I am happy to share my joy of successfully completing my expedition in Ghana.  The expedition was held over a period of 11 weeks from 26 Jun. to 8 Sep. 2000.  In total, there were 150 volunteers from around the world.  Every volunteer has succeeded in fund raising a sum of 2400 Sterling Pounds and his or her own air ticket to come on the expedition.

 

My first week was spent in Volu Training Camp, which is in Accra, capital of Ghana to equip all of us with basic field craft and first aid skills. Weeks 2 to 4 saw me, with a team of 12 other volunteers, building a school block at Amanga, a village in the Northern and poorest region of Ghana.  A new block of 3 classes was added to the existing school block.  For the next 3 weeks, I was based at Mole National Park to help promote tourism in Ghana.  Visitors' lodgings were built and a wildlife museum refurbished.  Weeks 8 to 10 were spent canoeing over 50km along the coast in Lake Volta and trekking about 100 km across Worobon Forest Reserve with personal kit and camp equipment.

 

The society at large has benefited in many ways from this expedition.  Education remains one of the key requirements for eradicating poverty today.  Expanding school facilities such as that at Amanga will enable more children to receive basic education.  Another project, under the partnership between Raleigh International and Sight Savers International was also extremely valuable to the society.  Cataract is one of the 3 major causes of blindness and it is estimated that 80% of the world's blindness is curable.  The partnership had resulted in more than 300 patients being screened for cataracts and about 20 cataract operations per day over 9 weeks in different communities.  Another partnership was with ADRA (Adventist Development Relief Agency) and it was aimed at improving the standards of sanitation in rural communities by constructing demonstration latrines in a number of villages.

 

Some projects carried out in the expedition were aimed at wildlife conservation.  Construction of visitor centres, research centres, ranger patrol stations to combat poaching and education centres at Bia National Park and baboon trails at Shai Hills were such examples.

 

Through leading and working with people of diverse background and different nationalities, I further developed my potential and new skills were acquired.  I recognised that people have different abilities, self-motivation, and working styles. Thus, different approaches and leadership styles have to be used for different individuals to ensure that they stay motivated and believe in the group's long term goals.

 

Good teamwork was again recognised as a key ingredient for a successful team as exemplified by the various accomplishments in my expedition.  The support given by my team to a physically handicapped member to get her across fallen tree trunks and rivers when navigating through the Worobon forest reserve, remains an unforgettable experience.

 

Diplomacy and effective communication, amongst others, are skills I have continued to learn.  In addition, I learned to change my mindset to be more positive and willing to take risk when venturing on new tasks as I encountered them throughout the expedition.

 

It was a once-a-lifetime experience living with other people for 3 months in remote places and at times under harsh climatic and terrain conditions, having only the basic needs of mankind.  This experience had stressed the importance of mutual respect, strengthened people-to-people ties and promoted harmony among international communities.

 

The villagers' lifestyle, which is simple by modern standards, is centered on providing for their families and friends.  A strong sense of community spirit was felt in many villages.  This strongly reaffirms my belief in cultivating good family values, fostering lasting friendship and forging strong community spirit in my life.

 

My fund raising effort was a great learning experience. The fund raising target of 2400 Sterling pounds together with my airfares, medical immunisation bills and insurance amount close to S$10,000.  NYC (National Youth Council) gave a generous grant of S$1400 and apart from that, I relied on donations from family, friends, clubs and companies and part-time work.  Due to a heavy workload in my Master's program at Stanford University, I spent all my time and energy during my term breaks for the publicity work for my fund raising.  It was inevitable to face some rejections but with perseverance and support from my friends, I was able to achieve my target.  There is indeed much truth in the saying "if there's a will, there's a way".