Ghana Partnership Trip 2024

A group of Lower Sixth Form pupils and staff enjoyed a life-changing partnership trip to Ghana over the summer.

Sixth Form pupil Amelie W shares her experience of what she describes as "The best two weeks of my life":

It feels almost impossible to look back on our trip to Ghana with anything but fondness. We did so many things, met so many people, and had such an incredible time (bar the occasional bouts of food poisoning), that condensing all the things we did into anything less than a small novel does seem rather futile… however it will not be for lack of trying.

So, with 20kg bags in hand, (26kg in Silvio’s case) we began our adventure in Ghana. Having been forewarned countless times by Dr Neill about the Ghanaians’ relaxed attitude to time, we waited patiently for our bus. The bus, it transpired, was not in fact a bus, but a metal tissue box on wheels. I distinctly remember smiling at the thought of my poor mother, finding out we were going into this death trap. Always keen to reassure, I took a photo and put it straight on the family group chat.

Piling into this alarming contraption, we began our long journey on the Ghanaian motorway (a poorly constructed dirt track). Weirdly, this was one of the highlights for me. Sitting there on makeshift seats, playing games, watching the Ghanaian landscape go by, I felt an overwhelming sense of anticipation about what was to come. We would soon discover it was often the insignificant moments like these that would give us the most pleasure.

Having arrived at Awutu Winton High School, we pumped up our mattresses in the make-shift assembly hall, (credit to James who took the news that his had a hole in it very valiantly) and went to go and meet the students. Never has anyone been this excited to see me, even Madame Harrison finding out I had finally done my prep, due two weeks previously. We were hugged, touched, and pulled hurriedly into large groups of girls and boys, where we learnt dances (the only shred of cultural exchange we could offer them was a very sketchy rendition of ‘Cotton Eyed Joe’) and attempted games of French cricket, Cheat and football… all whilst facing impossible levels of attention from all the Winton pupils.

Now, to any A-list celebrities who may be reading this (many of you I’m sure there are), this sort of treatment may be tediously familiar. However, for the humble Canfordian, who spends much of their waking day with a nose in book, poring over academic literature (this cannot be fact-checked), it was something utterly new – and not entirely unwelcome.

For me, the next two-and-a-bit weeks blur together slightly. Our days were so action-packed that it’s impossible to list everything we did. I can say with certainty however that visiting the local schools and orphanages was, of course, a really moving part of the trip. We had been prepared for the disparity we were to see in Ghana, but we had not been prepared to see the makeshift schools in slums, to listen to all the awful stories about the 100% abandonment rate for children with disabilities and to be so warmly welcomed into these people’s lives, when our lives were such a stark contrast to their own.

It may sound clichéd, but I have never felt more grateful for the things I have in my life. And, when telling the teary-eyed members of the group this, it was obvious they all felt the same. Whilst at Future Stars orphanage however, a lot of the group managed to pep up slightly, after hearing that we had missed Mr Beast (a very successful youtuber) who had been there only two weeks’ previously to set up an eye clinic. Our time was so successful at the schools and orphanages, that we sent minibuses to collect them and bring them back to Winton for an afternoon of games. Two years of GCSE drama had prepared me well for the hours of Splat, Wink Murder, and Stuck in the Mud.

Now, of course Sunday chapel with Rev. Jack is always the absolute highlight of my Canford week. I am, however, strongly in favour of introducing some Ghanaian traditions to our chapel curriculum. Admittedly, you do have to get up horribly early (some were more successful than others in that respect), yet those among us that did manage to drag ourselves off the assembly room floor headed to the church. There was a lot of dancing and a lot of singing (not the usual Shine Jesus Shine), which was, by now, something we had come to expect. I had a blast, although it was slightly daunting when the six of us were invited to go up to the front of the entire church, to explain why we were in Ghana, and to do a very unrehearsed dance. That’s another, rather random, skill I have learnt in Ghana. A lack of embarrassment/social awareness for my very poor dancing.

There were so many other new and different experiences, as we travelled to see different features of the country, including a lunch with crocodiles (safety measures felt rather non-existent), a trip to the last decorative coffin maker in Ghana, a mushroom farm (many of the group believed there was some sort of less-legal side-hustle going on behind closed doors), a karaoke bar (apologies to anyone present), a walk across seven bridges in the rainforest, trips to the beach, a lot of hunting for tropical frogs while avoiding the scorpions, nights on actual mattresses in hostels over the weekends, visits to Accra and Cape coast, and a lot more.

I feel almost guilty that I haven’t dedicated more words to the schools we went to, the food Aggie cooked, and evenings spent at Winton, but if I did, you really would be here all day.

And then, all too soon, we were landing at Heathrow once more. Quick hugs goodbye, a lot of smiles and a strange, unfamiliar sense of loss. It feels weird to say that I feel homesick for a country I only spent 2 weeks in, but I really believe that they were the best two weeks of my life. The group still meets up for lunches, and I value every second I spend reminiscing about the amazing time we had. I also apologise for anyone who has heard the phrase ‘Well in Ghana...’ one too many times. I know it is irritating. Finally, I want to make sure the hard work of Dr Neill, Ms Gibbons and Mr Smith does not go unnoticed. The task of babysitting a group of twelve teenagers really would be my idea of a nightmare, and the trip would not have been the same without them.

Thank you to Amelie W, for creating and sharing this video of the Ghana partnership trip: