Blogs from Sekondi-Takoradi, Western, Ghana, Africa

I now have less than a week left in the Western region of Ghana. I will then be going to primary school where my friend Iddris teaches in the Central Region of Ghana and I will be doing whatever I can to help out there. In the orphanage there are 16 children who Mr Samuel (the founder of the orphanage) provides food for, and they attend a state funded school (primary and junior high school- JHS, depending on their age). DJ (whose real name is Ebenezer) and Isaac are brothers aged 16 and 14 whose father died in a fire and were therefore abandoned, and they have two older brothers in Inchaban (a small town close to where we are staying) and Tema (near to Accra). DJ is hard working, already going through his Senior High ... read more

Ghana I have learnt is a place of peace, hospitality and warmth. As the first African country to become independent, I have become so drawn to Ghana's history, development, and culture. I have become immersed in as much of Ghana as I can without actually being there, listening to their popular music (e.g. the famous Ghanaian rapper Sarkodie) and trying to learn some of the main language there (twi, said chwee). There are over 79 languages spoken there, with English being the country's official language as it is an ex British colony. I have also made a number of friends my age in Ghana via a Ghanaian friend in the UK, and have come to see how white people are highly regarded by Ghanaians without much reasoning behind it. I have seen that life is more ... read more

Hello! It has been a very busy and exciting few months in Takoradi, I have a lot to share so here it goes... Each year on October 15th, over 200 million people are involved in celebrations in over 100 countries around the world; this is Global Handwashing Day. Diarrhea kills more people than AIDS, malaria and measles put together; handwashing with soap is the most effective and inexpensive way to prevent diarrheal & acute respiratory infections, which take the lives of millions of children in developing countries. Together, they are responsible for the majority of all child deaths. Together with the staff and students at the YMCA, we discussed the importance of washing your hands and the benefits it will have on the entire community. To demonstrate just how easily germs can be spread we chose ... read more

After six days, four planes, three continets and a very exteneded and crowded cho cho (a small bus) ride, I have finally arrived in Takoradi! Only after a very short amount of time in Ghana, I have already experienced and have come to appreciate so much about this beautiful country and the people. My first few days in the country were spent in Accra, a city of 4 million people, and everything available at your fingertips! While driving around in the back of a taxi you can purchase a bathroom scale, an info-mercial weight loss product called the sauna belt and any selection of food to suit all tastes! My first order of business consisted of intoductions with the local YCI Ghana staff-Fred, Naana and Nee-who I will be working with during my time here. Also ... read more

I was just lying in bed thinking over a conversation from last night and I thought, I must get this down or its going to rattle my brain all night and I will never sleep... Adoption Laws in the UK are changing, changing to make adoption easier as we have hundreds of children in the UK who wake up everyday and have no one to call mummy or daddy, in Africa they have ophanages and adoption laws are easy so why are the orphanages stuffed full with children? Gideon told us of a family member who was having trouble getting pregnant, Mike suggested adoption and straight away I could tell that Gideon was unomfortable with that suggestion and he said oh no no no... I asked him what the views were in Africa about Adoption and ... read more

Monday night started out well, Gideon and I had dinner, mine wasnt very nice but I find that happens quite often so I didnt think anything of it, one of the students joined us and we had a great laugh then Gideon took me for a walk around Takoradi town which I enjoyed. I did not take the camera as it was late at night and I was concerned about security. I made friends with some local children, I watched local women cooking kelewele on the side of the road (fried plantain not just a nickname for me when I was a kid - Kelly Welly) and wathed local people go about their business. My stomach rumbled loudly, REALLY LOUDLY and Gideon was tired so we headed back and that is when it started, I managed ... read more