A very eventful day riding on the wheels of National Volunteer Day 2025

One major question we ask in the intro format at Konnect meetups focused on #Volunteeringh is: "When did you last volunteer to help others and how?" My answer is normally: "Yesterday, or today, I gave someone a free ride". Basically, I stop the #vimride at a stop, asked folks where they were going, and if they were going my direction, I politely asked to give them a free ride, and if they accepted, I did the needful. "Are you not afraid?" No. I do this as carefully as I can. If you are afraid for me, pray for me. Thank You. As I do each year, I spent National Volunteer Day giving free rides. 

National Volunteer Day (NVDay) is a GhanaThink Foundation initiative, launched on September 21, 2013, to promote volunteerism in Ghana and connect volunteers with opportunities. It is linked to Ghana's Founders' Day holiday and aims to encourage citizens to volunteer for community service and skill development. The day is part of GhanaThink's larger Ghana Volunteer Program (GVP), which was established to manage the initiative and match volunteers with various opportunities across the country. It has made a lot of impact in Ghana, with tens of thousands of volunteers' work impacting even more people in Ghana. 

Monday, September 22, 2025 was the Founders Day holiday. I first picked a lady who lives quite close to me in Amanfro. She's called Margaret. After she alighted, she asked me a question another lady asked me earlier this month. "Where do you fellowship?" It made me think about a lady I gave her a ride to in 2013. Yes, we know those giving free rides are not only regular church-going Christians, they could be others. One of the reasons I give free rides is because I believe "One Good Turn Deserves Another" and I believe in good karma. Margaret is an ICGC member, by the way. The night before, some Kasoa Konnect members had visited the ICGC Discovery Temple in Kasoa to advocate for #CleanAirGhana as part of #NVDay2025. 

After dropping Margaret, I picked another lady, called Adelaide. After she sat in, I told her why I picked her, explaining the ethos behind National Volunteer Day. I also picked Joe and another guy along the Dodowa-Adenta road. I tried picking another lady but she refused to sit in the car after I tried to convince her. Adelaide understood why she didn't enter - I also did - because this is not the first time. Only about 10% of those I have tried to give free rides (lost count of the number sometime in 2023) have refused it. It turns Adelaide sells provisions at Presec and she talked about she also celebrates our #NSMQ wins. Joe who sells gas cylinders also talked about his Presec connections, his family members sells at Presec Primary and JHS. This made me think about volunteering at Presec to serve in various positions (circa 2000). 

Adelaide dropped off at Madina and I continued with Joe to Spanner junction where I picked Timothy Amuah, the Barcamp Tema Coordinator. We dropped Joe at 37 and headed to Citi 97.3 FM where we (as well as Irene Ali Gibil) were interviewed as part of the Citi Breakfast Show #citicbs by one of the greatest Ghanaians of his generation - Bernard Avle (a fellow Odadee). While sharing ways individuals could volunteer to help others around #NVDay2025, Timothy mentioned how I give free rides to people. That was a proud moment. Talking about karma, the folks from "The Luckiest Africa" were also on #CitiCBS that morning. Irene (the Barcamp Ghana Resources Lead), Tim and myself joined Caleb Kudah and Bernard Avle to take a customary #groufie before we left the Citi FM premises in Adabraka.

As Timothy and I hit the Kojo Thompson Road (an avenue which is important in GhanaThink & Museke's history thanks to Suuch Solutions), I planned to stop at a trotro stop to pick more people. We were headed to Tesano for our next appointment but none of the passengers were headed there. When they realised we were giving free lifts, they said "Nyame nhyira wo" (God bless you). Gideon Nana Asmah (Barcamp Cape Coast Coordinator) joined Tim, Irene and I at Channel 1 TV (Citi's FM sister television station) in Tesano. We had a great chat with Chris Kata after greeting Philip Lartey (a Barcamper who first came for Barcamps in Ho circa 2012). The Luckiest Africa folks followed us to Channel 1 TV for another interview. This must mean we're going to be very lucky soon. Right? Right! We, these GhanaThink members, interacted with Yaw Adjei-Mintah and Bernard Abeiku Okyere, chatting about a few things, including the English Premier League and Kasoa. 

Timothy and I left Tesano for Legon, dropping Gideon on the way. We tried to pick a few people on the N1 but they were not headed towards Legon or Madina. I stopped the Accra Mall bus stop which is off the highway Kwame Nkrumah's government built in the 1960s. I got down and spoke to about 10 people if any of them was headed towards Legon and would want a free lift. No one said yes. They were going elsewhere. When I got to Shiashie, I stopped and asked a lady where she was going. She was going to Wisconsin International University College in Haatso. I summoned her to sit in. After sitting in the passenger seat, she asked how much the fare was. I mentioned it was free. Her smiles disappeared and she said she wanted to get down. I told her, "Do I look like a dangerous person?" 😊 I started telling her about NVDay. She was not convinced. I tried to pick an elderly woman afterwards who said she was going to Westlands and was having trouble getting her Bolt driver to meet her. She decided to focus on the ride she had hailed. 🤣 

Shortly afterwards, I arrived at the University of Ghana Medical Centre. Almost each year for #NVDay, I give blood. I chose to donate blood at UGMC because I am a big fan of this hospital, I am a registered patient there alongside other close family members, I want it to be world-class and during covid, AccraKonnect members fundraised to provide walkie-talkies for its staff. The doctors there seem surprised that I had come to willingly donate blood. There was a bit of queue there, but that was not going to shake me. The doctors said they could not give me any food products, etc that they use to reward blood donors. That was not going to move me. I explained to them why I was doing this, as they learnt about NVDay. I have been doing this since 2013. 1 of the doctors took my sample - my blood pressure was great, I had lost a couple of kilos (not a huge concern according to them), etc. Dr Emmanuel came back after the sample was analyzed and said my HB result was fine. The Hemoglobin (Hb) measurement is essential for blood donation to ensure both the donor's safety and the quality of blood products. Minimum acceptable levels are typically around 12.5 g/dL for women and 13.5 g/dL for men. Mine was 15.2. Dr Emmanuel asked what I had eaten that day. "2 Kosua ne Mako". "That's not enough, he said, "Please go and eat something heavier and come".

Funny enough, before finding the UGMC Blood Bank, I had gone to ask for prices of food and drinks at the UGMC cafeteria. I just like to check prices to see how the economy is going and how expensive things are at certain places. I went back to the cafeteria, ordered a sandwich with vegetables (are you not proud of me?), a drum stick, a meat loaf and then VitaMilk (vitamins upon vitamins) 🤣 The damage? ¢90. No, I did not buy Ekumfi Juice - too much sugar. I returned to the Blood Bank and within 23 minutes, I had donated 450ml of blood! Dr Emmanuel expressed interest in joining Accra Konnect, and he knew some Tamale Konnect members as he graduated as a medical doctor from UDS. I had been charging my Google Pixel 6a which was gifted to me in 2023 because of volunteering. I had plugged the USB cable into some USB port. The phone didn't charge o! It was just lying there 🤣. The same way I was lying there and giving out blood. When I was done, I went around UGMC asking about some staff I knew, and met some who were on duty on this fine holiday. I even greeted a gentleman there who was wearing a Gigi, and gave him fans. #WearGhana! I was not wearing a Gigi on this day, I was wearing a Barcamp Bolga 2023 tshirt. 

I don’t know what it is but when you see the UK Ghanaians, you can recognize them o! Innit? Do UK Ghanaians like to volunteer more than US Ghanaians? We should debate that one day. After 2:33pm & posting #233moments, I left UGMC. Near Noguchi in Legon, I saw what looked like a couple. The girl wanted to join the free ride but the guy said no! Now's that's a topic for "Sister Sister!" Chris, cover it! At the Okponglo bus stop, the folks there said they were going to Ablekuma and even 37 was not good for them. I oversat it. Eish, I mean I understood. At Shiashie, I met a lady with red hair, yellow top and green skirt. Ghana colors right? After telling her about NVDay, I mentioned how she was wearing Ghana colours. She said it did not occur to her. These days, I have a Ghanaian flag flying on the windshield. She was going to the Makola side, which was far based on my next appointment. With a man. She said her name was Jane. When I told her I was Ato, she said she was Abena. Yes, osee Ghanaian names!!!!

I met my friend Arthur Musah at Marina Mall. I have mentioned Arthur several times in interviews, this fellow Odadee inspired me when I got to Presec and also inspired me to follow him to MIT. After this 2.33+ hours conversation, I headed towards the Independence Square side. I picked one Achiaa from Opeibea to 37. 2 other ladies decided not to go. I stopped by the Accra International Conference Centre to check on FESTAC Africa. They had lots of volunteers there waiting to close out and go home. I know this because I asked to give some who needed to go to the Madina areas free rides. I left AICC for the Independence Square, a place I have not been to in probably a decade. I paid my respects to the founders of Ghana, especially Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah aka Francis Nwia himself. 

I needed to buy petrol so I drove around Osu looking for a reasonable fuel price. I settled on the GOIL nearest to Republic on Oxford Street. GH¢12.99 per litre. I spotted a lady at a nearby trotro stop, she was wearing a tshirt called "Clean Your Frontage". I recognized this campaign championed by government machinery. I had to talk to her about this, in the spirit of all the #NVDay2025 cleanup exercises in Wa, Takoradi, Bolga, etc. Eva Aryee said she was going to Tema Station. This was out of my way, but I decided to give her a ride there. Her father had been involved in this campaign, but she works at the KFC on Oxford Street. She was curious about we do what we do. After explaining to her, she was keen on joining Accra Konnect and she took my number. She was the first person that day who asked for my number. 

After delivering Eva to Tema Station in central Accra, I thought of the trotro conversations we had at the #AccraKonnect meetup on September 18, 2025. How trotro drivers are taking advantage of passengers or finding ways to make more money from them. Which side of the debate are you on? I drove at a stop outside the station and asked for folks going towards Madina. 1 lady was going to Dodowa, and said she would join upon hearing I was going to Amanfro. Her lucky night? Yes. Please, not that kind of free ride o! 1 guy said he wasn't going to go, he was ordering a Bolt. Yes, there are free cancellations on Bolt these days in Ghana, but I totally understand. 

On the way from central Accra to Amanfro, I picked up the following: Richard - Flagstaff House to Airport, Richfield - Airport to Madina, Desmond - Airport to SDA, Ferdinand - Airport to Amanfro, 

Portia (wearing nurse attire) - Adenta Taxi Rank to Amanfro. Turns out the lady going to Dodowa was called Irene. She asked me about how volunteering could her get jobs. Be my guest Irene. That was a great opportunity to evangelise about volunteerism even more. No, she did not ask me, "Where do you fellowship"? She did like Daddy Lumba music though. I tried to finish the legs by picking another a man and woman (who looked like a couple) in Amanfro. "We're fine, thank you", said the lady in a very forceful voice. Okay o. "Good night".

In all, I picked more than half of 23 people on September 22, 2025. This year, I cannot count how many folks I have picked, but its probably 233 people (some of which I knew, but more than 69% I had never met). As Paa Kwesi Imbeah and I coined in 2011, "I Made Ghana Better Today". #IMGBT. #IMadeGhanaBetterToday.