I spent so many rainy Sunday afternoons researching a million different volunteering organisations looking for a sustainable, ethical, transparent organisation that actually makes a lasting impact.
With Akwaaba volunteers I found exactly that. They work mainly with one community and approach their work from multiple angles like sports, education and health. This ensures that they really know the community and how they can best help them.
For Jordan and King the sky seems to be the limit. They have big dreams, and by how far they’ve come so far they’ve already shown their potential, but they also show how simple it can be to make a difference in someone’s life. And with this kind of volunteering work, it goes beyond cultural, religious or even racial differences. It’s simple: you just come as a human being that helps other human beings. And even though it’s so simple, the depth of that is indescribable. It really is that simple to change someone’s life.
What I enjoyed most about working with Jordan and King is that they really give you the full experience with everything. The full Ghana experience, but also the full community experience of the community that they work with. You sign up for one or maybe two projects, but if you want there are so many more possibilities.
You can taste a little bit from all the work they do and really get to know the community. For example, I signed up for the medical project. This meant that I worked in a hospital from about 8 am until 2 pm. After a bit of downtime I would then go to ‘the pitch’ with King and Jordan to help with the netball training or after school classes. During my time there they were also setting up a sexual health project that I got to help with. Jordan and King are very open to your own ideas as well, so I even got to set up my own project.
Besides that there’s plenty of time to get the full Ghana experience. Jordan and King do the most to make sure you really get to know the culture by doing things ‘the Ghana-way’. Need transport? They’ll help you get a local taxi or trotro and help you negotiate the price. Want a snack? They’ll show you the best street food places to get bofrut or Fanmilk ice cream. For literally anything you need they will help you do it the Ghana-way.
The weekends are free to explore more of Ghana. Because there’s more time on the weekends, this gives you the opportunity to explore outside of Accra as well. Jordan and King are always ready to help you arrange all the experiences that you have in mind. Want to go see elephants in Mole national park? You got it, they’ll call Abdul and help you find the best place to stay. Do you want to go surfing? You got it, they’ll call their friends the Justice’s Brothers for lessons and Mr. Mike for a place to stay. Do you want to just chill at the pool? No worries they’ll tell you the best pool to relax at and even recommend which juice is the nicest. Even during the week they’re always ready to have a good time, have a Club beer or have fufu for lunch.
So do you want to have a life-changing, fulfilling, all round experience? You can be sure to find that in Ghana with Akwaaba volunteers.
