The Wonderful Game

Not only can it bring communities together, but also improve a society’s physical, social and psychological wellbeing. Whether you are playing or watching, a game of football can help you forget your worries for 90 minutes and share your passion for the sport with those around you.

With the help of Langton Green football club, especially to Carol Braidwood and Tom O’Brian I will hopefully be able to assist the people of the district of Nkoranza by providing them with two adult and two youth football kits as well as balls and pumps to start up a football team.

I also plan to bring along some light weight personal training gear that I have, skipping ropes, suspension bands, foam rollers, exercise mats and stability balls. Research has shown me that there is some old fashioned fitness equipment at the high school in the district but other than that no fitness facilities. Not only do I hope I can encourage members of the community to get a bitter fitter, but also to improve their social lives and perhaps even train one enthusiastic member of the district to become a fitness instructor and continue with helping people to improve their health when I am gone.

Also being a qualified exercise to music instructor I will take out some music to play on the old laptop they have at the orphanage and teach the children some dances. It is important for them to keep fit and have fun.

Not only do want to go to Nkoranza to aid the disadvantaged children, but also to make a positive and beneficial impact on the district itself. Even if I make just one person realise the importance of keeping active to stay healthy and live longer then I will be satisfied.

Stress is an ignorant state. It believes that everything is an emergency.

Exams, vaccinations, writing, swimming lessons...it seems I never get a minutes peace from all my commitments. At a point when I think maybe I have taken on too much and I should have delayed my trip until after my degree – I receive two packages through the post. Always exciting!

The first, a small white envelope with my writing on it – opening it I realised it was from Ghana High Commission, eagerly I looked for our visas but soon my heart sank – there was no sign of them. Panicking I looked through the contents – mine and Finnley’s passport and my cheque that had been torn in two – most definitely no visas. I could not understand why we had been rejected visas to enter Ghana, all the flight money wasted as well as all the anticipation of meeting the children, with no explanation what so ever. I was gutted. I googled possible reasons “lack of funds”, “criminal record”, “not healthy” – none of them were applicable to our situation. Had Finnley’s father heard and told them he did not want me to take Finnley so the Commission refused?...After moping around for a couple of hours I sorted through my big envelope with Ghana details in it to see if I could find another reason, placing our passports on the table, Finnley picked one up and flicked the pages, commenting on the bird pictures, when suddenly he got excited “STICKER HERE MUMMY” I heard – him excitedly running over to show me – Finnley has an obsession with stickers. I looked at the ‘sticker’ and there was the visa stuck into the passport. What an idiot – I thought to myself, definitely a blonde moment. Giving Finnley a kiss on the forehead and swapping the passport for a pack of train stickers – we were both happy!

The second parcel, a big white padded envelope with a foreign stamp on it – I opened it to find what looked like an old fashioned mobile phone. It was from a previous volunteer that lived in America, I wasn’t expecting the phone to arrive for another couple of weeks. Included also in the package was a couple of photographs of her daughter to take out with me to remind the children of when they volunteered last summer. The phone will be an amazing aid when we are in Ghana we will be able to call my parents to let them know we are ok – originally I thought there was an internet cafe but apparently the signal is too poor for skype use, but ok for sending emails. So a massive thank you to Karen Vineberg for posting me the phone, I do massively appreciate it.

So from being stressed out about studying, exams and preparation for our trip, these two packages have arrived and reminded me that in a month I will be living a slower pace of life with no pressures; just helping people less fortunate than myself with my little angel beside me. I cannot wait.

Access denied.

It has not been overly simple to get a visa to visit Ghana. Although I was assured by many previous visitors that they would welcome me with open arms into their country; my experience with the Ghana High Commission has been somewhat a more complex experience.

I tried to ring the Commission based in London initially to discuss whether Finnley, being only 2 would need his own visa or would go on mine.  50 tries later I had not spoken to anyone other than the switchboard which seems to a good natter. I left messages when I had the time to listen to the female computer voice ask me where I wanted to get my call directed. With no email on their website, I was left only one option; to call the Ghana High Commission and press option 5 – SECURITY. Eventually I got through to a lovely lady who answered all my queries straight away, explaining that Finnley would need his own visa but I would need to write a letter giving my permission for him to fly. I did not quite understand this as I was flying with him, but decided not to argue and just write a letter anyway.




Dissallowed photos

 

The visa application forms were completed in duplicate for both of us, and sent to the Commission along with photographs, passports, bank statements and airline tickets. I also needed to include a postal order for £80.00 which would pay for the single entry visas. However obviously things are never easy and when sending off the applications the post offices’ postal order machine was broken. Meaning a cheque was sent in a separate envelope.



The following day I received a phone call from the Commission, explaining that the photographs were unacceptable and that they could not except cheques. Arggghhh. Why is everything so complicated? So that day I sent off a postal order and new photographs – which were free of charge thanks to Snappy Snaps in Guildford.

The only issue now appears to be that Finnley has a different surname to mine, and although it has been changed by deed pole to the my name, it cannot be changed on the passport until he is 16 years old or his father gives his permission. Seeing as Finnley’s father made the decision to disown Finnley, I have no idea where he is, so a signature seems impossible. Hopefully the Ghanaian commission can understand that I am not trying to steal my son and take him to another continent, but going to Ghana to help the disadvantaged children have a better life. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

“Risk more than others think is safe. Care more than others think is wise. Dream more than others think is practical. Expect more than others think is possible.”

Brave, selfish or utterly crazy are just a few of the remarks that have followed the discussion that I along with my two year old son will be going to Ghana for two months this summer. The intention of our journey? To help improve the lives of underprivileged  orphans living in Nkoranza a small village in central Ghana.

On the 27^th June 2011, two days after I turn 21; my son Finnley and I will be flying overnight to Accra, Ghana’s capital. Here we will be met by Mr Kofi Adu, the ‘father’ of Love Kids orphanage. At this point all three of us we will make the six hour trip across the country using taxis, buses and tro tros to reach the district of Nkoranza. During our stay in the district we will be staying with the Adu family, Finnley and I sharing a room, and a bed. The house has been described as very basic by past volunteers, but with running cold water and electricity for part of the day it is seen as a privileged home by the community of the small town. The orphanage run by this family is a short walk away, with no such luxuries as water. This is where Finnley and I will be spending the majority of our time in Ghana, teaching and helping the children to feel loved and reach their full potential. The children at this orphanage are in the minority, and go to school for a small time during the day; when they are at school or during any free time Finnley and I have we will be visiting a couple of other orphanages in the district; one of them named Hand in hand has asked for my assistance in improving children’s diets, for the orphans at this establishment all have special needs, some physical some psychological; as a student dietician hopefully I will be able to assist is some way.

Volunteering with orphans in Africa is something that has always been on my ‘to do’ list, but after falling pregnant at just 17, I never saw it as a possibility; just a distant vision. However I received confirmation from my university that my placement year job at Frimley Park Hospital would not begin until September 2011, meaning I had two months between end of exams and this commencing; it was something I started to think about. I made a few enquiries into where would be safest to journey with my son, and also where I was most needed; it became apparent that a lot of volunteers preferred to go to ‘baby orphanages’ and be able to stay in comfortable rooms with access to night life. So I researched more into staying in a rural setting where not a lot of volunteers would choose to go too. After I had positive responses from a couple of the children’s homes in Nkoranza I was sure that if I decided to volunteer this is the village I would go to. There were a lot of things to consider, primarily safety, but also finances, time and relationships.

After talking to a couple of friends and family members it was evident that they did not want Finnley or I to go due to fears of war breaking out, illness or purely because they will miss us; however those close to  me realised it was something I felt a ‘need’ to do and therefore gave me their full support.

Financially I worked out that if I could rent my house for the period I was away then I could do it; after mentioning it to my partner, he said he would live there whilst I was away, contributing to paying the rent and bills too. So financially I could do it.

In terms of safety, I spoke to previous volunteers, private health clinics and travel nurses. The volunteers made me aware that it is a very safe country when you are out of Accra, the capital – and that they have felt completely safe in Nkoranza, they even took night walks. The specialist travel doctors said they were confident that it was safe to take a two year old to Ghana, if all the correct precautions were taken, meaning vaccinations, insect repellent and correct clothing and medications.  

In terms of considering whether I had the time to do this; I thought during my months off university I could either get a part time job to earn a bit of money or I could do something that would change my, my son and disadvantaged children’s lives in a positive way.

So I booked the tickets, and then told my family. The responses were mixed  they realised this was ‘actually’ happening. Tears over our safety came from some members, them even offering to look after Finnley for two months so I would not take him. At first I saw this as them questioning my ability as a mother, questioning whether I would be able to keep my son safe; this upset me a lot. However I can see how some people would see my decision as selfish – that I am taking my son to a malaria stricken country with none of his home comforts around him; however I hope they can also see it from my view. Finnley is a very lucky little boy, he has lots of toys, clothes, food whenever he desires, but most importantly he has a family that love him; I want him to experience a different kind of life, to mix with different children, to see different things and to appreciate what he has. If I had any fear over my ability to care for my son abroad, I would never have considered it.  

My son is my everything; we are taking an adventure together to improve the lives of needy children living in Ghana. I will not lie, I have some fears about going away; but I think this is best opportunity of our lives... well so far.

“Most people can do extraordinary things if they have the confidence or take the risks - yet most people don't - they sit in front of the television and treat life as if it goes on forever”