Volunteer in Ghana directly with a local non-profit organization

My experience in Ghana has been the most memorable experience of my life so far! It was a huge culture shock at first, but by the end I did not want to come home. The Ghanian people are amazing -- so full of love, life, happiness and generosity. The kids brighten your day within seconds. They show you to enjoy life for what it is, away from stress of society in a well developed country, where most people are disconnected from one another and caught up in their 9-5 jobs. I found it quite easy to adjust to no running water, but what I struggled with most was the food. I found that with 9 people staying in the house, the amount of food provided was not enough, I was hangry all the time. I would recommend packing snacks in your suitcase from home, like a box of protein bars. The trips we were able to do on the weekends were also phenomenal, we went to Cape Coast and the Wli waterfalls. Another benefit of traveling to Ghana is that many of the people speak English. I would 10/10 recommend this volunteer experience to anyone.

In 2015 I traveled to Ghana for the first time to volunteer and I was placed at Becky's Home in Senya Beraku. From the time I stepped out of the car into this small town I felt a sense of comfort I haven't felt anywhere else. I only spent three short weeks there but I knew from the first day the children and staff at Becky's Home, as well as the people in the town, would become my family for the rest of my life.

Within a couple months of returning home to America I was already planning my next trip back to Becky's Home where I spent 8 weeks there in the fall of 2016. And the same thing happened again when I got home, I bought my ticket back only a few weeks after being home and I planned to spend 7 weeks at Becky's Home in the summer of 2017 and even ended up extending my stay. I have returned to America about a month ago and I am now planning my trip to go back in December and summer 2018.

Seth, the founder of Becky's Home, is one of the kindest, good hearted people I have ever met and I am lucky to be able to call him a friend. He is someone I trust with everything and every problem I might have. He has always welcomed me like family and you couldn't ask for a better person to be running a children's home.

The children of Becky's Home have touched my heart in a way I didn't know was possible. I love these children as if they were my own. They are some of the best behaved children I have met. They are sweet, caring, and have a love for each other like I've never seen. The workers at the home are incredible and have really improved since I first arrived on how they care for the children. They have a nurse on site to take care of the children as well as a social worker who always knows what is going on with the kids.

Before going to Ghana in 2015, I planned to volunteer in a different country each year until I graduated college but after my first day at Becky's Home I will never be able to go anywhere else to volunteer because Ghana has become my second home and Becky's Home has become my family.

Becky´s Home tought me more than I could have imagined just in one month, the kids, the staff, other volunteers and also random people that you get to know in this experience are wonderfull sources of knowledge. Volunteering with this organization is an experience that I can only describe as amazingly human.

I would definately recommend to volunteer directly with the organization, as it is the best way to assure that your money is received by the organization itself.

,If you come to Senya with an open heart you´ll come back with a full heart.