[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Wilson in Ghana edited.jpg” caption=”McMaster student Emily Wilson (left) volunteered in Ghana for the past two summers. “]While most university students spent their summer vacation working,
traveling or relaxing at the cottage, McMaster student Emily Wilson
spent a month volunteering in the West African country of Ghana.

The fourth-year health sciences student volunteered with the African Hope Foundation of Ghana (AHFOGH), a small charitable organization that helps Ghana's most vulnerable people, including orphans, refugees and people living with HIV/AIDS.

It wasn't Wilson's first trip to Ghana as a volunteer.

“I had worked as a volunteer for [AHFOGH] in the summer of 2005,” said Wilson. “I taught at a vocational school for young women between the ages of 14 and 25 who were either orphaned or housemaids lacking access to education.”

She returned to Ghana last summer and volunteered from mid-July to
mid-August.

Wilson received a Canadian Millennium Foundation International Grant worth $2,500, which helped fund her volunteer work with the AHFOGH. With support from the Bachelor of Health Sciences program and donations from family and friends, Wilson and her brother Mark, a graduate student at Queen's University, headed for Ghana in early July.

Although the AHFOGH had received funding from several international aid organizations, “all of these projects had reached their designated end point, and the funding had run dry,” said Wilson.

She donated the funds she had collected to help keep the AHFOGH running. Wilson and her brother developed a spending plan to ensure the money was spent appropriately.

“I chose to allocate the funds to support the two vocational schools,” said Wilson. “This will include providing new sewing machines and/or cooking sets for each student who completes their national vocational certificates, paying for school expenses and supplies for all the students, paying utility bills for the buildings, and honorariums for the volunteer teachers.”

One of Wilson's most rewarding experiences in Ghana was when she informed her students that the funding would enable the vocational schools to stay open for another year. She said previous volunteers had offered donations to the charity, but few followed through with funding. Even fewer volunteers returned to Ghana to work with the AHFOGH. Wilson was one of only two volunteers who came back.

“At this point, I became aware that my return was more than just a
visit,” said Wilson. “To these girls, it signified that someone from a
country and lifestyle they so much admire cared enough about them to
return.”

While in Ghana, Wilson stayed with Agnes Opoku, Executive Director of the AHFOGH, Opoku's husband, five children and niece.

Wilson soon discovered that water was a precious resource, and its
availability was “very inconsistent,” which made routine activities
like showering a challenge.

“We normally showered using a bucket drawn from the well,” said Wilson.

Despite the lack of running water, Wilson praised the Opoku family for welcoming her into their home and teaching her how to cook traditional Ghanaian dishes. She also learned how to speak the language.

Although English is the official language of Ghana, and many Ghanaians learn how to speak English in school, each region has its own native dialects.

“I was able to take a week of language lessons during my first trip in Twi, the language native to the Ashanti Region, and was able to pick up new words from friends and acquaintances I met along the way,”
Wilson explained.

Wilson still keeps in touch with the people she met in Ghana, and looks forward to their letters. She even helps them with their English.

“I always attach their letter in my response and include grammar and punctuation corrections to help them improve their English,” she said.

Volunteering in Ghana gave Wilson the opportunity to help others as
well as explore her career interests.

“I hope to work in the health care sector in the future, specifically in a field that serves underserviced, rural or developing communities,” she said. “Although I believed that this was the type of work I wanted for a career, I wanted to have a work experience which would help me decide if this was the work for me, and also potentially direct my interests.”

When asked if she would return to Ghana, Wilson replied, “Absolutely. I would love to continue seeing more of Africa, but I have a soft place in my heart for Ghana, and especially the AHFOGH that started it all.”

Wilson encourages other university students to volunteer abroad.

“There are so many organizations,” she said. “My advice would be to
look around to find a group or organization that [offers] a program
that you think you will get the most out of.”

For more information, please contact Wilson at wilsonec@mcmaster.ca