Clinical Medical Placement
Community Development at Urban Slum
Orphanage Volunteering: Is it Right?
Orphanage Volunteering: Is it Right?
International volunteerism can be a controversial idea; Western ‘do-gooders’ save up their pennies, book a flight, and jet off to save the world. Is this right? Can we truly give through volunteering, or is it just us who takes from the experience? Based on my experience in Ghana with The Humanity Exchange, sponsored by Endeavour the answer is yes, we can truly give through volunteering.
Before I went to Ghana to volunteer at an orphanage, I did not realise how much of an impact four weeks can have on a child, and how we as volunteers give them something they might never have had before.
Understanding the Local Context
The children at Word Alive Children’s Home are self-sufficient in a way we just don’t understand children can be. The girls cook. The children clean the house, their clothes, and themselves. The children put each other to bed and wake themselves up in the morning. There is relatively little attention given to children in Ghana in comparison to what we might be used to in the UK. Part of this is undeniably culture. On the one hand, perhaps we wrap our children up in cotton wool too much in the UK. On the other hand, I saw that what the children miss is the relationship a child should have with a parent. Playing games with the children, sitting with them as they eat their dinner, making sure their teeth are cleaned, and tucking them into bed at night are little things that mean a lot.
I realised the care we showed was a positive start. Whilst volunteering my sister and I were with the children for a month, day in and day out. We didn’t bring any specialist skills or expertise, barring our English language, but we were able to give back. We spent time getting to know the children, their personalities, their cheeky ways; we taught them new songs and new games; we let them beat us at snap and at jenga. We showed them pictures of our travels in Ghana. We took them for a day trip to the beach. We loved each and every one of them, and tried to show them that as much as we possibly could. In this I do, truly believe that we gave them something. The kids had fun, tried new activities, and went to new places. They met people from the other side of the world, heard about our lives, and got to tell us about theirs. The children became noticeably more confident as time passed, and absolutely loved it when we arrived each day.
Attachment
At the end of our time in Ghana, it was hard to leave knowing that there might not be someone there to cuddle them until they felt better or to read them a story. The tears they shed on our last night broke my heart. We focused on thanking them for the time shared together. We talked about smiling because it happened and not crying because it was over. We only made promises we knew we could keep. In taking these actions, we hoped to minimize the sadness the children would feel when we left.
At this very moment I’m back in Ghana, showing them that we really do love and care for them. They need to know that it’s not just about who is there and with them physically, but also who is thinking about them from far away. We’re sticking to our word, and they better have worked hard in school, because that was their half of the deal!
Pippa Bown volunteered for one month in Ghana in August 2011, as an orphanage assistant and teacher. In January 2012 she returned to volunteer again, bringing her mom, Sheila Bown.
- Check out Pippa’s Blog.
- Check out Sheila’s Blog.
- Join us on Facebook to connect with other volunteers and learn more about volunteering with The Humanity Exchange.