Let Us Shine

Going to bed on the first night I wondered how I would find the basic living standards like the toilets and beds etc but as soon as I woke in the morning and had had my first 'bucket shower' in the dark I felt just at home. In March it was really hot so some nights I slept outside under my mosquito net. I would wake about 5am to the sounds of the first girls up doing their morning chores. It's a really peaceful time and I enjoyed getting up early and watching them all go about in the dark then seeing the place come to life as the sun comes up.

We arrived on a Friday so we had the weekend to settle in before school on the Monday. We had lots of fun playing with the girls and teaching them songs and games. On the Sunday we went to the local Evangelical Church which was filled with music and celebrations and the men and women take turns to go out to the front and dance. Everyone was really happy to have us there and made you feel so welcome. Hawa had made us our own Ghanaian dresses so I almost felt just like a local! It was great having the free time at the weekends and evenings to get to know all the girls. There are so many different personalities and its great watching how they all get on together. They are like one big family of 90 sisters with all of the older girls helping the younger ones! Of everything, I think my favourite pass time had to be the dancing in the evening. We danced a LOT and it's so much fun! The girls have fantastic rhythm and watching them was mesmerising. It's amazing how they make music from nothing, just sitting on an empty water drum and banging it with a flip flop while they all sing and everyone dances round in a circle. You completely lose yourself in it.

At school we helped the girls with their class work and even took a few lessons ourselves; teaching things like maths, English, art, science and PSE. Some of the girls are so smart and with such ambition. They want to go on to be teachers and nurses and doctors. I sponsor one little girl in class 3 and I think seeing it firsthand I truly appreciate the difference LUS and the regular sponsorship money makes. I really hope they all get the chance to continue their education so their dreams can become reality. During my time in Kpandai we also had the chance to visit some of the local villages. It's an eye-opening experience to say the least and it made the basic living conditions we were in seem like luxury. Seeing our girls stand beside their families you can't miss the difference the school has made to their lives, not just from en educational perspective but in their entire health and wellbeing. While seeing some of the little children in the villages was really sad it was good to know the positive effect to the whole family that educating one member will make and also the long term benefits that projects like LUS will have not just for the girls but to numerous communities.

I was also lucky as during my second trip to Kpandai I had the chance to work at the local medical clinic where any of the girls are taken if they get sick. The clinic services the entire village and is always so busy with lots going on. I spent a week there and had the chance to see patients with Dr Tim, visit the wards, meet new mothers at the anti-natal clinics and work in the clinic laboratory where they do all the tests for malaria and other diseases. Dr Tim and all his staff were fantastic and make such a difference to the local community. I learned so much!

It's hard to sum up my time in Kpandai as I had way too many fantastic experiences to possibly relay. Life there is completely different from anything I had ever experienced and when your there you get the chance to view the world and your own life in a different light. When I left for Ghana I had planned to come back and go into a career in forensic science and instead I found myself at 25 applying to go back to university and study medicine. The people are such an example. Despite the hard times some of the girls have to endure they are always so happy and so appreciative of everything they have. They are so much fun to be around and you can't help but want to do more. The hardest thing about Kpandai was definitely leaving. In the short time we were there I grew really close to some of the staff as well as the girls and it was horrible saying goodbye. There were lots of tears and as we drove of the girls chased the car waving. You realise how much they value your time there. But thankfully, since my first trip last March I have been back to Kpandai and I will definitely be back again in the future. In September I go back to uni to do medicine with definite plans to get back to the school and take my new skills with me and hopefully make even more of a difference.

HOME
BECOME A VOLUNTEER

SPONSOR A CHILD

MAKE A DONATION

FUNDRAISING

Phone: +44 (0) 845 638 3225 Fax: +44 (0) 845 638 3228 Email: info@letusshine.org

Home About Us What We Do Volunteer How To Help News Contact Us

Ashley Whelan,

Medical Student,

Edinburgh University

Hannah Currie,

Student,

Glasgow University.

Dr Mary Higgins, Retired GP, Stirling

Chloe Smith, Sociology and politics student.

Paul Manley,

Darnley Primary School,

Glasgow

Ashley Whelan, Medical Student, Edinburgh University

"My greatest memory from Kpandai is the energy, it's infectious; you feel it the second your step out of the car and it didn't leave till the moment we left weeks later!"

Of everything I've done, I think my time spent in Ghana has unquestionably been the best, it completely changed my life!! I first went out to Ghana for a month in March 2009 after graduating from my Masters. I had been planning a similar trip to South America with a large volunteer organisation when I found out about Let Us Shine and what struck me was the realness of the project. Unlike some other volunteer organisations, LUS is a charity; its school is in a completely rural district, a 12 hour drive north of the capital in an area with immense poverty and a great need. During my time there I got to experience life in a small Ghanaian village for how it really is, laid bare and where you truly feel like you make a difference. LUS focuses on some of the simple but most important issues such as education, hygiene, healthy eating and emotional development. It's so good and you get to take part in all of it!On my initial journey up to Kpandai I had no idea what to expect, but the first thing I noticed was how happy everyone is! When we arrived at the school and got out of the car we were greeted by a mass of excited girls with an amazing energy, all buzzing about and so happy to see us. Even the staff and the house mother Hawa were all dancing around with us. It's the nicest welcome I've ever had! We brought lots of things with us that people in the UK had donated such as clothes, toothbrushes, pens and pencils and of course some sweets. Spending the first few hours distributing it all was so much fun, the girls got really excited to all have their own new toothbrushes and toothpaste which I thought was really sweet. At dinnertime that evening Hawa cooked us Jollof rice which is sooo yummy! Meal times are a big event with all the girls taking their turns helping to cook and prepare foods before everyone finds a place to sit down and eat.