Hello Naa,

 Sorry, I have not written to you in a while. Forgive my inconsistency

How are you and how is your classes going? The last time we spoke, you complained about the traffic situation and how that makes you even more tired than your classes itself. Well, I understand you so well. When I used to work in Ghana, it was the same. Though my office was just 20mins away from home, it took me 40 minutes to get there. My brother Dela also faces the same challenge of getting to work early.

Well, I love my volunteer work here, it is not all sunshine though. Nothing is. But I love how it is not monotonous. Monday and Tuesdays, I spend my time in the Bremen Mission Office. Before you even ask, it is not about me evangelizing. It is helping with the administrative work and other chores around the house. Sometimes dull, sometimes busy, sometimes interesting. Tuesday afternoons I spend it with the young ones of Horner Church. We just sit, chat or cook together. This I feel is a safe space for the young ones.  Last week I introduced two of them to the game of Oware¹.

On Wednesdays, there is the ‘’Café Mittwoch’’ which translates to Wednesday Cafes. The Horner church and some other partners provide breakfast for the less privileged in society. As the name depicts, this happens every Wednesday. The team is comprised of the most delightful people I have ever met. What I like about this is the time taken to set the table and food for our guests. I mean when most people I know who do the same, It is a different case, nobody has the time to set a table and garnish the food. It is usually pre-packaged and distributed.

My Thursdays and Fridays are well spent at a Kindergarten. I love the children but sometimes they can be a bit challenging when they scream and I can’t scream back at them. I love the kindergarten system here, they learn through play a lot. There isn’t even a blackboard. Every morning after breakfast, they sit in a circle, talk about the activity for the day and count who is present or not.  I think this activity helps them to learn how to count and be confident. They do play a lot, life is so beautiful at such a stage. Because they do not understand English, I am forced to speak German with them which helps me improve on myself. Some go to the extent of teaching me new words too. We all send our own breakfasts to kindergarten so that is fine but lunch can be challenging sometimes because there is no salt or pepper. What amazes me is that, children at that age always forget the routine things they are supposed to do, like washing of hands , clearing one’s plate etc . You always have to remind them but one thing they never forget that Friday’s desert is Ice cream. The ice cream factor is stuck in their head like a melody.

I applaud the caretakers at the kindergarten, the love, patience and care they have for the kids is amazing. They are firm but in a loving way. It sounds all rosy but kindergarten days are the most tiring. The first time I went there, I came back with a headache. I still do get them after working there sometimes.  It is probably just playing with them but I think the idea of being alert all time in order to make sure every child is safe is what makes it tiring as well as the constant noise, murmuring, singing, shouting and crying. Even though I get home tired, it is always a joy to see them again the next time.  I sometimes get so involved in the games that I realise I am actually having fun and not just casually playing.

Sometimes I work on weekends but it is not that often. Weekends are when I catch up with my family, my series, get some exercise done and cook. It is also a lovely time to hang out with my friends at the hostel.

That is my volunteer work here. Hope to hear from you soon.

Lexicon

1. Oware-  A  board game that requires 48 seeds. A typical oware board has two straight rows of six pits, called „houses“, and optionally one large „score“ house at either end. Each player controls the six houses on their side of the board, and the score house on their end. The game begins with four seeds in each of the twelve smaller houses.