I traveled to Ghana in July 2010 to get a first-hand experience with some of the social and economic development issues that exist in Africa. I spent a very short time volunteering with AFAWI-Ghana, just shy of two weeks, but during my time with the organization I learnt a great deal about NGOs, women’s issues, HIV/AIDS stigmatization and other development challenges in Ghana. My work experience and school background are in business and finance, so this was an entirely new realm that I am excited to explore.
My responsibilities in the AFAWI office were varied. I wrote articles for AFAWI’s website on various projects, including the Youth Development Initiative; a partnership with SEND Ghana to monitor the National Health Insurance Scheme performance; a Sexual Maturation and Menstrual Hygiene Practice education program which included the construction of toilets and an incinerator in a rural village; an income-generating project for a group of women living with HIV; and a financial transparency workshop run by AFAWI for managers of NGOs. While writing these articles, I learned how NGOs are tackling various problems affecting the poor and marginalized in Ghana, and how a limited number of resources can be mobilized to educate and empower a large amount of people.
I also edited an application for a grant from the Canadian International Development Association for a project that would empower persons with disabilities in Ghana to claim the funds promised specifically to them by the government of Ghana, but which they had not yet received. This was the first grant application I had ever worked on, and it was interesting to see the level of detail CIDA asked for in order to assess an NGO’s suitability for receiving funds. I also was able to read some progress reports from projects already under way, which taught me the importance of precise monitoring, evaluation and questioning in the context of working with grants from foundations and governments.
In addition, I was fortunate to attend two Teen Club meetings at Taifa Community School with two AFAWI interns, Manson and Godwin. The Teen Club is an initiative started by some international volunteers in 2008 with the purpose to teach leadership, health and current events, and to guide students into becoming responsible adults. This was my first time in a school in Africa and it was remarkably different than schools in Canada. Firstly, the building consisted of various classrooms situated on the perimeter of a large schoolyard. Secondly, the number of children in a class was much larger than back home. I thought it was incredible that all the students could find a place to sit (or stand) and listen to the teacher. So far, visiting a Ghanaian school has been my most “authentic” experience in Africa. It was a lot of fun and I feel lucky that I was able to visit the kids with Manson and Godwin.
I had a positive experience while working with AFAWI. I’ve learned a bit about social development and NGOs in Africa, and although I’ve just scratched the surface, I already know there are many issues in this field that will be interesting to study, research and work on in the future. I didn’t meet many challenges in terms of resources or work to be done, but I attribute this to being here a short period of time. The office does have a limited number of computers with internet access, so online research isn’t always easy to do, but I was able to write reports and read project files when the internet was busy.
One of the only recommendations I wish to make is to divide work evenly amongst resources. During my time here, AFAWI had two other interns, but I definitely had more work to do than they did. We did share some work toward the end of my stay, when I stated that I wouldn’t have enough time to finish my projects, but during the first week and a half, the responsibilities were not evenly distributed. By delegating tasks, more work will get done and more resources will be effectively used. However, I still enjoyed working on my assigned projects and I do think learning about all AFAWI’s projects enhanced my volunteer experience.
