adventure is out there...

After a long period of anticipation, Maggi and I finally leave tomorrow! We have packed all the donations we received into two suitcases to bring to the people in Ghana. We have everything from soap to children's underwear to toothpaste and tooth brushes and so much more! 

Thank you, Beaudoins! :)

Stocked full of new/used books for
the orphanage!

Children's shoes, Rainbow Loom bracelets,
school supplies, soaps, etc.

After the article in the Harbor News was published, I was overwhelmed with the amount of support our small town supplied. A previous high school teacher of mine offered to run a donation drive at the school (you're the best, Mrs. Linn), a girl scout troop wanted to be involved and make Rainbow Loom bracelets for the children (thank you, Troop #62046!), and I received numerous emails from those who simply asked how they could help. The amount of emails that came in just reaffirmed the love I have for my small town. I can't wait to carry the love from Old Saybrook to Africa! 

So...where exactly are we taking all of this?

We both signed up with a New Zealand based organization called International Volunteer HQ, the same organization I worked with when I went to Guatemala in March. I signed up to work in an orphanage while Maggi signed up for the construction/renovation project. 

My placement is at an orphanage known as West African Children's Foundation, a small orphanage in a town about 2 hours outside of Accra (the capital of Ghana). It is home to 42 children ranging from 6 months to 13 years old. The orphanage also houses the town's school during the day. About 150 more children come to the orphanage for school. This means part of my duties will be to teach the children (I am sure my former teachers are laughing at the thought of that. Yikes!). 

My living situation is with a local family in Ghana. I will be staying in their home where they will feed me and house me for the 14 days I am there. The family consists of Mr. and Mrs. Nwodebeh and their three children (ages 16, 11 and 9). Needless to say, I am super excited about being immersed in the Ghanaian culture!

Maggi's placement is two hours on the opposite side of Accra. So we will be four hours apart...sorry mom and dad! ;) She will be working on a construction site building a women's empowerment center. It is known as the One Wish Africa Foundation (founded by IVHQ volunteers) where women can come to receive vocational training and acquire skills for income generating activities to support their families. This specific site of the foundation serves many small communities, also providing training for children. 

As for her living situation, she knows that it will be in a room with bunk beds, and that's about it. That's what I call, 'an ADVENTURE'! 

That's all for now. Hopefully we will be able to put little updates on here while we are in Ghana but the wifi might be sparse or nonexistent. Again, thank you all for your donations, thoughts and prayers. Every donation makes me unbelievable happy, so I can't even imagine what it means to the people in Ghana.

THANK YOU!