Day 1
Following 19 hours of an eventful trip, involving one loss of a passport (Karim), the group finally arrived in Ghana. Upon arrival at Accra, the group were taken back by the heat, even at 21:30. As well as the sticky humidity, the students were also taken back by the mass of locals who desperately wanted to help carry our bags -especially James Morrison, who tipped them for their helping hands. After changing our money and collecting our luggage (finally), our bags were loaded onto the top of a small mini van, which resembled (worryingly) the game of Jenga. However, all our bags were safe and we indulged on our ‘plantain chips’ on the journey.
The night in ‘New Haven Hotel’ was ‘spectacular’ according to Mr. Devonald, who laughed uncontrollably at the fact three students had to share a double bed. The relaxing night followed into the morning, where we were awoken at 7am by cockerels and Miss Deans’ shouting wake-up call which actually woke up the local neighbourhood. Such distress was eased quite quickly as we all sat satisfied at breakfast, eating toast and drinking cocoa.
After breakfast we started our drive to Elmina which took around 3 hours. The views were a culture shock, as we were approached at the coach windows with food and water. The Ghanians seem to converse through the beeping of their horns and there are people everywhere, so despite the constant stalls, it was entertaining.
Finally, we arrived at Partner Ghana in Elmina, where we were fed fresh pasta and had time to relax. Such an atmosphere was contrasted by our quick visit to Elmina school after lunch, where the children were overwhelmed with excitement at both our group and our cameras – they bursted into laughter seeing their own pictures. The school then provided us with a welcoming ceremony, a large group of girls danced for us, while the boys provided them with music through drumming and other instruments. Following this, we were introduced to our buddies, we had time to introduce ourselves to both them and the students before we returned to the offices, where we are given the evening to relax. At present, Adam, Sam, Dan, Nathan and Kiran (years 8 and 9) are playing an intense game of monopoly, while the others are playing football in the field.
Day 2
Another early start today and the troops were in high moral as we walked through the Elmina heat to the Pentecostal Church. The room was filled with men, women and children in their Sunday bests and our Oakwood convoy did not look out of place even when asked to dance round the room to the cultural drumming and singing of a packed room. Asked to introduce ourselves, Mr Devonlad lead a chorus of ‘God save the Queen’ to much applause before we all graciously left the vicinity and headed back to the Partner Ghana HQ for the much needed planning of the upcoming football match.
We took a cramped coach to the FIFA-built 3G pitches in Elmina, a 15 minute journey around the corner. We were greeted with an enthusiastic welcome by worker and footballer Gertrude who explained how the centre helped take children off of the streets and on to the football pitch. The centre boasted an impressive record of helping six women reach the national Ghanain football team. As we walked on to the pitch the cheers of the watchers-on built up and the match began. Falling to an early goal the boys rallied and showed some Oakwood spirit by fighting back to lead 2-1 in the next 10 minutes. Mr Devonald slotting away a fine finish whilst Year 12 Freddie Field scored the goal of the match, tackling a Ghanian before letting fly with a 25-yard shot. The lead did not last and we saw ourselves 3-2 down minutes from the half-way mark. Yet a beautiful string of passes from the goalkeeper lead Freddie Field once again in on goal, unselfishly he cut the ball back to Captain Mark Wyatt who curled the ball into the top corner 15 yards from the goal.
We then lost 5-3.
The younger players didn’t enjoy a reflecting scoreline on their efforts either, suffering a 9-1 loss at the hands of a much experienced Ghana team. Shaun Malone scored the only goal of the match for the boys in maroon. Gracious in defeat the Oakwood boys were clapped off by those watching and after some time bonding with the footballers, we left to go back to Partner Ghana. The evening lead to more excitement, a fantastic dinner of ‘Red Red’ with rice left the team ready to relax and watch the World Cup Final. The first half was spent in the hostel before we walked to the local Shell garage, here a huge projector had been placed up and we saw Germany overcome Argentina in a thrilling extra-time match. It was a great experience with the locals, who seemed happy no matter what the scoreline was.
Day 3
Today was less intense, but no less fun. We’ve spent the day in Elmina’s school and gave our buddies our gifts before having a tour of their school. At lunch time we played football (again) and saw the girls dancing, singing and playing clapping games. We then began to do what we came to do, help the school in as much way as we could. Painting two classrooms with a base layer and letting the soaring temperatures dry them whilst we spoke to all of the children and exchanged stories of the similarities and differences of life in the UK to that in Ghana.
The children gave us farewell and we headed back to Partner Ghana for cold showers and an evening of relaxing. Some students have been to the shops for drinks and snacks whilst we anticipate another delicious meal. At the moment one of our volunteer handy-men (Willy) is taking ‘selfies’ with students and the nervous students await a dreaded room inspection from the staff. Tomorrow we’re going back to the school for more work before we travel to the rainforest.
