Exit.

Preparing for Ghana.

I am lucky enough to be one of a group of volunteers heading to Kasapin in Ghana at the end of the month. This is part of global volunteer project Platform 2.

I have tried to comprehend what it will be like when I get there, and although some research has given me some insight I doubt that I haven't even touched the surface of the experience.

As part of the Platform 2 project I will be making bricks, laying these to eventually form a bank, post office and youth centre for the community in the Brong-Ahafo region of Ghana. I will also be teaching numeracy, literacy and may be some life skills in the local school.

There are a lot of global issues that Platform 2 have asked us to research before we head out to Ghana. Some which effect third world countries in a way we can't relate to. I have been looking at Health, mainly HIV and Malaria.

HIV and Malaria are both misunderstood and heavily stigmatised. Looking at Malaria I have found that this is a preventable disease through the use of medication and a simple mosquito net. I am sure I will find out more about this wide spread disease which has a high mortality rate for under fives. A high number of children in Ghana are also affected in directly by Malaria and HIV, with family members suffering and dying from either disease.

The BBC recently aired a documentary 'Blood, Sweat and Luxuries - Gold and E-waste' which sees a group of young adults travel to Ghana, extracting Gold from what can only be described as clay pits for next to nothing. The group visit a toxic waste site of E-Waste which depicts something from the Apocalypse. These images and this documentary are truly eye opening and a recommended watch.



As I sit and prepare for Ghana I realise that this experience is something which I cannot really begin to understand until I get there.


Watch the BBC documentary - Gold and E-Waste
Donate a mere 15 quid and prevent the effect of Malaria for a family
Watch an animation about Malaria produced by Christian Aid

Ode to Platform 2.

Platform2 is your chance to make change happen, not only for you but for people who live a world away from anything you or I have ever experienced.

"I’m stuck. I am stuck doing nothing, making no progress, wasting time. I am tired of waiting around. I need change, change that effects my path for the future. I need to see and experience the bigger picture."

Words that seem to have led to greater things. With Platform 2, I am sure that my view will most certainly change. I am lucky enough to be one of those excepted on to Platform 2, a global volunteer project which is funded by the Department for International Development.

This amazing opportunity is something which you too can experience, it is just a click away. Only four select questions stand between you and the chance to travel to Ghana, South Africa, Nepal, Peru or India. Aged between 18-25?...then what are you waiting for, apply.

Stuck in a rut? Want to make a difference...then apply to Platform 2 before it's too late. The application deadline for the last departure of this life-changing experience is the 14 June 2010.


Apply to Platform 2
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