Today was a very emotional day as it was the last time that we’d ever see all the children of Ayensudo . However before all of the goodbyes could begin, we had to tidy up and finish all of the classrooms, put the desks back and clean off the paint from the floors. Once this was finished, we had our final breakfast cooked by Augustina- omelet and toast, but the group didn’t have long to eat because there was still the task of packing up all of our belongings, clearing out the mosque where we were sleeping and packing up the mosquito nets. Once all of this was done, there were only two hours left, and it was time for the official leaving ceremony.
This took place in the upper primary classrooms, where the dividing doors between rooms had been opened up so as to fit all of the children and teachers at the school in. The group and I were sat at the front, leaving a space in the middle for Paddy to say his speeches to everyone. The atmosphere in the room was one I’m never going to forget, mainly because of the pupils singing and drumming as loud as they could, and not to mention that when the buddies gave us our gifts, almost everyone in the building was crying. After that, the team wanted to say bye and thank you to the chief for letting us stay in his village, so we walked across the road to his house, where he was already waiting for us. We had some photos taken of him and us and moving words were said from both him and the head of the Ayensudo Islamic PTA, who seemed almost as upset as we were about leaving.
Then the time came for us to leave, so we all piled back onto the bus and had our last look at the place that we had called home for the past ten days, and as the village moved out of site, the whole team was united in sadness.
However, we were on our way to Stumble Inn, an exotic resort situated just 5 minutes away from Ayensudo, where we were to sleep outside on the beach. We set up our mosquito nets, and as soon as Moosa arrived we went into the sea. It was a perfect temperature, cool enough to refresh us yet not so cold as to freeze us, and the waves were massive, over 5 meters tall occasionally, and powerful enough to knock us over.
That night was one of the most restful nights I’ve had in all my time in Ghana, and I woke up feeling relaxed, yet sad the we were going to be leaving later on that evening. Team 9 have had an unforgettable time out here, and as well as making us all closer as friends, it’s shown us how lucky we are to live in a country where we don’t have to wake up at 5:30 each morning just so we have water to drink. We’re going to miss staying in Ghana, and all the amazing wonderful people who live in it, yet it’s time for us to come home now.
See you all at Heathrow!