A Monumentous Mixture of Events!
This has been our busiest and most successful week so far.
It started with a lot of planning in the office and we just kept up the
momentum until we could all have a much-deserved rest this weekend. After much
preparation and rehearsal, on Wednesday afternoon, we headed into town and got
dropped off near a wall that seemed no more special than any other wall in
Tamale. Our suspicions began to rise but soon we were greeted by a man in a
Star Wars T-shirt who it turned out had no idea what Star Wars was. We followed
him down a few side streets and entered a corner house with a mirrored door
into a tiny reception room with a neighbouring curtained off 10ft square room
complete with creaky stage. Our UK volunteer, in-country volunteer, in-country
team leader and project partner began to receive “star” treatment and got their
makeup done (the make-up was too dark for Ben so he got a hair tousle and a wet
wipe). Then they took to the stage to talk about ICS, PAGSUNG and female
empowerment. The rest of us packed into the reception area and gave silent sweaty
support, trying to guess the next location of the cheerleading chicken that
gradually moved round the building cawing away, also in support I assume. The
only downside, it was supposed to be free but apparently there was an issue
with having to hire cameras, so we negotiated down to 100 cedis from 200. The
presence of UK volunteers creates the stereotype that we have money to spare so
we have to continually challenge this as it is a youth lead programme where
they use their skills not their wallets to make a change.
That night I was lucky enough to be invited to a meal with 2 representatives of my team, the High Commissioner of Ghana, the Country Director for DFID in Ghana and an assortment of their team who are currently going around Ghana to measure the impact of their different projects. It was a fantastic experience and gave me the opportunity to talk about ICS and voice my support for the continuation of the programme that is being reassessed this year (may or may not come back). Certain media sites in the UK see our foreign aid budget for ICS as supporting “White Knights” coming into countries like Africa and teaching them how they “should” live. In my opinion, the end result of i.e. a lesson, an event, a radio show, is a great achievement and does benefit the schools, the groups and the communities. However, I think it’s only one part of the impact of ICS. The personal development opportunity for a team of young UK and Ghanian volunteers working together is unique. The Ghanian volunteers work alongside UK volunteers who share their skills that we can sometimes take for granted e.g. reading, writing, maths and using computers. The UK Volunteers return home worldlier wise and mentally stronger with the ability to pursue their passions with skills they could never have developed solely within our current education system.
ICS empowers young people to plan projects from the ground up, work in multicultural teams, improve social skills and practise monitoring and evaluation (to name a few) that will help them one day build a future that includes all of us, no matter who we are. On a lighter note, I had to rush back from the tv show and get a shower as I sweat profusely at least once a day, got my pants stuck around my ankles in the rush to get ready, fell on the floor, almost got a face full of ant poison and cut my knee! However, I upheld my British nature and was ready on time for the taxi at 6pm on the dot.
The following morning, we had 4 representatives (identified by the needs assessment from each of our 3 communities) visit the office to complete the first of 3 peer education sessions that were designed and delivered by the volunteers. They are teaching them the required skills to educate others in their community about health issues or producing quality shea butter. After the session, a trainer from our Sagnarigu office took the women around all the different parts of the shea butter production process and gave them a hand-on demonstration about the correct procedure to produce high quality shea butter which will improve their income in each community and make them more financially stable.
Friday morning, one of our volunteers planned and delivered a session about the harmful effects of littering followed by the class splitting into teams with volunteers and filling up a bag of rubbish each. This then had to be burned because there are no regular collections, but we did advise that the 500ml plastic water sachets (most peoples only access to clean drinkable water) can be traded in at a local company to be recycled into school bags and other items.
To finish off the day, 3 volunteers visited Zaa Radio to talk about ICS, PAGSUNG and our event for next week on Sexual Health and Reproduction. They focussed on the importance of getting tested for HIV/AIDS and challenging some of the myths that result in sufferers hiding their condition or becoming outcasts.
Fwooo! A long week but a good week, thanks for reading.
That night I was lucky enough to be invited to a meal with 2 representatives of my team, the High Commissioner of Ghana, the Country Director for DFID in Ghana and an assortment of their team who are currently going around Ghana to measure the impact of their different projects. It was a fantastic experience and gave me the opportunity to talk about ICS and voice my support for the continuation of the programme that is being reassessed this year (may or may not come back). Certain media sites in the UK see our foreign aid budget for ICS as supporting “White Knights” coming into countries like Africa and teaching them how they “should” live. In my opinion, the end result of i.e. a lesson, an event, a radio show, is a great achievement and does benefit the schools, the groups and the communities. However, I think it’s only one part of the impact of ICS. The personal development opportunity for a team of young UK and Ghanian volunteers working together is unique. The Ghanian volunteers work alongside UK volunteers who share their skills that we can sometimes take for granted e.g. reading, writing, maths and using computers. The UK Volunteers return home worldlier wise and mentally stronger with the ability to pursue their passions with skills they could never have developed solely within our current education system.
ICS empowers young people to plan projects from the ground up, work in multicultural teams, improve social skills and practise monitoring and evaluation (to name a few) that will help them one day build a future that includes all of us, no matter who we are. On a lighter note, I had to rush back from the tv show and get a shower as I sweat profusely at least once a day, got my pants stuck around my ankles in the rush to get ready, fell on the floor, almost got a face full of ant poison and cut my knee! However, I upheld my British nature and was ready on time for the taxi at 6pm on the dot.
The following morning, we had 4 representatives (identified by the needs assessment from each of our 3 communities) visit the office to complete the first of 3 peer education sessions that were designed and delivered by the volunteers. They are teaching them the required skills to educate others in their community about health issues or producing quality shea butter. After the session, a trainer from our Sagnarigu office took the women around all the different parts of the shea butter production process and gave them a hand-on demonstration about the correct procedure to produce high quality shea butter which will improve their income in each community and make them more financially stable.
Friday morning, one of our volunteers planned and delivered a session about the harmful effects of littering followed by the class splitting into teams with volunteers and filling up a bag of rubbish each. This then had to be burned because there are no regular collections, but we did advise that the 500ml plastic water sachets (most peoples only access to clean drinkable water) can be traded in at a local company to be recycled into school bags and other items.
To finish off the day, 3 volunteers visited Zaa Radio to talk about ICS, PAGSUNG and our event for next week on Sexual Health and Reproduction. They focussed on the importance of getting tested for HIV/AIDS and challenging some of the myths that result in sufferers hiding their condition or becoming outcasts.
Fwooo! A long week but a good week, thanks for reading.
The cast of our TV show (Ben - UKV , Hafsah - ICV , Mohammed - ICTL and Madam Safia - project partner) N.B - IC means in-country
The setting of the big meeting!
They do say the best way to learn is by doing. Sorting through looking for the good, the bad and the ugly nuts.
A young girl helping to clean her school after our littering session.
Good effort teams!
Our team talking about HIV/AIDS on Zaa Radio
Are you also the photographer?
ReplyDeleteI like taking photos but I don’t do it as a hobby, it’s just a way of remembering things and being able to show them to other people.
ReplyDelete