Awaiting Accra, Ghana

Saturday, September 8th

I’m currently sitting in the Toronto Pearson International Airport awaiting a flight to take me overseas to Amsterdam and on from there to Accra, Ghana. The journey is just about to begin, but I feel as though I’ve been on a journey already over the past week.

I’ve spent the last week in Ottawa learning about the Canadian Co-operative Association, the international co-operative movement and what myself and my colleagues will be doing to help CCA and CIDA improve the international movement.

 

Thirteen young interns met in Ottawa on Monday morning on the front step of The Jail Hostel and walked and talked together on their way to the offices of the Canadian Co-operative Association along with our keeper and team leader, Kati. The thirteen of us were well aware that we came from similar educational and experiential backgrounds and knew that the week would be a great opportunity to meet some interesting peers in the field of international development and co-operative development. But we were unaware of the bonds that would be formed in the process.



"The Jail" Hostel

Between last night and this morning, the thirteen of us interns have departed from Ottawa and have begun our journeys around the world to work on projects in a wide variety of communities. Projects that we are working on range from microcredit development programs, to addressing local gender issues, to tourism development. I will be working on a program involving youth savings in Ghana.



Interns in Ottawa, Canada

It’s only now really hitting me that I will be living in Ghana tomorrow and won’t be seeing Sydney for another six months.

 

-Joel