US Students Travel to Ghana in partnership with BFI to work at the Budumburam Liberian Refugee Camp.
Over the last decade Rutgers University has partnered with the Busia Foundation for their International Service Learning program in Ghana. Each year their students have worked at the Budumburam refugee camp; an experience they consider life-changing. Below, Hannah Greenwald and Wislande Guilluame speak of their experiences.
While in Ghana I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work with Point Hope, an organization that has made it their mission to be the voice for the forgotten children residing on the Buduburam Refugee Camp. In advocating for children, they also advocate for parents. In addition to daycare and their food program for the malnourished, they have also implemented a number of skill-training programs, which allow for parents to become empowered and to be able to support their families. The camp is home to thousands of Liberian refugees. I was given the opportunity to work with Liberians, Ghanaians, and Americans, as well as adults, children, the trainees receiving aid, and the professionals who were giving it. After working at Buduburam, I now realize that I have been blessed with insight into many different experiences and thus have been given the opportunity to connect with so many diverse people throughout all walks of life. I have been given the rare gift of being neither limited nor privileged based solely on my heritage; I have the opportunity to define my own foundation. My experience in Ghana was one of personal growth, one in which I found the pride in my individuality and the power that resides within my unique experience. On this trip, I was able to “go back” and reconcile all the disparate parts of my history and heritage and bring that unity of understanding forward.
The experiences that I have had throughout my journey here in Ghana will remain with me forever. I encountered amazing people that have inspired me in more ways than one. During my internship, I worked at Buduburam, the Liberian Refugee camp, with the Unique Charity Vocational School which was affiliated with the organization called the Women’s Initiative for Self-Empowerment (WISE). Unique Charity seeks to empower women through basic skills such as sewing and baking in order for them to become self-sufficient. Throughout my time at the camp, I met with past graduates of the school to assess how the graduates were applying the skills that they learned to support themselves and their families. My conversations with many of the women allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a refugee. It also allowed me to rediscover the resiliency of the human spirit. Although these women were strangers in another land, they were still trying to find ways to overcome their circumstances. I never could have imagined that I would have such an incredible experience of growth and self-reflection during the course of my stay here. I am going to miss the people, the culture, the environment, and everything else about this country. I am ready to leave Ghana a changed person equipped with memories that will last my lifetime.
Click here to learn more about BFI
