Ross reports back after his adventures in Ghana

Ross and James continue to enjoy their time in Kumasi in Ghana. They are both completing a medical placement in the city.

Recently they have been travelling north to the Mole National Park. The park is famous for its elephants - as captured by this photograph:

Ross writes:
Hi David,
yes thanks, we are both settling into the routine well
now. everything is great,
please find the photos attached, ones
in mole and the other was taken when we were travelling by land rover
from mole park to the hippo sanctuary 6 hours or so away. it broke down
in a small desolate village full of kids and i decided to give them a
long english lesson in the dirt! well, anyway, they were the two photos
ive chosen.
hope all is well in the uk,
ross
p.s.
we understand there are other gappers coming out soon? when are they
coming? francis wasnt overly sure with exact dates. would be great to
know so we can make plans.

Unfortunately I did get a photo of the broken down land rover - I hope to receive this soon!

Ross and James settle in to new life in Kumasi, Ghana

Ross and James went out to Kumasi in Ghana a fortnight ago. They are doing a medical placement with us. I was keen to see how they were settling in. Ross replied:
'Hi David, Apologies, we have been meaning to send you an email, but we've been quite busy and getting settled. Everything so far is great.
The family we are staying with are lovely. James and I are slowly being allowed to wash up and contribute to the household tasks contrary to what they insist!
We paid a visit to Kumasi market today, managed to get home alrite on the tro tro but with a slash of worry about getting lost- all turned out ok though. We have a phone and francis's number.
Francis (the rep) is also awesome, cool bloke.
Thanks though for telling us about Ghana maybe time (GMT), as francis certainly seems to operate by it at all times! We had fu fu today at the hospital cafe, not overly keen, but all other food has been scrumptious.
Many thanks for everything you and shirley have done in organising this placement.
We look forward to going to Mole national park in mid march with the girls/francis. We'll let you know how we get on,
All the best, Ross / James :)
Looks like they are getting in to the lifestyle...but perhaps not so much the food at this early stage!

Chloe in Ghana reports back

Chloe got out to Ghana just over two weeks ago. She is teaching in Kumasi in Central Ghana. Her first report back is most positive. She writes:
Hey David
hope your well! Everything is fab out here. We are all fine and have settled in really well.

We are all working at the orphanage. Im finding it a little hard to adjust to the way they do things but will hopefully be able to make some suggestions and change things for the better.

Host family are great, everyone is very welcoming, no issues to mention. Went travelling for the weekend with Francis, had a fab time!!
Speak soon
Chlo
The pace of life in Ghana does take some time to adjust too! Infact we suggest to volunteers not to bother with a watch. Get used to G.M.T. - Ghana Maybe Time!
I am more than confident that Chloe and her fellow volunteers will soon adjust to their new way of life.

James provides an insight in to life and work in Ghana

James has just returned from his teaching placement in Kumasi, Ghana. He writes:
'It was a long journey and heading out on my own was one of the scariest things I had done so far in my life. However arriving in Accra International Airport and meeting my contact, Francis, at arrivals went smoothly and before long I was on my way to my family house. The journey was not as relaxing as I had hoped as the road was not surfaced and we had a sermon that lasted several hours. However it did start to gear me up for what was to come, and I got my first real shock when I saw a man on the the side of the road with no clothes and just standing against a wall crying. We drove straight past on the bus and I thought to myself that people must see this all the time and that is why they do not appear to care.

That perhaps gives a bad view of what the people of Ghana were like, yes they were tough and they had to be to survive but on the other hand I have never been exposed to such a close and intense community spirit. The people really do look out for each other and you see it everyday when someone will give a hand to a complete stranger, not because the person has asked for it but because the they have noticed that they need help. This is not something that happens much in our society and though it was strange at first I quickly adapted and it was not long before I was helping push carts and even cars along the street when they got stuck or helping ladies carry water and baskets around the city.

My host family was lovely and I instantly felt like part of the family, I got on very well with their daughter who did most of the house work as in Ghana the younger you are the more you seem to have to do. Once I started school and the orphanage I just got immersed in it all. It was a long day starting at 6am to get to school on time and then finishing at 6pm when all the kids at the orphanage had been fed and were starting to get sleepy.

School was great, the teachers treated me well and I really got into my lessons making sure math’s was fun and teaching the kids music before school so they could sing new songs in assembly. We even went on a few school trips to play football and to a dance contest. The orphanage was hard, I was working with kids ranging from new born babies to 6 year olds. A lot of them were disabled in some way and everyone’s needs were different. Keeping everybody happy all the time was a full time job and I have utmost respect for the sisters and ladies who worked there every day.

It really was an amazing all round experience and I loved every minute of it. I am not ashamed to say there was a tear in my eye as I left. I will definitely be back to visit all the friends I made as soon as I can find the time. Its a cliché to say the words “life changing experience” but its true in every way and I think the thing I learnt most about in my whole trip was me.

James has been an excellent ambassador for Changing Worlds in Ghana and we cannot thank him enough for all his efforts and enthusiasm.

If you would like to contact James then do drop him a line to:
waldomagician@hotmail.co.uk

Do have a look at the Changing Worlds Facebook account where James has kindly sent us his version of the 'Banana Dance'! - makes for great viewing!

Jemma can't wait to return to Ghana!

Jemma returns from Kumasi in Ghana. She writes:
'Hi David,
I've got settled in from being away from Ghana now and would just like to say that I had a really amazing time. The whole thing was a great experience and I've got some links with my teachers in Ghana now and hope to go back there one day.

Francis is really great and often helped me out when ever he could I really think he's a rare find.I would recommend the trip to anybody, I think I've matured as a person made new friends and managed to loose a stone so result all round.

Thanks for a really really great time!

Jemma Collins

If you would like to contact Jemma and find out more then do contact her via her e-mail to: jemmarules8@hotmail.com

Changing Worlds would like to thank jemma for all her hard work whilst overseas.

David

James reports back from Ghana - it's not all fun...

Hey David
I have only got on to the internet today so do not worry as I wouldn't have noticed a late reply if you had not said anything!Its good to be feeling well again and with that has gone any of the homesickness I was feeling last week. This week has been a bit of a mix.

We decided to go to the lake in the end and I am very glad I could make it. The place was beautiful, surrounded by small hills the small circular lake is the crater of an asteroid that came crashing to earth long ago. The tro tro dropped us off a little away from the hostel we were planning to stay in and we had a pleasant walk though we were carrying a bag of water sachets that was about 15 litres of water and therefore was quite hard work. The lake when we got to it was a lot bigger than I thought, apparently it is 90 metres deep in the middle and gets steadily shallower towards the edge. The resort had its own private little stretch of beach which was lovely and peaceful and had a great view. The water was unbelievable! It was like walking into a bath, only on a huge scale, the water was so warm and smooth and it was a very clean bottom of soft sand so it was pleasant in all aspects. We sent the first day just lazing around by the lake which was a welcome break from lying about at home feeling ill. The food that night was awesome, I had prawn Masala and noodles. Quite expensive by Ghanaian standards but the whole trip worked out at about 20 pounds for everything over two days.

The following morning was Monday and luckily it is African Union day and my school was off so I was able to spend some more time at the lake. We started the day with a climb up a mountain but in the end we got a little lost in the forest and never reached the summit and had a bit of a struggle getting back to the path again. The rest of the day was spent at the lakeside until we packed up and headed home about 4pmish. Jus had an early night to prepare myself for school the following day.

Tuesday is my early start day with my first lesson at 8am but it went really well and though the subject was a bit boring the kids do seem to make an effort to understand it. After this I walked to Ashtown were the orphanage is and spent the rest of the morning with the kids there. I am trying to spend as much time with Seymour before he gets adopted and I really will miss him when he heads of to his new home! I spent the rest of the day at the orphanage and then headed home to bed.

Wednesday classes again went well and I managed to set my first homework though I wasn't sure if they quite understood what I wanted them too do and now that I have had a chance to mark it I have come to the conclusion they deffinitely didn't get it. Today my usual trek to the orphanage was interrupted today as a new volunteer has arrived in the country and is coming to share my room. I am therefore losing the pleasure of a room and ensuite to myself however it will be nice to have another boy around as the two who live down the road maybe gone by next week. We just spent the evening chatting and getting to know each other as we were going to have to live together for the next few months and it would be better if we got of to a good start which thankfully we have. His name is Robin and he seems very nice and he has settled in quite quickly to the way of life here which is so different from home.

Thursday is my day of mixed classes were my two classes shuffle around and it is a bit chaotic as I try to work out who has been taught what. We started number lines today and I went round the class and gave the kids a number each from -20 to +20 and then took them out to the playground and got them all to line up in order. As easy as this might seem to you and me the idea of negative numbers has not quite settled in them yet and I ended up with 0 to 20 being right but the next number after 0 going down was -20 then -19 all the way to -1. This was very amusing and in both lessons today the same thing happened. The kids think just because the number is big it must be a large number instead of being a large negative number. On this logic -20 is bigger than -10. Anyway after a lot of laughing and sorting out with managed to get the idea and got lined up properly and wasted an entire period in the process. After this I headed to stadium with Edward and Robin to play hockey and we ended up playing 5 vs 6. The three of us and two ghanians against a team of local kids and one of their dads. We ended up losing 3-1 and not surprisingly as me and Robin are not hockey players and the kids are exceptionally good for their size. All the same it was great fun and we deffinitely had our work cut out running around in the heat of a full size hockey pitch without a fullsize team to use it.

Friday was again school and orphanage and similar to the other days, however Sat was a bit of an experience. Robin and myself headed to a wedding with Francis to see what a wedding ceremony is like here. Well I can definitely say its not a dull affair. There is a huge amount of singing and dancing and clapping and celebrating and it was all quite exciting. We even got fed at the reception though out of takeaway cartoons and plastic bottles instead of our usual hotel style meals at home. It was good fun and next weekend we are going to a different sort of wedding. This one was a church one but next week is a Ghanaian style one using the traditional ways. I am quite excited to see it and I am sure it will be very different again from the one we have been to.Today I headed to the orphanage in the morning and the kids were all outside so we played a lot outside and I had to do a lot of lifting and swinging of the kids. They had rice balls and soup for lunch and it was sooo messy. Most of the kids were covered in it by the end and one kid especially called Ben had managed to rub it all over himself. On his head in his ears on his legs up his arms over his neck. He had to be thoroughly washed afterwards which just made it even funnier. I was left to do all the changing and washing of the kids myself today. When you have 10 excited toddlers this is no easy feat and it took almost an hour to get them through the potty into fresh clothes and all into bed before I could head off. I spent the rest of the day in a local hotel by the pool which was really nice and relaxing.

The days have certainly got a good routine about them now which is quite good and means I'm not stressing over what I am supposed to be doing next all the time. I am grateful to be feeling better again and this week has been an improvement on the last.

Anyway maykwaba (I am going) I hope your all well
James

Volunteers returning after their successful time away

It's been a busy week with numerous volunteers coming back to the UK after their Changing Worlds placements. The feedback is most encouraging. These are just a few reports we gained this week:

From Alice who has just got back from Ghana writes:
'Hi David, Just a quick email to say thankyou so much for the opportunity you gave me to go too Ghana. I had a amazing time and its something I will carry with me for the rest of my life. The school was fantastic, the kids were incredible and Francis (although he takes ghana maybe time to a whole new level!) was brilliant when ever you needed him he was there. (eventually! ) I defintely want to go travelling again and no doubt you will be hearing from me hopefuly this time next year once I have some money again! Many Thanks once again. Alice'

From Jess who has just returned from India. Jess writes:
'Hi,Just wanted to let you know I have arrived home safe and sound and to say a big thank you for everything, especially with organising my flight back etc. I also wanted to find out when the next India volunteers prep w/e was and to see if I could come along to help as someone with 'experience' because talking about India for two days solid would be a dream come true and I found talking to Sophie so useful before we went so wanted to repay the favour. Many thanks, speak soon,Jess

..and Amy from Kenya writes:
'Dear David and Shirley, I returned from Kenya about a week and half ago - I am sorry I have not got in touch with you sooner, there seems to be a lot to organise when you arrive back after 4 months! Anyway I wanted to write and thank you so much for the best 4 months of my life in Kenya. I have sent off my questionarre recently which i hope will help in your inquiries and also convey this sentiment as well. Everything about my time in Kenya was amazing - from working with the children, to everyday life in Nakuru and the varied and incredible travelling we did. About 8 of us travelled around a lot of the country such as Nanyuki, Naivasha (Hell's Gate National Park), Mombasa and Lamu, Lakes Baringo and Bogoria, Kisumu by Lake Victoria and Ambroseli national Park by Mount Kilamanjaro.

Everywhere we went we had an amazing time and the whole country is so beautiful there was always another sight to take our breath away! I am sending some pictures of the kids at Kiamaina and at Pistis and one of us by Lake Baringo. If you would like me to send any more then I would be happy to - also if you need anyone to come in and talk to new volunteers about to go out I would love to tell them what an amazing time they are about to have! So thank you again and hope to talk soon, Amy'

and Rebecca's mum Jane reinforces the point:
'Dear David,
Thank you so much for enabling Rebecca to have such a wonderful experience in Kenya. As you know she arrived back in England early Monday morning full of all sorts of exciting tales and 10,000 photos!!!!
It was extremely reassuring to know that she had your backing and Karanja in Nakuru if she needed anything at all, nothing was too much trouble. In fact I think Rebecca has become firm friends with Karanja and his lovely family. Her own host family were more than accommodating and it showed that you really have done the ground work so that the volunteers could make the most of their stay in Kenya. We as parents were able to relax knowing there was help just around the corner if necessary.
All the advise and meetings you gave before departure helped tremendously too, I would thoroughly recommend Changing Worlds for a brilliant gap year experience.
Rebecca can't wait to return and I'm sure she would be happy to support you in any way she can.
Thank you so much from two very happy parents.
Kind Regards,
Jane Siddall'

More updates to follow...

Fancy dress to raise Gap Year funds

Hi all,

We have always given our volunteers fundraising tips and a volunteer called James has just had a fancy dress night at work. He's off to Ghana and had a Ghana themed evening.

There's all sorts of things people have done in the past from quiz nights to packing bags in supermarkets.

Gap Years are usually organised at least a year in advance so that gives you plenty of time to work and raise some funds, even cover the whole cost of your trip.

If you can show on your CV that not only did you do something really worthwhile on your Gap Year but you raised all the money yourself then you are given yourself a great boost to a future career as it shows commitment, organisation and desire.

If anyone has any fundraising tips or stories of their own we'd love to hear them.

Have a great weekend,

David