Experience of a lifetime!

I spent 3 months in Ghana as a medical volunteer with Projects Abroad. I was placed with an incredible host family in the city of Kumasi; the family took me in as one of their own, took me on weekend outings, taught me some of the language and culture, and we are still in touch frequently even though I left Ghana 4 years ago. I volunteered in a government hospital, where I had the opportunity to see many of the departments. I didn't have the opportunity to help much in the medical departments of the hospital, but worked for several weeks in the hospital lab, where I ran all of the tests performed there, including malaria testing and blood typing. I particularly enjoyed the Projects Abroad medical outreach program in the local schools; each week we would travel to a different primary school and provide free first aid to the children. They were always excited to see us and loved the attention we gave them. It was nice to know that we were able to provide some basic medical care to them, which they more than likely would not have received otherwise. The country of Ghana itself is beautiful, the people are very welcoming, and the government is relatively stable, making it a safer place to travel than many other African countries. The Projects Abroad staff were friendly and made an effort to ensure we were learning about Ghanaian culture in addition to our volunteer work. The program coordinators organized social events to help bring the volunteers together, and were available to help solve any problems or address any concerns that arose. Overall I had a fantastic and experience with Projects Abroad in Ghana. It was expensive to travel through this organization, but as a first-time overseas volunteer, the help in getting my visas, arranging air travel, and providing host families was worth the expense.