Volunteer Requirements
Volunteers in Ghana should be at least 18 years old and speak English to at least intermediate level. Some experience working with children is preferred, as is a responsible, enthusiastic and compassionate attitude. Medical placements accept pre-med, medical students and professional medical practitioners. On all programs, initiative, self-motivation, and a willingness to help in many areas are qualities that are greatly welcomed.
Start & Duration
Volunteers who intends to come on Short Term ( less than 3 months) can begin their project placement on any Saturday of the month. Volunteers need to book their flights to arrive on the dates mentioned below.
Those volunteers who wants to come on Long Term (more than 3 months) can begin their project placement on any Friday of the month. Arriving over the weekend is always a good option as it allows time to adjust before starting at the placement on Monday morning.
Arriving over the weekend is always a good option as it allows time to adjust before starting at the placement on Monday morning.
Food and Accommodation
The volunteers in Ghana are very fortunate as they have the opportunity to live with a local family within close proximity of the volunteer project location. Getting to experience cultural immersion within a Ghanaian family makes one’s stay in Ghana uniquely memorable. The family will be on hand to help you and also show you around the local area. The host family provide breakfast and dinner (or all three meals if you are at your accommodation during weekends). At lunch breaks on working days, you can sample local cuisine at modestly priced cafes and restaurants.
The cuisine is flavoursome; if simple. The best known Ghanaian staple is fufu, which consists of a basic starchy ingredient such as cassava, yam, plantain or rice. You may also be served different types of stew, be it fish, chicken or vegetable. Fried plantain is another popular local dish.
Orientation
On arrival at the airport volunteers will be met by a local representative. From there volunteers will be taken to their accommodation and introduced to their hosts. All newly arrived volunteers receive a full orientation to prepare them for their stay in Ghana, including an introduction at their project site and help with familiarization within the local community. The local team are available to help volunteers withdraw money, buy phone or sim cards, get used to using public transport, and to arrange weekend activities
A typical week
The structure of the week varies for different projects, but we aim to be flexible. Provided some notice is given, we will try to accommodate your plans. That said a typical week in Ghana for volunteers may look something like this:
Weekdays: Between 7am and 8.30am you can expect to have breakfast with your host family. At 8-8.30am you will head to your placement, depending on how far you have to travel. Expect to arrive at work at 9am, where you’ll meet with the local staff and plan your day. You will have a tea and lunch break during the day, the length of which will depend on the particular program. Most work finishes between 2pm and 5pm. At this point you a free to explore the local area, play with the kids (if you’re at a teaching or childcare assignment) or hang out with other volunteers. In the evening, you can have dinner with your host family or visit a local restaurant with friends.
Weekends: The weekends allow you an opportunity to visit local attractions or perhaps take a trip out of the city to some of Ghana’s beaches, the Digya National Park or the famous Lake Volta (the world’s largest lake by surface area).
Cost Breakdown
Program fees are a necessary part of volunteering abroad. They help to cover costs associated with your stay, as well as supporting the local organization and projects. Below is an approximate cost breakdown to show you how your program fees are used when you choose to join a volunteer program in Ghana.
Cost Breakdown
- 17% Operating and administration costs
- 19% Awareness, communications and advice
- 19% Implementation and monitoring of projects
- 23% Support for volunteers from before start to finish
- 22% Direct costs on the ground
- 17% Operating and administration costs
- 19% Awareness, communications and advice
- 19% Implementation and monitoring of projects
- 23% Support for volunteers from before start to finish
- 22% Direct costs on the ground
NOTE: The above graph is intended to be used as a guide only. Actual cost allocations may vary slightly depending on the program selected and the length of stay.
Volunteer
Teaching English and Science
As the name suggests, under this project GHV are sent to different types of schools to teach English. Children at these schools come from less privileged families and the administration is not well equipped to handle the quality of their education. Short staffing and teacher student ratio is also an issue here.
A usual class would comprise of 20-30 students. Placements are given to volunteers both at the primary as well secondary schools depending on their level of education and proficiency in English teaching.
In our effort to help improve the education in Ghana , GHV is involved in a voluntary teaching project with governmental and non-governmental schools in Ghana whereby trained/partly trained teachers and volunteers with the interest are invited from other countries to assist in teaching English Language, Mathematics,Science,Geography,History, IT etc.
Here are the dates of the academic semesters in Ghana
1st TERM:
Start Date: January 10 to April 12
School Holiday: April 13 to May 1
2nd TERM:
Start Date: May 2 to August 4
School Holiday: August 5 to September 12
3rd TERM:
Start Date: September 13 to December 15
School Holiday: December 16 to January 1
Role of a Volunteer
Volunteers can teach any subjects like English, Math, or Science in Primary and Junior Secondary Schools and engage themselves in the following activities:
• Teach conversational English, Math, or Science to students who age between
2 -10 in primary schools and 11-16 in junior secondary schools
• Read literature and improve the low comprehension level and poor pronunciation of students
• Provide theoretical and practical assistance and aide the teachers
• Interact with the students
As a volunteer in Teaching English in Ghana project, you will work for 5-6 hours a day and 25-30 hours a week. Apart from English, volunteers can also teach Math, Science or any other subject that might be of interest and help to the students. As a volunteer fluent in English, you can also aide local schoolteachers by encouraging them to use English to interact, thus also developing their conversational skills.
- Teach conversational English, Math, or Science
- Read literature and work improve low comprehension levels and poor pronunciation skills
- Provide theoretical, practical assistance and aide the teachers
- Interact with the students
Ghana has three academic semesters a year:
1st Term:
January 10 to April 12
School Holiday : April 13 to May 1
2nd Term:
May 2 to August 4
School Holiday : August 5 to September 12
3rd Term:
September 13 to December 15
School Holiday : December 16 to January 1
Dates of academic semesters can change and these provided dates are approximate.
Skills/Qualification Needed
There are no specific qualifications needed to join teaching in Ghana project beyond a fluency in English, but your understanding of Ghanaian culture and language can help improve the experience for you and your students. Consider enrolling in our one-week Language & Cultural Immersion program. No previous teaching experience is required. Volunteers should have a love for teaching, English and conversation. Volunteers should be enthusiastic, reliable, flexible, patient and be positive role models for students.
Project Locations and Free Time Options
All Our volunteer projects are located in and around cities. Ghana is a land of cultural diversity and contrast. It has many cultural and unique tourist attraction centers to offer volunteers. Cape Coast is a true cultural and historical town, most tourist love traveling to this town because of the Elmina castle where slave trade begun, the Kakum Canopy walkway, the cape coast castle and the ancient buildings.
GHV staff is ever ready to offer volunteers guidelines before traveling.
Country Info
Welcome to the Land of Sunshine, also reffered to as an ‘Island of Peace’. Ghana is one of the thriving democracies in Africa, inhabited by the world’s friendliest people.
Ghana, the gateway to Africa is situated right in the heart of West Africa . Its borders extend from the Gulf of Guinea covering a distance of about 672km from the south to the north, and about 540 km from the east to the west.
The country is bordered to the north by Burkina Faso , the east by Togo, the south by the Atlantic Ocean and the west by Cote d’Ivoire.
A narrow grassy plain stretches inland from the coast, widening in the east, while the south and west are covered by dense rainforest. To the north are forested hills, beyond which is dry savannah and open woodland. In the far north is a plateau averaging 500m (1600ft) in height. In the east the Akuapim hills run inland from the coast along the Togo border. The Black and White Volta rivers enter Ghana from Burkina Faso , merging into the largest manmade lake in the world, Lake Volta. Ghana ‘s coastline is dotted with sandy palm-fringed beaches and lagoons.
Consider yourself to be a bit a computer whiz? Here is a perfect volunteering opportunity for you! This is a very basic set up and often the computers will break and the local people are unable to fix them. Our partner would be interested in having volunteers with computer knowledge to teach students from the local school about computer usage, computer programs, internet safety, and computer maintenance.
