In the midst of the whole galore of things that have been going on in the last few weeks, I thought it was about time for me to write about some of the work that I have been doing, to give some kind of a flavour of what exactly it is that has been keeping me so busy placement-wise.

My volunteering placement has really taken off, and true to what everyone says, the 6 months of relationship building is now finally producing some really lovely fruitful results. The things I am working on are now blossoming all over the place like bright colourful flowers, sprouting up here and there when I've been watering them for so long and not really expecting much to grow! The problem is that now I need to start pruning and weeding everything before the whole garden becomes overgrown!

I had one highlight last week when one of my colleagues, a much older and more experienced man, referred to me to some other colleagues as 'my big sister', which really means something here. He said it so sincerely that I was really touched, and realised that finally I am making progress!

Another was when I was flying solo, training the senior staff of four NGO's working with orphans and vulnerable children in the district on how to recruit and train their home visitors (the volunteers who visit the children and support them) and how to monitor and record their activities so we can build an evidence base of the work they do. It was a fantastic couple of days, everyone was again so welcoming and willing to learn and so open to getting actively involved that we made real progress and I was dead proud of myself for getting this project off to such a good start. By the end of next month we should have around 400 orphans and vulnerable children registered, and at least half will be having home visits to ensure their education, shelter, clothing, psycho-social, legal and welfare needs are being met. I can't wait to go on some of the visits with them to see the work in action.

I've spent a lot of time putting together an orientation for Janice and Nicole at the GES (Ghana Education Service) too, and building the relationships with their key contacts, so that they can get off to a new start, and so far it's gone rally well. Janice is an SNO, Special Needs Officer, so will be working on the issue of disability and learning difficulties in education, and Nicole is a TSO, Teacher Support Officer, who will be training teachers in primary schools and kindergartens. Many volunteers often arrive without any real placement orientation (like me and my three 'first day's) as volunteer management is not really a strength for many organisations who accept volunteers (although volunteering is part of their culture, it is so in a very different and less organised and managed way than at home - part of the learning experience!), so I'm really happy that they have had a soft landing.

On Wednesday, we went to a presentation of shiny new wheelchairs to some people who are physically disabled. It rained like billio the whole morning, and so by the time they did the presentation everything was soaking wet though! But it was good to see World Vision once again donating much needed resources to some of the people who need it most.

We've been to the launch of a big DfID funded campaign for female education in the district, which was really interesting, and I have made leaps and bounds in my meetings with key staff from the District Assembly on the Human Rights Advocacy Group, the project working with Children with Disabilities, and in preparing my placement for the next volunteer (gulp!). Ayuuba, one of the young neighbours is being sponsored and supported by some students from the University of Manchester to start a small business selling guinea fowl, and a Shea-butter social enterprise is also about to benefit from some student support too.

And last but not least, I've been helping the department of Social Welfare to create a database of all NGO's operating in the district. The best thing about this is not that I get to create a new multi-coloured alphabetised filing system (which really ticks my organisational ocd box!) but that I get to sit in the office and see the multitude of people that come to seek support and help on a whole range of things. Many issues are child rights or human rights issues, and many disabled people come looking for support too. But this week I was in for a surprise.

We were working away, papers and files and dust everywhere, when a lady came taping on the door and waddling her big self through, followed by two other smaller women. The first was clearly a queen mother, the secon a new mother, and the third her younger sister. When I looked again I noticed that each had a teeny tiny baby wrapped neatly onto their backs. As they turned to sit down the faces of the three babies peeked up at me, big brown eyes searching for something familiar, little worried faces, curls gently sitting on their heads and soft skinny little arms and legs poking out and about. It was clear to see that these were three beautiful teeny weeny triplet babies, all wrapped up in white woollen blankets and tiny little booties. But sadly it was also clear to see that they were really not very well.

After greeting all the ladies, and showing as such respect as I could muster in the heat for the Queen Mother (identifiable by the huge big brown beads swinging about her neck and the huge number of earrings and fancy headscarves she was wearing all at once!), I helped them to unwrap the babies and out them in their mothers lap, all three teeny things! They were really hot and clearly suffering from a fever, and their little faces had 'help me' written all over them. The poor little mites are unwell and had just been discharged from hospital, although we advised the women to monitor them carefully for the next few hours in case they need to go back in. The women explained that the mother is unable to feed the children from her breast, and that they are all suffering from malnutrition and hunger. My colleague then made an assessment to see how they could offer support. It was a sad reminder of how tough some people have it here. Triplets are seen in some families and communities as a bad thing, and some mothers have been ostracised as a result. Apparently this issue is improving, but the fact that it was even an issue in the first place is worrying. When they were done with their meeting, I gave all the babies a little cuddle and said that we will pray for them at World Vision. Their names are Miriam, Madelein, and Mirilain, how cute!

So to end on a more positive note, in between the last of the rainy season's heavy rain falls, and the occasional challenge and frustration, I'm still learning so much, but am starting making real progress in my placement, and am finally relishing the feeling that I am actually achieving something!

With love from Ghana,

Em

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