Volunteer in Ghana

Volunteer in Ghana: Orientation days

As soon as you land in Accra, the capital city of Ghana, our local partner organisation will welcome you and start preparing you to volunteer in Ghana. The evening after you have arrived, you will have a delicious meal with other volunteers and will have the chance to start making new friends. Over the following days, you will get to know Ghana and its culture during your first excursions, and you will receive comprehensive information from our partner organisation which will help you as you volunteer in Ghana. These orientation days should help you get acquainted with the local conditions, the people and, often underestimated, the blistering heat! You will receive important information on the following topics:

• Health
• Money
• Safety
• Food
• Customs
• Work
• Travelling within Ghana

You may also learn a bit of "Twi" or another Ghanaian language. At the end of the orientation period, you will be brought to your project location where you will volunteer in Ghana.

Living and travelling

The programme includes accommodation, first in a hostel in Accra during the orientation (breakfast included), and later with a host family, as you volunteer abroad in Ghana (meals included). Sometimes volunteers stay in accommodation offered at their project sites. You will be living under typical local conditions, possibly without running water or electricity as you volunteer in Ghana.

You should plan to spend some time and money travelling. Ghana is a wonderful, almost untouched country, and tourism is still in its early stages of development. As a volunteer in Ghana, you should be prepared to enter a completely new cultural region that is far less developed and organised than European countries.

The lifestyle, food, behaviour, and culture in Ghana are enormously different from the European norm. Sanitation and home amenities are often very basic and are not always available 24 hours a day. As a volunteer in Ghana, you will need to be adaptable, independent, and open-minded towards the way of life in Ghana.

Volunteer in Ghana

• Activities: As a volunteer in Ghana, you will have various volunteering possibilities in the fields of health care, education, and child care.
• Free Time: Normally at the weekends.
• Duration: 8 weeks and 5 days, up to 6 months (subject to an additional fee.)
• Application: At least 2 months before departure. We are happy to receive applications much earlier than this.
• Starting Dates: Every 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month on the following dates: 2 May, 16 May, 6 June, 20 June, 4 July, 18 July, 1 Aug., 15 Aug., 5 Sept., 19 Sept., 3 Oct., 17 Oct., 7 Nov., 21 Nov., 5 Dec. and 19 Dec. 2010.
• Practical Experience: Not mandatory, but it would certainly make your stay easier (for example, in the fields of child care and health care.)
• Other: Ghana has Muslim influences, so you should always wear culturally-appropriate clothing as you volunteer in Ghana. Since you will be surrounded by a completely different culture, adaptability, independence, and travel experience are very important.