Testimonial

From: Alice Mackenzie 

Sent: Sunday, 11 September 2011

Subject: TACCO 

I went to Ghana this time last year for a month to work for TACCO. I had a really great time, met some lovely people there and the children at the creche were adorable.

It is a good trustworthy organisation, they really concentrate on teaching by playing games and looking after all these children who would otherwise be playing in pools of mud by the side of the road. This way there parents can go off to work whilst they are minded and taught the basics.

What they really need though is for the volunteer teachers to be taught. When I was there, there was a new young teacher who was good at looking after the children but she wasn't very well educated herself for example her spelling and grammar were really bad, I tried to teach her but at the end, I should have begun at the beginning.

Its better to train the teaching staff who are more permanent than the oversea volunteers and then let them do the classes but overseeing them and giving them fresh ideas.

I joined TACCO because I did a lot of research into small non profit organisations in Africa for children and like you I got in touch with an ex volunteer called Debbie who really rated the organisation so I went for it and am so glad that I did.

They really took such good care of me always checking I had enough to eat and that I had things to do and they were so appreciative of the fact i had gone all that way to help them.

I went to a wedding and a few funerals which were actually great fun more of a celebration of the life that the person who died had lead, drinking beers and dancing. it was a great experience, I hope to go back there maybe in a few years time and take my mum as she is a teacher and great with children.

The children themselves are mainly all healthy there were just 2 orphans, one who was really bright and who should have been in primary school.

My auntie is now in touch with him and will sponsor him for his education. Lazily I went with just enough money for my plane ticket and to live off for that month, to be honest I did a hopeless job of fundraising.

 I hope this info helps you, if you can you should definitely do it, its an organisation that is flexible to your agenda and safe, the members of the org are genuinely lovely caring and generous people. I only went for a month but you can go for as long or as short as you want, there is a nice volunteer house in a courtyard which is surprisingly big! it is in a nice village with lots of commotion, children playing all around you and the sound of bleating sheep and pigs at night (take ear plugs) You eat well too, when i came home it was like I'd been on a detox everything I ate for weeks afterwards tasted of sugar! you realise how much sugar and artificial sweeteners are in everything we eat back home.

Alice