Volunteer reports
Learn from others.
What makes volunteering and working with ANOPA so special? In this section former volunteers write about their experiences at work with us. They describe their first days in Ghana, the new culture, the ANOPA team, coaching and working with the kids. Dig in deeper and scroll down. If you are a former ANOPA volunteer and you want your report on this page, please feel free to contact us.
Katie Bohnhof, 23 years, Volunteers from October to December 2022
#1 Second Family
If you think you are working in a great team at ANOPA then you are wrong. Instead, I had the feeling of working with a loving family where respect, kindness and support are paramount. So it happened that already on the way from the airport to the hotel in Accra I had the feeling to be in safe hands. Not only during the week in the different projects did we complement each other with our respective strengths, but also at the weekend it quickly became apparent that we are people with a great sense of humour. In the individual projects, I was particularly amazed at the self-confidence with which the individual team members stood in front of the pupils and how much heart and soul each of them put into working with these children. I was able to experience the connection this creates with the children directly on my first day of work, when the ANOPA coaches were waiting behind the finish line for the respective runners at the Special Olympics.
Marisa Thomann & Elena Wolz, 26 and 25 years, Volunteers from April - July 2021
#1 AKWAABA!
We are two master’s students from the Institute of Sports and Sports Science of the University in Karlsruhe with a focus on Movement and sport with children and adolescents. As part of our studies, we decided to do our internship at ANOPA Project in Ghana. In total we spent three months in Cape Coast working and living with ANOPA Project. Beside working for the project we were able to explore the country and the Ghanaian culture. We are grateful for that unique experience and we will happily think back to that time.
Tobias Antoni, 20 years, Volunteer from April - September 2015
#1 COMING TO ANOPA
I got to know about the project through the German Sport University in Cologne and since I had already spent a year in Ghana before, I saw it as a good opportunity to come back and work in the field of sports which is my passion. The first time I came to work for the project was in January 2015. My main task was to be a swimming instructor. I stayed for four months before I went back to Germany and then came back just after two months to work for the project again. This time I am as a basketball instructor as well as an ambassador and volunteer for the environmental project, NothinLeavesEarth.
Nils Buber, 24 years, Volunteer from January to May 2013
#1 THE GHANA EXPERIENCE
In my first week in Ghana I’ve made a remarkable experience, which I will never forget. We went out at night and played a game called “if I were you”. The rules of this game are simple: you pick one of your friends and give him a task; for example “if I were you, I would do ten push-ups”. Then your friend has to handle it and afterwards he provides the next task – and so on. However, at one point I had to go to a foreign table and finish the drink of an unknown man. He was around 40 years old and it cost me all my courage – but I did it. How do you think he reacted? Back in Germany the most common answer to my action would be a punch in the face. But this is not what happened. After I finished his drink, he offered me a seat, filled the stolen glass with a new drink and gave me some food. This little story tells you how people are in Ghana like. Life is not about individual persons, it’s about community and sitting together and sharing a drink.