Something else in Savelugu

At the halfway point Sualihu Mariam and Yahaya Ayisha reflect on new experiences and opportunities

Insight: volunteers learn about rice milling at Lowlandi Rice Processing, Tamale

As in-country volunteers we both heard about the ICS programme from family and friends and were encouraged to apply as volunteers. Together we held similar expectations about this programme and set out personal goals to help us to learn from people of different cultures, develop on public speaking skills and also learn about development and its process.

Over the six weeks in Savelugu, we have spent time with our communities by educating the students in Savelugu Junior High School about their human rights. It was a successful and interesting activity that taught both us and the children something new and important. We have also gone into the communities to teach families about sanitation and the importance of keeping themselves and their surroundings clean. This was a useful part of our active citizenship because it helps the community understand the importance of preventing diseases and keeping themselves healthy. For us this was also very helpful and educative because as volunteers we were able to fulfill our duty to learn from the community and teach the community at the same time.

Ayisha

One of the most enjoyable and insightful experiences this week was meeting with Madam Memunatu at Lowlandi Rice Processing Company. She helped me understand how to improve the quality of local rice processed. This information will be helpful in our project impact as we can share this with our communities and project partners to ensure sustainability. During this meeting I was able learn about packaging rice and also learn about development.

I thought that working with my team would be difficult for me because of cultural differences and ideas, but so far I am pretty comfortable with the team and also enjoy Josh’s jokes because he makes everyone laugh.

My hope for the next six weeks is to learn more about my teams and their likes and dislikes. With the help of my team, I hope we can make a sustainable change in the work we do and also hope to record some valuable information for the next cohort that arrives in Savelugu.

Personal development: Ayisha and Jasper teaching pupils about their right to safety

Mariam

As a girl who loves to be with people from different places and different backgrounds I have been enjoying being with my team and learning new things from them. We work with women in six communities in the Savelgu-Nanton municipality who are into processing rice and producing shea butter.

With rice processing being their main source of income, the team along with NFED thought it will be beneficial for the women to be trained in soap making as an alternative income-generating activity. During week five, we were able to provide training for the women with the help of Madam Andaratu (“The soap lady”). The team thought it would be better and easier to split the communities into two wider groups for the training. The soap training took three days to complete it involved soaking the ingredients and preparation of soap. Overall it was a success and in order to make it sustainable I am part of a sub-group focusing on the Dagbani/English soap manual. I am very excited about finishing it and seeing how it will have an impact on the cooperatives.

As this was our first time writing a blog we find ourselves repeating ‘anything else’ to make sure we haven’t missed anything. We are both hopeful, happy and confident about the next six weeks we have left.