My September in Kongo, Ghana

My September in Kongo, Ghana.

6.09.2018 - Introduction to KoCDA. Kongo, Ghana.

Hello everyone, here is Diana Tancredi, 31 years old from Italy and since one month now, EU Aid Volunteer deployed by Mondo in Kongo (Ghana).

My project last six months and is about capacity building and education, more specifically, having a university degree in computer science, to develop ICT capacity in the community.

I arrived in Kongo the evening of the 5th of September, when it was dark, welcomed by Jasmin, the other volunteer, so I could see the place only the day after. That day I had a meeting with the host organization, KoCDA, our partner, to introduce me to some of the members and our mentor or, as Victor More said, the Director of KoCDA, to know my “new fathers and mothers”.

The 6th of September, also Diana Tamm arrived and she stayed with us for 12 days, so I could do the first steps with her and that was a big help for me. We had a meeting with the Director of Ghana Education Service (GES) and Francis Sapaat, the NGO desk officer, to introduce me and also discuss about my tasks and the opening of an ICT centre in Kongo.

Most of the schools don’t have computers so the ICT teachers teach the theory part, without practical work. Some of them are not practical with the computer. Mondo is doneting computers for the project and Diana Tamm came with two of them. The new volunteer, Silja who came yesterday, 6th October and brought another two computers too and others will arrive soon. This Monday, first October, I had another meeting where they informed me that they have found a place and now I'm waiting for the place to be cleaned and secured for the computers.

  

My work now is to observe the lessons of ICT Teachers in the district's junior high school in order to understand their capacity and, by the time the ICT centre will be opened, do practical work with them. The ICT centre doesn't only give me the chance to train ICT teachers, it will also give the opportunity to the ICT teachers to have a place where they can practice with the students and the opportunity to professionals to organize classes for the community.

This month I also helped Victor More with the Mondo Child Support. It's a project that see every year Estonian families giving support to 120 kids at primary school and junior High School. The kids in the program are those that have more need, often orphans or with one parent or living in a poor context. 

We went to check in the district's schools, if the students supported by Mondo were actually attending and we collected the forms of the new students that applied this year.

It wasn’t so easy to listen to all the backgrounds of the kids.

Collecting new requests. Picture by Jasmin Sander.

The days vary; I've been to the Maternity Clinic to help with the use of a software, HAMS, which many hospitals in Ghana use, but they are only starting now and some of the operators have never used a computer. Other days I've gone to Presentation school to fix some of the computers that had not been used in 6 years, but are still working. So, I have already been one year in Ghana, in Abor, with Italian National Civil Service, and my job had a definite schedule (I was teaching in a school), but this time, with the ICT project that starts with me and has such varied tasks, every day there is something different to do and I like that.

That’s about my September: A long introduction, meetings, small but many steps. All the rest is a worm welcome, friends for the evening, try to cook with the few food available, learn some few words of nabd, the local language, go to the clinic for gastritis and resuscitate after 3 days and share the experience with Jasmin!

Market day in Kongo

Me and Jasmin

The way home.. during rainy season (it will soon change)

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See you next month with a description of the schools district and updates on our ICT center.