| My journey to the Volta Region of Ghana began in September of 2010. It was a particularly difficult time in my life as there was a major trouble brewing in my personal life. To say that I needed a way to “start over” is putting it mildly…mine came in the form of an email. My friend Renée sent me an e-mail about volunteering in Africa, Normally, I ignored these types of notices, but coming from Renée, I decided to open it. Work was incredibly busy and stressful enough as it was. The e-mail talked about a life-changing journey to Africa, but I was not sure I needed to travel that far just to experience a life-changing event. There was an e-mail provided so I requested more information. After getting off the phone with the agency, I liked their program but felt these were Westerners organizing the trip. That was ok, but for me, I wanted something different; I wanted to be part of a grassroots movement. I did not want to go to Africa and stay in a nice hotel necessarily; I wanted to experience the place the same way the locals live. So I called my friend Renée back and told her, I’ll go but I prefer to volunteer with a local organization, not a U.S. based charity. After some research on the internet, I found a few local charities that also had representation in the U.S. I settled on Volunteers for International Medical Aid (VIMA) which runs a grassroots-level program in the Volta Region of Ghana. I sent an e-mail, and to my surprise, got a reply back in less than an hour from Mr. Francis Agbemafle, who is the founder of the VIMA organization. With a little write up about his personal journey and struggles in life, and also why he decided to help his people in Ghana. I knew then that VIMA was the right organization to travel with. After a couple of correspondences back and forth, I finally met Francis in downtown Atlanta a few weeks later and he was so gracious, taking his time to explain things to me. After talking with Francis and learning about the orphanage project, I was hooked! Ignoring the fact that I was horrified at the thought of flying, I knew I had to find a way to travel to Ghana. When I broke the news to my family, I was surprise about the worries and the many questions. For instance— if it was safe, where to stay, toilet facilities, the food etc. But for every question my mom would ask, I forwarded the question to Francis and got a satisfactory reply back. When Francis realized my family was so worried, he offered to meet with them if necessary. So my mother Marcia Taylor and I met with Francis, and she thought he explained things well. During all this time, I was surprise how much time Francis was able to spend on just me, a single volunteer, and at the same time felt quite bad for engaging him so much. Out of guilt, I thought of scrapping the whole plan, but instead I kept planning, but at a slower pace. And just as I was warming up again, my brother Robert sent me a web link to a conflict in Libya in northern Africa that could potentially raise safety concerns about the trip. So I called Francis again, but he explained the conflict was in North Africa, very far from our destination country (Ghana) in West Africa. He said most people in Ghana are not even aware of any conflict in Libya due to distance and information flow. By now I was thinking I need some positive encouragement instead of all the cynical friends and family who are telling me to stay home, and also feeding me with all the negatives. During one of our conversations, I found out Francis was traveling to Ghana himself early the following year, in 2011. So I asked if it would be possible to come along when he was going, because I felt if I went with him, my family could feel a bit better. Francis agreed and now I knew it was going to happen. |  The VIMA volunteer treasurer, Stacey Maria Taylor poses with some girls in Ghana, 2011.  His Most Rev. Francis A.K Lodonu, Bishop of Ho Diocese and his regional executive council granted us audience.  Stacey spending time with some of the vima orphans during her two weeks visit |
Six months after developing the interest to travel to Africa for volunteering, I landed in Accra, Ghana, happy that I did not let my fear of flying keep me from embarking on what promised to be a life-changing experience. While my plan was to assist VIMA at its orphanage, for me it also represented a new beginning. Through the experience, I will have an opportunity to develop professional relationships with a local charity and determine if my interest in nonprofit in Africa can yield anything beyond just one visit to the continent. Today I am glad I explored, because not only do I serve on the VIMA board as a director but also volunteer as the financial officer, assisting in sending funds to Ghana, assisting with annual tax filings with the IRS, and bookkeeping for the child sponsorship program.
Two days on the ground and I successfully made the necessary adjustments that jet lag requires. Though poor with no industrial activity, the Volta Region of Ghana is majestically beautiful and its people are very friendly.
Views as I traveled across the Volta region of Ghana easily took my breath away – especially the aerial valley views from mountain Gemi of Amedzofe, (Francis’s home village where he was born and where his story began). Also the villages of Sokode, Biakpa, Kpando, Hohoe and Lake Volta, which is actually the largest manmade lake in the whole world, the waterfalls at Wli and the beautiful Kente weavers, and then the long but wonderful church services. All of these was a lot to process and couldn’t help but realized, I was finally in Africa and the feeling was surreal.
During my interaction with VIMA, the organization, which at the time of my visit in 2011 was just 2 years old, came across to me as a very lean-staffed charity in the U.S., sometimes being run for the most part by Francis who visits churches and schools to speak. However, upon arrival in Ghana, I was surprised about how elaborate and far reaching they were with amazing youthful men and women working to improve the lives of their fellow citizens, especially in the remote and deprived rural areas. Being in Ghana was an experience; the poverty situation in the areas I visited was heartbreaking, even though the people there were extremely nice and seemed to be happy all the time for the most part. I admire the vision of VIMA, and felt I needed to do more in one way or the other. Realizing the need, I offered my assistance to the organization; we talked about the benefits of setting up a 501C3 in the United States, proper account keeping, and board of directors, what donors look for, and sustainability, the need to source for donations instead of solely running the organization from his own paycheck at that time. I felt that was necessary for them to grow more and provide the dire help that was obviously needed.
Before I went to Ghana, I had trouble understanding how my small contribution to the place or its people could really make much of any difference. Indeed the needs were so overwhelming, but I began feeling fulfilled with each day that I spend with the kids and the evenings with Francis planning the future for the organization. I felt the emotions attached to the kids, their beautiful faces, their lives impacted by my presence. While in the U.S., I prayed and asked God to give me a personal connection to somewhere, anywhere and, wow did he answer that prayer! I saw and experienced how something that seemed small to me can bring huge results to the kids in the villages we visited. Suddenly I was reminded of a famous quote by Edmund Burke, which says “Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.”
After two weeks of adventure, volunteerism and some sightseeing, it was time to return to the United States. It was so hard leaving behind all my new friends and the new environment that I liked so much. I am currently planning to return to Ghana in 2019, on the anniversary of VIMAs ten years of existence. The trip will give me the opportunity to see all the work and changes that have happened since my first visit eight years ago, a trip that made me the first VIMA volunteers in Ghana.
Today, eight years have passed since my trip to Ghana. I still hear and visualize the lovely smiles and the singing voices of the kids in Ghana and it always remain one of the greatest decisions I have made in my lifetime. I also acknowledge the persistence and support of founder Francis, but for his patience, I could have abandoned the trip plans and therefore very grateful for his dealings with me. The joy it brought me and my continued service to VIMA has made it worthwhile and has helped me deal with problems in my personal life better and also put things in perspective. I will forever be reminded of the hardworking men and women I met who in a way, have none of the opportunities I have been fortunate to be accorded even in the worst times of my life. If you have the desire to go on a mission trip, I hope you just do it; because it might just turn out to be one of the best adventures ever.
Two days on the ground and I successfully made the necessary adjustments that jet lag requires. Though poor with no industrial activity, the Volta Region of Ghana is majestically beautiful and its people are very friendly.
Views as I traveled across the Volta region of Ghana easily took my breath away – especially the aerial valley views from mountain Gemi of Amedzofe, (Francis’s home village where he was born and where his story began). Also the villages of Sokode, Biakpa, Kpando, Hohoe and Lake Volta, which is actually the largest manmade lake in the whole world, the waterfalls at Wli and the beautiful Kente weavers, and then the long but wonderful church services. All of these was a lot to process and couldn’t help but realized, I was finally in Africa and the feeling was surreal.
During my interaction with VIMA, the organization, which at the time of my visit in 2011 was just 2 years old, came across to me as a very lean-staffed charity in the U.S., sometimes being run for the most part by Francis who visits churches and schools to speak. However, upon arrival in Ghana, I was surprised about how elaborate and far reaching they were with amazing youthful men and women working to improve the lives of their fellow citizens, especially in the remote and deprived rural areas. Being in Ghana was an experience; the poverty situation in the areas I visited was heartbreaking, even though the people there were extremely nice and seemed to be happy all the time for the most part. I admire the vision of VIMA, and felt I needed to do more in one way or the other. Realizing the need, I offered my assistance to the organization; we talked about the benefits of setting up a 501C3 in the United States, proper account keeping, and board of directors, what donors look for, and sustainability, the need to source for donations instead of solely running the organization from his own paycheck at that time. I felt that was necessary for them to grow more and provide the dire help that was obviously needed.
Before I went to Ghana, I had trouble understanding how my small contribution to the place or its people could really make much of any difference. Indeed the needs were so overwhelming, but I began feeling fulfilled with each day that I spend with the kids and the evenings with Francis planning the future for the organization. I felt the emotions attached to the kids, their beautiful faces, their lives impacted by my presence. While in the U.S., I prayed and asked God to give me a personal connection to somewhere, anywhere and, wow did he answer that prayer! I saw and experienced how something that seemed small to me can bring huge results to the kids in the villages we visited. Suddenly I was reminded of a famous quote by Edmund Burke, which says “Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.”
After two weeks of adventure, volunteerism and some sightseeing, it was time to return to the United States. It was so hard leaving behind all my new friends and the new environment that I liked so much. I am currently planning to return to Ghana in 2019, on the anniversary of VIMAs ten years of existence. The trip will give me the opportunity to see all the work and changes that have happened since my first visit eight years ago, a trip that made me the first VIMA volunteers in Ghana.
Today, eight years have passed since my trip to Ghana. I still hear and visualize the lovely smiles and the singing voices of the kids in Ghana and it always remain one of the greatest decisions I have made in my lifetime. I also acknowledge the persistence and support of founder Francis, but for his patience, I could have abandoned the trip plans and therefore very grateful for his dealings with me. The joy it brought me and my continued service to VIMA has made it worthwhile and has helped me deal with problems in my personal life better and also put things in perspective. I will forever be reminded of the hardworking men and women I met who in a way, have none of the opportunities I have been fortunate to be accorded even in the worst times of my life. If you have the desire to go on a mission trip, I hope you just do it; because it might just turn out to be one of the best adventures ever.
