It has always been a lifelong dream to travel the globe. We've spent hours imagining what it would be like to stroll through a bustling marketplace in a place far away from ordinary; explore rugged countries where the language is not our own.
However, we never had the opportunity. We were in high school, then we were in our first years of post-secondary. After a long conversation one night about how we are running out of time before we are expected to grow up and be "real adults," we decided to put to use our university education and blend it with our dreams of travel.
And so, Ghana came into our lives.
After studying and researching hundreds of different organizations that offer volunteer placements around the globe, we decided on a company that puts us in a hospital environment for the purpose of learning. We are not heading off to Ghana to simply be an extra pair of hands; we are going to Ghana to understand what is means to be a nurse in a developing nation. We will observe and learn from nurses in Africa, who work in an entirely different world compared to our home in Canada. We will not simply see the different health care standards, we will experience the struggles that persist with treating illness in a place where resources are in short demand.
Where:
Ghana is located on the West African coast. The cities are full of colourful markets selling fruit, cloth, gadgets and spices. It is a friendly nation; kids play football (or soccer) in the streets and if you greet people with a smile, they will stop and say hello. Outside of the city, the rural villages are steeped in traditions of which their people are fiercely proud of. We will make Takoradi, the capital of the Western region, our home-base on our trip. We will work in a large government-run hospital where diseases like Malaria, Typhoid and TB run rampant. Lack of funds, education and stigma can prevent patients in this resource poor country from presenting until symptoms are very advanced.
There is no doubt that this country will be a far cry from what we're used to in Canada, yet this is the exact reason why it is so important for us to experience a global nursing opportunity like this. It is one thing to read about people dying of Malaria in our textbooks, yet it is an entirely different story to see the disease advance and claim the life of an individual who, if they had received medical care, would not have been ill in the first place.
However, we never had the opportunity. We were in high school, then we were in our first years of post-secondary. After a long conversation one night about how we are running out of time before we are expected to grow up and be "real adults," we decided to put to use our university education and blend it with our dreams of travel.
And so, Ghana came into our lives.
After studying and researching hundreds of different organizations that offer volunteer placements around the globe, we decided on a company that puts us in a hospital environment for the purpose of learning. We are not heading off to Ghana to simply be an extra pair of hands; we are going to Ghana to understand what is means to be a nurse in a developing nation. We will observe and learn from nurses in Africa, who work in an entirely different world compared to our home in Canada. We will not simply see the different health care standards, we will experience the struggles that persist with treating illness in a place where resources are in short demand.
Where:
Ghana is located on the West African coast. The cities are full of colourful markets selling fruit, cloth, gadgets and spices. It is a friendly nation; kids play football (or soccer) in the streets and if you greet people with a smile, they will stop and say hello. Outside of the city, the rural villages are steeped in traditions of which their people are fiercely proud of. We will make Takoradi, the capital of the Western region, our home-base on our trip. We will work in a large government-run hospital where diseases like Malaria, Typhoid and TB run rampant. Lack of funds, education and stigma can prevent patients in this resource poor country from presenting until symptoms are very advanced.
There is no doubt that this country will be a far cry from what we're used to in Canada, yet this is the exact reason why it is so important for us to experience a global nursing opportunity like this. It is one thing to read about people dying of Malaria in our textbooks, yet it is an entirely different story to see the disease advance and claim the life of an individual who, if they had received medical care, would not have been ill in the first place.