A wonderful experience in Ghana

I found out about Ubelong through my professor at college so there actually was not much research for me to do on programs. Ubelong has a very good reputation among college students I know so that meant a lot to me. I found the Ghana program to be very affordable and I felt a lot of support throughout my experience, which was important as this was my first time volunteering abroad. Everything went a lot smoother than I could have imagined and the preparation I received beforehand made me feel prepared. I think Ubelong's focus on being volunteers instead of tourists is really good, and is a reason why Ubelong volunteers tend to fit in better. I was on the public teaching program and found the work to be very challenging but very rewarding. I was shocked by how many kids were in a class, I literally counted over 50 one day. They were so eager to learn and I felt my presence over there made a difference. We focused a lot of nutrition and cleanliness, and while past volunteers had helped bring the levels of understanding among the children up, there was still a lot more that needed to be done. But again I do think I made a very small but still important difference. The living situation was better than expected, I found almost all the other volunteers to be very motivated and friendly. I consider many lifelong friends. Overall it was a wonderful experience and I am very grateful for the opportunity.