Volunteering in Ghana
2012 Volunteer Project Dates
PLEASE NOTE: March/April, July & August trips are fully booked. Spaces in June/September are still available.
March 17th – April 7th (21 Days)
Projects:
Library Builds
Orphanage Development
Excursions:
Cultural Museum
Kumasi Markets
Mole National Park
Kintampo Waterfalls
Bosumtwe Lake
Cape Coast
Departure dates subject to change +/- 2 days depending on flights.
University Project Dates
Volunteer in Ghana
Volunteering in Ghana
Volunteering with Thrive Africa you’ll have the opportunity to work on development projects which have an impact. Working 5 days a week you’ll gain an understanding of what the project is, why it exists and the outcomes it hopes to deliver.
With plenty of tourist opportunities in Ghana we want to make sure you get chance to see everything you can. We help organise excursions and join you on them, time off is given on evenings and weekends.
Your with Thrive Africa staff 24/7 for the duration of your trip so your always in safe hands and they’re there to make sure you have the best possible experience.
Project Base
Set in a quiet neighbourhood on the outskirts of Kumasi, it’s safe, well situated and welcoming. With a huge Mango tree in the front courtyard providing fresh fruit and plenty of open space, you’ll find it easy to relax on an evening in the 6 Bedroom, 3 bathroom project house.
You’ll find plenty of space for socialising with a 40ft living room, large dorm rooms and inside/outside dining areas. We also have access to an outside swimming pool.
The compound is surrounded by large walls and security gates to prevent any access from unwanted guests and the house has several security features.
You’ll be sharing a room with up to 6 people, theres safe storage and the house has water & electricity.
The kitchen provides all the tools necessary for preparing any snacks you may want and our on site chef will be preparing you meals 3 times a day from here.
Tourist Opportunties
Ghana is a fantastic place to explore, with large national parks, castles, rainforest walks, lakes, museums, markets, picturesque beaches and lots of cultural attractions.
Evenings can be spent taking in the local culture, music and food, while weekends can be spent walking over the rooftops of the rainforest, watching elephants or kayaking across lake volta.
And when volunteering is coming to an end why not relax on one of Ghana’s many beaches? With crisp white sand, palm trees, coconuts and a beautiful ocean.
There’s certainly nothing boring about Ghana and we’ll be there to help you make the most of your time.
The project summaries at the top of this page give you an outline of which excursions you are likely to partake in, however, this can change depending on the preferences of volunteers and we make every effort to ensure you see and experience as much as you can. Read more about what Ghana has to offer here.
Testimonials
“It was an amazing oppurtunity to travel and experience such a beautiful country with the knowledge we were making such a difference to the education of many children. Such an amazing project, will definitely be returning!” – Michael Clark 2010
“The rewarding feeling you get seeing the children happy when you’ve done a good job, or simply after playing with them (e.g football) for an hour or so is amazing.
The tourist type trips we did of a weekend were unforgettable, for example, a canopy walk through a rainforest and sleeping in a tree house, these are some of the best things I’ve done in my entire life, let alone the trip.” – Brad Wilkie 2011
“Once at the libraries the work was very efficient and organised, this was helped by having confident and appropriate team leaders. I LOVED the orphanage and the vegetable patch!! I love chicken and rice so the food was good! The house was better than I was expecting too!” – Kat Thompson 2011
Read more testimonials and volunteer stories here.
Safety
Ghana is a safe country and you will constantly be in the vicinity of a Thrive Africa representative. Safe boxes are available free of charge for the duration of your time on project. Your personal safety is important to us and we will never put you in any situation which could cause you any type of harm.
Child Protection Policy (PDF)
Data Protection Act Policy (PDF)
Volunteering Policy (PDF)
To find out more about your safety in Ghana click here.
What you’ll be doing
Library Builds
We are currently working with Ghana Education Service, assisting in the development of educational resources available to students in schools. Building libraries in schools offers students an environment in which to study, complete homework and further their interests in non-curriculum subjects. Volunteers will find themselves building bookcases, painting walls, painting learning stencils, installing furniture & fixtures, delivering & arranging books and introducing the libraries to school children.
Kumasi Orphanage
Kumasi orphanage is state ran and funded but it still lacks resources. We’ve already started building a vegetable garden in 2011 and through 2012 we hope to expand this to help reduce kitchen/food costs and provide a learning environment for the orphans. We’ll also be working on renovating old buildings, expanding their library and improving care services.
Orphan Welfare Agenda
The OWA is a new project for 2012 and is a partnership between the Atiamah Trust and Thrive Africa. The OWA offers home based care for 270 orphans in the upper eastern region of Ghana. Volunteers will have the opportunity to work in several areas of the OWA. The OWA currently looks to support orphans with the following services: Home Based Care, Emergency Care & Shelter; Fostering & Adoption.
During all projects they’ll be plenty of time to enjoy time with the children and local people, we try to organise events in the communities we work in; some of these include football games, arts & crafts and village chief ceremonies.
No specific skills are needed for any of our projects and training is given in-country.
What’s included
- Accommodation at project base
- 3 Meals per day
- Safe drinking water
- All project materials & training
- Met at Airport and transfers
- All project related travel
- Pre-departure fundraising support
- In-country orientation
- 24/7 In-country staff
- 24/7 Emergency support
The only extra expense you’ll incur in Ghana is the costs of excursions.
You’ll need to provide your own flights, travel insurance, visa and vaccinations. We’ll be able to give you advice on all of these.
Find out more about what’s included and fees here.
Volunteers Pictures & Videos
We’ve collected pictures and videos from our past volunteers to help give you a better idea of what you’ll be doing.
For pictures see here. For videos see here.
Why us
We’re a UK based Charity meaning when you volunteer with us 100% of your money goes towards our charitable objectives, which are:
To promote the benefit of people living in Africa by:
- the advancement of education and training;
- the relief of poverty, sickness and distress;
- the promotion and preservation of good health
We believe we do such great work and the reward of working with us and the people of Ghana will be one rarely experienced in everyday life.
If your looking to volunteer with an organisation which delivers beneficial development projects and gain an understanding of the issues facing development and what can be done then volunteer with Thrive Africa and we promise to deliver.
Apply/Enquire
Thrive Africa aims to provide the best volunteering experience possible while still delivering positive development projects and looking at the feedback from our volunteers and project reviews we’re doing just that!
You can apply here.
If you have any questions please visit our FAQ or contact us.
