REPORT ON COMMUNITY SERVICE WITH WORLD VISION’S A.D.P
On the 15th of August, 2009 I was warmly welcomed by world vision’s A.D.P manager at Mpohor Wasa East, Daboase in the western Region of Ghana. The A.D.P manager; madam Elizabeth Sagoe started by telling me briefly about World Vision’s A.D.P as a way of introducing me to the work I would be doing during my one week service with them. World Vision in brief is a Christian relief and development partnership with the vision to end suffering, poverty and injustice so that children and poor communities can realize their God given potentials.
I started the actual service on the next day by visiting the first community with some of the A.D.P staff. Mpream was a small community with old and dilapidated buildings. We supervise a nine member they had formed to draw a Community disaster Preparedness Plan (C.D.P.P). This plan was to help them to fight against future disaster that would warrant relief response. We also presented sponsorship items from Australia to the beneficiaries of such items. After the presentation, we advised them to learn hard so as to come back to serve and help their communities with the knowledge they have acquired. Some other communities within the catchment area of the A.D.P are Aboaboso, Sekyere Himang, Sekyere Krobo, Aboadzewuram, etc.
On the 18th of August, 2009 we went to another community to help in the celebration of A.U African Child’s Day. The celebration which was under the initiative of World Vision and supported by the District Assembly was celebrated in remembrance of a Soweto’s massacre in South Africa as a result of children protesting against the use of foreign language at the expense of their local languages. The program which was under the theme “Africa fit for children, create the environment for their survival” started with a quiz competition between five schools from different communities which were all within the catchment area of the A.D.P. Cultural display, short plays and poetry recitals followed the quiz competition. It was worth seeing children areas exhibiting their talents through quiz competitions, cultural displays, plays and poetry recitals. In fact it was so fantastic, very impressive and highly educative. We presented items to pupils whose performances were outstanding in both the quiz and other disciplines.
The work of World Vision’s A.D.P is risk oriented(due to the nature of the road and the atmosphere at some communities),very challenging and sacrificial. Despite all these, they have defiled all odds by making sure that they seek to the total transformation and the realisation of rights of children and deprived communities as a whole.In fact I must say that World Vision’s effort so far is recommendable.
The one week community service as a whole was also challenging because I was not use to such deprived communities. Moreso,you sometimes had to go the communities as early as 6am and wait for about two hours before the residents would be well organized.Although there were these and other challenges,it was an experience every university student should have atleast once in a lifetime. In fact it was a moving experience which I learnt a lot from it and would want to have more of such expereience.
