My first day in Ghana, me and my travel buddy (my auntie Nat) had the pleasure of meeting all the incredible children at the Future Leaders School. As someone who suffers from anxiety disorder, I struggle with social interaction so I was very nervous to meet the children… Until I actually met them. As soon as we walked through the gates we had kids all over us, completely intrigued to know us, fascinated by our Apple Watch’s and phones. I felt so welcomed and happy. Any anxiety I had was gone and I was completely filled with joy. I also got to meet Jordan and King who made me feel so welcome. As soon as I met them I could instantly tell they were good people.
After an amazing day at school, we went to Street to School, where I met more children and got to know some of the kids from the school a bit better. We spent the whole time taking silly pictures on my phone using snapchat filters. Making each other bald and have moustaches. They LOVED it. Every day after that I would be asked “Madam where is your phone?” And even had kids sneakily undo my bag and take it out. Some of them even managed to find out my password! Safe to say most of my storage is taken up by games now that I still refuse to delete. Just them being on my phone reminds me of those kids who played them and I love that.
On our first weekend, we all drove up to the National Park to do the canopy walk which I have to say I was not happy about considering the amount of steps we had to walk up to get there. But it was a very surreal experience and something I had never done before. Although it was very scary, we all had lots of fun. We then drove some more to this place for some food where we got to see and touch crocodiles which was a very crazy experience. We spent the night up in Cape Coast where we all sat at dinner and got to know each other better. After that night I knew we would all be really good friends. The next day we visited Cape Coast Castle – one of the many transatlantic slave holding prisons in Ghana. We were shown around by a tour guide who taught us all about the history of the castle and the torture and suffering the African natives were put through. One of the toughest places I’ve been to. The history of the castle and finding out what happened to those people hit me hard.
The next day we visited some of the homes of the kids to hand out clothes that had been donated that me and my auntie brought with us. Seeing their faces when they were given them was so beautiful. This day was the day I knew who the kid I wanted to sponsor was. Raphael. I gave him a lion backpack which he has taken to school everyday since I gave it to him. Me and him connected instantly and our bond grew stronger and stronger each day. He absolutely changed my world and I fell completely in love with him and his moodiness! He became my best friend and I became his.
On the 25th of February, I met Frank. A 14 year old boy who loves football. He is the kid my Mum is sponsoring. Before I left she bought him a football training kit with his name printed on the back. He was so happy, he had the biggest smile on his face when he opened it. I visited Franks house and he showed me inside and where he slept. Frank and his older sister slept on the floor. This broke my heart so when I got back to the hostel, I told my Mum. She instantly sent me over money to buy him and his sister mattresses. So 3 days later, I surprised Frank and his sister with new mattresses. They were so grateful and so was their mother. She gave me a massive hug and thanked me.
After nearly 2 weeks in Ghana we were a few days away from going home. It didn’t feel right and I knew it wasn’t my time to leave just yet. So me and my auntie had the conversation with my mum back in the UK and we changed my flight so I could stay another week. However, my auntie was still leaving.
On the 2nd of March, I said goodbye to Nat. It was hard when she left as she wasn’t just saying goodbye to me she was saying it to her two sponsor kids, Nana and Abena. It was especially hard for Abena because in the two weeks Nat had spent in Ghana with me, her and Abena had connected and bonded like mother and daughter. I could tell how much Abena loved Nat and how much Nat loved her. It was very emotional saying goodbye. Abena started crying which broke me and Nat. I picked her up and hugged her as we waved goodbye to Nat as the car was driving away. She dug her face into my shoulder and didn’t stop crying. I knew I had to look after her for the next week I was there as I knew she was going to struggle without Nat. It’s crazy how people can connect in such a short time.
I had previously found out that my sponsor child, Raphael, had been in a car accident as a child and had injured his arm. His arm was broken again when he was a bit older. His family couldn’t afford medical bills and so I decided that I wanted to get him looked over by a doctor to see what the next step was to fix him arm. So we took him to the hospital for an X-Ray and now awaiting appointments with specialists to find out if surgery is needed.
My next mission was to get more mattresses for the children that needed them. For the families that couldn’t afford them. With an extremely generous donation of £150 from our family friend Sarah, we bought more mattresses and delivered them to the kids homes. Raphael and his sister Helena and his cousin Esther were jumping on their new mattresses. They were so excited and happy.
As a treat for Benedicta, Richmond, Helena, Esther, Raphael and Blessing – me, Jordan and King took them to the swimming pool. We spent hours playing and splashing each other. We then took them to KFC where they stuffed their faces with yummy chicken and chips and fighting over the ketchup!
As promised to Nat that I would look after her sponsor babies, I took Nana and Abena to the cinema to watch Sing 2 with Jourdan and King. They had never been before and they loved it. We shopped for new clothes and they both got new outfits that they chose by themselves and then I treated them to a Burger King. They had the best day out. They both absolutely loved their new clothes, they even changed into them to go home in.
Before I knew it, it was my last day and I was gutted. I knew I didn’t want to leave but I also knew I had to as my family at home missed me. All of my day was spent in my class with Raphael. At the end of the day we had a dance party and I got to see all the kids awesome moves. I was shocked by how good Raphael’s dance moves were. He was amazing. We then had a group photo and I said my goodbyes to the kids and had a big hug from them all. I then went to Street to School where I was given so many beautiful gifts by some of the kids. Christiana drew me a beautiful picture and Benedicta wrote me a story. Some of the other girls bought me biscuits and sweets which I was so grateful for. For the next hour I sat with all the kids taking polaroid photos with them.
When it was time for me to say goodbye I hugged everyone and when it came to Raphael I started tearing up instantly. We had our hug and I assured him I would be back to see him soon. I could tell he was sad to see me leave. I got into the car and I heard him burst into tears. I started sobbing as I was watching him crying in his brothers arms. It was then that I knew what an impact I had had on his life and what he has had on mine. We Facetime when we can and he now understands I’m coming back to see him.
I can’t wait to get back there to see all their beautiful faces and give them all huge hugs. Thank you Futurestars charity for this experience and thank you to Jordan and King for the support and kindness.