Project Report Brandon Lesch PROJECTINTERNSHIP REPORT 1

							Project
Report:
Brandon
Lesch


*PROJECT/INTERNSHIP
REPORT*



1.
Program:
ProGhana
June
–
July
2009




2.
Placement:
Aboom
Methodist
Special
Needs
School




3.
Project
Counterparts/
Contacts
(as
well
as
Contact
Info
–
Headmistress
Mary
Osei
024‐250366

oseimary@yahoo.com,
Mr.
Larbi
(teacher)
–
0208206128
emmaklab1@yahoo.co.uk




4.
Summary
of
the
Project
–
This
project
was
designed
to
give
the
volunteer
a
better
understanding
as
to

how
children
with
special
needs
are
treated
in
Cape
Coast
and
what
is
expected
of
them.
This
project

allowed
the
volunteer
the
freedom
to
take
control
of
the
project
and
to
take
it
as
far
as
they
felt

comfortable.
Because
it
was
only
for
one
month,
although
I
learned
a
lot,
more
time
spent
at
the
school

would
have
been
beneficial.
The
children
have
a
hard
time
listening
to
the
teachers,
who
they
see
every

day,
so
it
was
especially
hard
to
get
the
students
to
obey
a
volunteer
they
did
not
know
and
who

wouldn’t
use
the
cane
but
the
other
teachers
helped
as
much
as
possible.




5.
Project
Timeline:



        First
and
second
week
–
build
rapport
with
the
students,
build
own
confidence


        Third
week
–
Start
making
suggestions
and
leading
by
example
once
comfortable,
start
adding
to

        lessons
when
feel
appropriate,
briefly
discuss
tomorrow’s
plans
with
teachers


        Fourth
week
–
Start
leadings
lessons
and
teaching
whole
school
songs
and
games,
stay
after
and

        talk
to
teachers
about
certain
children
and
what
changes
can
be
made
to
help
that
student
get

        through
the
day


6.
The
Vision
of
the
Project:
The
vision
of
this
project
was
to
first
give
the
volunteer
a
better

understanding
of
how
children
with
special
needs
are
treated
in
Cape
Coast
and
to
have
the
volunteer

learn
from
the
project.
A
secondary
goal
was
to
have
the
volunteer
make
suggestions
and
help
the

teachers
with
making
adaptations
in
the
classroom
and
in
teaching
styles
to
better
suit
the
children.





7.
The
Role
of
the
Volunteer:
Volunteer
provided
support
and
shared
knowledge
as
well
as
skills

regarding
teaching
children
with
special
needs.
By
simply
leading
by
example
as
well
as
at
times
making

small
suggestions,
the
volunteer
was
able
to
give
the
teachers
a
better
understanding
as
to
how
to
more

efficiently
teach
these
children
with
disabilities.




8.
Roles
and/or
Responsibilities
of
Involved
Parties:
The
other
parties
include
the
three
other
teachers

that
lead
class
and
would
provide
the
volunteer
with
any
information
they
felt
was
valuable.




9.
Special
Considerations:
This
placement
should
mainly
be
considered
for
volunteers
that
are

comfortable
working
with
children
with
disabilities
as
well
as
volunteers
who
are
not
afraid
to
take
the

initiative,
as
the
teachers
were
hesitant
to
provide
instructions
on
what
to
do.




10.
Suggestions
for
Improving
the
Current
Structure:
N/A




11.
The
Future‐
Ideas
for
Moving
Forward/
Continuation
of
the
Project:
Next
Steps
–
I
feel
that
I

personally
did
not
start
anything
that
can
be
continued
but
I
do
believe
that
the
next
volunteer
that

goes
there
will
make
a
difference
by
simply
making
suggestions
and
leading
by
example,
especially
when

it
comes
to
striking
the
children
with
the
cane.




12.
Unresolved
Issues
–
I
wish
I
could
have
done
more
to
explain
that
striking
a
child
that
has
a
disability

with
a
cane
is
not
doing
any
good
and
is
most
likely
doing
harm
but
I
felt
I
would
be
stepping
on
too

many
toes.
I
tried
to
explain
that
it
is
not
necessary
and
made
it
clear
that,
even
though
they
offered,
I

would
never
strike
a
child.
Other
than
that,
I
felt
everything
was
resolved.




13.
Documentation
and
Explanation
of
How
Project
funds
were
Spent:
With
the
permission
of
the
Site

Director,
we
thought
it
would
be
better
spent
in
the
future,
as
it
was
unclear
as
to
what
resources
the

school
was
lacking
and
what
would
be
most
beneficial.




14.
Words
of
Advice
for
Future
Volunteers
Entering
the
Project:
Because
I
had
traveled
to
areas
similar

to
Cape
Coast,
I
was
mentally
prepared
for
what
to
expect
regarding
resources
and
how
the
children

might
be
treated.
Had
I
not
been
prepared,
it
would
have
been
even
more
shocking
and
even
more

saddening.
As
a
result,
I
would
suggest
that
volunteers
do
their
research
regarding
children
with

disabilities
in
Ghana/West
Africa.


In
addition,
it
was
quite
surprising
and
somewhat
frustrating
to
have
the
three
teachers
leave
the

building
for
30
minutes
at
a
time,
leaving
myself
and
another
volunteer
to
fend
for
ourselves
without

warning.
Everything
went
OK
in
the
end
but
because
we
were
not
prepared,
it
seemed
very
hectic
at
the

time.







In
conclusion,
I
was
very
happy
with
this
placement.
I
learned
a
lot
about
children
with
disabilities
in

West
Africa
and
the
many
challenges
they
face.
I
felt
I
built
a
strong
relationship
with
the
staff
at
the

school
even
though
I
was
only
there
for
4
weeks
and
truly
felt
appreciated
by
the
staff
in
the
end.
I

would
definitely
do
it
again
if
I
had
the
opportunity.
As
stated
before,
I
felt
that
4
weeks
was
just
long

enough
but
would
have
definitely
preferred
longer
because
I
was
just
starting
to
feel
comfortable
with

the
children
and
the
staff
to
really
start
helping.


For
more
info.
on
Brandon’s
project
experience,
check
out:
http://brandonlesch.blogspot.com/