Help With Housing for Teachers in Rural Ghana
KIDS NEED TEACHERS - TEACHERS NEED HOMES!
We all agree that school teachers are heroes who profoundly impact students' lives. In rural Ghana though, without the infrastructure we're all accustomed to, teachers can be hard to come by if only due to logistical challenges. We're building a dormitory for teachers in Asempanye, several hours outside of Accra, to bring in teachers who will live in the community and be able to stay year-round, assuring that there are enough teachers for the local kids, the quality of education improves, and stability increases as the teachers are embedded in the community.
WHY ME? WHY THERE?
Sure, I enjoy volunteering because I like to "give back," "make a difference," and all that, but I actually have mixed feelings about service projects abroad... I don't want to be part of something where tourists with a "savior complex" swoop into an unfamiliar culture to look heroic and take selfies with disadvantaged children! I applied to participate in THIS project because it is ethically designed, community led, and ultimately sustainable. Asampanye identified the need for teachers in their own community and determined that housing was the key barrier. Local leaders created a system for hosting volunteers who want to experience Ghanaian culture, and hired community members to work on the construction project, provide food and lodging, and orchestrate sightseeing on the weekends. I'll be ducking into a project that's well underway, will pitch for a couple of weeks mixing cement, lugging bricks and spreading mortar, and then I'll leave, but others will come along and take over and finish the dormitory. I approve of this model!
WHY I'M FUNDRAISING
My participation in this program will cost a total of $787 in fees. Some of this goes to IVHQ, a New Zealand based company that matches volunteers with projects and coordinates logistics before a project starts. They're impressive- I had to apply, submit to a background check, and complete online training before being accepted. Much of their prep focuses on ethical, responsible tourism and cultural awareness. MOST of the fees go to VCO (Volunteer Corps Organisation), the all-Ghanaian team running the show locally. This covers my stay in the village (where I'll sleep in a bunk, share a bathroom, eat with the crew of locals and volunteers, and do chores), and will go toward construction supplies and tools. I also need a Visa ($60 - $100), mosquito net, LOTS of insect repellent, first aid supplies, SIM card and minutes, vaccinations, and anti-malarial meds. Oh, and a plane ticket to Ghana!
It's a volunteer VACATION, so I definitely don't ask anyone to chip in for me to be a tourist. Even with the hard work it's going to be fun and interesting, and I especially look forward to visiting the Cape Coast, which was the hub of the transatlantic slave trade and now a site for museums and education. However, I want to have the greatest possible impact on the construction of teachers' housing during my stay in Asempanye, and the more I can raise the more I can offer. I plan to bring TWO suitcases maxed out at 50 lbs each, full of items the community is asking for. I pack light, so I'll have lots of room for hand tools, work gloves, and work clothes as well as donations for the other VCO projects: school supplies, medical supplies, first aid, etc. Help me to fill these suitcases with 100 lbs of goods and leave everything behind with the project! In addition to the building itself, the dormitory will need to be furnished, and of course the schools and classrooms need a great deal too. All donations will go to defray the cost of my fees and supplies, and toward purchasing much-needed materials that I can easily bring from the U.S.
MEDAA SI! (THANK YOU!)
I feel blessed to be able to travel, learn, and offer a little bit of labor toward a worthy project in one small community. I'm eternally grateful for my friends and family who are so supportive of my goals!
