Day 10 - The Little Things Are Becoming the Hardest to Leave 🇬🇭❤️

Today has been one of those really simple days where, when I actually sit down to write about it, it feels like so much happened without very much happening at all.

And I think today, more than any other day so far, reality has started to hit me.

We leave in a few days.

I’m writing this sitting on the beach, watching the sun disappear over the sea, and I genuinely don’t feel ready to go home. The family we’ve made here, the people looking after us, the other volunteers and, of course, all of these children have completely stolen my heart.

I think that probably comes across in every blog I’ve written and every photograph I’ve shared, but it’s difficult to explain what being here actually feels like until you’ve experienced it.

It’s humbling. It’s beautiful. It’s chaotic. It’s emotional. And it’s genuinely one of the most incredible experiences I’ve ever had.

At this point, if anyone is reading these blogs because they’ve considered doing something like this themselves, my advice is simple: Book the trip.

Your presence alone seems to mean so much here. You don’t need to arrive thinking you’re going to change the world. Sometimes it’s teaching a child something new. Sometimes it’s playing football. Sometimes it’s reading a story, letting somebody braid your hair or simply sitting down and giving a child your undivided attention. And somehow those tiny moments become the biggest ones.

The world’s worst chewing gum 

The day started with breakfast before our usual walk down to school, accompanied, as always, by some of the children.

On the way, Anna decided to buy some chewing gum. Or at least, what I thought was chewing gum.

I can only describe it as chewing Blu Tack with a strip of toothpaste running through the middle.  Obviously it wasn’t actually Blu Tack, but the consistency was questionable at best and the minty centre genuinely looked and tasted like toothpaste.

Absolutely horrific.

As much as I’m loving Ghana, I’ve discovered there are some incredibly random things from home that I’m beginning to miss. Normal chewing gum. A roast dinner. A proper sheet on my bed.  Forget luxury: apparently these are now the things I dream about.

Watching them sign an entire song 

School was gorgeous today. We’ve been gradually teaching the children sign language, and today they managed to put everything together and perform the whole song using signs.

We even had them do it completely silently.

Watching a classroom full of children, across such a mixture of ages and abilities, communicate an entire song without using their voices was honestly beautiful.

They’ve picked it up so quickly, and because it’s visual and involves movement, it’s been something that even the younger children have been able to participate in. Hopefully I’ll be able to add the video to this blog once I get it from one of the other volunteers because it’s definitely something worth seeing. 

Apparently I’m The Little Mermaid now 

The afternoon was mainly spent with the children, which meant lots and lots of cuddles.

They’ve become completely fascinated by my hair and have decided that I look like The Little Mermaid, which I’m absolutely taking as a compliment. 

They’ve also recently discovered that my eyes aren’t the same colour as theirs, more importantly I have two different coloured eyes!!! and apparently this is equally fascinating. I’ve had children staring right into my eyes, pointing them out to each other and wanting photographs.

Then one little girl decided my hair needed some attention and spent almost an hour braiding it. I just sat there and let her get on with it.

Those are the moments I’m suddenly becoming really aware I’m going to miss. There’s no agenda. You’re not teaching anything or trying to achieve anything. You’re simply sitting together, talking, laughing, being climbed on, having your hair played with and giving each other time.

And I’m beginning to realise there are only a few more days of it left.

Ghana 1 — Britain 0 

Anna also played football with some of the local boys. I say played football loosely. These children are competitive. 

There is absolutely no gentle volunteer-friendly version of football happening here. They are fast, strong, rough and completely committed to winning.

It was hilarious to watch and even funnier watching her trying to join in.

Trying to find my Ghanaian hips 

Later we had another dance lesson with some of the local guys.

I remain convinced Ghanaian people are born with an additional joint somewhere in their hips that British people simply don’t possess. 

The boys are phenomenal. The footwork is ridiculously quick, their coordination is amazing and somehow every part of their body appears to move independently.

Then there’s us.

Slightly stiffer. Slightly confused. Usually about three moves behind everyone else.

There is SO much footwork involved in the dances here and my coordination isn’t always quite prepared for it, but it’s impossible not to join in. The energy is infectious and, as always, there was plenty of laughing.

A little bit of good news from home 

Amongst everything happening here, I also received some pretty amazing news from home today that I got my offer from Durham University! It feels slightly surreal getting news like that while I’m sitting halfway across the world in Ghana, particularly when this whole experience has given me so much more to think about professionally and personally. So obviously, such an achievement needed celebrating… and a few margaritas may have been involved. Definitely one of those “where were you when you found out?” moments that I’ll always remember. Along with the realisation that I’m coming home to one of my best friends weddings! These little bits I’m holding onto as I get closer to home. 

The gorgeous Alberta 

There was also one particularly special little person involved in our dancing today, Alberta, who is the sibling of one of the volunteers here. She sat with us in her wheelchair joining in with some of the dancing, and honestly, she has completely stolen my heart. She has the most beautiful, infectious smile that seems to light up her entire face every single time she sees you. She’s just one of those gorgeous little souls who instantly makes you smile back. Watching her joining in with everyone today was so lovely, and she’s definitely become another little person I’m going to find incredibly difficult to say goodbye to. 

Officially obsessed with Ghanaian fashion 

And finally… the Ghanaian outfits are officially getting out of hand. The lovely local man who’s been making my clothes has now made me around six outfits and counting. I’m absolutely loving wearing the local fabrics; the prints are incredible, everything is handmade to fit, and apparently I have absolutely no ability to walk past him without ordering something else. The bill is rapidly increasing, but I’m choosing to ignore that part.  At this rate, if anyone back in the UK wants some handmade Ghanaian clothes, I’ve got his details send your orders my way! 

Trivia, Tina’s & our Ghana family 

After dinner, we headed back down to Tina’s for trivia night.

Even these little routines are starting to feel normal now. Sitting together, laughing, attempting to answer questions and listening to Ziggy deliver the quiz with the occasional question getting slightly lost or mixed up along the way is always hilarious.

More than anything, though, I’m noticing how much the people here are starting to feel like family. The volunteers, the people who look after us, the local people we’re seeing every day and the children who now recognise us the second we appear we’ve somehow built this little life here incredibly quickly.

Maybe that’s why today has felt slightly different.

I’m looking around and realising that soon there will be a last walk to school. A last child grabbing my hand. A last cuddle. A last evening at Tina’s. A last sunset from this beach.

And I’m really not ready for any of those lasts yet.

A little moment from today 

There were a few little moments today that I really want to remember because they’re the kind of things that are starting to feel completely normal here, but I know in a few weeks I’ll look back and realise just how different this little life in Ghana was.

Watching the boys carry the water back to school balanced on their heads was one of them. Something they do without even thinking, while I’m watching wondering how on earth they make it look so effortless. I also finally embraced Ghana life properly and drank water out of a plastic bag . You bite the corner off and drink it straight from the bag — something that would have seemed completely crazy to me two weeks ago, and yet here I am doing it without a second thought. It’s funny how quickly your version of “normal” changes.

It was also a slightly more emotional day because Chloe is coming to the end of her five weeks here. The children were all signing her T-shirt today, leaving their names and little messages all over it, and watching it suddenly made everything feel very real. She’s understandably struggling with the emotions of leaving, and I think seeing that has given me a little glimpse of what’s coming for the rest of us. You arrive knowing there’s an end date, but you don’t really think about what it will feel like to actually say goodbye to children who have become such a huge part of your everyday life. You build relationships without even realising how attached you’re becoming.

Another thing the kids absolutely love is when we FaceTime friends and family back home. The second somebody appears on the screen, they all crowd around wanting to know, “What’s your name?” “Who are you?” “What are you doing?” — usually while trying to get themselves into the camera too . There’s something really lovely about it. For a few minutes, these two
completely different parts of our lives meet — the people we love at home getting to see the little faces we’ve been talking about every day, and the children here getting a tiny window into our world back in the UK. It’s such a simple thing, but it feels like this gorgeous little connection between two worlds.

Tomorrow is going to be completely different again because I’m heading into the hospital, and I think that’s going to give me another entirely different perspective on life and healthcare here.

But tonight, I’m just sitting on this beach, watching another Ghanaian sunset and taking it all in. I came here thinking I was going to give something to these children and this community.

I’m beginning to realise just how much they’re giving me instead. 

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/themightyroar-forestfriends-vicki