Afenhyia Pa
2021 has been a huge year of growth for Akwaaba Volunteers. Whilst the world is still a bit up and down and Covid is continuing to affect the running of our volunteer programme we have been blessed with the opportunity to put more time into growing our projects to make a bigger impact, positively benefit the kids we are working with, create opportunities for even more children in the Labadi community and focus on the sustainability of what we do. All in all 2021 was a great year and we wanted to have a big celebration to thank the kids for being so consistent in sports and at school.
The Street 2 School Christmas Party was the first of the season. All 171 kids received a hand written invitation, were told the time and the place and to dress to impress! This was the first year we have done a proper Christmas celebration so we knew we wanted it to be a memorable night for the kids. On 18th December at 2PM the kids started to arrive…. We kick started the party with a cultural performance by the De Blessing Dance group, followed by a talent show from our own kids, there was singing, rapping and dancing. We laughed, we smiled and most importantly the kids celebrated each other. We then moved onto the awards part of the night. We awarded 4 people in each age group, the most hard working, most disciplined, the discovery of the year and the overall best player. Each received a Christmas gift from Spread Some Sunshine Charity. Then we awarded 4 kids and 1 coach with the overall awards for their hard work, determination and overall presence at our projects. Now the serious stuff was done and dusted we ate some amazing food, drank lots of fizzy drinks, danced some more and had a great time!
On the 21st December it was time for the Christmas party at Future Leaders School. An annual event for all 300 students to make sure that they get to celebrate the festive season in style! We kickstarted the day with the House of Medics who gave medical talks to different groups of students and gave out book bags for turning up on time…. (Ghana time is real even when there is a party). We then had the grand opening of the new school library, sponsored by Pass Abu Dhabi, it was amazing to see the kids have a space to sit and read and have access to books that they have never had before. Then we played games and ate Jollof Rice prepared by the teachers whilst Father Christmas flew in specially from the North Pole to give every single child a Christmas gift from Spread Some Sunshine followed by the chaos of wrapping paper flying everywhere and the joy of seeing their new toys, gifts and showing their friends. Another magical day of sharing joy with the kids and emphasising that education is more than just sitting in a classroom but all the fun things that come with it!
Thankyou to everyone who has joined us for our Christmas parties and throughout 2021! We wish you all a very happy New year and can’t wait to connect with more people in 2022!
