Mondo's volunteers in Ghana

  At the beginning of the month, I was in an art gallery, the Artists Alliance Gallery, in Accra. I was there with some friends on a Saturday afternoon. The place is amazing; it has three floors full of African arts: painting, jewellery, fabrics, statues and so much more (unfortunately, I can’t show you pictures because since it is a gallery and every piece is original and for selling, they don’t allow photos). At some point, I was digging around some oil paintings on a random counter and I saw one that impressed me. It is a painting of three Ghanaian women. One is carrying a baby in the typical way (on the back, wrapped in a fabric) and all three have large trays full of stuff on the head. The background is light brown, like a sky full of sand. It reflects the women reality that I see every day around me in Ashaiman. It is very impressive how these women can carry heavy things on trays on their heads as if it is nothing, with grace and agility even in the traffic or in crowded p...

  It has been a long journey to get here, but here I am. I was accepted in April for the Junior Psychosocial Support and Organizational Development position in Ghana. Then I waited until June for the training, both on-line and in Bulgaria with a wonderful group of people (I feel very lucky for that), and then my vaccinations appointments and visa process took some sweet time (I am Italian, paperwork in my country is never a pleasure); so I waited even more. As “the cherry on top”, on the 1st of August after 5 hours of delay my flight from Brussels to Accra was cancelled and I needed to spend one night there and to take one the next morning … However, after this VERY LONG waiting and postponing I have made it! On the 2 nd  of August, I arrived in Ghana and I started my deployment! Therefore, I spent more months between the acceptance of the role and the actual deployment than the deployment itself, that will be for 3 months and 19 days exactly. I think that this particular timi...

It is common to fall ill during your deployment. Within the two months in Ghana, It has happened to me twice. First I received the symptoms of a cold. I  was celebrating my first week in Ashaiman with a constant runny nose and a symphony of coughing. The second was a stomach infection that took me straight to a hospital. First Symptoms It all started one evening when I was having dinner at home. Suddenly I didn't have any appetite. Even the simplest fried yam on my plate made me feel nauseous. I assumed I'm simply exhausted from previous days so called it for an early night. Before falling asleep I took my temperature, just out of interest. It was 37,2. "Okay, let's see what the morning brings," I said to myself and tried to fall asleep. Well, what the morning brought me was definitely not a rest. My night passed by giving multiple visits to the toilet (diarrhea - of course!), constantly adding layers to stop chills, and seeing strange dreams. Finally, around 4 AM...

They say that the first month of the deployment is usually the most chaotic. And coming from my experience - amen, it's true.   Culturally my month has been quite impressive and colorful. I've attended a funeral, a wedding, a church service, seen a local football match, visited a local school, and well.. taken into a hospital due to bad street food (the famous jollof). I'm glad that in a short time I've experienced so many different (and mostly fun) aspects of Ghanaian life, so this eases the slight pain I've had with getting used to local meals, constant attention on the streets, understanding the local English accent, and working on my tasks. Hello tasks my old friends Obviously, I knew my tasks before arriving in Ghana. But one thing is to have them on paper, the other is their accordance with reality. You may be hired as a Financial Officer in the EU volunteer program, but in reality, you travel to another country to be a secretary and buy stuff for the office....

I've been in Ghana now for two weeks. This is the length of a period that usually tourists like to spend in favored destinations.  Unfortunately, as a tourist, I would be a lousy one. So far I haven't visited any famous sightseeings or parks in Ghana, attended safaris, filled my wardrobe with colorful prints, or spent hundreds of cedis in markets. In fact, so far I've spent only 1 cedi to purchase ginger for my cold.  My "tourist period" - the two weeks - has passed by moving into my new home, and getting to know my workplace, my area, and Ghanaian culture. I've also made start with Twi classes (the most widely spoken local language) and already had a chance to attend a funeral and a Christian Sunday Service. And well, catch a cold. Because it is rainy season now. And every other day it pours cats and dogs in 30-degree heat. So who is this odd tourist you're reading here about?  Me, Saile! A European Union Aid Volunteer who next 6 months lives in Ghana, As...

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 c...