Ex-Original Volunteer Rebecca is going back to Africa

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Volunteering is hard work and can be challenging, but it’s also a lot of fun. Rebecca Morgan, 20, from Kington, Herefordshire will be returning to our Ghana Project for the second time.

‘My time in Ghana was full of good experiences’

Here, she recalls the happy memories of her first visit to Ghana and her month spent in the Orphanage.

My time in Ghana was full of good experiences. We spent one month at the Children’s Home organised by Original Volunteers – the children were so beautiful and fun to be with, we created such a good bond between the children at the orphanage and ourselves.

‘The hardest part of the placement was going home’

Like the majority of the projects Original Volunteers supports, Ghana need volunteers 365 days a year. For some of us, spending Christmas away from home is a daunting prospect, but for Rebecca and other volunteers the chance to join the children’s celebrations was an opportunity not to be missed..

We were in Ghana during Christmas time, so the children were not at school. This gave us the perfect opportunity to have fun and play games for the whole month, as well as the opportunity to teach them a bit of English informally. We created things through arts and crafts, and played a whole list of games from learning and Christmas games to singing games. Every volunteer I spoke to loved it.

However, it’s not just fun and games that leave a smile on the volunteer’s faces. For Rebecca, one of the most positive aspects of volunteering was the chance to educate the children while meeting volunteers from all over the world. During her stay in the Orphanage, Rebecca worked together with other volunteers to put on a play which would raise Aids awareness. Co-ordinated by Corrine Gray, an Original Volunteer from Trinindad and Tobago, the play became an opportunity for everyone to get involved.

The volunteer placement gave me a real sense of achievement. We helped other volunteers with the Aids awareness play as well as other educational awareness lessons. After helping to make the props and attending rehearsals, it was extremely rewarding watching the play being performed. It was great to create a good bond between children and other volunteers, especially Corrine Gray-brilliant gal!!.

Being in a new country gives our volunteers an insight into their own lives, and Rebecca was no exception. Returning to the UK with a new-found confidence, she soon realised she would certainly be returning to Ghana in the future. In fact, for Rebecca the hardest part of the placement was going home!

An occurrence which happened more than once was the children (although extremely respectful), found it quite stimulating to open our suitcases and look at our potions and gadgets from the western world, giggling among themselves at the stupid things we had burdened ourselves with. To them every cream or spray was mosquito repellent, and before I could turn around they would smooth the potions over their skin and start parading around my bedroom, cracking up with laughter and falling to the ground. Some of the ‘children’ were actually older than my friend Ben who came along with me, and we met up with them after we had finished the placement. I am definitely going back out to say ‘’hello” before starting a course in International Development at University next year.

Volunteering was a really positive experience. There were tears when we left the orphanage, but we have some brilliant photos of the children at the orphanage and even better memories. Keep up the good work!

If you would like to volunteer in Ghana click here

Read more about our: Volunteers in African Case Studies

A little goes a long way in Africa

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New water filter systems for Ghana will help sustain healthier conditions thanks to some of our recent volunteers.

A water filter project in Ghana made by recent volunteers is going to have big results with improving health conditions.

Coral Westlake told us about the project and how she realised “we all take running clean water for granted.”

Water borne diseases are a huge problem in Ghana, with 81% of the rural population relying on untreated water. Coral and the other volunteers visited Tojomohoji Island and met the thirty inhabitants who live there and use the river water for washing, cooking and drinking. All the volunteers were affected when they learnt that most the islanders suffered from stomach and intestinal complaints due to contaminated water. Coral and Susan decided to organise a project to help the people.

The volunteers visited Accra, and purchased 25 litre free standing water filters. Coral, Susan, Sidique, Jack, Lauren and Colette contributed to the initial fund. The units with three filters cost just £29 and work by removing bacteria such as typhoid and cholera, sand, rust and any discolouration. The third filter contains mineral stones. The volunteers bought four units and enough replacement filters to last four years with boiled water, at a cost of only £6 per filter. gone through the filtration system it was perfectly clear. What a result!”

‘It was green, cloudy water…”

The consumption of unsafe water in Ghana, along with poor sanitation and hygiene practices, continue to result in diarrhoea, worm infestation and other water and sanitation-related diseases, which can lead to death and disability. Children are usually the first to get sick and die from these diseases. The chief of the island was shown how to assemble the units and then the first water was added.

Coral observed the process saying, “it was green, cloudy water with particles floating in it but after it had gone through the filtration system it was perfectly clear. What a result!”

In the future…

Coral and the other volunteers are interested in sustaining the new health conditions for the islanders and recent volunteers have already been getting involved too. Coral hopes these “volunteers in the future will help to carry on this project so that the islanders can continue to have clean, safe water for years to come.” It is wonderful to see what a difference our volunteers have made and we are very proud and happy to learn about the improved health conditions.

If you would like to do some volunteer work in Ghana click here

Read more about our: Volunteers in African Case Studies

Original Volunteers Lisa Goes Back to Africa

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When Lisa arrived in Ghana to volunteer with Original Volunteers for the first time, she didn’t realise that a few weeks later she would be building a school…of her own!

Lisa Finlay wrote:

The school is in Bepong which is five minutes from where the volunteer coordinators live.

I decided to start the project following a visit to the village and discovering a lot of poverty and some children in far worse circumstances than those living in the orphanages. The schools were basically wooden sheds and it was terrible and I just wanted to help. Many of the schools are private and too expensive for the local children so many just work on the farms for their parents or end up getting pregnant and then that’s their education over with.

The school I am opening will have to be private so that the teacher can be paid and cover meals but it will not need to make a profit so it will be cheaper than the others.

It was very easy to start the school, Ben my project manager helped with every thing and took me to the chiefs palace to get permission to build a school, got all the equipment from machines to wheel barrows and trucks to transport the wood up and down to recruiting the joiners, plasterers and weeders.

The children really want to learn…

I would love the school to be finished by Christmas but it all depends on money. The people in this village are just so excited that this white woman is coming to help them. They think it is going to be the best school in Bepong so I have a lot to live up to!

Any help is very much appreciated by anyone whatever the contribution be it big or small. The children really want to learn but because of the costs involved in private education and the poor quality of education even in these private schools I hope this school will change things for the good and fill a much needed gap.

By the way I also want to start a youth centre which will also be able to offer English classes to the older boys and girls who have missed out.

If you would like to volunteer in Ghana click here

Read more about our: Volunteers in African Case Studies

Student Nurse Loved Volunteering in Ghana


FORMER STUDENT NURSE WHO ‘LOVED’ VOLUNTEERING IN GHANA LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH STREET CHILDREN IN MOMBASSA

A Former Student nurse ‘loved’ her time spent doing voluntary work abroad in Ghana so much that she returned 2 months later, and is now about to volunteer in Mombassa, Kenya.

Hannah Mcelroy from Cheshire went to Ghana in May 2008, and enjoyed the two weeks that she spent there so much that she returned seven weeks later.

During her time there she volunteered in an Orphanage, and helped to dig out the foundations for a building on a remote Island on which she camped, on Lake Volta. She also spent some time at the Lisa Findlay school, and enjoyed taking the children from the Orphanage out for the day to a park that was being built in the grounds of the school.

During her time in Ghana she made several friends who she kept in touch with, partly through Facebook, and felt that the people of Ghana were ‘very friendly’. She has already recommended the experience to other people, and enjoyed her time volunteering so much that she has decided to spend three months in Mombassa in Kenya from March working with the Street Children.

She feels that in spending a longer period of time volunteering abroad she will be able to make a greater contribution, and is really looking forward to the time she will be spending there.

We wish Hannah well, and we are pleased to hear that she had such a wonderful time in Ghana. If you feel that you would like to take part in similar projects why not get in touch by e mailing us on [email protected]

Read more about our: Volunteers in African Case Studies

Volunteer in Vibrant Morocco with Original Volunteers


Original Volunteers can offer you the opportunity to volunteer abroad in Morocco on a wide range of exciting and worthwhile projects.

Based in Marrakech you do not have to be tied to volunteering in one location, or at one project. Original Volunteers can offer you the opportunity to choose to volunteer at the Medina or Tramsolote Orphanages, at two different baby homes, by working with Street Kids projects, teaching English in local schools, or you could take a short bus ride to remote mountain villages to work with the local children.

Original Volunteers that the approach that no previous experience of volunteering is necessary, just a desire to have a go, and get involved.

From playing sports, and games with the children, to being creative with Arts and Crafts, a desire to teaching children to read, through to practical skills, such as painting and decorating, you can really make a major difference while volunteering with Original volunteers.

While there is a weekly volunteering schedule it is entirely up to you when you choose to opt in and out of it.  With Original Volunteers we want you to feel that it is your choice entirely.

Your time spent volunteering abroad with Original Volunteers can help to change a child’s life dramatically by improving their standards of Education, their self esteem and confidence, and their surroundings, as well as helping to make you a more rounded and complete person as well.

And in Morocco a colourful country indeed awaits you.

Based in exotic Marrakech, in your free time, when you are not volunteering, you may decide to sample the delights of the Djemaa El Fna, the Market Square, with its vibrant atmosphere of Fire Eaters, Traditional musicians, Storytellers, Snake Charmers, Dancers, Fortune Tellers, and Acrobats. A feast for the eyes, and ears.

Why not try haggling with the local traders for colourful spices, or traditional fabrics, and local delicacies, or lose yourself in a maze of narrow alleyways, Mediaeval Medina’s, or stunning Souk’s, and the amazing architecture of the ancient Kasbah’s.

Alternately you may choose to take a Camel ride into the Desert, head out to Essaouiria to join the surfing community, or to simply relax with your fellow volunteers at your shared Riad apartment sipping local refreshments on your roof top terrace.

You will soon begin to feel part of a community of volunteers, but there will also be locally based Original volunteers employed coordinators on hand to meet, greet, and offer you support should you need it.

Morocco has been described in the past as ‘Nowhere as close to Europe feels so foreign or different’.

This exotic, colourful, and vibrant country awaits you, and it is the ideal location, for you to begin your volunteering experience with Original Volunteers, and what a wonderful experience it could well prove to be.

To find out more about volunteering with Original Volunteers why not contact us on 01603 856932 or e mail us on [email protected]

Read more about our: Volunteers in African Case Studies

Nurse reviews time volunteering in Mombassa


NURSE FROM BIRMINGHAM DESCRIBES VOLUNTEERING IN MOMBASSA AS ‘BEST THING EVER’.

A Nurse from Birmingham who volunteered at an Orphanage in Mombassa has described her time there as the ‘best thing ever’.

Satwant Kaur spent 2 weeks at the Orphanage in September, ‘Loved’ her time spent there, and is making plans to volunteer abroad again with Original Volunteers.

She said that she would definitely recommend volunteering to people, particularly in Mombassa. ‘ I would recommend it as a first one’ she said, adding that ‘they looked after me so well, and I felt safe there’.

Satwant, who has a PGCE, particularly enjoyed teaching English, and Maths to the children, and hopes to return to Mombassa again one day. For the moment she is thinking about volunteering in Thailand, working at an Orphanage again, possibly at the end of April. ‘ I gained a great deal of personal satisfaction’ she said, talking about her time spent there, and that it was a wonderful feeling to be able to ‘put a smile on the children’s faces’.

We are very happy to hear that Satwand had such a wonderful time, and very pleased to hear that she is considering volunteering abroad again with us.

If you feel that you could enrich, and enhance the lives of Orphanage children why not contact us on 01603 856932 or contact us by e mail on [email protected]

Read more about our: Volunteers in African Case Studies

Volunteer from Italy reviews Volunteering in Morocco


Valeria Salvai found the Coordinators in Marrakech to be ‘very helpful’, and the accommodation to be ‘good’ during her time spent volunteering at Orphanages in Morocco.

Valeria, who hails from Italy, described the accommodation and organization of volunteering in Morocco as ‘good’, and was full of praise for the coordinators.

‘The Coordinator was very helpful’ she said, adding that ‘we had everything we could need, and when we had problems within little time she could solve them’.

She found the children at the Orphanage to be ‘very lively’, and added that ‘they always smile, and do not seem as naughty as in my country’.

Valeria felt they were ‘very prompt, and longing to join every activity you propose’, and urged future volunteers abroad to take ‘pencils, toys and pictures’ with them.

She said that the Orphanages, and Children’s centres were ‘very good, clean, and with professional and careful workers’ and enjoyed being able to work with children of different ages.

Valeria described Marrakech as an ‘interesting city’, with a ‘peculiar atmosphere’, and ‘so much to visit, and see’. She felt that it was a ‘very safe’ place to be, had no problems walking alone in the city, and found the people to be ‘very helpful, and warm’. Valeria added that she found her experiences of volunteering in Marrakech to be ‘very satisfying’.

Read more about our: Volunteers in African Case Studies

Trainee Teacher reviews volunteering in Ghana


TRAINEE TEACHER DESCRIBES TEACHING IN GHANA AS ‘THE MOST AMAZING TIME OF MY LIFE’.

A Trainee Teacher who spent part of her summer holiday teaching at a school in Ghana described the experience as ‘the most amazing time of my life’.

Indeed, she enjoyed the experience so much that she has recommended volunteering with Original Volunteers to many of her pupils who are considering a gap year abroad.

Diana Firbank, a Trainee Teacher from Newmarket spent 4 weeks in August 2009 teaching in a school, and occasionally helping out at an Orphanage in Ghana. She described the children there as ‘lovely’ and joked that she wished that she wished that she could have brought them all home with her.

While she was there Diana also helped to decorate the school, and helped with the building of an new school as well. She described the experience of volunteering in Ghana as ‘ the most amazing time of my life’.

She has already recommended the experience to many other people, including her pupils who may be considering a Gap year before going on to University.

Diana was also full of praise for Original Volunteers, and our Coordinators.
She said that she chose Original volunteers due to the price that we charge, on the strength of a recommendation from a friend who had volunteered with us before, and the fact that we came up at the top of a search engine list.

She described the companies coordinator’s as ‘fantastic’, and added that ‘ Any questions, worries, or problems that I may have had, they sorted it out straight away’. She added that she would love to volunteer with Original Volunteers again, and that while she would love to return to Ghana, there were also projects in Peru, and Mexico that she would like to take part in.

She felt that her time spent in Ghana has given her an insight into another culture, and described the people of Ghana as ‘lovely’.

We wish Diana well with her Teacher Training course, and look forward to being able to arrange for her to volunteer abroad again in the near future.
If you are training to be a teacher, or are considering volunteering during a gap year why not call Original volunteers on 0800 345 75 82 and we can arrange for you to gain some valuable, and much appreciated teaching experience in many different locations around the world.

Read more about our: Volunteers in African Case Studies

Krystyna reviews her time in Morocco


KRYSTYNA DESCRIBES ORPHANAGE CHILDREN AS ‘MOST LIVELY AND LOVEABLE IN MOROCCO’

Krystyna spent two weeks volunteering in Morocco, and said that she ‘really appreciated the fact that I had the opportunity to spend time and play with the most lively, and loveable children in Morocco’.
She added that she will ‘never forget those two weeks’.

Krystyna was pleased that she was collected at the Airport, and driven to her accommodation, that she described as ‘just gorgeous’.
She was not only very pleased that it was close to cafes, and a supermarket, but that it was also close enough to be able to ‘experience the day to day life of the local people’.

At first she felt shy about feeding the babies at the Orphanage, but after a short while she began to feel more confident. She found many of the children to have ‘amazing talents, and even more beautiful hearts’, and feels that ‘there is a colourful future waiting for them out there’. She felt that it is an adults job to ‘open eyes, look deeper, and be more supportive’.

She described many of the children as ‘energetic’, and was pleased to see that they were eager to learn to speak English.

Krystyna also enjoyed her experience of going on a camping trip that she was ‘honoured to participate in’, and was full of praise for the Original volunteers coordinator describing her as ‘an incredible support, and glue which holds the entire group together’.
Krystyna is now back in London, but often thinks about how the children at the Orphanages are, and hopes that they have made many new friends through Original volunteers. Volunteer with children

Read more about our: Volunteers in African Case Studies

Stacey Reviews volunteering in Ghana


SURREY WOMAN WHO SET UP FAIR TRADE BUSINESS AFTER VOLUNTEERING HOPES TO SET UP PROJECTS IN THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES.

Surrey woman Stacey Kerr, who spent three weeks volunteering in Ghana, decided upon her return to set up her own jewellery website to help poor people in developing countries. She hopes one day to be able to help people in those countries to do the same.

Stacey, who said that her time spent volunteering in Ghana in June 2008 ‘was brilliant’, set up her company www.daisyrox.co.uk upon her return.
She imports Fair Trade products from Ghana, and other developing countries, and one day hopes to ‘set up projects in those countries to fund, develop, and share business skills with people so that they can set up their own businesses.’
Stacey, who had never been to Africa before said that her experience in Ghana was ‘far beyond anything I’d imagined’, and it was ‘so different to anywhere else I’d ever been.’
She feels that her priorities have changed since returning to the U.K, and describes the experience as something that she will ‘treasure forever’.

She said that she went to Ghana with the intention of working with orphans, but also thoroughly enjoyed teaching English to the children, seeing how much their grasp of the language had improved, as well as playing games with them.
She felt that her ability to communicate with both adults, and children both in a teaching and friendship capacity was really important.

She said that she found the people of Ghana to be very friendly stating that the children wanted to hold her hand, and the adults wanted to invite her into their homes to eat with them. Equally, she made many new friends amongst fellow volunteers, and has kept in touch with many of them through Facebook.
Stacey discovered Original Volunteers through an internet search, and contacted a group on Facebook who had volunteered with the company before, and thoroughly recommended the experience.
She said that she would ‘jump at the chance’ to return, and that she would definitely recommend the experience to other people.
Original Volunteers are delighted to hear that Stacey had such a wonderful, and rewarding time, would be more than happy to arrange for her to volunteer Abroad again, and wish her well for the future with her jewellery business.

Read more about our: Volunteers in African Case Studies

Peter Reviews his time in Morocco


VOLUNTEER FROM NEW ZEALAND DESCRIBES TIME IN MOROCCO AS ‘A GREAT EXPERIENCE’

Peter Ralph from New Zealand spent three weeks volunteering in Marrakech, Morocco, and felt that it was ‘A great experience’.

He was greeted at his Riad house by Original volunteers coordinators, and a volunteer, and described it as a ‘nice building’, and a ‘good base’ to come back to.

Peter found drawing to be useful when trying to teach the children English, and he also enjoyed playing games, and Football with them as well.

He said that the children were ‘really fun to be with, and always happy to see us’, and added that he was ‘quite sad’ when it came to leaving Marrakech.

Peter also helped out at a baby Orphanage, and felt nervous at first having no experience with them. However after a short while he soon felt fine about being there. He felt that his main role there was to play games with them, and to give them some human interaction.

During his time off at weekends Peter managed to explore other parts of Morocco spending a day in the Atlas Mountains, visiting Essaouira, and finishing off his three week stay in Morocco with a three day trip to the Desert that he described as ‘amazing’.

He described out coordinator in Marrakech as ‘friendly, interesting, and helpful’, and his time volunteering as ‘A great experience’.
Peter added that ‘I experienced a totally different culture to my own, saw some amazing sights, ate some new, and tasty food, met some great people who I’ll definitely keep in touch with, gained some useful life skills, made some babies smile, and hopefully taught some children something useful, and had a lot of fun doing it all’.
It seems that Peter packed a lot in to his three week stay.

Read more about our: Volunteers in African Case Studies

Volunteer in Morocco – Loved Every Minute


TIFFANY WHO ‘LOVED EVERY MINUTE’ VOLUNTEERING HAS MANY POSITIVE THINGS TO SAY TO PEOPLE ABOUT MOROCCO AND ORIGINAL VOLUNTEERS

Tiffany Wheble ‘loved every minute’ of her time spent volunteering abroad, adding that she has ‘many positive things to say about Morocco, Marrakech, and Original volunteers’.

She described her experience of Marrakech as ‘fantastic’, adding that it is a ‘magical city’, and felt ‘privileged to have been able to get the opportunity to have seen, and lived in a place that I would not normally have been able to’.

She really enjoyed the time that she spent volunteering at Orphanages in Marrakech, and hopes that she was able to make a difference to the lives of the children that she met.

She added that the experience has ‘opened my eyes to another world I did not know much about, and made me realise how lucky I am’.

Tiffany was pleased with the help that she received from Original volunteers, and added that she has many positive things to say about us to friends, family, and colleagues.
She also hopes to take up another placement with us in the near future. In all Tiffany loved being a volunteer in Morocco

Read more about our: Volunteers in African Case Studies