What inspired you to work for Akwaaba Volunteers?
I had a lot of experience working in similar roles and for charities. Sadly many volunteer organizations get a lot of money and very little goes directly to the communities that host volunteers. We wanted to change that. We made sure Akwaaba provides the very best volunteering experience for all our volunteers from around the world whilst continuing to run projects in line with our communities’ vision and goals.
Describe a typical day at work.
I get up at 6 a.m. each day to walk my dogs. After that we stop by to see the volunteers for breakfast, then head to the school around 8.30 a.m. for assembly time.
School runs from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. so typically our volunteers will be working hard with the kids.
Then we jump on the school bus back to LA, our community and head to our after school projects. We hang out at the Akwaaba Library or work on the sports projects till 6 p.m. before heading home for a freshly prepared dinner.
This is me on the ground, working in Ghana to help make it a better place to live.
Why do you do what you do?
I want to give as many young people as possible a brighter future through our projects. For some this might just mean the opportunity to go to school or to play football. For others it might mean giving them the opportunity to experience things they may not have got the chance to experience and inspire them to always dream big.
What is your favorite part of your job?
Seeing first hand the impact the charity makes every single day. I love being able to divide my time between administrative tasks and getting involved in the projects, hearing the thoughts of the project participants, learning from volunteers and showing them everything that Ghana has to offer. I love my job and it's really rewarding but still a lot of hard work.
How do you use your education and international background in your current role?
I use my education every single day, and I also continue to learn every single day. When we started Akwaaba Volunteers, we set up our own business and have learnt everything along the road.
It's been a lot of learning, hard work, and grafting but great to continue to develop our skills to help more people. Having an international background helps massively to understand different cultures when different people from around the world are coming to visit us in Ghana and show young people in Ghana different cultures too.
Combining two groups and two cultures makes for an incredible and unforgettable experience.
What challenges do you often face and how do you overcome them?
Our biggest challenge is always having a limited amount of funding to help a limited amount of funding. Ultimately the more funding we have for our projects, the more we can do for the children that we work with. By working hard, showing volunteers a fantastic time and continuing to develop relationships we can keep diversifying our income streams and develop long term sustainable strategies to continue growing and having the funding to help more kids.
What are some current projects you are working on?
Our most recent project which started in September 2023 is our Community Library and Vocational Center. Having worked with children in the community for a while, we realized that more kids don't have access to books and literacy was suffering as a consequence of this. Most schools don't have books for children to read and books in Ghana are expensive to buy.
We built a library in the community so that the children we work with can easily access reading books and computers to do any homework too. It is important that children in Ghana try to stay up to date with technology too. Next door to the library is our vocational center. Its purpose is to engage young girls in the community and teach them skills they might need for the future.
What advice would you tell your pre-travel self?
Never be afraid to travel. Travel can be done on any budget and will open your heart and your eyes to so many things. Travel really is the best teacher, it allows us to appreciate what we have and to immerse ourselves in different cultures that we may not have been aware of. It lets us be free, meet new people and is a great gift.
Traveling abroad means making new friends who are from all around the world!
What makes your organization special?
The people behind Akwaaba Volunteers is what makes the organization special. From the children we work with, our team to all the amazing volunteers that make up the Akwaaba Volunteers family. All of these factors contribute to giving our organization a lot of soul, purpose, passion and integrity. We love what we do and we want everyone else to love it too, so far so good!
Why should someone choose Akwaaba Volunteers over competitors?
Akwaaba Volunteers has a diverse range of sustainable and ethical projects that allow you to have a once in a lifetime opportunity to make a positive impact on people’s lives and gain amazing experience on your chosen project. We are committed to providing responsible volunteering experiences that offer you a unique view of Ghana and the perfect opportunity to immerse yourself in Ghanaian culture, make your impact, change lives, develop relationships with communities, build friendships, use your skills to inspire others and to travel around this vibrant, safe, and friendly country.
We have a dedicated team that are committed to working with you for the duration of your stay in Ghana to make sure you love every second of your experience. We believe we offer the very best volunteering experiences in Africa and we make sure we work towards this and get 1% better every day.
What is your organization's mission and how do you continue to work toward it?
Akwaaba Volunteers’ aim is to “Brighten the future of the next generation”, alleviate poverty and create better opportunities for underprivileged children and disadvantaged communities. Our projects are based in Labadi, a suburb of Ghana’s capital city.
We work closely with our community and work in areas based on the needs of the community. Through our projects we aim to empower, develop and create sustainable futures to alleviate poverty and change lives.
We aim to empower local people to create their own futures. We love what we do, work hard and give our volunteers the best experience possible
I am most proud of founding Akwaaba Volunteers is my passion and my purpose in life.
What do you hope participants take away from your programs?
We hope that our volunteers leave Ghana feeling a sense of passion and purpose just as we do towards our projects. Most of our volunteers leave with a full heart, a smile and knowing that they have made a positive impact on someone's (or more) lives by volunteering with Akwaaba Volunteers. I hope participants understand why we do what we do, how we continue to strive for more opportunities for the children we work with and see our passion as well as loving Ghana for being an amazing country to visit.
Why is it important for people to travel abroad and experience new cultures?
Traveling is the greatest gift. Having the opportunity to see new cultures, explore different countries is a privilege that not everyone has and it's so important we grab every opportunity with both hands.
Experiencing new cultures allows us to understand ourselves better, what is important to us and what we take for granted, the importance of our families and friends and how we can use our own skills and knowledge to make an impact in the world. Every culture has its own way of doing things and if we are able to embrace these and make friends from across the world we can really embrace each other too.
What does meaningful travel mean to you?
Meaningful travel means traveling with purpose. This might mean different things to different people but for me it means using your money and your time to put something good back into the world, this could be exploring new places and rejuvenating your own sense of purpose or it could be volunteering and giving back. The most important thing when you travel is to make sure you are investing your money into a worthwhile cause that is transparent, does good in a sustainable way and is making a positive impact with the community.