1 year and 13 days ago I left my job of almost 10 years.

Around 2 weeks after this I found myself on a plane, heading for Togo in West Africa. Now, if your anything like me you will be thinking where the hell is Togo. Well, its this narrow strip of a country between Ghana and Benin. French speaking with many local languages and is cited as one of the worlds most unhappiest places to live in.

Volunteering abroad was something I had always thought about doing and in my 32nd year I decided that this would be the right time to do it. My search for an appropriate opportunity mainly led me to google and then to ICS with Y Care International. Being too old for a traditional volunteering placement meant that I was approached for a Team Leader role, 7 months with Y Care International.

I went out to Togo with 3 other Team Leaders, one would be based in Lome, one in Atakpame and myself in Sokode. My first cohort of volunteers was a group of 4 UK volunteers with 4 Togolese national counterparts and my second group had 6 UK Volunteers with 6 national counterparts. Both groups faced its own challenges not just with the work being completed, the realities of living within a different culture and host family but also the isolation that comes from being away from everything you know.

Culturally there were challenges, mis communitions and outright arguments in some cases. In Sokode, the area is very conservative. smoking and excessive drinking are not happily accepted but it was rare to have anyone say anything if a volunteer did this. From experience it is frowned upon and thats the same if you do not dress appropriately. As a volunteer staying with a host family I would sugest offering to help with both cooking even if its just chopping and general house chores such as setting the table and sweeping. Washing clothes you will do by hand using 3 buckets of water. One for soaping and 2 for washing soap out. If you travel, it is custom to bring back a gift - bread or fruit for the family is traditionally accepted - If you go somewhere further such as Lome or Atakpame look for something that is not readily available in Sokode - sugar cane for example. Sokode is a smaller place and they do not have access to the vareity of goods that are available in other areas but the local market is friendly and its worth knowing how to say thank you in local language - i will always be grateful for the pineapple lady and the fan Ice seller

Volunteering activities for our team was on 6 and sometimes 7 days per week. We went into local apprentices to teach on enterprise skills, health and sex ed, into the prison for English, Health and enterrise, and into Schools for English, building tippy taps, doing litter awareness campaigning, working in the library for basic english lessons and with the orphange and then also doing animations at the YMCA. As with anything, some poeple want to engage and sme people dont. Sometimes I would have volunteers come back and say that the learners were just not interested in which we would either try to adapt the lesson and subject or drop the class and offer the provsion to someone else who could benefit. At points everyone had at least one thought of 'are we making any difference at all' believe me, you will be doing. The differences I saw within my own volunteers were enough to convince me that the project was worthwhile both Togolese and UK. I said to my second group, that what you think this will be, it probably wont, but that doesnt make this any less woorthwhile its just something different than what you expect. It was for me. The changes you make are much slower and less tangable, its an increase in confidence, its local people engaging more with volunteers, its volunteers speakings bits of French and Kotocoli and buying things at the market when they dont speak the same language. Its volunteers being away from home for what might be the first time. ts people making friends with individuals who would never normally mix in the same social circles back home. Its seeing those poeple be there for each other when someone is having a rubbish day and missing home. If your staying with a host family, then that family improve English skills and it also give the UK volunteers the opportunity to evaluate what they do have back home and to appreciate that all the more.

Did I want to murder most of my volunteers at some point. Yes. Absolutely.
Did I want to leave Sokode and Togo at several points within 7 Months. Yes without a doubt
Did I absolutely question my sanity in quitting a job of 10 years and finding myself in an unpaid position in Togo when i had a mortgage back home - well wouldnt you?
Would I change any of it = not a chance!

The reason being is that i saw how much my volunteers got from this experience and for every rubbish, difficult, fustrating moment there were those moments that were a total win.

For a heads up. Expect to be sat with  upset volunteers in tears missing home or because a boyfriend is being an arse back home. Staying in hospital with someone whos sick, having someone say they that they hate you when youve tried to help. Have arguments break out over absolutely nothing, conflict when cultural differences arise. power cuts. Expect days when you just feel rubbish and you miss home too. Expect to do home visits. Expect to cry on the phone to someone at some point. Expect to have no signal.

But the wins were immense. Getting a trip approved to go swimming, the team pulling together when people got malaria (almost everyone got malaria at some point on my teams) having a binome who had so many arguments actually get along for more than 3 days, banana pancakes, road trips, having a team song, painting the playground, finding a bar that made us feel at home (One Love) having a movie night, bonfire night and French toast with overloaded sugar and mango, getting the 'you'll never guess what happened to me today' story.  Fan Ice and pineapple trips. Team Outfit, home made face masks on the roof at sunset with iced coffee, surprise birthday parties and the one where volunteers teach sex ed and mistake the answer to a question as dildo rather than penis.

If your going to do this and do this as a team leader, it can be exhausting but it is absolutely worth it. The experience probably wont be what you are expecting but it doesnt make it any less worthwhile. Take and celebrate the wins where you get them and remember to breathe and finally. Good Luck