Who are the people receiving ICYE volunteers into their work communities? Meet a few of them, from a school in Kumasi, Ghana.
In the classrooms and corridors of the school Christlove Educational Complex one can meet about 780 pupils aged at 2–15 years. The school is situated in Kumasi, one of the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana, and it has been working for almost ten years now – it was established in 2008. With the pupils work 43 teachers and 23 other staff members.
For a few years now the school has been receiving ICYE volunteers, mainly to assist the teachers in teaching English for the kindergarten-aged children. The volunteers also give the children extra support and affection.
On a November day afternoon, on the side of their daily school life tasks, headmaster Paul Antwi-Boasiakoh (in the photo above), administrator Ahwiren Ebenezer and the founder and proprietor of the school Edward Acquah share their thoughts on the school’s co-operation with ICYE volunteers:
“It makes me glad that our volunteers have been happy with the tasks that they have been given and that they have been having interaction with the non-teaching staff, too. They have been eager to learn the local language and to know more about the local environment as well as about the country in general. If possible, we would like the volunteers to stay with us for the whole year. This way they do not have to leave straight away after just having adjusted”, says Paul Antwi-Boasiakoh.
Time for some alphabets! Teacher Vera Appiah (right) teaching, German ICYE volunteer Jodie Jungesblut assisting.
“From my point of view the volunteers have been doing a great job. We appreciate the possibility for mutual intercultural learning that their presence gives. This is also a great way for our school to expose our ways of teaching and learning to the international community. We wish all the volunteers to have a strong motivation to work with us in the school world, and in case they have a background in the educational field , we welcome them to exchange knowledge with us,” comments Ahwiren Ebenezer.
“The commitment, dedication and zeal of work demonstrated by the volunteers are impressive. We look forward to having a relationship with ICYE also in the subsequent years,” tells Edward Acquah.
Text and photos: Minna Räisänen
Juttu on ilmestynyt MaailmanVaihtoa 1/2017 -lehdessä.
International Cultural Youth Exchange -ohjelmassa (ICYE) työskennellään vapaaehtoisena 6 tai 12 kuukautta Aasiassa, Afrikassa, Latinalaisessa Amerikassa tai Oseaniassa. ICYE-vapaaehtoisena näet maailmaa ja pääset rakentamaan kulttuurien välistä ymmärrystä ruohojuuritasolla. Tutustu ja hae mukaan!