Noah MacInnis, Vancouver, Canada
After finishing high school in Vancouver, Canada, I took a “gap year” and used the time to travel a little with the money I had saved. One of my best friends from Germany, Daniel, contacted me at this time to see if I would be interested in joining him on a social project at a school in northern Ghana for 2 months. I quickly decided to go along, especially as I wanted to travel anyway and didn’t want to miss the opportunity to do something useful. I came along more or less without any expectations or planning, I wanted to let everything happen to me. So we flew to Ghana in September, spent 2 days in Accra and then took a 12-hour bus ride north to Langbinsi.
Accra surprised me in the sense that the city was a lot more progressive than I had expected, but there were still drastic differences in the cityscape. Modern high-rise buildings were right next to very poor neighborhoods and the severe poverty was more present than I had personally experienced before. We then took the bus to the north, Richard our host father picked us up at the bus station and we drove in the direction of the village where the school is located. The landscape changed a lot on the long bus ride, becoming more rural and deserted by the hour. There were no longer many houses and the houses became more and more traditional.
The school was surrounded by fields and was one of the best-equipped buildings in Langbinsi. Our host family gave us a very warm welcome and we both felt at home straight away. Our two host parents form the backbone of the school in Langbinsi (apart from Sabine). Laminsi, our host mother, does all the organizational work and is basically the principal, while Richard works full-time as a doctor, but still uses every free minute to work on something in the school. The first few days were of course a change, from a sheltered home with a private bathroom, modern kitchen etc. to a bathroom without a shower and daily power cuts. But despite this, and above all because of everyone’s hospitality, we settled in very quickly. Richard and Laminsi have 3 children Emmanuel (7), Mercy (4), Godwin (2), so our first task was mainly babysitting, which I really enjoyed from the start. We spent a lot of time with the children and I grew very fond of all three of them over time.
But apart from the part-time job as a babysitter, we had other tasks to do. So we started writing the donation reports, which record the current development of each sponsored child. Apart from our main task, we sat down with Laminsi and Richard and thought about what useful things we could contribute. Because both Daniel and I like playing basketball, we came up with the idea of building a basket to teach the children how to play basketball. Daniel and I both thought that we would spend a few days going to the blacksmith, having the ring made, pouring concrete on the foundation, etc. Richard had a different opinion, and the next day two iron rods were welded together and a ring was bent into shape, the foundation was poured, and by 10 p.m. the basket was up. The work ethic that was completely normal in Langbinsi was completely unknown to me until then. Nobody rested and as soon as a project was planned, it was implemented immediately! In terms of hard work, Daniel and I had to catch up in order to keep up with the Ghanaian work pace. In any case, it was impressive to see how quickly you can get something going. The basketball hoop was a hit and all the students were immediately involved in heated games during lunch breaks. After a few weeks of practice, many had become really good and we were able to play 5 vs 5 with 10 children according to official rules, with sometimes half the school watching and cheering. We both also taught PE and went jogging with the children, and Daniel also helped with soccer training.
We then set our sights on our next project. As there was a massive garbage problem throughout the village, we looked for a more efficient solution and decided to build a garbage incineration hole with some students and with the help of Laminsi’s nephew Matthew. So we dug a hole that was one meter wide and one meter deep, cemented it, and built a small wall on all sides. This meant that the garbage no longer flew around everywhere but could be burned efficiently. The whole thing made the area a little more beautiful, which made everyone involved proud. But what I remember most about my time in Langbinsi are not necessarily our projects, but what I was able to learn. Whether it was bricklaying, writing, or cementing, Richard taught me and Daniel a lot and certainly helped us at least as much as we helped him. It was nice to see how quickly you can get involved and improve an environment through small projects. And when we had to go home after two months, I could understand why Richard never stopped working, because he was always working towards further results and goals. Accordingly, the biggest lesson I learned from my time is that with a little bit you can still change a lot and get closer to the goal (in this case, to become a better school).
I will try to come back and continue to be part of the project. It was a great experience that definitely broadened my horizons and I already miss life in Langbinsi.
Noah MacInnis
