Fijs in Ghana
Participant
Fijs
Programme
Volunteering
Country
🇬🇭 Ghana
Duration
2 months
Short bio
My name is Fijs, I’m 19 years old (18 during the internship). I’m studying Psychology at university and I also play hockey and rugby.
How satisfied were you with the support before departure?
My supervisor was ruben, who supported me brilliantly throughout the process wherever needed. During my internship in ghana he also regularly checked how I was doing, which was really nice.
My story
“You get to know loads of people really well and come away with friends all over the world.”
Fijs · volunteering in Ghana
Originally I was supposed to do an internship abroad for school, and that’s how I ended up with The Power of Sports. They made sure I got exactly the internship I was looking for, namely sport (rugby).
I landed in Ghana at 2 in the morning and by 11 in the morning I was already playing my first rugby match. It was all very spontaneous, and I really liked that. One time I’d be picked up at 2 in the afternoon to coach, while another time it was already dark before we started and we’d just train for half an hour. The people you do it for are very grateful for every little thing. I tried to do everything I could for the children, because I felt they really deserved it. And I think and hope I managed that pretty well. I saw the children I coached laughing every day, and I still get messages every day with photos and thanks for everything I did with them. Apart from the actual volunteering, I did so many other fun things: being invited by local people to traditional celebrations, immersing myself in another culture, travelling all over the country at the weekends and much more.
I was a volunteer in Ghana for 2 months, and the first 2 or 3 weeks were quite tough, but I was well supported by all the supervisors, as I call them now, though looking back I’d rather call them friends. That’s really how I experienced it. The time you spend with other volunteers and the local people is very close. Even though 2 months isn’t that long, the conditions that come with being in a developing country, where you sometimes wash with a bucket of water and lie on mats with 6 people in a stuffy room, mean you quickly build bonds with people. I think that’s the best thing about the programme: you get to know loads of people really well and come away with friends all over the world.
What advice would you like to give future interns and volunteers?
The people you’ll be working with have such different habits that you’ll learn an enormous amount about yourself. You’ll never forget this experience for the rest of your life.
Fijs’s photos
