Ghana get ready!

4AM in the Tallinn Airport

My preparation for Ghana lasted four months -- from the moment I applied for an EU Humanitarian Aid Volunteer position in January until the moment I stepped my foot on a plane to Accra in May. 

The idea to apply came when I was scrolling a Facebook feed and an ad on Mondo's page caught my eye. They were looking for a person with communication and digital skills, who would work with a Ghanaian NGO Rays of Hope Centre, which educates street children and helps them to return to society.

I'd always thought that professions such as a doctor, engineer, teacher, handicrafter, etc are mostly the ones asked for volunteering. But this project was looking for a person with a background in communications, marketing, and project management. Exactly what I had done so far! Therefore I was happy to contribute since I saw it as a way to do something meaningful with my skillset. 

Equally attractive was an opportunity to travel to Ghana to Africa. To a country and a continent where I had never been and had fairly any knowledge about it. 

What more to say - count me in! 

PRACTICE GHANA IN BELGIUM

After passing the interview and being chosen among the final two candidates in February I was sent to an intense EU training in Belgium. This session was surely one of the highlights of the preparation months. 

Training consisted of four-day long zoom classes and a week-long on-ground course in a small town named Jabekke. There, together with my 12 coursemates from across Europe, we got to know more the EU, its Institutions and the truths of the Humanitarian Aid field. We practiced nonstop the different phases of Project Cycle Management, wrote Needs Assesments, Risk Managements. I'm pretty sure that some of us continued in their dreams to debate if it's outcome or out put or what actually is DG ECHO. The culmination of the training was the last three days was a simulation where we solved a humanitarian catastrophe in a country named Samavia.

Me (on the right in green) and my awesome group.

Celebrating our last day with some Macarena.

Even if training was intense, at points stressful and overwhelming, it was equally fascinating, wholesome, and inspiring. I enjoyed interacting with volunteer candidates in my group. There was so much to learn from any of them. We all had different backgrounds, and amounts of experience, we were in different phases in our lives, but we all shared the same desire to work for the greater good.

I also admired the talented trainers and staff of the EU. When the trainers shared their stories we just listened with awe. Shout out to our group lead Emilia Merenmies! 🧡A true Humanitarian Field figure to look up to!

THE USUAL DRILL

Getting my 6th vaccine.

After training followed waiting for the final decision that came at the end of March. And from there on it went intense: confirming flight dates, applying for a visa, booking numerous doctor appointments, creating endless to-do lists, signing all kinds of papers, attending different online calls, classes,meeting up with friends, family, etc.

You know, the usual. 

To look back at it I was glad that at the same time doing all the errands I didn't have work to attend to. So I could solely focus on my deployment. 

KUDOS TO MONDO

Now if someone reads it and finds the four-month-long process a stressful hustle, then... well when choosing Mondo as your sending organization it is actually not that hectic. You can tell that the NGO has been around over a decade. The contacts always kept me on track with the next steps and responded fast to unexpected issues. On top of it, I got a nice selection of books for my deployment from their office. (Aitäh, Diana!)

I received from Mondo even a list of things to pack! 

Some things not included in the proposed list that I took with me: 

• my favorite spoon
• 1bag of sour cream/hapukoor
• rye bread (a must for an Estonian!)
• 1 kg buckwheat/tatar (easiest dish to make)
• postcards with gorgeous photos of Estonia
• Estonian flag and box of sprats/Tallinna kilu (because you know - I need to celebrate the 20th of August there)
• Four phones. Yup. Let me explain:
  1) My personal
  2) One old Nokia for my Estonian SIM
  3) a relic iPhone for music
  4) And then my brother on the final day was like:
  "Hey - I have an extra phone. Do you want it?"
  Me: "Anything wrong with it?"
  "Naka - I just got a new phone."
  "Sure, why not. More the Merrier.
• 16 boxes of Malarone to prevent Malaria. (I know this medicine is on the list, but I just wanted to illustrate how craaaaaazy amount it is)
• A Rubik's Cube I've never managed to put together and a Harmonica I've never managed to play. Let's see how's the situation after 6 months. 

Say you're an Eastern European
w/o saying your an Eastern European.