Description

Bordering the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa, Ghana is the former British colony of the Gold Coast. Ghanaian children grow up mainly exposed to their local tribal languages, such as Ga, Twi, and Ewe, but English remains the country's official uniting language, and is needed to communicate with fellow Ghanaians in education and business. As an English teaching volunteer you can therefore have a huge impact, helping local children in their speaking and conversational skills.

Ghanaian schools are often understaffed and poorly resourced, but you can help to improve this situation by volunteering. You can gain work experience teaching at primary or secondary schools overseas and no formal teaching qualification is required. Whether you want to volunteer abroad by teaching during your gap year, career break, or vacation you will have a role to play and your efforts will be greatly appreciated.

The impact you have on the lives of your students will be obvious and long lasting, but you will also be part of a much wider international volunteer network, which is making a really positive contribution to the communities in which we work.

With placements based mainly in the semi-rural Akuapem Hills, but also available in Accra, Cape Coast, Koforidua, and Kumasi, English teaching opportunities in Ghana are varied.

Most of our projects are in primary schools in and around the traditional Akuapem Hills area, about an hour north of Accra. You'll generally be asked to take the scheduled English classes for a range of ages. Your encouragement, praise, and some creative lessons are often all that are needed to spark an interest in the language and a desire to learn more. Your friendly Ghanaian teaching colleagues act as supervisors and ensure that you feel happy with your classes. They will generally have a good command of the English language themselves which will make your life that much easier!

Rural placements are available if you wish to do your volunteer program somewhere a bit more remote. All we request is that you are prepared for slightly more basic facilities in your host family's accommodation. We are very eager for our volunteers to gain experience of this sort, living in a smaller community and helping out at schools that would otherwise miss out from the benefits a volunteer teacher brings.

We also work with several primary and junior high schools, which rely almost completely on our volunteers for English teaching. These schools allow our volunteers to also teach a range of other subjects to younger children, including basic literacy, math, art, drama, and music.

During the main school holidays in August, volunteers work on a summer school program in the Akuapem Hills. The program is very popular with local children and volunteers teach English as well as other subjects of their choice.

In fact, French, geography, music, sports - particularly soccer - drama, art, and many other extra-curricular subjects are always welcome additions to the curriculum in most of our placements. Provided you can offer the basic provision of conversational English lessons, our partner schools are eager to let you develop the children's interests in other areas as well.

The Teaching project in Ghana is available for two weeks if you don't have time to join us for a month or more. This project has been selected by our local colleagues as being suitable for short term volunteering for both the host community and the volunteer. Although you will gain a valuable cultural insight and work intensely within the local community please be aware that you may not be able to make the same impact as someone volunteering for a longer period. Volunteers who can only join us for two weeks will be paired up with other longer term teaching volunteers.

If you have an interest in IT then you could teach some basic computer skills on our IT Project in Ghana. Just tell us what you're good at and we'll place you accordingly. Whatever your skills, as a volunteer in Ghana you will make an important contribution and your time away will be something you remember for the rest of your life.

Highlights

Living in vibrant, colourful Ghana will feel like an explosion; an enchanting sensory overload. Music is a central part of Ghanaian culture, so in the bigger towns - especially Accra - you will hear some great live bands and have some memorable nights out.

There are many, many attractions and places to visit. You will want to see the slave forts and spend a night in the rainforest at Kakum Rainforest Reserve, feed wild monkeys at The Boebeng Monkey Village or elephant watch at Mole National Park. If you're even more adventurous, consider the challenge of a journey to Timbuktu.

Travel across Ghana is cheap and easy, whether it be in a taxi, a tro-tro (a sort of minibus) or on a lake boat. There are clean, affordable places to stay and eat in all the main towns.

Ghana is a superb location for bird watching and is developing a good ecotourism philosophy. It's also an interesting place for history lovers and, once your overseas voluntary work is over, it's a great stepping-off point from which to explore West Africa.

Qualifications

No qualifications or experience are required.

Languages

• English

Cost in US$:

Please go to our website for prices.

Cost Includes:

• Food
• Housing
• In-country orientation/Training
• In-country staff support
• Medical insurance
• Medical services
• Pre-departure orientation/Training
• Registration fees
• Travel while in host country
• Written materials abroad
• Written materials pre-departure

Experience Required

no

Volunteer Types

Typical Volunteer

Open minded and ready for adventure!

Age Range

16-70

This Program is open to

Worldwide Participants. This Program is also open to Families, Couples and Individuals.

Typical Living Arrangements

• Home-stays

Participants Travel

Independently or in Groups

Typically Participants Work

Independently or in Groups

Application Process Involves

• Letters of Reference
• Written Application

Typically The Application Process Time is

10 days

Post Services Include

• Exit Debriefing Abroad
• Re-Entry Debriefing at Home

Projects Abroad's Mission Statement

As part of the global economy, Projects Abroad helps create local employment wherever we send volunteers. Employing local staff overseas and using their talents and knowledge is important to us. This local knowledge and support enables the organization to channel the skills of the volunteers from more affluent countries to regions around the world where they are needed. Volunteers also learn from their placements and the people they meet, and they gain experience in a chosen field. In the 21st century, we believe this mutual respect is what cultural exchange is all about.

Year Founded

1992