While volunteering in Ghana a Project Manager for a Midlands Hospital helped to build a Classroom, install a Creche, and set up Maths, and English tests during her two week stay at a school.
Joyte Parmar, who works at the University of Birmingham Hospital, described her time spent volunteering at the Lisa Findlay school in Ghana as ‘the best thing that I have ever done, It was fantastic’.
During her time there she said that she found that the classrooms were too small, and so along with two other people they knocked down walls to turn a spare room that was not being used into another classroom.
She then went on to help create a crèche for 50 babies, structure classes into Kindergarten and Primary school levels, and set up Maths and English tests.
This was a particular concern for Joyte as she feels that ‘the kids need to learn, and they have not grasped the concept that they are there to be taught’.
She was full of praise for the Volunteer Co-ordinators, and was able to put her administration skills to good use when American Doctors visited the area. ‘A free clinic was set up and the Doctors were able to carry out Eye, Diabetes, and Blood pressure tests.
I got the children into a line, and kept a record of them all’ she said. She was concerned that the country as a whole lacked ‘planning skills, and administration’, and added that ‘I found my niche, re-audited the structure of how things were taught, filled in forms, registered children, and helped to create manuals for the next set of people who will volunteer there’.
During her time in Ghana she also visited remote Village Schools, and felt that it was a shock compared to the school that had been set up by Lisa Findlay.
She found the people of Ghana to be very friendly, adding that ‘although they have nothing they are unbelievably happy people’.
Joyte made several new friends while she was there, and hopes to meet up with some of them who are travelling after they finish volunteering in Ghana.
She said that she would like to return to Ghana, but may well go to Tanzania next as she has heard that they need Administrators.
She said that she would ‘definitely recommend volunteering in Ghana to anyone’, and added that it is a ‘fantastic way to see a different side to a country’.
She feels that along with the other volunteers they ‘contributed a lot in a short space of time’, and that it has made her realise that ‘there is more to life than work’.
We here at Original Volunteers are quite amazed by all that Joyte has achieved in such a short space of time, and look forward to hopefully arranging for her to volunteer in Tanzania in the future.
Hopefully, as a result of her efforts the school is now more spacious, organised, and structured Educationally.
Well done Joyte.
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Volunteers in African Case Studies