Parting Thoughts: Saying goodbye to Savelugu

Our time in Ghana has come to an end. After three months of living in Savelugu, working with the NFED to empower the communities to help better their lives, we are spending our last day in the office. As our first blog post was about how our expectations are measuring up to reality, our ninth (and final) post is going to be the team speaking about their experiences, what they've enjoyed and what they will miss about Ghana.

Adam:

“Living in Savelugu over the past 12 weeks has been an interesting and fun experience that I won't forget, I have learned so much about the local culture, and the community, while working with such a close team, this experience has surpassed my expectations and I feel together as a team we have achieved so much and we have made a small but real difference. I am definitely going to miss my host family and the wider community that has made me feel so welcome and at home during my stay.”

Freya:

“I have had a great time volunteering in Ghana. I think I have become more confident and outspoken and I have learnt that I enjoy public speaking. I feel we have made a genuine difference here and the placement has helped me strengthen lots of skills such are researching and making reports. I have enjoyed working with like-minded people and will really miss the friends that I have made. I will also miss the goats, especially our office pet Biscuit.”

Holly:

“I have enjoyed my time in Ghana, and am very sad to be leaving! I am proud of what we have accomplished, and feel that the reports we have produced will be of great help to the women we work with. This experience has helped me develop personal skills such as confidence and speaking in large groups of people. I will miss a lot about Ghana, but mostly I will miss the friends I have made here, and my host family, who have made my time with International Service unforgettable!”

Latifa:

“For the past 12 weeks I have been staying and working in Savelugu, I have learned and improved upon so many new ideas and skills which include communication skills and personal development. I have learned about new cultures and ideas from my team members and the the different communities. We were very happily received by the groups we worked with, and our host homes and this was a great experience for me.”

Luke:

“The last 12 weeks in Savelugu I have grown as a person and I have developed cross-cultural communication skills. I can understand different peoples perspectives on the world and I better understand my place within it. I have also learnt a great deal about international development and social development goals. I have especially enjoyed staying with my host family who have treated me as a true member of their family.”

Mahfuz:

“Generally the ICS programme has assisted me towards improving my confidence level, communication and presentation skills, and building my capacity on situational analysis, developing alternative scenarios, practical project planning, budgeting and implementation towards alleviating extreme poverty through alternative income generating activities. Also, I have learnt about dynamics among different people in a team and how to manage it in order to be a good team player towards timely achievement of goals and objectives.”

Mohammed:

“My twelve weeks in Savelugu was a great inspiration as we had the chance to work with people from diverse backgrounds. Getting the opportunity to work with volunteers from the UK and women in rural communities showed a differences in livelihoods. People were so nice to me and the environment was conducive aside from the rubbish laying around and the power cuts.

I would say the office was a bit small for twelve people, but we managed to get all our  work done. Personally, I gained experience and loads of skills in communication, research and report writing. Another thing I enjoyed working with International Service was the way monitoring and evaluation was handled. Team leaders were very active and volunteer participation was outstanding.”

God bless us all.

Sam:

“Overall, I can definitely say that my time in Ghana has been positive. While the work has been a little bit different to what I was expecting, it has still been a very rewarding experience that I will not soon forget. As well as finding out more about international development, which was one of my personal aims, and obtaining a fantastic reference that will help me with my future career, I have also made lasting friendships that I hope will extend beyond my time with International Service.”

Shaharan:

“Joining International Service to volunteer for the three months has been a great experience. It has really opened my eyes to so many things in the world which includes diversity and working   together, international development, social justice and equity, community development as well as globalization. My stay in Savelugu and working with about 180 women to help reduce poverty in rural communities I know will go a long way to support the women be financially independent. Big ups to the entire team and NFED. I have now decided to join the campaign to champion gender inequalities issues in Ghana and the world at large.”

Are you 18-25? You could be taking over a project like this, gaining skills and making a real difference in a life-changing experience in a matter of months. Click here to start your ICS journey: http://www.internationalservice.org.uk/work_with_us/index.html