A Day in the Life of An Orphanage Volunteer
I am often asked what my day consisted of when volunteering at the Achiase Children’s Home in Achiase , Ghana . While every volunteer placement is different, this is what life was basically life for me at my placement. Note: If you are interested in participating in this program, click here .
The day for the volunteers began at 8AM when we would eat breakfast. While I was living in the home of woman named Essie in a compound that shared the property with the orphanage, another woman named Flo who also lived in the compound would come cook our meals. Typical breakfasts included rice water (watery rice that is extremely salty), oats (must add lots of sugar and Milo mix), pancakes (so good with bananas added), or eggy bread (think French toast).
We were told that we should spend at least 4 hours at the orphanage with the children, but really nobody is supervising you (however, if you’re just going to sleep and read all day, why would you signup to volunteer abroad). For me, I would usually relax a bit after breakfast, maybe read a bit, or take a bucket shower (if we had water saved).
From 10-12:30ish is usually when I would go across over to play with the kids. As soon as I would walk into the yard they would run up to me, jump on me, beg for me to pick them up, pretend to shoot me with sticks, and so on. While some volunteers cater to the babies who just want to be held, I had a particular soft sport for the young boys who liked active play. Usually I would try to get a soccer or basketball game going or would help the boys fashion guns out of sticks and play war. The girls loved to play hand games and braid my hair. Another favorite activity for many of the kids and myself was reading. I loved how excited they were to learn and was always impressed by how intelligent they all were.
Around 1PM the volunteers would all have lunch. Many times this consisted of basic Ramen-type noodles, sometimes boiled yam with Palaver sauce (I loved this meal although nobody else did), or a small piece of fried chicken with fried rice.
After lunch sometimes we would head into the nearby town to use the internet for a bit or pick up some snacks (biscuits, crackers, Fan ice, snickers, Nutella, peanut spread, mangos, bananas, apples, laughing cow cheese, and baked beans were some favorite staples. There was very little protein in our diet, and even buying meats and things like that weren’t feasible because there really wasn’t much refrigeration in the town or people selling meat).
I would also play with the children before dinner. Many times we would watch TV (usually something with a lot of sex and violence, or sometimes Shrek), play pretend games like house, or go watch the athletes in the park train and some of our children play soccer (I actually got recruited to the woman’s soccer team when they saw me play!).
Around 6PM would be dinner. Some typical meals included fried chicken in ground nut soup with a rice ball (my favorite because it was filling and spicy), fried yam and fried chicken, jollof rice (it’s boiled in spicy, red sauce), or rice with a boiled egg.
After dinner, we would go back over to play with the kids (sometimes, they would even come sneak into our house to play cards, hangout, or try to scare us haha). My favorite nights were dance party nights. Literally, the orphanage would turn into a club as music blasted and everyone just went crazy dancing and singing.
Usually around 10PM we would put the little ones to bed (if they hadn’t passed out somewhere already, as the kids tended to fall asleep absolutely anywhere and under any conditions). From there, the volunteers would usually make a giant feast of fruit, toffee (candy), and Fan Ice (like ice cream pops), play cards, and talk around the kitchen table until we got tired.
While every day varied a bit, this is a general guideline for what to expect. Weekends volunteers usually spent traveling to places like Accra, Kokrobite, the Volta Region, or Cape Coast. Please let me know if you have any questions about volunteering abroad, as it is something I am very passionate about and would love to help others experience this for themselves!
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