Brucellosis is usually caught through infected milk... err... true? ‘Malaria is spread mainly by giant hippos, with swollen, bloodshot eyes and rock star eyebrows that join in the centre (if they forget to shave in between biting people).’ True or false? Negatively marked! The hippo suddenly transforms into the evil, white-coated, bow-tied Oxbridge external examiner. He points at me, cackling like a deranged hyena. Aaaaaaaaaaaghhhhh!...
...‘NEIL! WAKE UP! We’re about to land!’ BANG, CRASH, JITTER. The pilot demonstrates how not to land an aeroplane. Or is this yet another twist to my larium-induced peaceful slumber? The last few days have been a whirlwind. One day, end of year exams, the next...where am I? Distant memories of me saying I might be vaguely interested in going on a CMF summer trip come flooding back.
It was early evening in Accra, the capital of Ghana, when we arrived. Yet the heat was a wonderful sensation after the pitiful weather we had left at Heathrow. We were met, as promised, at the airport by a World Vision worker. ‘Auntie B’ was the name she gave, but having just seen ‘Mission Impossible 2’ I wasn’t about to be fooled that easily. Especially when she got us through immigration faster than the government officials queuing at the VIP gate. What is more, after she dropped us off at the hotel for the first night, we never saw her again.
The next two days were spent travelling up through Ghana to Atebubu, where the ‘Area Development Programme’ that we were to work at was based. One of the most striking features of Ghana is how openly Christian it is. Shop fronts, motor vehicles and clothing are all adorned with Bible verses. Good taste, however, was not always as obvious, enabling the classic ‘Washed in the blood hair salon’.
The work of World Vision in Ghana covers many different areas. Its first contact with any community is usually through the provision of a borehole to provide clean drinking water. It then enters the community sponsoring individual children and enables schools and other much-needed facilities to be built. A recent initiative has been the introduction of a ‘Family Sponsorship’ programme for this area.
Our role in Atebubu was mainly focussed on assisting World Vision in determining the health needs of all 0-5 year olds in the sponsored communities. However, we were also involved in the setting up of the family sponsorship programme, particularly the processing, collating and presentation of the health and demographic data collected. Of course, we also taught basic football skills to most of the children we met.
The experience of working in a developing country, for however short a time, is a unique one. The clash of cultures results in a vast array of feelings being packaged into a very concentrated form. In the three and a half weeks that we were in Ghana, I experienced a rainbow of emotions. From amazement at the size of the insects on one horizon, to frustration at the slow speed at which things happen. From anger at the needless suffering and ignorance seen, to joy at the will, determination and hospitality that the people of Ghana seem to be born with, and which put me to shame.
In under a month, we were never going to solve all of Africa’s problems, not even the HIV crisis. If I was to be harsh, I don’t know how much help we were at all. But if we didn’t change Africa, Africa certainly changed us. I have been left with a wonderful set of memories. One of the most touching was the radiant smiles on the grubby faces of children who had no toys, as we took the time to play a rather lawless game of volleyball with an inflated rubber glove. That ability to bring even a little happinness, through perhaps the smallest of actions is, I believe, the essence of aid and development.
