghana, Africa! I leave on the 30th of November and arrive on the 1st of December in Accra. I will leave Melbourne International Airport and go to Dubai International Airport and stay there for 2 hours and then catch another flight to Accra and arrive in Katoka International Airport.

For the first week i have orientation and will be staying in  hostel called the Pink Hostel. This week I will be learning about staying healthy, how to change currency, visiting the beach, discussing cultural differences and my host family, getting a city tour where i will be visiting the post office, shops and learn how to bargain, learning the language, partaking in dancing and drumming lesson, learning to cook Ghanian food and also start working at my workplace with the orientation.

Once this week is over I will be staying with an African host family and another girl volunteer from Germany. The volunteer i will be staying with is staying in Ghana for 3 months and we will be both working in the same placement. My host family have had volunteers stay with them in the past and have a lovely home which includes running cold and hot water, electricity (unstable at times), a t.v., a fridge, a shower, a flushing toilet, a gas cooker and a phone. They provide me with a room with two single beds. Their family consists of, Vivian, the mum 32 years old, Douglas,  the dad 40 years old, Richmond, one of the sons 16 years old, Olivia, the daughter 8 years old and, Andre, the other son 3 years old.

During this year I will be working in an orphanage Monday to Friday. I will change to different orphanages every 3 months. The first orphanage i will be working in is called Blessed Little Angels which includes 17 children between the ages of 2 and 16 and 3 staff between the ages of 40 and 52. I will be working for 8 hours a day and my main jobs will be washing the children's clothes, helping them shower and feeding them. I also might help run sport and games for the children. This orphanage does not have much equipment except a photocopier and typewriter and all its funds come from donations.

My host family and workplace are very close only 2 taxi rides away (10 minutes) as it is not safe to walk to it. Everything else is very closeas well include 2 minutes walk to the Supermarket, 5 minutes walk to the Resturants, 15 minutes walk to the Post Office, 12 minute walk to the Internet Cafe and a 8 minutes drive to my organisations representative in Ghana.

The organisation I am going with is Volunteer Abroad. On the weekends i have the option to explore Ghana, which is very exciting. But all of this costs money, i have been able to save $13,500 so far but i still need about $800 more to pay for everything. This sounds like alot but keeping in mind i am paying for an entire year in advance this is pretty cheap. I have also stopped working now.

So far i have bought my ticket, organised, paid for and received my passport, had a consultation with a doctor, received the Yelllow Fever and Hepatitis type A vaccinations, received my travel insurance and applied for my visa for the first four months. My visa has now been accepted, my parents bought my suitcases for my 18th birthday present and also bought me some extra clothes for the trip, I got my first and second rabies shot, I got my Hepatitis A booster. i got Menactra, I bought two Dukoral oral vaccinations to take later on, I paid my program fee, I also bought a bunch of medications such as a gatro kit, permethrin spray, doxycycline, ibuprofen and phenergan, I have been taking self defence classes twice a week and have bought a strong box for my valuables. I am receiving my last vaccination rabies next friday, I am still trying to get a youth allowance from centrelink while i am over there and then just need to buy some toiletries and i am set!

There is still stuff I need to organise and pay for, every dollar counts thanks for donating to this trip.

http://volunteerabroad.com.au/info/volunteer-ghana