Ghana Action Project

The village of Abrobiano, in the Central Region of Ghana, has a population of about 3,000 with farming and fishing as a source of livelihood for them.

Needs:

There remains a wide gap between urban and rural school children in Ghana in terms of their communication skills and their ability through the English language to speak, listen and understand what is being shared, whether with peers or in the classroom. A number of rural Ghanaian children cannot:

• Construct a grammatically correct simple sentence
• Spell words that they can use verbally
• Understand text that they have to read in their school textbooks

Being able to speak and communicate in English in Ghana is essential if young person is to progress in any chosen career, job or profession. Gaining language proficiency starts from the basics that young children pick up at school.

Project aims:

The project aims to promote basic communication and understanding in pupils in basic school in the rural areas by focusing heavily on:

• Competence to use key words
• Confidence to spell correctly
• Grammatically correct sentence formation
• Promoting interest in reading and comprehension
• Opportunity to practice English language skills

Activities:

• Resource development - Develop fun and informative approaches for extension of key education messages (e.g. games, quizzes, competitions and poster displays.)
• Timetabled language practice sessions Work with the schools and community to plan a timetable of practice sessions based around target language.
• Assessment sessions - Run a series of sessions with target students using a pre-designed assessment ‘test’ to understand level and competence
• Weekly Language Competition Deliver a fun and interactive weekly language competition to demonstrate progress

Need to know

• This is a supported group volunteering project, with a team leader and project staff
• Pre departure briefing – all volunteers will attend a group briefing prior to departure
• On arrival in Ghana, teams will take part in a group orientation with training workshops
• There will be a project debrief at the end of the 6 weeks

Accommodation

Volunteers will live with a host family providing a unique opportunity to live with local people. Ghanaian society is far more traditional than western society and your hosts will expect you to live as a family member and spend time with them, whilst welcoming you with open arms. Your host family will also provide you with food which is another great opportunity to become immersed in the Ghanaian culture.

Free time and travel

As one of the region’s more prosperous countries and with over 50 ethnic groups, Ghana offers visitors a diverse and welcoming introduction to the African continent. Lattitude encourages volunteers to travel and explore Ghana during weekends to make the most of this amazing country! Witness a range of sights, from beautiful beaches and stunning national parks to lively cities.

Ghana is situated just a few degrees above the Equator, so in the past volunteers have chosen to spend some time cooling off on one of the country’s many beaches. There are also many historical sites such as the country’s ruined European forts, for example Cape Coast Castle. If you have a spare weekend but do not want to travel far, you can also explore the local culture and traditions. Music and dance are highly diverse in Ghana, and each ethnic group and occasion has its own individual dance. Also, you cannot travel to Ghana without noticing the importance of textiles to its culture. Locals buy their preferred cloth first then ask a tailor to make them into clothes. Past volunteers have also taken advantage of this and enjoyed getting some one-off garments made up for them at very reasonable prices. With so much to do, Ghana is the perfect place for an inspiring, memorable volunteering placement.

Dates

5th July-16th August 2019

New flexible, short-term projects between 2 to 12 weeks are coming available, so please call to discuss a more bespoke programme if required.

Costs

Lattitude Global Volunteering fee: £1,300

What’s included?

• Matching process
• Assigned Volunteer Coordinator to help with all your pre-departure information, advice and guidance
• Links with returned volunteers
• Relevant DBS/police check fees
• Pre-departure briefing
• Airport pickup on arrival
• In-country 2 day orientation
• Designated Team Leader
• Day to day support from your project staff
• Accommodation and meals with a host family
• 24/7 support from Lattitude, including in-country support from the Lattitude Country Manager
• Focus on your personal volunteer learning and development
• End of Project Evaluation
• Returned Volunteer follow up in the UK
• Opportunity to join the Lattitude Alumni
• Certificate on completion of project
• Employment reference provided

Other costs:

• £50 application fee
• International Flights
• Travel insurance
• Visa
• Inoculations (if applicable)
• Pocket Money for free time activities

Fundraising

As a charity we always recommend our volunteers fundraise to help meet the costs involved in volunteering overseas. In many ways it is part of the whole experience. For more information and fundraising ideas please click here.

Planning your trip

Please sign up for this programme as soon as possible as we have a limited number of spaces.

If you have any questions about Ghana Action Project, please contact our team on:

• 0118 3704720
• [email protected]