Arrival in Bolga

It is exactly 2 weeks since I left home, and here I am now in an internet cafe in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region of Ghana! So far from home and in such a different culture
To summarise - we were a group of 30 volunteers all arriving at the same time. There are about 80 VSO volunteers total in Ghana. the others come from the UK, Canada, Ireland, Holland, Australia, Kenya and the Philipines. We spent 10 days together in a very comfortable hotel (swimming pool, air conditioning, conference rooms etc) in Accra, for in-country training which covered the history, culture, food, customs, VSO's role in development etc, and was a chance to form a support network for all us volnteers. I'm starting to learn the local language for the Bolga region, which is Gurene. I haven't got much further than basic greetings, but it will come.
Accra was hot, steamy, noisy, traffic fumes etc, but I am constantly impressed by the overwhelming friendliness of everyone I meet, and the fact that English is the common language makes all communication so easy - I wonder how the volunteers in Mongolia and Cambodia are getting on!
20 of the group left Accra together on Thursday morning, for a 17 hour drive to Tamale, then the next day on up to Bolga, arriving at midday. We were travelling in an American style school bus with child-size seats, and many of the roads in Ghana are still under construction, so needless we were really pleased to get to our destination!
Bolga is wonderful! It is the regional capital of the Upper East region, so it has all types of facilities and services (Earl grey tea, but marmite was only available in Accra), but it has a small-town feel, very relaxed, tranquil and a real contrast to Accra. VSO have a regional office here, so we will have lots of support. I am lving in a house about 3 miles out of Bolga, sharing with Hilary who I met on motorcylcle training, and 2 Australian women, Katie and Lyndal, and an assortment of visitors such as the mouse, toads, gheckos, and plenty of flying things. The house is new, and huge! We've got a new fridge freezer, gas burner, 3 showers anbd toilets, a veranda, a decent sized enclosed garden and our own night watchman. It is much nicer than I ever imagined. We've bought basic kitchen equipment so It's my turn to cook tonight, and we just need to get a bit more furniture.
I know that there has been alot in the UK media about the floods in the Upper East Region. It has been a real disaster for some people, but the Bolga area has not been affected too badly. There are muddy puddles (perfect for mosquito breeding) and the area is really green and fertile looking, at the moment. I think we are at the end of the rainy season, soon to be followed by the dry, windy season. It's pretty hot already, but will get hotter!
It's really hard to know at this stage how my work will be- I will be introduced to people next week, and will then be working from home. I think it will be quite hard at first, but all types of development work start slowly and then grow. Time will tell.

Count Down - 4 days to go

Departure date is approaching fast. I leave Bristol on Saturday, to have one last night with my family before going to Heathrow on Sunday where I expect to meet up with a whole group of other volunteers also going out to Ghana.
The last few weeks have been hectic. I left work last Friday, after handing over all my work to my replacement, Clair. A meal out with colleagues and a party at home with friends - I'm being given a really warm send off. All I have to do this week is pack, (and re-pack), sort out the garden and allotment, get my hair cut and coloured (purple or pink?), paint my toe nails and then I'm ready.
I heard last night that I will be in a large 4 bedroom house, sharing with 2 other VSO volunteers, in Bolga. No info about furniture ..... We start with 10 days in Accra, for in-country orientation, culture, language etc, before going to our placements.
All very exciting

Count Down - 3 weeks to go

After counting the months to my departure, I'm now counting the weeks, and getting really excited.
I've just returned from my final pre-departure VSO training session, held at Harborne Hall in Birmingham.
This is the training I've had so far-
4 days 0f 'Preparing to volunteer' + Introduction to Development, back in April
3 days of motor cycle training
5 days of 'Skills for Working in Development' (nicknamed SKWID)
2 days of 'Organisation Development'
The training sessions are really thorough and intensive, so I'm feeling pretty saturated with it all and looking forward to putting it all into practice. I am particularly pleased because I met 3 guys who are also going to Ghana as volunteers, Hugh, Richard and Marco, who I will next meet at Heathrow on Sept 16.

So what am I going for????
My post is called 'Community Advocacy Support Officer', with the aim of 'improving community involvement in education'. It means helping to set up Parent-Teacher Associations, and school management committees, and encouraging local organisations to become involved in the schools. I'm going to be based in Bolgatanga, the regional capital of the Upper East Region. I don't know where my office will be,or where I will be living.
More than this, I don't know, but will soon find out. Watch this space!!!!

Learning new skills

Sharing Skills and Changing Lives, I'm getting ready for both.It's really important to be prepared before departure, so I've been on motorbike training, met Hilary, who is also going to Bolgatanga, and we've both bought the jackets!

New home

This is what my new home might look like

Preparing to go

Still learning how to blog! And making mistakes as I keep losing bits

First blog attempt

WELCOME to 'Sarah in Ghana'.

Please join me on my adventures, and tell me what you think, so that I don't feel so far from home.
No. I know I haven't left yet, but it's all about being prepared, and I would rather fiddle about with blogging in the comfort of my own home than in a hot and sweaty cyber cafe where I feel completely confused.
Learning new skills is about learning to blog!