Interview with a Volunteer Teacher

Good morning! I’m in Ghana to talk to a volunteer teacher. She doesn’t earn money. The only thing she earns is great appreciation and love. Here is Rachel with me.

Osei: Hello Rachel. How is life here? What do you think?

Rachel: Life in Ghana is great. Everyone is very welcoming and friendly. Fumesua is a lovely village about 25 minutes from Kumasi so it’s neither too rural nor too urban. I enjoy trying some of the local food like jollof and fufu! The weather changes quite a lot. We’ve had a lot of cloudy days, some thunderstorms and some extremely hot days.

Osei: Let’s talk about your volunteer teaching. How has it been?

Rachel: I love it! All the teachers helped me to settle in and gave me advice about teaching. All the students want to know my name, hold my hand or hear me speak. I’m free to teach any class and as many hours as I want, so I am trying to visit almost all the classes.

Osei: How would you describe your relationship with the students?

Rachel: The students are very friendly. Some of them think I look a bit strange – they touch my skin and hair. The older students ask me lots of questions about my life and hometown.

Osei: What do you think teachers can do to make the school life better?

Rachel: Well, they don’t have enough teaching materials, and unfortunately teachers do not know about modern methods for teaching. The school doesn’t have the money for all those new things. I feel sad about that. Students are afraid of their teachers. They can’t tell the teacher when they don’t understand. This is another problem. Teachers need to be a bit more tolerant and flexible maybe.

Osei: Thank you Rachel.