60 years apart: Here’s how volunteering in Ghana aged 18 changed our lives

Watch what happened when we brought two British VSO volunteers together who volunteered in Ghana to find out how different their experiences were – 60 years apart.

In the summer of 1958, 18-year-old Chris Tipple was about to leave for a trip to Ghana that would go on to define his personal and professional life.  

Chris had spotted an advert in his local paper for a VSO role in newly-independent Ghana – and months later found himself on a plane to begin a year as a volunteer teacher. Later completing a distinguished career in education, Chris never lost his belief in the power of young people. 

Almost 60 years later, in October 2017, 18-year-old Jack Algeo made the same journey to Ghana on VSO’s youth volunteering programme, ICS. On Jack’s placement, he gave classes and ran after-school clubs focused on improving girls’ academic achievements. He’s now looking ahead to a future of volunteering. 

Chris’ story 

In 1958, the idea of a school-leaver working overseas was very strange. My own parents never went abroad in their entire lives. They weren’t unusual in that respect. I’d never been outside the country before I stepped on the plane to fly to Accra.  

I found myself teaching in a town called Akropong, which was about 40 miles north of Accra, the capital of Ghana.  

It may sound very challenging to go out into another country and start teaching English, having never done it before. But it all really fell into place very easily, because the students were so keen. 

When I went back to Ghana in 1998 and met students I taught 40 years before, they reinforced that VSO had really made a difference to their lives. They found not only practical advantages in terms of getting better grades in their exams, but also from the experiencing of interacting with someone from a different culture as equals. 

I've supported VSO continuously since I came back from Ghana all those years ago and it’s great to see that in 2018 it embraces such a wide range of volunteers – from experienced professionals to school-leavers like I was. That width of experience is great. 

Young people are the future. They will ultimately shape the way the world progresses. I think VSO’s contribution to youth means that hopefully over time the world will become a place in which people understand each other better. 

Jack’s story 

The year I went on ICS was the first time I travelled to Africa. The furthest I'd been from home was northern France, so it was amazing to be volunteering in Jirapa in northern Ghana, a place that was so different from my village of Longniddry, east of Edinburgh. 

While grades matter, it also matters that children enjoy education. If they enjoy it, they’ll stay in it for longer. When we were teaching, we made it enjoyable and engaging – we tried to break away from traditional teaching methods of textbooks and chalkboards. 

A lot of the school clubs that we led while we were in Ghana had been previously started by other VSO volunteers and carried on by the teachers. It was nice to see that when we left, the clubs that we’d started, and those we’d continued, weren’t just going to stop. 

While on placement, each British volunteer had a Ghanaian counterpart to help us adjust to the culture and to work alongside. I’d heard from previous volunteers that they become your best friend, but I always presumed it was just what they said. But it’s so true. You form a bond because you spend every day with them.