Arrived in Accra

Arrival: After spending time in Atlanta with some of my closest friends, I hopped on plane to Accra. 11 hours later, here I am. I was picked up at the airport by Eric and Rose, two people I'll be working with during the next few weeks. After fighting traffic for over an hour (and I mean fighting!) I arrived at the hotel where I'll be staying tonight. I got dinner at the hotel: chicken, rice, and salad. Tomorrow I'll get breakfast and get picked up by Eric who'll drive me to the Buduburum camp for an orientation. I'm not as jet-lagged as I'd imagined. The time difference is only 5 hours (Boston/Atlanta time + 5).


Strange encounters/random thoughts on Accra so far: (1) My salad was dressed with ketchup and mayonnaise--not sure if that's a local thing or an it's cheaper thing or what but for whatever reason the salad was dressed with ketchup and mayonnaise. (2) The little kids around here like to giggle and point at the white girl. (3) The music is better here than in Boston--good rap, reggae, and r&b--love it! (4) The weather feels awesome! 85-90 degrees Fahrenheit and 85-90 percent humidity--hello, Louisiana summer!


Fund-raising update: The final count for money raised was $3230. In just 30 days! To all of the donors as far apart as Boston, Atlanta, and Southern California; as diverse as Wellesley faculty and staff, members of the athletic department, high school teachers, the Episcopal Church of the Ascension community, family, and friends...THANK YOU! Y'all are awesome! Thank you too to everyone who is supporting me in non-monetary ways. It's really been incredible. If you're reading this and didn't get a chance to donate, you are still welcome to do so, and I'll make sure the money gets in the right hands.


I should be able to make it to an internet cafe. If you want to reach me, email me at madeleinebrumley@gmail.com. It's such a pain to try to check my Wellesley mail when I don't have my own computer.


I'll have to sign off for now. I have to go wander around and see what Ghanaian New Years are all about. See you in 2011! :)

Fundraising update

Wow. The outpouring of support has been incredible. In one week, I have been able to raise $1840 through online, cash, and check donations! There are three weeks left for me to fundraise, and thanks to all of you, I have no doubt that I will surpass my goal of $2,000.

To give you an idea of material costs in Buduburum:

Sami, the volunteer I will be replacing, was able to buy activity (math, science, and reading) books, pencils, pens, and erasers for the students as well as: a wall clock, two big mats for the children to lay on, chalk, and more for about $250.

Where your money will be going:

1) The foundation for the school (see image below) could be built for $1500 - $2000. They will be starting the foundation sometime in January so I should be able to post photos of the progress!

The Village School

2) Most of the children come to school in clothes that are torn or very worn. Children who wear uniforms are less likely to fight over who has more than someone else; uniforms are an equalizer. $400 would cover the materials and labor costs for uniforms. The material could be bought locally, stimulating the local economy. It would create work for the women in the camp's Refugee Women's Skill Center who could sew the uniforms for less than it would cost PCO to buy them outright. And 47 preschool children would have uniforms! That comes out to about $8.50 per child.

Mary with the middle class

3) PCO also needs:

basic school supplies (pens, paper, etc)

activity supplies (jump ropes, Frisbees, soccer balls, marbles, etc.)

educational materials (ESL, math, science, and reading books)

reading glasses (need 125-350 at various strengths)

Also--if anyone has or knows someone who has a used camera, computer, laptop, copy machine, or scanner that might want to donate it the the PCO center, please let me know. As of now, the PCO staff has to go to a considerable distance to an internet cafe and pay for each piece of paper they copy. Copying the educational materials to distribute to the village leaders for the Peace Cell Project is very costly.

Thank you all for your support!

Preparing for Ghana

Travel Plan:

I will be flying out of Atlanta directly to Accra. I will leave Atlanta around 9:30pm on December 30th and arrive in Accra around 1:30pm on December 31st. As far as time difference, Accra is 5 hours ahead of Atlanta, so if it's 9:00am in Atlanta, it is 3:00pm in Accra. So my flight will only be 11 hours in the air--not nearly as bad as I expected.

When I arrive:

The first night I'm there I'll be staying in a hotel in Accra. In the morning, the project leader will drive me 40 minutes or so away to the PCO guest house in Buduburam:

The view of the guest house from the courtyard

The guest house is located in the back of the Agricultural Development Bank

I will have my own room with a bed, writing desk, and two tables. There is a shower room attached (bucket shower -- no running water). There is a kitchen, a living room, and a toilet (read: a cement built up hole with a toilet seat--kind of like a port-o-potty, except that it is a permanent fixture in the house).

The guest house is near the Buduburam Refugee Camp which is where the PCO office is. You can read about the Buduburam Refugee Camp here, here, and here. (The last link is an article that talks about a Liberian refugee who is now working with PCO--the same organization I'll be working with in January). I will be working with similarly-situated Liberians that make up the staff of PCO who actually live in the camp.

I've been communicating with the volunteer who I'll be replacing. Her name is Sami Buisson-Daniel, and you can check out her blog here. She has been working in the Peace Cell for a few months now. She has been teaching various community leaders important skills like anger management, mediation, facilitation, conflict management, and utilizing a win/win approach. She has been helping out at the school too. From what she has told me, it seems pretty hectic. The teacher, Mary, conducts three classes simultaneously. The only thing separating the three classes is two big chalkboards (one of which has a big gaping whole that an adult can crawl through). I'm sure Mary has really appreciated Sami's help, and I'll certainly have big shoes to fill.

The bottom line:

I'll have to hit the ground running and expect to have my hands full.

My trip to Ghana

This January, I will be traveling to Accra, Ghana to spend three weeks working in a local rural village. I will be working with Population Caring Organization (PCO) through the Global Volunteer Network (GVN).

I will be working in a pre-school in a small village called Aboansan. It is run by a small organization made up of Liberians and Ghanians living in and around the area of Buduburam (approx. 30 minutes from Accra and approx. 20 minutes from the school). There are currently 47 students ranging in age from 2 to 10-years-old. The school is in an open area surrounded by four feet high cement blocks with a metal roof. There are only nine benches that the school children use for both sitting on and writing their lessons. There are two wooden chairs and a table for the teacher(s).

The school has recently been given a gift of some books, writing materials, notebooks, and pencils, but those supplies will only last for a short time. They need more materials for the students such as flash cards, notebooks, pencils, pens, crayons, and lesson books (for math, science, and English). They are also looking to acquire a soccer ball or two and some jump ropes for outdoor activities. The school is also trying to raise funds for the construction of a school that is more than one room divided by two black chalkboards.

As you can see, the children in this school are desperately in need of materials and funds to build a new school. Anything you can give to assist in these projects would be more than appreciated. Thank you for your generosity and support, and I look forward to keeping you updated on my fundraising efforts and on my adventures in Ghana!

PCO Ghana

From the Population Caring Ghana Website:

The Population Caring Organization (PCO) is a humanitarian organization founded in 2003 at the Buduburam Refugee Camp in Ghana. PCO addresses the needs of vulnerable West Africans, especially Liberians and Ghanaians. Our mandate is to improve both day-to-day conditions and long-term prospects for suffering West Africans who have been displaced or affected by poverty and civil war.

Our work includes (1) the provision of free and quality education to refugee children and other underprivileged youth whose parents cannot afford to support their education; (2) providing skills and literacy training to poor, vulnerable mothers with the aim of empowering them to support themselves and their families; and (3) promoting reconciliation and non-violent conflict resolution through the PCO community peace cells. We also work to rebuild trust and cooperation among tribal people through the Tribal Leaders' Reconciliation Forum and peace festivals.

Presently we are in the process of establishing the West Africa Peace Village in the central region of Ghana. With a grant of $7,000 from Nicola Feldeman, a former volunteer, and the GVN Foundation, PCO has began constructing the first school in the peace village. Upon completion the village will serve as the center of our peace and education efforts.

Learn more about PCO, our programs, and how to get involved...

About GVN

From the GVN website:

Our Vision

Our vision is to connect people with communities in need. We do this by supporting the work of local community organizations in countries through the placement of international volunteers.

Our Beginnings

The Global Volunteer Network (GVN) was launched in December 2000 by Colin Salisbury, its Founder and Executive Director, after spending time volunteering in Ghana, West Africa. While he was there he saw the tremendous difference volunteers could make in helping local organizations achieve their goals. Upon returning to New Zealand he spent some time researching the different volunteer organizations around the world and was amazed at how expensive and limiting many programs were in terms of volunteer opportunities.

Our Network

The Global Volunteer Network (GVN) is a private, Non Government Organization (NGO) based in Wellington, New Zealand. Our incorporation number is: WN/1194442.

GVN currently has volunteer positions available through our partner organizations in Cambodia, China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Honduras, India, Kenya, Nepal, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Romania, Rwanda, South Africa, Thailand, Uganda, USA, and Vietnam. The network continues to expand with new programs currently being researched and assessed. Click here for detailed information on our programs.

The number of people volunteering through GVN continues to grow. Since 2002 we have placed over 13,500 volunteers.

We also offer fundraising hikes to allow an active role in raising funds for communities in need. We currently have hikes planned to Mt. Everest Base Camp, Machu Picchu, and Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Our Partners

At GVN we align with the idea of "local solutions to local problems," so we work with local community organizations in each country. We believe that local communities are in the best position to determine their needs, and we provide volunteers to help them achieve their goals.