Home Stay

It’s been three weeks since I landed in paradise (aka Zanzibar)! Even from the beautiful 20 minute puddle-jumper flight, Zanzibar showed-off its beautiful beaches lined with palm trees and people so friendly and welcoming, you feel at home upon arrival. I find myself living in the beautiful northern village of Nungwi for six weeks to run environmental workshops with the community.

Megan and the puddle jumper

I am living with a local family throughout my stay which is helping me to better understand the daily life of people in the village, their food and of course Swahili. My home stay dad is the only one in the family who speaks English, so he helps me to understand what is happening within the home and how I fit in. While my Moma does not speak much English we communicate with a lot of gestures and plenty of laughs!

There is always something new for me to experience, whether it is learning how to do laundry by hand for first time (much to the amusement of my Moma, her two friends and the 14 children who watched me learn how to do laundry in my first week). Or getting used to having a family of chickens living in our front room. The children definitely find it very funny that the chickens that accidentally wander into the kitchen while we are eating dinner, are constantly startling me!

I am very thankful to have breakfast and dinner provided to me, carefully made by hand each day. But more importantly the time that my host family spends with me during the meals, often humoring my wide range of questions! They definitely do their best to make me feel welcome and at home.

– Megan Firth, Youth Innovator, Tanzania 2014 

To read more about YCI’s Innovator programs in Tanzania, click here. To read more blogs from our volunteers in Tanzania, click here.

Me Ma Wo Awoda Pa!

It was just after seven in the morning. My bag was packed and I was headed to the breakfast table when Fiona, a volunteer from Germany, appeared at my bedroom door.

“Good morning Andrea. Mama Mina says that you must stay in your room. Ok?”

“Ok…” We shared a curious glance and before I could say more she was gone.

I slipped off my shoes and sat back on the bed. Twenty minutes passed. Tiny beads of sweat began collecting at the nape of my neck. Surely it was alright to venture out as far as the front patio for an update.

“Sorry. Sorry. Ten more minutes and we will be ready for you,” Francis, a jovial, young man who lived and worked at Mama Mina’s home stay, shouted as he ran past.

A birthday breakfast feast

It was nearly 8:00, my start time at the YMCA. I would need to call and-

“Good morning my dear Andie,” Mama Mina exclaimed. Taking my hand, she led me to the outdoor area where the volunteers ate morning and evening meals.

Balloons hung from the trees. The table was set with a flower arrangement. All the volunteers were present, along with the street children who came to Mama Mina’s in the morning for lessons and a meal. Everyone began singing and Francis appeared with the kettle to fill my mug with hot water. The table was full with plates of fruit and baking. Warm, sweet and savoury muffins, crepes, toasted sandwiches, bread for butter and jam. Papaya, mango and pineapple. When had Mama Mina arranged with the volunteers? How early this morning had Francis and the kitchen staff begun preparations? Did I want a crepe or a muffin? Breakfasts were normally very modest. Bread with margarine. Maybe jam. Coffee and tea.

The children sang and enjoyed the breakfast spread.

Mama Mina called everyone’s attention for prayer. “Thank you Lord for our volunteers and thank you for bringing us together today to celebrate…” My eyes began welling with tears. I knew that I would linger a bit longer over my coffee that morning. After work I planned on visiting Makola market to purchase fabric for a dress. In a moment of weakness I might hand over my cedis for an exorbitantly overpriced jar of Nutella. Me ma wo awoda pa!

Breakfast spread

I had only been awake for a few hours and already the day exceeded my expectations. This YCI experience has brought me closer to my personal and professional goal of working in international development, and so for this reason just being here in Ghana felt grand. Making a wish, here on my birthday, was tastier than the fattest spoonful of chocolate spread, straight from the jar.

As if I hadn’t been sufficiently spoiled, Naana from YCI surprised me with a cake and a visit.

Andrea Paolini, Youth Innovator, Ghana 2014

To read more about YCI’s programs in Ghana, click here. To read more blogs from our volunteers in Ghana, click here.

YCI is currently recruiting for a 4-week project in Ghana this July 29th to August 26th

 

Like a Breeze

My first morning here I woke to red earth, yellow hibiscus and a massive, waxy banana tree outside my window. Be present, I told myself. These six weeks will blow in and out like a breeze. …Today I mark the half-way point with this blog entry. It has been three weeks since I left the snow and chapped skin of an inhospitable Canadian winter, since the airplane landed and immediately filled with steam when cabin doors clicked open to a humid Accra night.

Bananas growing outside my bedroom window in Accra

I feel most at ease in the early mornings, when the temperature has not yet begun its ascent, when after a cool shower I feel momentarily refreshed and ready to press start on my work day. Following a simple breakfast of fresh bread and instant coffee, I begin my commute with a ten-minute walk along a meandering dirt road. Strewn with garbage and fallen bougainvillea blossoms it is a striking contrast of rot and beauty.

Bougainvillea along the dirt road

I head towards Asylum Down Circle, a bustling traffic circle where city dwellers converge to catch taxis. All around, vendors sell phone credit and coconuts, toiletries and water sashes. Pots of oil sizzle with deep frying fish and bofrot, (sweet gooey balls of dough). In the distance I watch as the taxi I hoped to join putt putts away. Another will be along shortly to fill with passengers.

Along my path from the home stay in Nima to Asylum Down Circle

Back in Toronto I often shut out the city soundscape by listening to a news podcast. But here, I want to hear all that I can. The shouts of “obroni” (white) from street children, requisite Bob Marley layered over chart topping dance hits and the morning call to prayer, wonky horns and ringing bells warning me to get out of the way.

A few minutes later I hand the driver one cedi thirty pesewas (approximately 65 cents Cdn) and wait to alight at the cathedral. Landmarks, rather than numbered addresses are used here to navigate the city. From the cathedral I walk a few more minutes, past Accra’s psychiatric hospital (hence the area name, “Asylum”) and past Paulina, a local merchant who has befriended me. She is stoking a fire in preparation for roasting yams, plantains and groundnuts.

Once at the YMCA I greet the staff and settle at my desk. The six of us will gather shortly for prayer and morning announcements. Today, in addition to updating the Facebook and Twitter accounts, I must finalize a press release for the upcoming Inter-Cultural Youth Festival. The festival will be held in Cape Coast, July 19-29, 2014. I was fortunate to visit Cape Coast my first weekend in Ghana. I remember lingering on the castle balcony, lost in the long stretch of sand, crashing waves and a fat, pink lollipop sunset…

The sun sets on Cape Coast, Ghana

Yes, these final weeks will blow in and out quickly and before I know it I’ll be back in Toronto, riding the subway to work, ordering a grande extra hot soy misto from Starbucks, wishing for the breeze that as I type this last sentence, I presently savour.

 

Andrea Paolini, Youth Innovator, Ghana 2014

To read more about YCI’s programs in Ghana, click here. To read more blogs from our volunteers in Ghana, click here.

YCI is currently recruiting for a 4-week project in Ghana this July 29th to August 26th to work with our partners on entrepreneurship initiatives. 

 

What? Tanzania isn’t poor at all!

“Do you want paintings? Very cheap price for you!” He said. I was volunteering in Stone Town in Zanzibar in Tanzania, East Africa.

This is the gazillionth time I’ve been approached by touters trying to make a quick buck at unsuspecting tourists. Who knows the actual prices of these paintings?

“How much is cheap?” He offered a price. I couldn’t remember what it is now. Nor does it matter. “And what is it painted on?” After all, my degree was in Art History, big help that was in landing a career.

“Banana leaves!” He exclaimed. Ok. That’s pretty interesting. Trying to get out of the tout, I humoured him.

“Do you have the big 5? And a big painting of it on banana leaves?” He explained that he could search for it. With sincerity. He also explained that his grandfather painted them, who knows if that was true.

“All right, I’ll be around for 5 more weeks. I’ll find you here at Shangani Park!” Which wasn’t a lie. I was interested to see if he could get “The Big 5” referring to the 5 biggest animals in Africa: lion, elephant, hippo, leopard and the buffalo. He told me his name was Joseph.

The artist

A few weeks later I bumped into him again with him touting the same thing. He clearly doesn’t remember me but was shocked when I called him by name. Again, I told him I’d be around for a few more weeks and not to worry.

I had forgotten about Joseph for 3 weeks since. I did want a painting before I left though, of something from Zanzibar. I decided I was going to find this Joseph, but hadn’t spotted him hunting for tourists. Finally after New Years, I had wandered with a group of friends into the depths of Stone Town got lost

“Hey! My friend! How are you?!” Joseph pops out from the side street. He was as excited to see me as I was to him. Our brief encounters before were quite jovial, despite the obvious hard sells. I told him I never see him around anymore.

“I’m learning to paint now!” That got my attention. This young man, probably just hovering around late teens went from a street peddler to a painter over night. I wondered what his game was.

His associate doing other paintings

“I just have a few paintings now, but later I will have more! I have a teacher!” I suddenly felt I had to support this man in his endeavors. We traded numbers and discussed how I could find him later on. After all I had 2 more weeks here.

I’ve known and seen several people in my travels just give up in life in poor economic conditions and resort to the drink or whatever cop-out drugs they can find. Economically ranking in the 2012 UN census, Tanzania sits 177th out of 194 countries. There are only 17 more countries poorer than Tanzania where Somalia stands in last place.

Coral bricks and metal sheets for houses

In Zanzibar, a tropical paradise, economically devastated, where resorts for the rich Westerners, mzungu’s, are juxtaposed beside the poor shanty shacks made of coral rock and metal sheets, where locals have very little hope in achieving the wealth of a tourist, this man had pulled his life together and is going to make the best of his situation.

A few days later I had made a specific run down to see Joseph to get art and he took me to another store where he was painting. These paintings were all done with a palette knife and also negative spaced lines where the paint is scraped off. Humanoid figures depict the Masai people from Arusha closer inland to Mount Kilimanjaro. Bulbous stomachs, nose, and breasts make up the gist of the references of the body and the negative spaced depicted the jewelry they often wear.

Me and the artist

“I know you wanted to support me and my art rafiki. I’m really giving you a good price now.”

After shopping around for art, I knew his prices weren’t bad and he had already reduced them. I could be a nasty haggler when I know I’m being ripped off. Whatever price he named I was willing to give. With my buddy, Christine, we had bought pretty much the 3 paintings that he had available to encourage him to continue on the path that he is going to pursue.

With that, he packed it into a cardboard tube, we shook hands and departed. This artist is already rich and he doesn’t even know it yet. (And I don’t mean money).

– Ian Chow,  Youth Ambassador, Tanzania, 2013. Originally posted in Ian Chow’s blog, http://www.explorationsevolution.blogspot.ca.

To read more about YCI’s programs in Tanzania, click here. To read more blogs from our volunteers in Tanzania, click here.

A Taste of Ghana

Akwaabah! Welcome to Ghana. In the ten days that we’ve been here, we have learned a lot about Ghanaian culture, yet there is still plenty to uncover and experience. Our initial impressions told us that everyone is very hospitable and welcoming, and everyone is reaching out to support you, as it is a communal culture here. No one gets left behind. Settling into our new lives here in Takoradi we have only touched on the tip of the iceberg, tasting the local flavors, commuting by taxis, tro-tros and buses and witnessing the devotion to faith in daily life.

The delicious local dish ‘jollof’ with the fried rice, beans, chicken and plantains!

While on project we are spoiled with amazing breakfast and dinner meals by our host mom/family. Lunches, we fare for ourselves, discovering the hot, freshly made to order from the vendors, street foods of waayche, deep fried plaintains (in fresh form and as chip form) to air-conditioned comfortable restaurants featuring a menu of fufu, banku, chicken, fish and goat dishes, jollof, red-red, and fried rice.

Take dip with ‘fufu’ – a plantain based dough ball and tomato-based dipping sauce flavoured with goat meat!

The staple ingredients of beans and rice are featured in many of the local dishes are seasoned on the light side, going on the less salty side of the spectrum. Whereas the black sauce coating the waayche is a spicy-lover’s dream come true. It’s not for the weak, so be warned! For the sweet-tooth, track down mobile refreshments on the pedal bicycles to experience Ghana’s best kept secret of FanIce. Under the hot Ghanaian sun, FanIce is the perfect cure to cool you down. Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry Yoghurt flavours to satisfy all. Looking for more natural flavours?

Fresh fruit sold and cut on the spot with local street vendors! Buttery avocados and more for sale!

Look no further than the bustling fresh fruit stands which are prominent throughout the city’s bustling streets. Try the sweetest, juiciest mangoes (ripe off a tree), a variety of white flesh pineapple, bursting with flavor despite its deceiving green exterior, and buttery avocados that melt in your mouth. Local flavours, local dishes, offering great options for the adventures of the taste-buds. When seeking international flavours, Takoradi delivers on Chinese and Western dishes in and around the beach resorts, located a short taxi ride out of the city centre.

Stay hydrated with the best in fresh, refreshing water sachets!

Once daily traffic builds up, the streets become your shopping centre. Anything and everything is available from street vendors approaching you at your window of your taxi or tro-tro ride. Common items for sale range from food & water, apparel, footwear to electronics. Taxis, tro-tros and air-conditioned buses. Moving within Takoradi is a breeze since almost every third car is a taxi. Spot taxis easily by their golden-yellow-marked sides. Negotiate your taxi fare before boarding with the knowledgeable drivers who navigate the city streets like NASCAR drivers. Be sure to buckle up for security, some roads come with unfilled potholes (navigated expertly by these pro-drivers)! Grab a shared taxi for fixed rates, and a communal route, shared with other riders along the way. Or a drop taxi for door to door service. Tro-tros are the connecting buses between the other destinations inside and outside of Takoradi. Like a shared taxi, but much bigger capacity, and travels longer distances.

Identify your taxi with the tell-tale yellow panels on the vehicles

With only two and a half weeks left on project, we hope to let the rest of the culture soak in, digging deeper for more of what the Ghana has to offer!

– Rachel Ouellette & Edna Quan, Youth Ambassadors, Ghana 2014

To read more about YCI’s programs in Ghana, click here. To read more blogs from our volunteers in Ghana, click here.

Six Degrees South: Sokoni Market

When I first arrived on Zanzibar Island off the coast of mainland Tanzania, it was my first time setting foot on the continent I had longed to travel to. Africa had always attracted me. Everything about it drew my attention; it’s rich ethnic and linguistic diversity, its vast landscapes and wildlife, its unique history and often troubled political climate and its vibrant and lively people. So you can imagine I was thrilled when I got the opportunity to volunteer in Zanzibar for six weeks teaching the Emerging leaders program with the NGO Youth Challenge International. Being an overseas volunteer virgin I was not sure what to expect but what I found was challenging, surprising and a whole lot of fun!

The first thing that struck me when I arrived on Zanzibar island was the assault on my senses, the sights, smells, tastes, and sounds were all new to me. As I walked through the endless array of market stalls in Sokoni, Mwanakwerekwe the smells of fresh octopus and fish hit me immediately. I was not prepared for the sheer amount of market stalls brimming with fresh fruits and vegetables, spices and herbs, grains and rice, and the assortment of fresh sea food from red snapper to octopus, laid out expertly for my eyes to feast on. I wandered the endless pathways looking like a child in a candy store admiring the fresh produce stacked in their neat piles and enjoying the waft of cloves and cinnamon that filled the air around me.

Sokoni Market, Mwanakwerekwe

I smiled politely as the stall owners attempt to sell me everything from dried octopus skin to sugar cane juice spiced with ginger. I declined the former and savored every sip of the latter.  The local stall owners and fellow shoppers seemed to find my presence both surprising and amusing.  I was visiting a market rarely frequented by foreigners or mzungu as the locals refer to me as, I am sure I looked out of place and disoriented by my surroundings. However, they took my naïveté in stride and politely welcomed me and offered me their produce at “the best price”. Once I emerged from the hustle and bustle I was carrying three spice boats, a loaf of Zanzibar bread, one pineapple, and two passion fruits and the store owners I purchased from smiled at their small victory. I felt 9,000 tsh lighter but I was thoroughly satisfied. I awkwardly dodged my way through the pedestrians, dalalas, street venders, and the occasional donkey cart to Kivulini Street. I only know the name of the street because I was told so, there are no street signs to speak of and I recognize the street based on the size and quantity of potholes that adorn it. One risks the integrity of their vehicle undercarriage attempting to cross its narrow rocky crevices.

Kivulini Street

Thankfully for this journey I am on foot. As I make my way through the street; I pass local shop owners, a car repair shop and a welder who looks up from his work to greet me with a large smile “Karibu Kwetu” (welcome to our country), “Asante sana” (thank you very much) I reply and pause to admire his handicraft. He is expertly welding gates for residential purposes the hot sun is beating down on him as he completes his work. His hands show the signs of hard work and his face years of experience, he holds his welding mask in his left hand, unused while he works. I give him a thumb up to acknowledge his craft he smiles and I decide to leave him to his work.

The welder posing with his handicraft

As I continue down the road I notice here are several goats grazing in the soccer field adjacent to my homestay and they look up as I pass by unimpressed with my presence. The hot mid-day sun ensures that football field is devoid of presence unlike after sunset when the throngs of young football hopefuls flock to practice their skills. As I walk, the neighborhood children call out to me mzungu…mzungu…mzungu…I smile and greet them with “mambo” to which they reply “poa” I give them high fives and they follow me with more children gathering as we walk.  I turn right down the next road and make my way to my modest homestay, a refuge from the hot African sun.

Kivulini football field

Christine Hunter, Youth Innovator, Tanzania, 2013

To read more about YCI’s programs in Tanzania, click here. To read more blogs from our volunteers in Tanzania, click here. 

YCI is currently recruiting for an 8-week project in Tanzania this May 6 to July 1st to work with our partners on leadership, health and education initiatives. 

My Tanzania Family

I recently travelled to Mwanza, Tanzania  with Youth Challenge International, to volunteer with a local NGO, Kivulini Women’s Rights Organization as a Monitoring and Evaluation Innovator. While I was there, I lived in a rural village with a host family who had 13 children.

“My host family’s home in Mwanza, Tanzania.”

Before I left for Tanzania, I was told that my host Mama (mother) had 6 children living at home. Imagine my surprise as I pulled up in the middle of the night to my host family’s home to discover my host Mama leaving for a party and a small sized classroom of children waiting for me. That first night the oldest sibling was the only one to speak to me: “Karibu (welcome), feel free,” she mentioned many times. During my first few days whenever I was approaching the children ran away laughing, and hid behind the doorways or potted plants. I quickly came to understand that the majority of the children living on the family compound had lost their parents due to illness. My Tanzanian Mama and Baba (father) had taken the children in to become a part of their family.

“Visiting my host dada’s (sister’s) pre-school.”

Everything was different in Mwanza. I walked to work on dirt – and often flooded – roads, past farmers and free roaming cows and goats. I took cold showers and slept under a bug net. There were daily power outages and we only had access to an unsanitary water supply. The ants bit, and my host sisters and brothers ate their meals with their hands while sitting on the kitchen floor. It was easy in those first few days to feel isolated and a bit misunderstood.

“Lunch time! Our meal consists of ugali (cornmeal cooked with water), maharagwe (beans), mboga (a vegetable) and mayai (eggs).”

After a few days, the children became less shy around me. As I did not speak Kiswahili and many of the children did not speak English, we had to find ways to begin to communicate with one another. One night during a power failure, I was wearing my headlamp and began to make shadow puppets on the kitchen wall. As the children and I played, I continued to ask them for the Kiswahili names of the projected animals. After this, the children took every opportunity to point to objects, tell me the word in Kiswahili and to ask for the English word. We began to learn from, and about, each other.

“Playing a game with my new sisters.”

The village I was living in consisted only of other family homes and I initially believed that the nearest store was in town, a 40-minute dala dala (a minibus share taxi) ride away. However, as time went on, the community structure began to reveal itself to me. I soon learned that the little straw hut where two women cooked over an open fire was a restaurant serving the best chapati and ginger tea around; the house a small ways down the dirt path also doubled as the local general shop where you could purchase soda, maji baridi (cold water), phone credit and even toothbrushes; and the farmer I passed on my way to work was the man who sold my host Mama the vegetables that I ate every night for dinner. Everything I needed existed around me – I just hadn’t learned how to look properly. In Canada, stores, streets and even bus stops are clearly marked, but where I lived in Mwanza, you are only privy to this type of knowledge when you are a member of the community.

“A restaurant hut in Mwanza.”

My host sisters and brothers work incredibly hard everyday to complete their household chores. They start their day at 6 a.m. with a prayer and have the house cleaned before breakfast. They are the ones responsible for the majority of the cooking, cleaning and often, taking care of each other.

I wanted to be included in all aspects of a Tanzanian family life. I helped to prepare meals, went to the market and played games with my host sisters. I helped my host sisters and brothers with their homework and went to church with my host family. I even learned how to braid my host sisters’ hair! I found myself becoming a member of the household.

“Preparing dagaa (small fish) for lunch.”

By the end of my six-week stay, I had realized that regardless of differences in language, culture or religious beliefs, when you take the time to understand, live with and care for someone, they become a part of your family. I’ve heard it said that once you have travelled to far away lands you will never again feel at home; your heart is split between the family you were born into and the one you create for yourself. It was hard to leave my new family behind, but I know I will always be welcome back home.

 

“My host family in Mwanza! ”

-Stephanie Hanson, Youth Innovator, Tanzania, 2013

To read more about YCI’s programs in Tanzania, click here. To read more blogs from our volunteers in Tanzania, click here. 

YCI is currently recruiting for an 8-week project in Tanzania this May 6 to July 1st to work with our partners on leadership, health and education initiatives. 

Walking in a Ghanaian Wonderland

From water sachets to our workshops, everything has been great so far.

Talking about a water sachet may be a weird place to start, but it helps to unlock the way everything has gone so far. Water sachets on first glance are very interesting and curious items. They are new to me, can be fun to play with (and indeed, a bag of 30 sachets broke when I was carrying it for the first time) and are ultimately refreshing and a very important part of daily life here.

Ghana so far has been very interesting and fun. It is also still incredibly new to me and a refreshing change from life at home. From watching football matches in an old sea container with a TV set up inside, to sitting in a tro-tro for four hours down something that apparently qualifies as a road, Ghana has been full of surprises and I am greatly enjoying my time here.

We have done three workshops so far, one on financial literacy for young girls, where we went to four different schools in Koforidua, a second one on gender for members of ENACTUS, a local student organization, and one on monitoring and evaluation, proposal writing and report writing for a coalition of health NGOs. Regardless of how important the information is, the most important thing I have taken away from the workshops so far has been how enthusiastic many of the participants have been. Many of the people have enjoyed the workshops and were really pleased to have taken part in them. This makes our jobs as facilitators a lot easier and more fun.

Participants working on developing a Log Frame Analysis

We’ve also gone on trips to Boti and Akaa Falls, hiked to the Umbrella Rock and spent a day in Kumasi, where we went to an Ashanti Palace and attended a wedding. If there is one thing these side trips have taught me, it is that everything is part of the experience.  From the bumpy roads to getting the jump seat on the wheel well in a Tro Tro, it may not be the most comfortable thing, but who cares! In a weird way it’s kind of fun and I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything.

Danger! No Swimming at Boti Falls

So, like a water sachet (which I am totally bringing back to Canada as a thing), Ghana has been something new and unique for me and I am enjoying everything about being here. We’re heading to Takoradi in a couple of weeks and I can’t wait to see what new experiences await us there.

– Robert Rankin, Youth Ambassador, Ghana 2013

To read more about YCI‘s programs in Ghana, click here. YCI is currently recruiting for our Winter projects! Check out our Program Planner.  

First Week in Ghana: Impressions, Orientation and Homestays

We have been in Ghana for approximately 10 days now and I am writing this blog in order to give my first impressions of this beautiful country. After spending 3 days in Accra for orientation we moved to Koforidua in the Eastern Region. It is nice to be out of the city and in a town where we can enjoy the lush green landscapes that Ghana has to offer.

The homestay experience has been fantastic so far. Most of our knowledge of town (directions, good places to eat, where we can buy things) has come from our homestay mom and her family. I still don’t know my way around completely, but luckily I have my partner, Rob, who has a great sense of direction! Our homestay has also introduced us to much of the cultural food, including fufu, red red, fried plantain and jolof rice, with plenty more to come. Living at a homestay also means learning some basic Twi, as things are generally asked of you in Twi first and upon responding with a blank look on your face, an explanation in English.

Today has marked our first two workshops on financial literacy for young girls. The gendered aspect of these workshops is one that is close to my heart. I feel that educating young girls on how to handle their finances at a young age will make for strong, empowered women later in life. It has been a pleasure to play a part in this opportunity for growth. It has also been a pleasure to work alongside the local partners from the YMCA and ENACTUS.

Our partnership has provided an important opportunity to discuss issues facing youth worldwide and to create valuable international ties and cooperation.

My first week has been a busy and exciting learning experience; I look forward to what the next 11 weeks will have in store.

– Candace Westman, Youth Ambassador, Ghana 2013

YCI is currently recruiting for youth ambassadors for our 4-week project in Ghana this Winter. Click here, if you are interested in reading more blogs from Ghana. Click here to apply!

Alumni Update: Robin Campbell

Robin in Ghana!

It’s hard to believe, but soon it will be three years since I volunteered with YCI in Ghana in February 2010. I have been up to quite a bit since I volunteered and the path my life has taken can all be connected back to my experience with YCI. When I went to Ghana, I was at a point in my life where I had been out of university for about a year, and wasn’t sure what I was going to do with my life. I figured this was my chance to go to Africa-a place I had always dreamed of going. I went, I volunteered and from that experience, I was re-energized and ready to start my new path in life. I applied to do my Masters at Acadia University and have spent the past two years of my life studying international volunteerism. During my studies I had the privilege of being a co-leader on two international projects to Belize and Argentina, and I spent six weeks in The Gambia conducting research for my masters. I am now working with the Town of Wolfville as their Programs & Events Coordinator while I finish my thesis. In my position, I get to work with youth in my community. My hope is to encourage these youth to participate in international volunteerism and experience a new culture and challenge themselves. I also continue to work with various international NGO’s including the Paradigm Shift Project, Oxfam Canada, and The Atlantic Council for International Cooperation. I have to continue working with you and creating opportunities for people to volunteer overseas. These are incredible life-changing experiences. For me, volunteering internationally has become a regular aspect of my life. I have had some great opportunities over the past couple years and it all started with my project in Ghana with YCI.

-Robin Campbell, Youth Ambassador, Ghana 2010