I first came to Ghana in 2011 as part of a school group programme to volunteer through Sabre, (this programme is now managed by Partner Schools Worldwide) . I was 17 years old and had never left the United States before. I had always wanted to travel somewhere in Africa but didn’t know I would be given the opportunity while still a high school student. On that trip, we spent a few days assisting the building team as they constructed the Sustainable Kindergarten Complex at Ayensudo. We also had the chance to spend a few days in the primary classrooms and get a taste of school life in Ghana. This one-week in Ghana instantly changed my life. I immediately fell in love with the country, culture and welcoming people. As soon as I got home I told my parents I had to go back to this beautiful country, but for longer than a week.

In January 2012 I returned to Ghana, this time by myself. I returned to Ayensudo as a volunteer in the newly built kindergarten. In the four months I stayed in Ayensudo, I formed amazing bonds with the students and some members of the community. I often spent my evenings chatting with my “Ghanaian family” and trying to pick up as much of the local language as possible. I like to think that I made an impact on the lives of the children in the kindergarten in those four months, but I don’t think it could amount to the impact they had on me. Leaving Ghana that May was very tough, as I didn’t know when I would be able to return.

It has been three years but I am overjoyed that I am again in this country that has began to feel like a second home. This time-around, I have the opportunity to be an intern for Sabre’s Transformational Teacher Training Programme, for two months. Already, I have learned so much about the amazing work that the team is doing. The resources and training that this team provides to teachers is outstanding. The programme will most definitely make an impact on the future of education in Ghana.

Throughout the four-year span that I have gotten to work through Sabre, I have seen them grow immensely. First building a school, then volunteering in that school, and now witnessing the Transformational Teacher Training Programme in that school and many others. It is truly amazing how much they have grown in four years and I believe that they will continue growing and bettering the future of school-aged children in Ghana. I’m so lucky to get to be a small part of their history.