Categories: uncategorized
Date: 13 December 2007 08:34:04
I miss Ghana.... I miss Ghana alot. I think about it everyday. Thankfully I have found a Ghanaian shop within 10 minutes walking distance of where I am staying in the Netherlands. I have been there a couple of times now. The first time I went there, I spoke a bit of Twi, told them I miss the food in Ghana and she said "oh, I have just cooked some yam with stew if you want a bit". She served me a plate and showed me to the office where I could eat it. She expected nothing in return but I felt a bit guilty so I bought the ingredients to make the dish myself.
Yesterday I went to the shop again. This time, they recognised me so we chatted about my volunteer work while I picked a couple of things off the shelf and then the man said "we do volunteering too - just take them". He wouldn't accept my money. They also invited me to church on Sunday which I am very excited about because that is one thing I really miss, my church. I am to meet them at the shop on Sunday and they will take me there. It is nice to see that the generosity of Ghanaians is not just restricted to those living in Ghana.
Recently, I have been reading alot of literature about the institution of orphanages. There is a real shift away from this notion and into community and family-based care. There has been studies on the negative impact on children who live in orphanage institutions, for instance the risks are "reduced ability to form lasting attachments, community stigmatization and transitional risks related to housing, education and employment when children leave institutional care". Now I am thinking about other projects that would benefit children, setting up libraries and computer rooms in schools, day care centres, vocational schools ... there is so much that could be done. I want to give the children a better chance at life and educating them can break the cycle of poverty. I have been looking at the work of Room to Read (who don't work in Ghana but have very successful programs elsewhere) and GHEI (who are based in Ghana). Gives me something to think about.
Sometimes the idea of going back to do something more in Ghana is rather overwhelming. Life could be so easy if I stayed in Australia (or the UK or somewhere similar) but I think I will always regret it if I don't go back and try to do something.
On Monday I leave for Stuttgart to visit a friend I was volunteering with in Ghana. From there I fly to Lake Como, Italy to meet with some of my extended family for Christmas. From there I will fly back to the UK.