We need to talk about Savelugu

UK volunteer Jessica Notman has 10 things to bear in mind for ICS in Ghana's Northern Region

Spar time: one of our many sessions playing cards together

1) Playing cards has become a key part of our day-to-day activities. Whether it’s spar at the bar, or sh8thead at the mango tree, we play at least one game a day. It gives us time to wind down and reflect on all we have done at work. It’s also a great opportunity to kick some ass and beat everyone! Local boy Osman is our hero: he picks a blind card in sh8thead, and you’re guaranteed to be a winner. Everyone wants to be Team Osman – ‘what would Osman do?’

Team players: supporting each other in group activities

2) I cannot get over how supportive and kind and lovely my AMAZING team are. There have been ups and downs being here, as it’s natural to expect, but the team got this! I found the first couple of weeks really challenging, but having someone to moan at or laugh with really made me realize what it’s all about – it’s about being there for someone and doing your best to support them… no matter how bad you’re feeling yourself. I have made friends for life, and I feel very lucky to have the best team in Savelugu! ;)

Activities: engaging with a local school.

3) Every Friday afternoon we focus on one topic area from the Active Citizenship Pack provided by ICS; we have been to a school to teach them about their human rights, we have been round different communities and taught them about sanitation, and as I’m writing this we are organizing a trip to hospital to ask questions about health care. Everyone in our team looks forward to Friday. It gives us a chance to go out and engage with different people throughout the communities.

Stuck in: hands-on training with the communities in soap making

4) Soap making was SUPER fun. We spent three days, spread over two locations, and invited all of the women from the six communities we are working with to join; and now we have six communities of soap makers! We were dealing with caustic soda, and all I could think of was that scene from Fight Club… slightly awkward! But once I got over that I put some sweaty plastic bags on my hands, covered them with a sock, then got involved with the women – moulding the soap into balls was more complicated than it looked, but apparently I’m a natural!

5) Mosquito bites: maybe not a cultural exchange, but a huge part of our time here. At least once a day someone will talk about a bite… damn mozzies. They attack you when you’re walking, they attack you when you are sleeping, and they even attack you when you are on the toilet. They know no boundaries.

Radio stars: the team after the broadcast at local station Might FM

6) On the 9th August we did a radio sensitization. This was an ace experience, being in the room with a microphone in my face with Jasper, Alhassan and Frankie sitting with me. We spent AGES writing a script, and then in typical Ghanaian fashion, all of the timing was changed and the DJ rushed us through. Making it up as we went was our natural response from then on. Still slayed though…

Say toffee: volunteers with some of the local children

7) The children are amazing here. They irritate UK volunteers by constantly shouting, ‘Silaminga, buy toffee’, but more often than not they are adorable. One of the funniest things I have seen (though I feel Josh will not agree), is when the little girl spat fish all over Josh’s back. He just sat there repeating, ‘Has she just spat on me?’- Hilarious!! There is a little girl that sits outside the office asking for our team leader, Chloe. She even wrote her a letter, expressing her displeasure when Chloe forgot her name…

Marathon runner: a volunteer feels the effects

8) People have spent a lot of time out the office, because they’ve been running… by running I mean running to the toilet. We can’t decide if it’s the mystery meat kebabs, the roadside cheese, or the shitoh (or a combination of all three!). Either way, running is very popular amongst our team in Savelugu!!!

Mid-terms: from Savelugu to Sirigu and back again

9) The Mid-term Report was this week, and it was SO much fun. We got to meet back up with the other parts of our big team, after being spread out all over the whole of the Northern Region. Waking up at 5am for a three-hour bus journey was not ideal, but seeing everyone was so worth it! We played our own mini-Olympics, and obviously Team Savelugu won! GO TEAM!

Bus selfie: volunteers from various International Service projects

10) Friendship was honestly one of the main reasons I came here, and although we are only halfway through, I already know it is something that I have gained. Other volunteers from the UK, the ICVs and the team leaders now make a complete friendship group; we have shared so much together and I now have memories with these people that I will cherish forever. Another six weeks with our team will fly by, but the friendships and memories we have made will last forever.