Hi everyone, my name is Janne, I am 22 years old, and I have worked as a volunteer at Grow Ghana for the last year. Moving from Germany to Ghana through the weltwärts-program, which supports young people in volunteering abroad, I was really excited about the local culture, the food and of course the way we teach ICT at Grow Ghana. Like many things in life the work at Grow Ghana can be challenging sometimes but is also incredibly fulfilling. But what do I actually do here?
Teaching takes up the biggest part of my day, but I also develop the curriculum, manage technical equipment, and support our social media efforts. However, each volunteer’s tasks can differ based on their interests. A usual day for me thus consists of a multitude of different activities and happens in various locations (schools, office), which is nice for a little change. However, at times and especially during the holidays when there is no school, spending the whole day at the office can be quite dull.
That’s also due to teaching being the heart of my role, and it’s where I find the most joy. We kick off each lesson with a fun warm-up game to get the students energized. From there, we dive into a range of topics, from essential soft skills like communication to hands-on learning with Scratch and the Microsoft Office suite. Being deeply involved in crafting these lessons and seeing the students’ enthusiastic responses is incredibly rewarding. Creating a fun and engaging learning environment for them never fails to make me smile.
Naturally, my work at Grow Ghana isn’t the only thing that keeps me busy here. Besides that, I love to relax at the beach, which is only about 10 minutes away, read in my hammock or play pool with friends. In general, the area around the volunteer house/office is extremely nice and it’s easy to meet loads of interesting people. But lets also not forget about traveling, as Ghana offers so many great spots worth visiting. In all my time here, I have never really had a day when I was bored due to lack of options on what to do.
Overall, I have to say that my experience at Grow Ghana was amazing for the most part. The team atmosphere is fantastic, and working together has always been a blast. If you’re considering volunteering and are into teaching and exploring the inner workings of an NGO, I highly recommend it. If you want to join our team as a local or international volunteer, you can just reach out to us via email.