Ghana Orphanage Program

I spent the best 6 weeks of my life on the Orphanage program in Ghana with IVHQ. We were caring for over 70 amazing children who never failed to put a smile on my face. They are some of the kindest and most loving children I have ever met. They have so little and yet are so happy and willing to give. We spent our days helping the children get up in the mornings and ready for school, bringing them to school, playing with them, improving their reading and writing, administering basic first aid and helping them with homework. It was so rewarding and enjoyable. Being able to see the difference in a child's understanding of their homework after you spent an evening helping them was great and inspiring. Nursing a child back to health after sickness was also another very rewarding thing I found. I have so many wonderful memories that I will never forget.

At the weekends we had the opportunity to travel so for my first 3 weekends I went to Kokrobite, Cape Coast and the Volta Region. It was great fun getting to hang out with the other volunteers and seeing Ghana. It was very easy to plan these trips and to travel around. It was hard leaving the children even for 2 days and the best bit for me was always walking back into the orphanage after a weekend away and having delighted children jumping into my arms. I hardly ever had a bad moment during my stay in Ghana and if I did there was always a hug from a child available to make me feel instantly better.

Before leaving I was very nervous but any question that I had was immediately answered by the IVHQ staff who also kept in contact during my stay so I always felt at ease and reassured. From the moment I met the local staff I felt welcome and comfortable. They gave us orientation, brought us to our programmes and visited every week. They were fantastic and so nice. If we ever had something that need fixing in the volunteer house or a problem, they got it fixed as quickly as possible. The volunteer house was very safe, clean and comfortable, and the food was delicious! The only terrible thing during my entire stay was having to leave! I'm going back this summer for 3 months and I cannot wait!