Reflections of Linda Hyde

“So, what was it really like?” “Would you go back?” These are some of the questions that my family and friends asked me when I returned home from my four-week volunteer stay in Goi, a small fishing village in Ghana. It’s easy to describe Goi itself - a very scenic village on the coast where the sound of the surf is constant, palm trees provide the most delicious fresh coconuts, geckos scurry away as you wander through the living compounds, tiny goats roam throughout the village and every morning I woke to the sounds of the villagers heading to the wells to fetch water. I was welcomed to Goi with open arms, smiles and a genuine warmth of generosity that not only continued throughout my stay but has followed me home in the form of cards, letters and emails. So many of the teachers and their families welcomed me into their lives and their hearts. Not only did they care for me, for example preparing my meals every day, but I felt as though they genuinely cared about me. I still do.

Vivian Amanor, an amazing woman who is the librarian at the Goi Community Library, is the reason I was there. What a wonderful experience that was! Vivian works 6 days a week in the small library that is absolutely crowded with young children and students, with no other staff to help her, where the library books are arranged in cardboard soap boxes because there is no money for shelving and where on a typical afternoon the floor is covered in grass mats for additional seating. And yet, despite all this, Vivian remains in good humour, helping students to read, providing direction and assistance with writing tasks, reading stories to groups of eager young listeners and, above all else, remains eager to learn herself. Vivian was the first one to survive my fumbling attempts to teach crocheting and, I am happy to say, is now teaching others.

When I first arrived in Goi the library was housed in a disused fish drying building – 2 small rooms and a large covered veranda. It is right on the beach with a lovely view of palm trees, sand and the sea. But it is almost a mile walk from the large Goi Basic School and many of the students were unable to access the library. So after two weeks an empty school room was cleaned up, grass mats became the new ceiling, the walls were painted bright blue and white, wall hangings and posters were hung, two new mobiles were made using branches from the neem tree and we were in business. The senior students brought everything from the beach site – the boxes of books and supplies on their heads, heavier items like the tables were pushed on a borrowed wagon. The teachers helped with the move as well – Miss Anna brought in the hand-crank sewing machine and made the tabs for a new wall hanging, Mr. Napoleon constructed the mobiles and wrote the name of the library above the door in bright blue chalk. The new location, although not ideal, does make Vivian and the library more accessible to the large Goi student population and their teachers and to those from the surrounding villages as well.

Would I go back to Goi? How could I not? The library is still in its infancy stage and I want to help it grow and develop to its full potential. Besides, my friends are there.

Linda Hyde

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