The Implementor
Ghana project, before taking off
Most people consider a disability as something that can happen to anyone, but not to themselves. That’s why mass media rarely cover issues related to disabilities.Only something extremely good or extremely bad might catch attention of the audience, while most people have no idea how people with disabilities live, study, work and travel. If a university professor learns Braille to help a blind student study, this news is in the media. If someone has been kicked out of a restaurant because of his wheelchair, it catch our attention. However, we don’t know anything about other blind students whose professors aren’t ready yet to learn Braille. Or what do we know about people in wheelchairs? Do we know how they deal with rotating doors, how they do grocery shopping, wether they live independently or have a personal care assistant? Do you know the answers on these questions?
Even in economically developed countries some people still think that a disability is a result of poor medical treatment and can happen only to someone who is very poor. In fact, disability doesn’t choose based on your income, nationality, religion, social status etc. Even in developed countries people still have many misconceptions about disabilities.
In the end of March 5 WHC students went to Ghana to learn about how people with disabilities live there and to help their families get out of poverty. They are going to interview families and individuals with special needs and find out what their life looks like. Students also will observe a community organised by the United Projects where children and youth with disabilities live.
We asked these students to introduce themselves and possibly share their expectations of this project, and here is what we found out.
Pascal Nieuwenhuis
Pascal, 19, he is from Oldeholtpade, which is a small village located in the southwest corner of Friesland. Since the start of the programme that he is studying now, he lives in Zwolle. Over the last years he has grown a big interest in education, the climate and equality.
Last semester he worked on a cool project focused on giving people with disabilities more chances on the labour market. Pascal found this very interesting and for him it linked to the project they are going to do now. It will be a new experience for him, since he has never been to Ghana before, but he is very motivated to bring up solutions to the problems presented to him.
Thomas Jansen
Another member of the team is Thomas Jansen. He is 22 years and he is from Amersfoort, The Netherlands. He is currently studying in the third year of Global Project and Change Management. From this project he wants to learn more about social issues and experience a different culture and lifestyle. He is looking forward to working together with United Projects this semester.
Precious Aturu
The only girl in the team is a 20 year old Nigerian student Precious. She moved from Ireland to study Global Project and Change Management and she was really excited about this project because she would love to move back to Africa one day and do lots of projects there. Precious hopes to gain a lot of experience in working in an African culture so she can see if moving back is the right decision for her.
Edgar Postema
Edgar, 23. He is from Wezep which is a small town next to Zwolle. He also went to high school in Zwolle so he is really looking forward to live in a different country with a completely different culture. Also, he is prepared to combine hard work with gaining cultural experience in Ghana. It is going to be an amazing experience that Edgar is really excited about.
Justin Blankensteijn
Now, let’s get to know Justin Blankensteijn. He is 22 years old. He is now in the second semester of his third year and He is ready for a new challenge. Justin has really enjoyed living in Zwolle but now he is ready to experience a new environment and to get to know himself better. Since the first year he has been very interested in sustainability but since the last couple months his interests start to shift to social issues. Justin hopes this project can help broaden or narrow his interest and that he may really create value for Hardthaven in Ghana.
These students do not know for sure what they will run into in Ghana. Some of them are a bit nervous, but they all look excited and open to a new experience.