Volunteering in Ghana: Mar & Mark

Written by Mar(k), Martin J.

Mar & Mark (or Mar(k) for short) are the latest volunteers to answer some questions for us. They are currently volunteering in for VSO in Ghana, and are on a two year long placement. If you are, have or plan to volunteer and would like to share your story, perhaps by writing a blog for us or answering some questions like Mar(k), we would love to hear from you! Should you be intrigued by this short interview, you can read more about Mar(k) and their adventures on their volunteer blog.

When and why did you decide to do volunteer work?

We first decided to do some volunteering work about two years ago. We were coming to the end of our “working lives” in the petroleum industry, and wanted to do something more “meaningful” that could utilise our business skills, and at the same time, hopefully help others in some way.

What country did you choose, and why?

Our two year placement is in Ghana, West Africa. When you volunteer with VSO, you can be specific about regions or specific places you’d like to volunteer, but for us, we just wanted to make sure that our skills were needed where we were going. Both of us are volunteers, so finding a skill match for both of us was more important than location. We feel very fortunate to be here! West Africa is a part of Africa that neither of us had travelled to before, so that made it much more of an adventure, as well! What type of work are you doing, and is it what you expected it to be? We are both working for a small NGO in the Northern Region of Ghana, called the Rural Media Network (RUMNET). The main business of RUMNET is publishing a monthly development focussed newspaper. We are involved in many things, including fund raising, marketing, advocacy, training and journalism. We didn’t have a lot of expectations before coming here, other than to “expect the unexpected”!!!

Who are you volunteering for and why did you choose them? Are you paying to volunteer, and if so, do you think you are getting good value for money?

We are volunteering with VSO, although as Australians, our “parent” is actually Australian Volunteers International; an affiliate of VSO in Australia. Both VSO and AVI are government sposored charities who recruit volunteers to work internationally. As such, we are paid a nominal “allowance” which works out to about $7.50 AUD per day and are supplied with housing. Our airfares to and from our two-year placement are also covered. We did not have to pay a fee for becoming volunteers. Overall, we have been very impressed with the level of professionalism and commitment demonstrated by VSO.

Do you have any general advice for anyone considering to do a volunteer placement similar to your own? Any words of warning or wisdom?

I would research many different options before committing to volunteering. It IS hard work, and can be quite challenging. That said, it is also incredibly rewarding and is most definitely a life changing experience. Patience, flexibility and tolerance are three qualities that you will undoubtedly need in your volunteering experience. Things do not happen the way you might be used to, and that is not going to change, just because you have an expectation that it should / could. So learning to relax and go with the flow is really, really important. We also think that it is crucial to keep a sense of humour, and to try to remember WHY you are volunteering (ie: to help others, etc…), so you don’t get caught up in the small daily annoyances that can make you cynical or frustrated.

How much time did you spend planning and researching before heading out? What, if any, information did you find most important and/or most difficult to find?

We spend a considerable amount of time researching AVI / VSO before deciding to commit to volunteering with them. We attended two “information nights” – about 2 hours each, as well as maybe 3 or 4 hours on the web, gathering information about them, etc… Once we had our placements lined up, we probably spent about 20 hours all told reading about Ghana, researching our placements, learning about the country, about VSO, etc…. In addition, VSO provided us with two separate five day training sessions in Australia– one called “Preparing to Volunteer” (P2V) and then “Skills for Working in Development” (SKWID). Both of these were extremely helpful in getting us ready for our assignments. We also had 5 days of “in country training” when we arrived. Some of the most helpful information actually came from volunteers who were working in Ghana, and specifically in the town where we were going to be posted. Nothing like hearing from someone “on the ground” what it is really like, what to bring, etc…. we found these people either through blogs or else through the VSO “internal site” called VolZone. One thing we noticed with comments from volunteers who had previously been based in Tamale (where we live) in Northern Ghana, is that things can change quite quickly, and information of other people’s experience can become “old” quite quickly, as well. There is one fellow who volunteered here about 3 years ago – and although he is very helpful to new or potential volunteers, the information he gives them is out of date, and is not representative of life in Ghana, or Tamale – today. So keeping things current is very important, I think!