Community Building Projects in Ghana with Projects Abroad

  Ghana

• Other Cities in Ghana: 
Rural Areas

Term: Throughout the year 
Durations of Program: 2-4 weeks, 5-8 weeks, 9-12 weeks, 3-6 months and 7-12 months
Typical Duration of Program: 9-12 weeks
Dates: Year Round / Rolling Starts

Description: If you're on a gap year, summer placement, or career break and want to get your hands dirty, our Community Building Project in Ghana may be right for you. Following the success of our building project in the Akuapem Hills, we now run a second building project in Cape Coast.

Volunteers who join this project are based either in Kwamoso in the Akuapem Hills or in a small village near Cape Coast. The Akuapem Hills are located about an hour north of Accra and Cape Coast is three hours to the west. Whichever location you work in you will join a team of Projects Abroad volunteers and local people constructing simple buildings in the local communities.

Volunteer Building Project in Ghana with Projects Abroad

In many areas of Ghana, thousands of families live in inadequate accommodation and children attend school in crumbling buildings. Our construction project allows them to move to new, better quality homes and for the children to receive an education in secure, new classrooms.

The buildings are usually made from mud bricks that are produced by using a press, some mud and water, and then left to harden in the sun. Volunteers help in this process and also with building walls, plastering, and painting. Each house takes an average of one month to construct.

In addition to the basic project, you may also help with landscaping the surrounding area, painting local schools, and renovating classrooms. In the past, volunteers even built a library for Kwamoso village school.

Volunteering on the Community Building Project in Ghana

This is a great opportunity to get involved in a rural project and become an integral part of the local community. Our full time regional coordinators live nearby and visit the placements regularly, so you'll always have full support from Projects Abroad.

Building work takes place early in the morning and late in the afternoon to avoid the hot midday sun, so you'll have plenty of time to get involved in Ghanaian life. Many volunteers immerse themselves in the local community by helping around the kindergarten class or playing soccer with some of the school children once the building work has finished for the day.

This project is available for two weeks if you don't have time to join us for a month or more. it 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.

Community Farm Project

If you choose to take part in the Community Building Project and would also like to work in the Akuapem Hills, you could help for a couple of hours in the afternoons on our Community Farm Project. This project is in the early stages of development and can be combined with your building experience.

The Community Farm is based just ten minutes away from the Akuapem Hills regional office. Volunteers are responsible for maintaining all aspects of the farm, which includes animal care, crop growing, flower production, herb cultivation, and land management. They also arrange school trips to the farm to educate local children.

Produce that is grown in the garden includes small quantities of oranges, plantains, papaya, carrots, onions, yams and herbs that are used as remedies for medicinal purposes. The garden is also home to rabbits, guinea pigs, geese and, once the pond is complete, fish.

Volunteers arrange trips for local schools to visit the site. Children are educated on the process of growing crops in a sustainable environment. They also learn how to take care of animals as well as identify seeds and produce herbs. Volunteers receive training from local specialists in the different techniques and have an agricultural textbook that is part of the curriculum to use with the school children.

In the future, we hope to develop the garden into a sustainable, organic farm. We will continue to work closely with the local community and pass on a vital awareness of conservation issues to a new generation of African children. Please let us know if you are interested in this project when you apply.

Highlights: Living in vibrant, colorful 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: none

Cost in US$: From USD 2,345 and Up

Experience Required: no

Typical Volunteer: Open-minded with a willingness to travel.

Age Range: 16 and up

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

Participants Travel to Ghana Independently

Typically Participants Work Independently or in Groups of 2-5

Application Process Involves:

• Letters of Reference
• Online Application plus Application Assessment

Post-Program Services Include:

• Alumni Network
• 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