A Weekend "Off"

Half-way through our placements, all the volunteers in Ghana get together. We went to Damongo for 3 days, which is west of Tamale and close to Mole National Park. We spent Sunday at the park where we went on a walking tour and saw some elephants, a water buck, warthog, crocodile, and some birds. Then we had a few days to talk about what we’ve been up to so far and where we are headed over the next couple of months.

As I was hoping, this trip was very re-energizing. It felt so nice to not have to be “on” all the time. We have all been having different experiences and have different stories to tell, but when it comes down to it we are all going through more or less the same things. Almost every one of us had an embarrassing story about fetching water, a funny story about getting around with the transportation here, a story about someone who has inspired us, or a story where we were incredibly frustrated and angry. Oh, and we have all become very comfortable talking about our bowel movements, but that’s all I’ll share about that.

We each gave a short presentation on what we have been doing at work and had time set aside to give feedback and ideas to one other. Most of the long-term volunteers were there so it was really nice to get advice from them and see how our work is contributing to the overall goal of EWB.

Not only am I working with a new partner, but this is the first time we have worked in the private sector (at least in Ghana). So there are pros and cons to my placement, just like any other. The difficult aspect (for me) is the lack of information and structure I was given going into this. We did not know anything about this company, exactly what kind of work I would be doing with them, or whether we will work with them again in the future. This makes it more difficult to do something that we can follow up on and will have a lasting impact. On the other hand, all I have to do is learn as much as I can about how things work around here and I will be helping EWB determine where and how we should focus our work in the years to come.

It was great hearing about what the other volunteers have been doing and getting excited about their work. I think we have all been doubting ourselves a bit too much and constantly asking ourselves “Why am I here?” I read something by the author Eric Dudley, who wrote The Critical Villager and he explains: “The greatest leaders, whether in politics, the military, business, or science, are those who manage the paradox of confident action tempered by profound doubt.” This really sums up how I feel sometimes. There is always this tension that I feel between getting things done while I am here, and questioning the things I am doing and trying to make them flexible and sustainable. I have found that it helps to remind myself that, in the end, we just have to keep going and do the best we can with the situation we have in front of us.

Me with the elephants at Mole Park

This is Steph, another volunteer in Ghana working with a women's group in Tuna, we found a giant beetle that we thought was dead. We realized it was still alive after she pretended to eat it