My Frankadua Family

When I left Frankadua, I left a piece of my heart and my newest family. Frankadua is the cutest, most culturally dense village. The people are welcoming and kind. In fact, it is likely you will be welcomed with a local bonfire your first night. They will love that you are in their village to help and also learn about their culture. The clothing is bright, the music is upbeat and happy, and the dancing is something that I’ll remember forever.

I originally signed up for four weeks of childcare and six weeks of medical. However, I ended up switching to only two weeks of childcare and then eight weeks of medical. The childcare project is easily one of the hardest projects offered. As a volunteer, your main responsibility is looking after fifty of the most rambunctious children the village has to offer. At the end of the day you will be exhausted, but be the happiest volunteer in the house. Spending the mornings with those adorable children is just the best experience. I personally had a difficult time with the cultural punishments the teachers perform. Unfortunately, as volunteers we must accept that it is a cultural happening and it is not able to be changed. This was the main reason I shortened my childcare project to two weeks rather than four.

Switching to medical was the perfect decision for me. I felt that I was making a meaningful difference and could fix the issues I saw. Our duties included wound care, malaria testing, hygiene education, and sex education. I personally enjoyed the malaria testing most. I was able to test four different schools in my ten weeks. The positive percentage rates were crazy to me! Each school tested 50% or higher. At the close of each testing day we would prescribe and provide malaria medications to the positive children. I loved knowing that the children would not develop symptoms because we were able to catch it soon enough.

The best thing about volunteering in Ghana is that there is ALWAYS more to be done. If you are up for the challenge, you can be working from 6AM-6PM. Another volunteer and I started three after school programs for the children and teenagers. These include girls club, JHS reading club, and reading tutoring at the volunteer house. If I were to pick a favorite volunteer activity it would be these three things. Reading is a life long skill and I was always happy to see their progression. Dedicating time to their learning was a highlight of my trip.

I would like to express my appreciation to the staff that made my trip smooth and safe. There wasn’t one time that I felt in danger and that was extremely important to me. I felt supported by the staff and knew that I could discuss my issues with them. Joe and Evans were two men I could openly discuss my issues with. I would also like to commend IVHQ for listening to concerns and addressing them. In the middle of my trip, I discussed a few concerns with Meika, an IVHQ employee, and they were addressed and corrected within two weeks time. IVHQ and the Ghana staff are truly there to make your experience the best it can be.

You would be silly to not pick IVHQ Ghana as your future volunteer location. Be prepared to fall in love with the people and their interesting culture. Know that there will be extremely hard times, but that they will provide you with learning opportunists. If you make it to Ghana... please give them all a hug for me!