The final week of volunteering was my favourite. I felt comfortable both in my role and the community and loved getting to introduce the new arrivals to Kokrobite and the partner schools. The new arrivals were the largest group there has been since I was in Ghana with 20 new people arriving. It was the busiest the volunteer base had been which was initially a bit overwhelming, but as one of the longest standing volunteers I ended up falling into a position of leadership quite quickly. I really enjoyed this because I felt comfortable in my role, knew what was expected of me and understood how the community worked. It was super nice to be the supportive person for the new volunteers and someone that any questions can get asked to. I couldn't believe that I had been there for a month and was nearing the end of my time in Ghana. All I wanted to do was slow time down.
I really enjoyed my classes and feeling like I was able to make an impact and positive contribution having fully understood my role. This was also assisted by how having learnt about the community more, I better understood how positive and sustainable impact could occur. To do a breakdown of my classes for my final week, I partook in 3 menstrual health classes, a Girl Guides session at Southern Belt, 3 classes for my Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms classes, alongside supporting on a Sexual Health class and First Aid. I also really enjoyed feeling like I had strong connections and friends in the volunteers making me feel really comfortable and supported.
Towards the end of this week having completed their training, the new arrivals got to join us on the classes and their enthusiasm meant many wanted to join the classes I was facilitating. This initially posed a challenge because the large interest felt quite overwhelming for me to manage alongside posing concerns about causing a distraction for the kids. However, I realised this was a perfect opportunity for me to develop the leadership traits I want to emanate in my leadership style.
I realised that whilst often the problem is anxieties creeping doubt into your mind about how a something will go, as a leader you also have a level of control. The people pleasing side of me wanted to make sure all the new arrivals were happy and allow them all to join the classes. But I had to remember our training emphasising that impact comes first and how sometimes it is essential to say no. I had to put the quality of the teaching first and realise the large number of volunteers could not join whilst also managing their disappointment. Therefore, rather than there being like 5+ volunteers wanting to join me on a class, I organised a timetable so they each could attend additional classes, but it was only a maximum of 3 as each. In doing so, I was able to prioritise the teaching and ensure that the classes ran smoothly
After an amazing week of volunteering, I sadly had to leave Ghana return to rainy Yorkshire. My full reflections are written within my reflective report, but I just wanted to include here that it has been the most amazing trip and the past 5 weeks are ones I will treasure and look back on fondly forever. I feel so incredibly grateful for the amazing opportunity that the Laidlaw Foundation and Laidlaw Scholarship have given me. Marking the end of my scholarship, this whole experience spanning over the past 2 years has truly made my university experience and truly opened my eyes to the world around me and my possibilities for the future. Anyway, to anyone who has made it this far in my blog, thank you for reading and I hope my writing even managed to convey a glimmer of the beautiful experience I have had over the past 5 weeks.