Ewa Kaznowska-Ponczek from Lublin, Poland, together with her husband and two daughters, spent time volunteering among some of the most vulnerable people in Ghana, West Africa.

We are an ordinary family from Lublin, focused on everyday life—raising two teenage daughters (aged 12 and 15) and managing our professional responsibilities. Despite our busy schedules, we try to help others, both out of compassion and to teach our children empathy and sensitivity to the needs of others. This desire inspired us to volunteer abroad. Through Sister Celina Natanek, we had the opportunity to serve with the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa (White Sisters) in Ghana after a year of preparation.

Once a month, we attended formation meetings where we studied the Bible, reflected on our motivations, and listened to people with missionary experience. We learned to be open to the unknown and to let go of expectations. We were encouraged to become like a blank page—and that is exactly what happened.

The mission experience in Ghana took place in February 2026. Alongside our family of four, my 77-year-old mother and Mrs Teresa, a pharmacist from Lublin, also joined the mission. From the moment we arrived, we faced many challenges: a long journey to the Sisters’ community, no running water, bathing with collected rainwater, frequent power outages, intense heat, and the risk of malaria. Yet it was a wonderful experience because, above all, it was a time of encounter with people—kind, welcoming, and joyful despite difficult living conditions.

We volunteered in a large Catholic school with 940 students. We taught English, geography, art, and physical education, and organized a sports day for the entire school. The lack of teaching materials and sports equipment touched many of our friends back home, whose generosity enabled us to buy balls and books for both students and teachers. We also learned a great deal about Ghana’s education system. In a region where many adults cannot read or write, families often can afford to send only one of several children to school. For this reason, the headteacher accepts new students even late in the term so that they do not lose their chance to learn.

We also volunteered at Shekhinah Clinic, which David Fuseini Abdulai founded. The only one of eleven siblings to survive childhood, he completed medical studies and gave up a well-paid career to provide free healthcare to the poorest members of society. Although he later died of cancer, the clinic continues to serve the community thanks to the generosity of many supporters.

Mrs Teresa and our daughter Marysia carried out most of the work at the clinic. They sorted medicines, measured blood pressure, and assisted with other necessary tasks. The clinic also ran a kitchen that prepared one hundred meals each day for people in need. We packed food, distributed it in the slums of Tamale, and delivered meals to a local prison. What struck us most was the gratitude people showed for every act of kindness, no matter how small.

We also met women learning sewing skills, helping them avoid becoming victims of human trafficking, as well as women producing shea butter to support their families. Father James made a particularly strong impression on us as he introduced us to the history and everyday life of Ghana. Through him, we visited Cape Coast, with its painful history of the transatlantic slave trade, Toxic City, where electronic waste is processed, and Kakum National Park.

Above all, Ghana was an encounter with people—open, warm, and smiling. It helped us better understand the daily realities and needs of others, taught us attentiveness and gratitude, and left us with a deep sense of fulfilment.