The final countdown ! (cue Rocky music)

Seven more sleeps till I go ! Ridiculous at the age of 23 I count in sleeps as a time line as to when my holiday starts but I refuse to change ! So I finally got my placement in Ghana so I thought I'd explain a bit about the program I'm going with and the few details of my placement that I have.

Here's a little spiel from CCS:

Cross-Cultural Solutions believes that the most successful approach to international volunteering is one that defers to the needs and goals of the local community. We recognize that local people know what is valuable and appropriate for their own community. We're committed to providing volunteer work that helps them carry out their own set of objectives, rather than imposing another one.

Our in-country staff always consists of highly experienced members of the local community who are responsible for setting up and running programs in their region. They are from the area in which our programs operate, and therefore have a vast knowledge of the local community and its needs.

We believe in partnering with the community to effect change, working with local guidance, and supporting local solutions. For that reason, we work with dynamic and inspiring community-led organizations that we call "Partner Programs." These organizations agree to receive highly prepared and supported international volunteers and appreciate the energy and commitment that CCS volunteers give to their work. Partner Programs' staff works with CCS in-country staff to ensure that our placement process does not interfere with their daily work, and volunteers provide a meaningful contribution. Our volunteers are always working with local people, and their work is always relevant and sustainable for the community.

Through this approach, CCS volunteers and our partners are given the opportunity to work side-by-side and connect, one person to another. The work is mutually inspiring, and volunteers really get to experience another culture like never before.

So my placement is with the Happy Kids Foundation. It's a school/orphanage in the Hohoe suburb of Wegbe. The school has a total of 102 students with 20 of them living at the orphanage just down the road. The school has a creche, kindergarten and grades 1 - 3.

My duties will include:

Teaching conversational English (i hope they don't expect too much I often forget what a bloody verb is hahaha)
Teaching simple arithmetic
Playing games and other outdoor activities
Teaching basic hygiene
Taking kids to places of interest and events
Grading papers and organising activities

When I was younger I was thinking about becoming a kindy teacher my family laughed in my face and said there was no way I would be able to since I'm too mean and impatient... well A. I disagree and screw you for saying so =) AND B. watch me prove you wrong (and even if I don't I'm half way across the world so you'll never know anyway).

So I'm not sure what ages I'm teaching/looking after but apparently some people believe not knowing is half the fun ... I'd have to disagree and have a slight suspicion that the person who came up with that was just making excuses since no one trusted them with any information BUT nothing I can do about it and I'll still be cuddling the babies even if I'm not looking after them.

Here's a clip of what I'll be up to in a little over a week:


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