Zoe (UK)
I loved every aspect of my time at Cosmic Academy. This was my first experience of volunteering and as a female, solo traveller it was only natural that I felt a little nervous and apprehensive before embarking on my journey. I needn't have felt this way as the warm welcome I received from Jayaliila (project founder) and her daughter soon put me at ease. From start to finish I had a truly incredible time at the Academy.
The children are fantastic, they have so much energy and enthusiasm and love having volunteers at their school.
They love to learn new games and songs. We used to have them sit on rows of chairs every morning pretending we were on a bus and would sing 'The wheels on the Bus' which they really enjoyed. Anything with actions goes down really! I would also recommend planning art and craft activities if you are able to bring resources with you because the children love being given the freedom to express their creativity which is something that they do not have much opportunity to do.
Ghana is a beautiful country and what contributes to its beauty is the hospitality of the local people. Jayaliila is a wonderful host and encourages volunteers to become fully immersed into Ghanaian life. After about day 2 bucket baths and prolonged power cuts will feel perfectly normal!
What initially attracted me to Cosmic Academy rather than the many other placements in similar areas was the fact that the project does not demand extortionate fees from volunteers for the privilege of donating their time. I did not pay anything at all to the project before my arrival, just a very reasonable amount for food and accommodation when I arrived and I decided to make a voluntary contribution (which I was never asked to) and every penny of how this was spent was explained to me.
I would really recommend this project to anyone who has a lots of enthusiasm, energy and patience! You will need it but it will undoubtedly be one of the most enjoyable and rewarding journeys you could possibly take!
I loved every aspect of my time at Cosmic Academy. This was my first experience of volunteering and as a female, solo traveller it was only natural that I felt a little nervous and apprehensive before embarking on my journey. I needn't have felt this way as the warm welcome I received from Jayaliila (project founder) and her daughter soon put me at ease. From start to finish I had a truly incredible time at the Academy.
The children are fantastic, they have so much energy and enthusiasm and love having volunteers at their school.
They love to learn new games and songs. We used to have them sit on rows of chairs every morning pretending we were on a bus and would sing 'The wheels on the Bus' which they really enjoyed. Anything with actions goes down really! I would also recommend planning art and craft activities if you are able to bring resources with you because the children love being given the freedom to express their creativity which is something that they do not have much opportunity to do.
Ghana is a beautiful country and what contributes to its beauty is the hospitality of the local people. Jayaliila is a wonderful host and encourages volunteers to become fully immersed into Ghanaian life. After about day 2 bucket baths and prolonged power cuts will feel perfectly normal!
What initially attracted me to Cosmic Academy rather than the many other placements in similar areas was the fact that the project does not demand extortionate fees from volunteers for the privilege of donating their time. I did not pay anything at all to the project before my arrival, just a very reasonable amount for food and accommodation when I arrived and I decided to make a voluntary contribution (which I was never asked to) and every penny of how this was spent was explained to me.
I would really recommend this project to anyone who has a lots of enthusiasm, energy and patience! You will need it but it will undoubtedly be one of the most enjoyable and rewarding journeys you could possibly take!
Emma (Ireland)
'My time at Cosmic Academy and in Ghana completely changed the direction of my life path. It was such a rich, overwhelming and eye opening experience that it stirred something in me and it will never leave me.
Never before, or since, had I experienced such a warm, welcoming and vibrant place or people. True genuine honesty, delight and determination shines through Jayaliila and all at Cosmic Academy; interacting with them really brings out the best in people. Jayaliila is a strong, brave woman with a heart of gold and a determined, selfless spirit. She takes you into her home as if you were family.
I found the neighbourhood to be quite safe with some very friendly and inquisitive neighbours and parents of students; all extremely proud of their nation and wishing you to have an enjoyable time whilst there, as were almost all Ghanaians we encountered.
Days at Cosmic were long, hot and hard work. At times the gaps and differences in our cultures became more obvious and perhaps uncomfortable but the rewards shone through with smiles, hugs and laughs from the children (and in Jayaliila’s cooking!). Seeing for yourself that you had made even the slightest difference in one child’s life helped you to feel purposeful and not just another white westerner in search for your own rewards for “doing good”.
Living in Ghana, and more so Cosmic, is a true life changing experience. It makes you stop and think, and listen to the rhythm of life, and to always remember it. It really overwhelms you and pushes you right out of your comfort zone- but for the better. You grow as a person because of it, in heart and in mind. Cosmic never leaves you.'
'My time at Cosmic Academy and in Ghana completely changed the direction of my life path. It was such a rich, overwhelming and eye opening experience that it stirred something in me and it will never leave me.
Never before, or since, had I experienced such a warm, welcoming and vibrant place or people. True genuine honesty, delight and determination shines through Jayaliila and all at Cosmic Academy; interacting with them really brings out the best in people. Jayaliila is a strong, brave woman with a heart of gold and a determined, selfless spirit. She takes you into her home as if you were family.
I found the neighbourhood to be quite safe with some very friendly and inquisitive neighbours and parents of students; all extremely proud of their nation and wishing you to have an enjoyable time whilst there, as were almost all Ghanaians we encountered.
Days at Cosmic were long, hot and hard work. At times the gaps and differences in our cultures became more obvious and perhaps uncomfortable but the rewards shone through with smiles, hugs and laughs from the children (and in Jayaliila’s cooking!). Seeing for yourself that you had made even the slightest difference in one child’s life helped you to feel purposeful and not just another white westerner in search for your own rewards for “doing good”.
Living in Ghana, and more so Cosmic, is a true life changing experience. It makes you stop and think, and listen to the rhythm of life, and to always remember it. It really overwhelms you and pushes you right out of your comfort zone- but for the better. You grow as a person because of it, in heart and in mind. Cosmic never leaves you.'
Laurine and Julien (France)
Jayaliila, the director, is a great woman. She always tried to make us feel comfortable. If we had any problem we could talk to her and she always tried to improve our trip there. For the money she was very honest and told us what she was doing with it and she always used it for the comfort of the children. She is a great cook and we had lots of different Ghanaian and vegetarian dishes. She even taught us how to cook.
Even if the work was a bit difficult in the beginning, she helped us a lot and we enjoyed working with the children a lot! The children are adorable and we felt really loved by all of them!
Jayaliila, the director, is a great woman. She always tried to make us feel comfortable. If we had any problem we could talk to her and she always tried to improve our trip there. For the money she was very honest and told us what she was doing with it and she always used it for the comfort of the children. She is a great cook and we had lots of different Ghanaian and vegetarian dishes. She even taught us how to cook.
Even if the work was a bit difficult in the beginning, she helped us a lot and we enjoyed working with the children a lot! The children are adorable and we felt really loved by all of them!
Faye (New Zealand)
I consider some of the most valuable time I have ever spent in my life to be those three months I stayed at Cosmic Academy. Being immersed in such a different culture and learning to live like a Ghanaian is such a fulfilling feeling, and I recommend it to everyone. And what a welcoming country it is! Around every corner is a big friendly smile and an offer of help or conversation.
I will never forget the steep learning curve and amazing journey I made living at Cosmic Academy. Learning skills I never thought I'd have, such as cutting coconuts correctly and hand washing my laundry in tubs outside, cooking fufu and banku, making tofu from scratch... the list goes on!
I lived in Ghana, a developing country, and I feel so much richer for the experience. I can't wait to go back.
I consider some of the most valuable time I have ever spent in my life to be those three months I stayed at Cosmic Academy. Being immersed in such a different culture and learning to live like a Ghanaian is such a fulfilling feeling, and I recommend it to everyone. And what a welcoming country it is! Around every corner is a big friendly smile and an offer of help or conversation.
I will never forget the steep learning curve and amazing journey I made living at Cosmic Academy. Learning skills I never thought I'd have, such as cutting coconuts correctly and hand washing my laundry in tubs outside, cooking fufu and banku, making tofu from scratch... the list goes on!
I lived in Ghana, a developing country, and I feel so much richer for the experience. I can't wait to go back.
Jessica (UK)
Cosmic Academy is a small, village school run by a lady with such
compassion and motivation that she's an inspiration to all! Whether you're
already a qualified teacher or just out of school, I think you'd have an amazing
time here. Jayliila is forward-thinking, always open to new ideas and gives
you the freedom to teach as much as you feel comfortable with.
I was only at Cosmic academy for 4 weeks but while there, was made to feel
so welcome and valued that I didn't want to leave. Myself and Maggie were
the first volunteers to go out to Cosmic which at first seemed like a scary
prospect but we both quickly settled in and were made to feel at home.
I spent most of my time teaching the 5-8 year olds and...while I can't pretend I didn't find them a little challenging to start with, loved them all by the end!! Jayliila gave me the freedom to teach whatever I really wanted to. I tried to make sure we did a bit of Maths and English each day, interspaced with some art, singing and story reading. All the teachng was at a very basic level and I hope that even though I'm not a teacher, the kids did learn something! Over the 4 weeks we learnt how to read the phonetic
alphabet and do some simple maths (eg, 2+7 = 9), It was also great fun to do a bit of art with the kids. I took out some card and coloured paper, crayons and felt tips and we created some lovely pictures, and a lot of mess, with these!
I just wanted to let all prospective volunteers know that Me and Maggie had a fantastic four weeks at Cosmic Academy. This school really made the most of us
as volunteers and I know Jayliila is really looking forward to having more in the future, it's a rewarding place to spend even just a few weeks.
Cosmic Academy is a small, village school run by a lady with such
compassion and motivation that she's an inspiration to all! Whether you're
already a qualified teacher or just out of school, I think you'd have an amazing
time here. Jayliila is forward-thinking, always open to new ideas and gives
you the freedom to teach as much as you feel comfortable with.
I was only at Cosmic academy for 4 weeks but while there, was made to feel
so welcome and valued that I didn't want to leave. Myself and Maggie were
the first volunteers to go out to Cosmic which at first seemed like a scary
prospect but we both quickly settled in and were made to feel at home.
I spent most of my time teaching the 5-8 year olds and...while I can't pretend I didn't find them a little challenging to start with, loved them all by the end!! Jayliila gave me the freedom to teach whatever I really wanted to. I tried to make sure we did a bit of Maths and English each day, interspaced with some art, singing and story reading. All the teachng was at a very basic level and I hope that even though I'm not a teacher, the kids did learn something! Over the 4 weeks we learnt how to read the phonetic
alphabet and do some simple maths (eg, 2+7 = 9), It was also great fun to do a bit of art with the kids. I took out some card and coloured paper, crayons and felt tips and we created some lovely pictures, and a lot of mess, with these!
I just wanted to let all prospective volunteers know that Me and Maggie had a fantastic four weeks at Cosmic Academy. This school really made the most of us
as volunteers and I know Jayliila is really looking forward to having more in the future, it's a rewarding place to spend even just a few weeks.
Madona (India)
I count my time at Cosmic Academy as one of the best experiences of my life. Although the place and the way of life of the local people reminded me of my home country, India, my experience was made unique by the kids at Cosmic, the volunteers I met there, and the friendly Ghanaian people in general.
The kids were the brightest spot of my trip. They were cute, naughty, chaotic, stubborn, smart, funny, and curious. While adorable and endearing one on one, they would test your patience as a group in the classroom. I was assigned the nursery class, which teacher Love Mensah taught when I was there. She let me take the classes in the morning, and I enjoyed every bit of it. I had to be really loud, practically shout the letters, numbers, colors, and shapes. I found most of the kids to be responsive and quite eager to get a chance to answer.
The local people were quite friendly but very curious as well. I was quite surprised, and amused at the same time, that they had a name for foreigners—“Obruni,” which literally means “white man.” Kids on the street would shout out as we walked past. A dark-skinned Indian, I was hardly their Obruni. It was interesting how I was mistaken for Ethiopian, Brazilian, Jamaican, Guyanese, African-American, and even Ghanaian! Some of the kids wondered as well. I wore ethnic Indian clothes, which made them wonder more. And some of them tugged at my hair to see if it was real, which cracked me up! I enjoyed my one on one time with the kids—I think that was the best part, just taking one on your lap and having a conversation or just reading to them. They love books with big, bright pictures, as all kids do.
Future volunteers could take interesting art material, learning games, and books with large pictures for KG kids. For nursery kids, blocks with alphabet, numbers, colors on them and blocks of different shapes would be very useful. The kids follow English very well, but please don’t expect them to be grammatically correct or follow your instructions to the T. You will have to talk like them initially and slowly ease them into correct usage and grammar. For example, most of them will say, “Give to me” or “Put for me.” Also, to expect them to behave like kids in the United States or Europe is a bit far-fetched. I say that because I found the kids to be similar to Indian kids than to US kids. The chaos in the classroom was in fact not new to me. I did expect to have to mind the classroom rather loudly and forcefully at times. I have done so in school in India, when we had to mind the smaller kids
I miss the kids very much, and I hope Cosmic does well and adds new classrooms and facilities. Lack of good local teachers will be an obstacle, but I hope the flow of volunteers continues. I hope to return some day.
I count my time at Cosmic Academy as one of the best experiences of my life. Although the place and the way of life of the local people reminded me of my home country, India, my experience was made unique by the kids at Cosmic, the volunteers I met there, and the friendly Ghanaian people in general.
The kids were the brightest spot of my trip. They were cute, naughty, chaotic, stubborn, smart, funny, and curious. While adorable and endearing one on one, they would test your patience as a group in the classroom. I was assigned the nursery class, which teacher Love Mensah taught when I was there. She let me take the classes in the morning, and I enjoyed every bit of it. I had to be really loud, practically shout the letters, numbers, colors, and shapes. I found most of the kids to be responsive and quite eager to get a chance to answer.
The local people were quite friendly but very curious as well. I was quite surprised, and amused at the same time, that they had a name for foreigners—“Obruni,” which literally means “white man.” Kids on the street would shout out as we walked past. A dark-skinned Indian, I was hardly their Obruni. It was interesting how I was mistaken for Ethiopian, Brazilian, Jamaican, Guyanese, African-American, and even Ghanaian! Some of the kids wondered as well. I wore ethnic Indian clothes, which made them wonder more. And some of them tugged at my hair to see if it was real, which cracked me up! I enjoyed my one on one time with the kids—I think that was the best part, just taking one on your lap and having a conversation or just reading to them. They love books with big, bright pictures, as all kids do.
Future volunteers could take interesting art material, learning games, and books with large pictures for KG kids. For nursery kids, blocks with alphabet, numbers, colors on them and blocks of different shapes would be very useful. The kids follow English very well, but please don’t expect them to be grammatically correct or follow your instructions to the T. You will have to talk like them initially and slowly ease them into correct usage and grammar. For example, most of them will say, “Give to me” or “Put for me.” Also, to expect them to behave like kids in the United States or Europe is a bit far-fetched. I say that because I found the kids to be similar to Indian kids than to US kids. The chaos in the classroom was in fact not new to me. I did expect to have to mind the classroom rather loudly and forcefully at times. I have done so in school in India, when we had to mind the smaller kids
I miss the kids very much, and I hope Cosmic does well and adds new classrooms and facilities. Lack of good local teachers will be an obstacle, but I hope the flow of volunteers continues. I hope to return some day.
Maggie (UK)
i just wanted to share the fact that it is a fantastic place, the kids are such friendly, cheerful people, and so keen to learn, and Jayalilla is a star! we were made to feel so welcome, and even people we'd never met in the village seemed anxious to get to know us! It certainly was an experience getting used to African ways, (long drops, very early mornings etc!) but one we adapted to quickly, and after the first couple of days it really felt like home. I know that anyone going to Cosmic Academy will love it as much as we did!!
i just wanted to share the fact that it is a fantastic place, the kids are such friendly, cheerful people, and so keen to learn, and Jayalilla is a star! we were made to feel so welcome, and even people we'd never met in the village seemed anxious to get to know us! It certainly was an experience getting used to African ways, (long drops, very early mornings etc!) but one we adapted to quickly, and after the first couple of days it really felt like home. I know that anyone going to Cosmic Academy will love it as much as we did!!
Lara (Germany)
One week of being home in Germany and I already miss Ghana, or lets say I miss Cosmic. It was a wonderful experience. and I am really looking forward to do it again. I learned more in 6 weeks, than I have ever learned before in such a short time. I really had a lot of fun with the kids, Jayaliila and her daughter and the other volunteers.
Teachers change all the time. I arrived on Thursday and the next Monday two new teachers started to teach class 1 and 3. One left after four weeks without saying anything. Nici and me overtook the class, which really worked good. We taught them different things like how to tell the time, opposites and addition. We also drew with them and let them play with Lego and the train set. Playing is a thing they really need apart from getting educated. They get totally excited about the lego and trainset.Drawing is another thing which was really hard to do. They are not used to drawing, though they really like it. But because they never draw, they dont know what and how to draw it. It's really hard for them to use their imagination.
The teachers at Cosmic Academy are not that educated. Many of them are still at or just finished high school and are very young. Sometimes they teach at school so that they can earn money to finish school. One of the teachers is 17 years old.
Living at Cosmic is really nice. Jayaliila is caring for you and really wonderful. She and her daughter cook the best dishes ever. Nici and me weren't able to stop eating. If you got to Cosmic, ask about peanut cakes. You will never forget those :o) For lunch and supper you get rice, noodles, spaghettis with different vegetables, fruits as a dessert..... In the morning there is toast, cheese, oats with milk, fruits...
One last sentence about the kids: They are all so adorable. And you will find your favourite kid, who you will really love and miss when you're back home!
One week of being home in Germany and I already miss Ghana, or lets say I miss Cosmic. It was a wonderful experience. and I am really looking forward to do it again. I learned more in 6 weeks, than I have ever learned before in such a short time. I really had a lot of fun with the kids, Jayaliila and her daughter and the other volunteers.
Teachers change all the time. I arrived on Thursday and the next Monday two new teachers started to teach class 1 and 3. One left after four weeks without saying anything. Nici and me overtook the class, which really worked good. We taught them different things like how to tell the time, opposites and addition. We also drew with them and let them play with Lego and the train set. Playing is a thing they really need apart from getting educated. They get totally excited about the lego and trainset.Drawing is another thing which was really hard to do. They are not used to drawing, though they really like it. But because they never draw, they dont know what and how to draw it. It's really hard for them to use their imagination.
The teachers at Cosmic Academy are not that educated. Many of them are still at or just finished high school and are very young. Sometimes they teach at school so that they can earn money to finish school. One of the teachers is 17 years old.
Living at Cosmic is really nice. Jayaliila is caring for you and really wonderful. She and her daughter cook the best dishes ever. Nici and me weren't able to stop eating. If you got to Cosmic, ask about peanut cakes. You will never forget those :o) For lunch and supper you get rice, noodles, spaghettis with different vegetables, fruits as a dessert..... In the morning there is toast, cheese, oats with milk, fruits...
One last sentence about the kids: They are all so adorable. And you will find your favourite kid, who you will really love and miss when you're back home!
