The last couple of weeks have yet again been so full of life in Ghana that I don't know where to begin!

Work wise things are really swinging along like a tro-tro jumbling along the bumpy roads, packed with so many different things (people, animals, random objects!) and witnessing so many interesting sights along the way. My volunteering life here is exactly like that - every single day is so super different from the next, I never ever have a dull moment! Sometime we are hurtling along and hanging on for dear life (!) as we bounce mercilessly over the potholes and bumps, sometimes we stop along the way to let a few people / goats off and let some new people / chickens on... and sometimes we are simply cruising, enjoying the sights and the scenery, with a good steady driver (not like the insane speed demon ones you sometimes get!) and a whole bunch of interesting people and a mix of things to see and do along the way, which is how I would describe things right now.

I'm having an amazing time as most of the areas of work I've been plugging away have all now fully taken off, and the rearwards are coming in ten-fold. It's like my dad said to me recently, that gardening can be back breaking work sometimes, but when the flowers start to grow it's a real pleasure knowing that you made that happen. I'm dead chuffed that the areas of my placement that were the real slow burners at first are now in full flow, and I can actually see the difference I am making, which makes the sweat, which is a LOT in this insane heat (!), and tears, which are few but do come occasionally (sometimes after the skype chats with friends and family...although I mostly try to distract myself from the emotional side of things by thinking about how strange it is to see someone wearing a hoodie / a warm jumper!) really worth it.

Me and my colleague (Abbie, Health Officer) went to our fourth meeting with the men and women who are benefitting from the Secure Livelihoods project, where some people living with HIV and AIDS have been given some small funding to start up their own enterprises and earn an income. It was a great opportunity to see their leader, an older man with a real zest for helping others, in action. He gave a really moving talk on the importance of living a healthy life, facing up to the fact that they are HIV positive, and doing everything they can to live a normal, healthy and happy life. There were about 40 people there, many of the women with babies, some with their very supportive husbands or wives, and it was really touching to see how they all responded to the talk and were really engaged. There was a big discussion about how pito (the local brew) should not be drunk when taking the ARV's (medication for HIV) as many people really believe it has traditional healing benefits, although the alcohol actually stops it from working. There is such stigma around HIV here that I can't imagine what these people are going through, but seeing them come together for their meetings, and hearing about how they have new hopes for the future now that their small businesses are actually taking off was really inspiring.

The Hope Givers Shea Nut Enterprise project is also going well, we've had a few chats over Skype with the students from the University, which is great as Linda got to see and meet the students for the first time ("WOWeeee!!" Linda said when she saw them looking smart in suits and shirts as they had just come from a business meeting, I think a lot of people have an image of UK students as compete doss abouts, but it's not always true!!). I went with Linda to Binaba market where many of the women who benefit from the project sell their wares, and had a fantastic time getting to know the women, being introduced to the centre, and enjoying the hustle and bustle of the super colourful local market life.

And I'm dead proud as I've now finally trained over 30 staff and volunteers from NGO's working with orphans and vulnerable children (OVC's) so that we can start to roll out a home visiting programme so that the hundred of orphans in the district can begin to get more support. The level of commitment of the volunteers is so impressive, most of them are already teachers, head teachers, farmers, health-workers or other very busy professionals with so many demands on their time, it's really something that they are so committed to the wellbeing of the children in their communities that they'll make the time to visit up to 40 children a month (!) often travelling by bicycle or on foot literally miles across their villages. I've had such an amazing time training them and working with them, and am now really looking forward to going out in the field with some of them and meeting some of the children that will benefit from the project.

Other good news is that things have quietened down in the office, and the staff have finally had a little bit of time to rest (much needed!!!). This also meant I could finally have a long-waited -for meeting with my manager, a sort of review of how things have gone so far, and what's coming up next, and it all went really well. We've got some fantastic things coming up that I'll be involved in, including forming Peace Clubs in conflict prone communities, an initiative born from the fact it's election year and although Ghanaians very strongly uphold their primary value of peace there is still a risk of conflict and upset as the politics here is so highly charged. Other things include supporting the District Health Team to run the Nationwide Immunization days (making sure lots of little children get the super important vaccinations that they need), training the Parent and Teachers Associations of the World Vision supported schools in advocacy practices (so that they can better make demands for the much needed school mats / desks / roofs / actual rooms (!) for their schools), and running two big events, one for HIV/AIDS day, and the other for national People with Disabilities day. All to be packed into the next couple of months, so I think it will be back to hitting the gas again soon!

Volunteering life here is like a box of chocolates, I wake up every morning not knowing what is in store for me, but that's why I like it, in fact love it, so much. Never a girl for routine, it suits me to a T! The other day, at the end of a long stuffy day in the office, I was invited out to help the team distribute some bibles to a youth church group in Agatuse. It was an amazing couple of hours, the sun was setting over the border hills of Burkina, where the community sits, and the children came from miles around, some from nearby villages and some from over the border, little black dots appearing from in the distance swinging their little arms and legs along in carefree happy motion. One of the Campaigns and Marketing team that came from Korea had donated some money for bibles that have been translated into Kusaal, specifically for this community which is one of the most deprived I've been to, so armed with 100 little children friendly bibles we rolled up to their small mud-built church. We were welcomed with the loudest songs and dances, and big smiley faces - these children have so very little but they still know how to be happy! - and lots of excited children swaying and clapping along to the songs. It was a really touching evening, seeing their appreciation, and knowing that for many of these children church a huge part of their life, and now they can finally understand what their pastor is reading from the bible. Their little smiles of glee were just gorgeous.

With love from Ghana, Em xxx