The K Experience

Ghana's Children

Past - Ghana

Friday, 18 January 2008

Orfan girl

I've been racking my brains for hours just trying to find a suitable introduction for this entry, but to no avail. This is about the children of an orphanage, where I did voluntary work on the Oyibi road near Adenta in Ghana.

I will probably make myself out to be some kind of cruel evil person by what i'm about to say, but I'm gonna say it anyway, then you can judge me afterwards as i'm sure you will. I totally hate those charity adverts that show the starving black children with the extended stomachs and appear to be nothing but skin and bone. I despise them. I don't know why. Maybe because it is a form of manipulation, and I hate being manipulated in that way. Or maybe because I see them as my people and I hate to see my people displayed in that way. Whatever the case, the more they show it the more people will become desensitized to it, and the more they will get annoyed and the less they will care. It seems like even though the world knows that there is suffering, no one is willing to help, and people that are, will only part with their hard earned cash when they see these pitiful pictures of dying African children. Those that truly want to help will help, and those that don't will maybe feel guilty for a while, but then shortly after forget about it, and get on with their daily lives, driving their BMW's, eating their organic vegetables, living in their penthouses and going to their executive board meetings. (Not that the people that do the above are in any way responsible). But to be honest I don't know what kind of effect these are having, and even if they do, and people do give money, I don't quite know what happens to that money. Throwing money at problems is not always the best solution. I'd rather go out their myself and help the best I can. Which I did.

Two Kids The Oyibi road is a very long road, which has hardly any shops on either side, it is not like the busy market place of Adenta to one end of it. Neither was it like Oyibi to the other side. It was just an empty road, with nothing but a few houses spread out miles between each other and a small village or two. One of these villages, Fafraha, just off that road contained some houses which were under construction, and was also home to a little orphanage. None of the children had extended stomachs, they were all fed adequately well, and they could all be seen smiling.

But they were here for a reason. The children had been abandoned for one reason or another. Either because their parents could not afford to have them; or because their parents had banished them from their homes. One 18 year who lived here, had been thrown out of her home with her twins due to the shame she had brought upon her family. Others simply came from broken home, where their parents were either not there or could not look after themselves let alone their children. The tragedy was that most of the parent of the children were dying or had already died of AIDS, which was prevalent in Ghana, and still is to a degree. In fact some of the children were living with the sins of their parents having contracted HIV from their parents, in some cases being born with it.

I heard about this orphanage from one of the students at the nearby University, and decided to come and help out, teaching English and maths where needed. I wasn't the only one who had given up their time to help. Many of the people there were volunteers from the local area, who cooked and cleaned and nursed the young babies, of which there were many. There was even a volunteer from England there too, who had been there a few months.

Group Work

The kids there had fun. They would play football (soccer) nearly everyday, well everyday I was there anyway, and they would play with the many toys that were donated. Each day, there was an activity for them. Some days, the French teacher would come and teach them French, other days they would have a sports coach come and help them. I was there mainly to help them with maths and English, but I did less of that and more of the fun and games. It seems that's all they wanted me for.

Under the Table

I would also help to feed them at meal times, play with the little babies, and put them to sleep, play football with the older ones, and generally hang around. To them, I was just a normal Ghanaian guy. They had no idea where I was from, or what I did, so I guess I had less impact on them than the white girl who was more like a novelty to them, but it was nice being there. I definitely learned more from them than they did from me. I guess that's how it always is.

The other girl and I had not been the only foreign volunteers that had been there. Some of the lecturers from Vallery View University had come there a few times and donated old toys and books, and money on occasion. And I know there had been some Japanese aid workers in the area and feel that they must have left their mark on the orphanage also.

Well, it must have been the Japanese aid workers, as I don't know any other reason, "Japanese for Busy People" would have been on the book shelf.

For the introduction to this entry, I was trying to think of something profound write, to do with hope and future, and how the young are important and the opportunities that they should be given. I was then going to say something about how the children at the orphanage had not been given those opportunities, and how their lives were unfortunate and unfair. In part it is true, but I don't know how the kids saw it. One of the things I regret most is that I didn't ask them. I'm not sure if they thought about it much. I guess the older ones did, like the girl with the twins, but am not sure of the others. There was one of the voluntary workers however, who had been there when he was younger. He told me about his life, and that he now had his own place. He also told me that what he wanted to do was to help the others in the orphanage. He had made something of his life, and he wanted to help the others do the same. Even though those children had not had the same opportunity as the more fortunate children in Ghana, they still had the chance to make something out of their lives.

Coming back to my little rant about those charity adverts, I'm not saying that people shouldn't give money to charity. Of course no. Billions of pounds go to very worthy causes throughout the world this way, and millions of people are helped. A lot of good is being done. I just think that it would be more of an education for the more privilaged, if we tried to find out what really went on, and how people in those war and poverty ridden countries actually lived their lives. The shock tactics only work for a while until we get used to it. And yea, I know, not everyone has the opportunity to go to Ghana, or whichever country for even weeks, let alone the six months that I had, to go and find out for themselves. It's just not possible. But until we find a way to relate and connect to the people that need help, we just wont care enough to change it. There are people out there who have the power to help these children, and other children in other countries around the world, but politics, and corruption, and the general capitalist nature of the world we live in doesn't really allow for this to happen. Until someone with this power actually goes to see what it's really like, I fear nothing will change.

So in the mean time, the children will have to fend for themselves, and rely on the help they get from people like me, who can only do so much, but would want to do much more. Those children that are able to survive what ever ailment they have may be able to make something of their lives, like the volunteer I talked of earlier, but many of those children, will share the same fate of their parents.

I want to try and write something optimistic and uplifting to conclude with, but I just can't think of anything. So I think I'll just end here.

Pictures in the Gallery

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Kosala

|02-27-2008 03:28:26

Those children are still lucky compared to those that are not in the orphanage
and on the street without parents. Everything in this world is relative isn't it

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K	\|02-27-2008 13:40:51

That's so true. There are kids living on the streets of London, who have
absolutely no one to care for them. At least the kids at this orphanage had
that.

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krissgee

|12-14-2008 12:01:55

yes,but in London they have provision for this-to help eradicate it,yet in Ghana
l dont believe its even been thought about lwet alone spoke about.
to many
fingers in the big pie

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