A LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE FOR SOPHIE WESTENRA

Written by Sophie, Photo's by Jill Westenra

Hi! My name is Sophie Westenra and I am a Year 11 student in Christchurch. Just recently I was fortunate enough to travel with my sister Hayley - a UNICEF New Zealand Goodwill Ambassador, my mum Jill, and Dennis McKinlay the Director of UNICEF New Zealand, on a field trip to Ghana (West Africa).

It really was a life-changing experience.

I was in Ghana for a total of 4 days. During that time I visited Ghana's capital city, Accra, and a northern, fairly rural city, Tamale. The first thing that struck me on my visit was the severe poverty. It is very hard to comprehend the scale of a problem until you see it first-hand. Actually being there, and seeing the appalling conditions they live in, blew me away! The devastating lack of clean water, food, shelter and the things we, here in New Zealand, take for granted really shocked me. In the slums in Accra, many people were basically living on a rubbish dump. And the stench! I can't find words to describe it! Their houses were little one-room shacks which contained a single bed. Up to ten people would sleep in the shack at a time meaning some had to sleep on the floor and at the doorway! They were made of cardboard or pretty much anything they could find. When asked what they do when it rains they just admitted that it fills up with water, but they're powerless to do anything about it.

Despite it all, the people we met were friendly and welcoming. One village that we visited, just out of Tamale, had no access to clean water and so many people, including many children, were suffering from the horrific parasitic disease, Guinea Worm. Even still, they greeted us with a welcoming dance and smiling faces. It probably helped that we arrived in UNICEF vehicles as it is through UNICEF that they get help, but you could still see they were genuinely lovely people simply in a dreadful situation.

On this visit to Ghana, I could see that UNICEF really turns people's lives around. But it is not just individuals being affected. UNICEF is beginning to turn around Ghana as a whole. Whilst being there in Ghana I saw many UNICEF projects on the go. There are so many areas that need help but it seems that for UNICEF no problem is too daunting.

A serious issue in Ghana is Child Migration. There is a growing number of young children, especially girls, moving down from their hometown in the north to the city of Accra to earn money. An estimated number between 15,000 and 18,000 children in the capital have no, or inappropriate, shelter and have made the streets their home. Migrant adolescent girls from the northern part of the country, Kayayei girls, form a significant segment of this number. While in Accra, I had the chance to visit a school set up by UNICEF which specialises in vocational training for Kayayei girls. It is designed to encourage and help them to move off the streets and start a new life for themselves by teaching them useful skills like hair-dressing, sewing, tie-dying, and also advice on protecting themselves against AIDS and other appropriate topics. The girls in the school are then reintegrated into their communities in the north with skills to start up a business, and a sewing machine. This particular school will be closed down sometime soon, so as not to encourage girls to move to Accra, but instead UNICEF will focus entirely on preventing children migrating in the first place. UNICEF has already set up schools in the Northern Region which teach vocational skills, such as Common Grounds Learning Centre. There have been many good stories coming from students of Common Grounds about how it has completely changed their life, as they now have a future.

My trip to Ghana was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It was an incredible eye-opener, and something I will never forget. I met the individuals that live there - the very individuals that need our help. I can't forget these people. Now that I am back home in New Zealand, (living a life of, in comparison, royal luxury), I really want to help. There are many issues that need to be dealt with and the problems are on such a large scale... but every little bit helps! There is a campaign on at the moment to raise enough money for 5000 bikes for girls in Ghana. Girls school attendance rates in Ghana are very low because they are often expected to stay at home and help with the chores. They also have to walk very long distances in the heat. A bike changes everything. It provides a quick, easy and safe way for girls to get to school, and so allows them to do their chores and get to school on time. It is such a great cause! I am going to try and help raise money to purchase bicycles through schools and other organisations - anywhere I can really!

So spread the word about UNICEF...
And if you have any great ideas about fundraising for these other children that are not so fortunate, GO FOR IT! Every little bit makes a difference! :)


Sophie Westenra