In response to the global water crisis, Global Brigade sparked a movement amongst University students to work alongside local communities and workers to implement clean water systems. In 2013, I was able to take part in the Global Brigade Ghana trip with King’s College London where we were also joined by a few students from other UK universities. Together, we fundraised significantly to ensure materials and local labour could be paid for, and for further programs to be run in future.

The experience was incredible.  I learnt so much from the families we got to interact with, I placed myself in a new environment, I built long lasting friendships and experienced proper manual labour using the limited resources available. We built two water tanks from scratch! We also educated students and their parents about the importance of purifying water before consumption.

You don’t have to go on the same trip as I did, but I would recommend you take up the courage to do something new and make a real difference in someones life. On a separate note, I have to add that another one of my favourite moments on this trip was being able to dance with the entire village when they welcomed us and at night when we had a party together.

I wonder if our names are still on the cement work if I were to go back!

They kids were so happy to see us! Their joy brought smiles to all of us each day and reminded us to be grateful with our lives.