Trying to think back how this idea got started. Penny mentioned that some medical co-workers had done some rewarding volunteer work in remote locations. We began to reflect that the memorable moments of our past travel have centered around meeting people local to the area, and not sightseeing. We really aren't "tour bus" kind of people. Many years back, when traveling to New England bed and breakfasts, we spoke aloud the words "this might be a fun business to be in" and five years later found ourselves owning a 6000 sq ft, 16 room Victorian home on 4 country acres. So, there is some precedent and subliminal underpinnings to this Ghana decision. Penny's medical coworkers volunteering experiences gave us permission to consider a vacation where we got our hands dirty a bit, hopefully embracing the idea of "repairing the world" in some small but intensely personal way.
There is a story about starfish that has guided both of us that describes an early morning young jogger on the beach, chiding an old man for picking up starfish washed up on the sand and throwing them back in the water. The jogger yells at the man saying, "You'll spend your whole life trying to save all the starfish on the beach. You can't possibly be making a difference." The man ignored the jogger, wound up his arm and tossed another starfish back in the nourishing, life-giving water. "Made a difference to that one."
In the same vein, Penny and I weren't out to change the world, but it was intriguing to consider taking our own gifts and abundance and sharing them with people who we could perhaps leave slightly elevated for our having crossed paths. We began researching programs to volunteer in remote locations, and saw that there were many well established opportunities to do this, at varying costs from about $200 a week for food and lodging, to well over $2000 for the same. We tried to sift through the differences in these programs and it seemed that they each provided about the same services, a connection to a community in need and a support network. The difference seemed to be the amount of profit that the agency was making. We decided to work with a group called International Volunteer HQ based in New Zealand because of their lower cost and positive recommendations. Available locations vary for these volunteer organizations across every continent. I knew some people who had volunteered in Ghana and noted that their culture was positive and most welcoming to guests, so we opted to take our first step into this new world of travel in a culture that was inherently welcoming.
Once the human mind gets clear on a goal, it seems that all of our senses are engaged in that single focus. Once we decided to go to Ghana, we began remembering connections that we had with this West African country. On one of my music performing trips to London, I had arrived at New York's JFK airport at 1:00 for an early flight to find that the terminal was closed. It was a chilly December night, and the only place to seek refuge was a small baggage area in the Delta building. So, I surrounded myself with my luggage and spent the early morning hours with a half dozen other travelers in the same situation. I befriended a Ghanaian young man who was arriving to the US, hoping to look up some acquaintance in Washington DC, written on a bar napkin, that he was sure would accommodate his surprise visit. We exchanged stories about our respective countries for most of the night.
My daughter told us of several Ghanaian fellow students that she was friends with at her Ohio college. I also recalled that a close friend had gone to Ghana many years back to clear her head from some romantic entanglements, and returned to the US (freshly re-entangled) with a Ghanaian husband. Many of our friends had met Ghanaian women, employed as home caretakers and companions for their elderly parents, almost universally commenting that they were quite loving and caring. We became excited with the opportunity to connect with people whose culture was warm, friendly and welcoming.
In my musical travels, I met many people in London who were close friends of a young women who tragically died quite young. She had spent several months volunteering in Ghana and was so welcomed and embraced by the local community that they gave her an honorary Ghanaian name. (I found out that children are named for the day of the week that they are born. This young woman was a "Monday child" and named "Adjuah".) I was so moved by the activist spirit of this young woman, that I wrote a song in her memory called Ester Adjuah. (Listen) So, there were many small past Ghana connections that began coalescing.
Stepping back on how we based our evaluation of a whole culture on the personal interactions of a few, I realized how each of us are acting as ambassadors of the US in our actions and attitudes. Surely, others who have met us in passing are sizing up America by trying to generalize about our culture based on the actions of a few encounters. Very scary thought.
Having thrown a dart at the map, and selected a company to work with to facilitate our travel, we selected a minimum two week period to experience this adventure in the second half of March 2012. We sent in our deposit of $220 and made a commitment.
We live in the Northeast US, and looked into flights from New York or Boston. We found only one direct flight (12 hours) and decided to treat ourselves to the luxury of a non stop flight. To give ourselves some time to acclimate, we also chose to depart a few days early, and to depart several days after our program was done, in order to travel a bit. This extended our trip to nearly three weeks, 20 days.
The main cost of this trip is the airfare, which in late 2011 was about $1400 per person, non stop. Other travel expenses were the $220 registration fee as well as $370 each for food, lodging and travel during our stay. Our total program and travel costs were approximately $2000 per person for three weeks.
IVHQ sent us a lengthy preparation manual that covered most of our questions. We selected an orphanage as our volunteer assignment. The booklet detailed the Ghanaian culture, program expectations and some common questions that volunteers have. We were looking to immerse ourselves in the culture and to have the experience of enjoying local hospitality. We were prepared to volunteer and help with whatever work needed to be done, however routine or unglamorous.
Consulting our pre-travel checklist, we were required to request a travel visa from the US Ghanaian Embassy, which involved filling out a short form and passport photo with a $60 fee. The most difficult part of this was keeping our fingers crossed as we sent our passports off to Washington DC, hoping that they would indeed find their way back to us in the prepaid FedEx envelopes. The process took about 3 weeks and worked flawlessly. Just a little nail biting and frequent online package tracking. Without those passports, we weren't going very far.Our research painted a health picture of Ghana that was quite different than the states. Sanitation was poor, and water, in general is contaminated with bacteria and parasites. Things that we take for granted such as cold beverages, ice, and tap water were on the 'avoid' list. Bottled water is available for about $5 a week (2 litres per day) and seemed to be essential. A friend who had traveled to Accra (capital of Ghana) suggested that drinking a lot of beer (from the bottle, never in the poorly washed bar glasses) would solve most of our problems of nourishment. We spoke with others who said that building immunity in any country is often a challenge to visitors and takes a while to acclimate. Even eating perfectly clean local food can be difficult to digest and process as our bodies try to process a new flora of germs. In addition to this, there are many unfamiliar diseases found in Ghana. Yellow Fever is a required vaccination for travel to Ghana from the US, but we also opted for hepatitis. We also were recommended to take malaria medication and to carry some prescription antibiotic to self-treat any illness. These vaccinations were an unexpectedly high cost of almost $500 (for two) by the time we were done with them. Add that to the preparation cost.
We purchased some lightweight clothing from REI and LL Bean, but for the most part are just bringing simple clothes that fit in a backpack for each of us. We were pleasantly surprised how little we felt that we required for our own needs. Bringing items to donate, however, was a bit more overwhelming and difficult.
About two weeks prior to leaving, we received our "assignment," working in a rural orphanage about two hours from Accra. This new private facility is home for about 36 kids, and serves as a school for an additional 80 children who just attend weekdays. The main building contains 5 rooms, 2 bedrooms house the 36 resident children, and the remaining rooms are used for schooling and recreation.
Penny had prepared some flyers which she posted in her workplace, and we received an unexpectedly generous outpouring of donations for school supplies. We hope to do a good deal of this charitable shopping while in Accra when we arrive, to support the local economy. After purchasing supplies here, we found that it totaled over 70 pounds of books, crayons, craft supplies and treats. We decided to dust off an older suitcase and pack it full of these supplies for a last one-way trip. If you saw our home "staging area" you would be convinced that we were preparing for a three week birthday party somewhere with colorful decorations, party favors and crepe paper. Hey, we don't need much in the way of clothing, right?
So we're making lists of lists, finding something every few minutes that needs to be evaluated for its potential usefulness in an unknown situation. Soon, we'll make our way to NY. Whatever we forgot will become unimportant, and we'll get this party started and the journey underway. We'll reclaim our house from its pinata state and leave things cleaned up awaiting our return. We hope to share rich moments of our trip with you along the way.
Akyire (later)
Arnie and Penny
This blog is awesome!! Everyday I try to comment but I am not sure how to so here goes again!! Margaret
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