When Jaimee Perrett left New Zealand for Ghana, the term COVID-19 had still been coined.
The 29-year-old instructor flew to west African country in January to rebuild a rural village in central Tetrem 284 kilometres from the capital, Accra.
But his voluntary paintings derailed when Ghana closed its borders on March 22, leaving Perrett stranded 16,162 kilometres from his home in Nelson on the south island of New Zealand.
Four of her flights were cancelled due to reduced transit routes and a limit on arrivals to New Zealand, leaving her with no options to sleep at school half-finished that she had worked so hard to build, a design that still has no roof.
Ms Perrett, who has not been paid since December, told The Daily Mail Australia that her savings had completely disappeared after she had been trapped for so long.
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New Zealand’s number one school instructor, Jaimee Perrett (right), traveled to Ghana to rebuild a rural school, but did not rely on becoming stranded in West African country due to a viral pandemic.
Trapped through border closures and roofs upon her arrival in New Zealand, Ms. Perrett lives in the unfinished frame of the school she is building (pictured) that she is still homeless.
“The days pass very slowly and there is rarely much to do. The cash is low and our savings are almost exhausted,” he said.
Ms. Perrett is accompanied by Kiwi volunteer Sam Collins from Whanganui on the north island of the country. Collins arrived in Ghana on 14 March, a week before the border closed.
“We still don’t know when we’re going to pass so we can move home,” Perrett said.
“Even when we leave Ghana, going to the other side of the world will take time and we continue to threaten cancellations and interruptions.”
They remain at school with a local circle of relatives that Ms. Perrett met while working as a volunteer six years ago, but situations are far from ideal.
“It’s a shared living room and there are many of us. I’ve stayed with this circle of relatives since 2014, so it was a bit like staying home, this time, with no other option,” he said.
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Edited through Associated Newspapers Ltd
Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday and Metro Media Group