Blogs from Ho, Volta, Ghana, Africa - page 9

My last day at the orphanage was a day like any other, really. I got frustrated a lot, I had a kid on my lap or in my arms for 80% of the time, and I cried a bit at the end. Picture, if you will, climbing into a van after a long day of running around. Your white T-shirt is now brown, your feet look like they will never get clean, and so many tiny pairs of hands have been through your hair that it is matted together. You close the door (on a fellow volunteers leg- sorry Michael) and look back as the van drives away. There are about 50 kids, most no older than 6, waving good-bye to you and smiling. I didn't tell the kids I was leaving. Most of them wouldn't ... read more

Last week, I was invincible. Each morning, I arose from my top bunk, lifted the mandatory mosquito netting, and hopped down to fill myself with nescafe granulated coffee. (yes, I'm mentioning it again.) Whilst other volunteers were lounging about, green in the face or rushing to the restroom, I popped around the homebase, cheery and healthy as ever. "Ah, Africa," I thought, "I've taken your punches and still I am standing!" I laughed in the faces of the sick. "Ha-ha, ho-ho!" But karma is a funny thing, as we all know. This morning, I crawled out of my bunk, and got tangled in the netting. I tripped a little on the way down, and almost slipped when I put on my flip flops to head to the bathroom. What was going on? Perhaps I just needed ... read more