Volunteer Projects and Work Experience in Ghana

Praktintinnen in Ghana

Ghana is an intensely colourful and tourist attractive country on the West coast of Africa. It was formerly a British colony and was known as the 'Gold Coast', because of its wealth of deposits of Gold. The citizens are renowned for their friendliness and warmth towards all nationals who ever get the privilege of visiting the land either as Tourists or immigrants.

Ghana is an exciting and a popular place to spend some time on a volunteer project. Our voluntary projects in Ghana are available for anyone interested in volunteering in the developing world, including those on a gap year, career break or as summer work experience while studying.
Volunteers work on a wide range of projects including building, care, culture/community, medical and healthcare.

Currently we are working with several hospitals and our partner organisation is Teshie Mannoyaa Kpee. Teshie is located at the eastern part of the Greater Accra Region and Accra is the capital city and Seat of Government of Ghana.
Together with Mannoyaa Kpee, we will be building a Kindergarten with preschool in Teshie. Local craftsmen will be setting up the building according to local building methods and expertise. Members of Mannyaa Kpee and volunteers of the German-Ghana selfhelp union will organise and supervise the project. You will be assisting them with your volunteer work. Here you can get involved in all or some of the activities in the Centre.
Alternatively, produce your own ideas to improve and enrich the Children Centre.

The Community Clinic in Teshie offers another possibility for volunteers.
The final stages of the building process, as well as the day-to-day operations in the clinic provide a variety and diverse fields of activity. Additionally, you will have the chance to realize your own ideas in designing the walls, a children’s playground and sports facilities.
You are free to focus on one area of activity or take the chance to get a whiff of all the different kinds of activities.

Our most advanced project is the Community Centre in Patukorpe, a village in Ada also located in the Greater Accra Region. In consultation with the natives, we have planned to undertake a multi-purpose building project that can be of immense use to the whole community. It will be named “Patukorpe Community Centre”.
In the mornings, the facility will be used as kindergarten and nursery school whilst in the evenings, the premises can be used as social centre by the village people, and a meeting place for the family heads and village council where family problems and other disputes could be solved.
Twice a week a community nurse will come and use the building for first aid treatment, examinations and advice the natives about general hygiene. In order to improve the hygienic conditions, a Borehole requires to be drilled next to the Community Centre and a compost-toilet has to be built. This project will provide you with an insight into a rural Ghanaian community.

Kindly have a look at the projects section for further information.

In addition, we cooperate with several Hospitals in Accra and its neighbourhood where you can make your medical practicals and voluntary work. You will be based in a bustling city hospital where you will see a wide range of illnesses and ailments.
Small village clinics in Ghana often lack even basic healthcare facilities, so you will be attending to patients from a huge catchment area. These patients have often travelled many miles to reach a hospital to get the appropriate treatment they require. You will find yourself coming into contact with disease patterns and conditions that you would not normally see in Europe. In view of the fact that a lot of village people go to hospital very late due to financial problem, Malaria, diarrhoea and typhoid, for instance, are common diseases ailments.

To start with your practicals or voluntary work your supervisor at the centre will draw up your working plan with your active participation and necessary input.

There are a range of different departments where volunteers can work or you can focus on one department. Most volunteers choose to spend time in a variety of different departments within the hospital, including accident and emergency, paediatrics, maternity, pharmacy, physiotherapy and surgery.

The hospital you are going to work in is a teaching hospital where you can make your medical practicals.

Please let us know if you have previous experience, for instance either as a nurse or as a doctor.

We are open to new ideas and activities. Please let us know your visions and ideas of your volunteer work and we will do our best to make them a reality.

Requirements

  • Minimum of 18 years of age. on certain agreements from 16years
  • Good knowledge of English.
  • Practical experience is not necessary but advantageous. eg. public health, caring and teaching of children
  • As you will be entering a completely different cultural context, you should be adaptable, independent, and an experienced traveller

What we provide

  • Placement in one of our projects
  • Assistance for accommodation including water and electricity
  • Assistance in travel preparations: booking of flights, travel and medical insurance, medical precautions, visa
  • Transfer from the airport in Accra
  • Escort you to the place of work by public transport
  • Mentoring and advice before you leave
  • If applicable contacts to fellow travellers
  • Certification after return

What we do not pay for

  • Flight tickets
  • Visa fee (50,- € at the moment)
  • Vaccinations
  • Rent per month for accomodation (around 150,- €)
  • Self catering or with services
  • Travel insurance
  • Personal expenditures and excursions

Field Reports (under construction)