Ghana Community Development Project

Project Age Limit
Minimum 17 years (with parental consent), and maximum decided on potential participants’ health

The Volunteer Project
Through this programme, you will have the opportunity to work in urban cities and rural suburbs at the core of this country and can choose from a wide range of projects available in Ghana to suit your interests and background. The main types of project work are listed below with an outline of some of the duties that you may be involved in. The projects available are:

Community Development projects
These schemes are focused on deprived areas that really need help and development to improve their facilities and local area. This is a team project aimed at bringing socioeconomic development and efficient improvement opportunities for people in great need. Under this scheme, you will travel and work with other volunteers and local community members to achieve a specific goal. For example, you may help to build a new classroom at an orphanage, help on a water and sanitation scheme in a rural town, or a playground in a local school. You can choose an area of interest and embark on that for a specific period of time.

Teaching Placements
With these placements, you have the choice of working in a primary (5-13yrs), junior secondary (13-16) or secondary School (16-18). The schools will vary in their facilities, but generally consist of a few classrooms with wooden desks and a blackboard. There are plenty of opportunities for you to be creative in your role and make the lessons memorable for the children!

As a western volunteer, your contribution is important and your work for just a few months can dramatically change a school in many ways. Get the children involved as much as possible in both school hours, but also in after school activities. For example, you could arrange football practice on Wednesdays, and drama on a Friday. You may be surprised at how one person can potentially make such a massive difference to so many people.

School Holidays and Summer Schools
During the school vacations in Ghana you may still volunteer in schools, but at organised summer schools, where children from villages assemble into one school for extra curricular activities and classes. During this time you will need to use your own initiative to keep the children and yourself busy, as teachers will not be there to assist you with running your classes. You can be really creative and teach sports, art and music and just spend your time enjoying your interaction with the children. Alternatively, in the holidays, you can take part in the Community development schemes.

Health Care Work and Medical Clinics
You will have the opportunity to work in the large hospitals in town, which tend to house all of their departments in one main hospital, allowing you access into a variety of different wards. This project is most advised for volunteers with some medical experience. If you are a non-qualified medical volunteer, then you must be prepared to shadow doctors and remain flexible to help in whichever way possible, though this may be limited. You will still gain a very good insight into the medical environment and learn important new skills.

You will be helping in some of the following areas:

Helping in the consulting rooms, family planning, maternal and childcare wards
Shadowing fellow doctors in routine observations and medical practices
Helping in the dispensary, in the operating theatre and outpatient department
Treatment of fresh cuts, as well as old wounds and uncomplicated diseases
Assist midwives in outreach programmes (when need arises)
Checking and recording temperature, vital signs and body weight
Assist in drawing up programmes for other health education purposes

Orphanages and Foster Home Programmes
This is a wonderful opportunity to provide vital love and support to young children who have lost their families, either through death, abuse or abandonment: With your care their lives can be changed. Some of the homes really struggle to care for the children, especially the babies. You will provide that essential early developmental care and nurturing that is so important in the lives of young children.

Some activities you may be involved in include:

Planning and providing extra curricular activities; sports, music and culture, games, extra studies and organising excursions
Changing nappies and bottle-feeding any babies.
Providing love, care and attention
Teaching in local schools the children attend: In addition to maths and English, you can teach any subject that you are interested in.
Supervising day-to-day activities such as sweeping, bathing and fetching of water etc.

During your time at an orphanage, you will also be expected to help with teaching, as many children go to school during the day or attend schools attached to the orphanage. Thus you must be flexible and prepared to do some teaching.

HIV/AIDS Projects
These projects are vital to the education of children and adults in urban and rural communities about the threat and risks of HIV and AIDS in Africa. During the project you will be focused on moving from school to school, working alongside the children on this education scheme, through the use of visual aids and workshops. You will need to be quite a self-motivated volunteer, working much to your own initiative and ideas. We also advise that you study up on sexual health and HIV/AIDS in particular, before your departure.

Your activities will include:

Home base visitation and counselling
Facilitating peer education, through use of posters, videos, talks etc
Public education on HIV / AIDS at various communities and local schools
Designing educational materials with the children and getting them involved
Forming clubs within the communities to carry on your valuable work once you leave

Construction Programmes
These projects are not for the unfit! You will be working hard on building sites with a number of fellow team mates from Ghana and typically in urban areas, to help erect a number of buildings. These may include domestic houses, offices, schools, orphanages etc and working hours are usually from about 8am – 4pm. This is a great chance to gain some building skills, or to practise the skills you already have, and also maybe teach the guys a thing or two from a western perspective.

Your activities will include:

Schools for Special Needs
There are many children in Africa who suffer disabilities, and do not have the support structure that we in the West experience. The schools set up for children with disabilities are in need of volunteers who can help support the children and develop their skills, coordination and also provide much love and care.

The various organisations and schools cater for both children and adults with mental and physical disabilities, including a school for the deaf. You may be involved in specific workshops to help train young adults in particular work areas, so that they can also earn an income from their crafts. You can help teach the younger children in classes, to try and integrate them eventually into the normal schooling system.

Choosing Your Project
To help us arrange the most suitable volunteer project for you, Real Gap will ask for your first and second choice of project area that you would like to work in and request that you complete an application form specific to this Ghana project. The team in Ghana will then arrange this placement and your host family according to your preferences.

Optional Tour Of Ghana (included in project cost)
During your placement, you will also have the opportunity to take part in a 6-day tour of Ghana. This tour will usually take place once you have been on your project for approximately 2 weeks. Please note that this itinerary is to be used as a guide only and may vary according to the programme requirements. Below is an itinerary of how the tour is usually structured:

Day 1: Kumasi; the old Ashanti capital of Ghana
Day 2: Mole National Park
Day 3: Mole National Park
Day 4: Traditional Village Stay
Day 5: Traditional Village and Dance
Day 6: Return to your project

Please note that park entry fees are not included in the cost of the tour. We recommend you budget £25 spending money for this trip.

Project Support
Throughout your stay in Ghana you will have the support and guidance of the Ghanaian project leaders and team. They will provide you with competent field support and assistance and help you with any questions, or support, you may need during your stay. In addition, we will provide you with a 24 hour emergency contact number before you depart, so that you can contact our UK staff at any time should you need to.

Project Orientation
On arrival at Kotoka International Airport in Accra, you will be met by a representative and transferred to your hostel in Accra for your orientation. This starts on the Saturday after you arrive and lasts until Monday. It is usually conducted by your programme leaders, Theresa and Daniel, who will make you feel extremely comfortable during your time in Ghana.

During the three-day orientation you will be taught all of the essential information needed for your stay in Ghana, such as local language and dialects, staying safe in Africa, a visit to the local bank and the town and use of public transport. On the Tuesday you will be transferred to your project area and met by your new coordinator, where you will be shown around and taken to meet your host family.

Accommodation and Meals
During your project, you will have the fantastic opportunity to live with a local family close to where you will be working – usually in the same suburb. The accommodation in Ghana will vary in standards, so we do ask volunteers to go with an open mind. You will be able to fully integrate and immerse yourself in the local culture by living with a local, English speaking Ghanaian family in their home.

All of our homes have been carefully inspected and arranged for your stay: You will have your own bedroom, though in a few instances you may also be sharing with another volunteer. When in the local area you will feel extremely safe and will be treated like one of the community. Your host family will provide you with breakfast and dinner each day on the project. This is an excellent chance to try some of the local dishes, or even cook them a typical meal from your own country too! Lunches vary, depending on your project location. Host families will be happy to prepare your lunch each day, but if your project is quite a long walk away from your accommodation, you may like to just buy something locally at a really cheap price. You will also be expected to buy your own drinking water, though this is very cheap.