The Global Volunteer Network currently has opportunities to help develop communities through our partner organization in Ghana. Volunteers will help our partner strengthen the organizational skills of local groups who are making efforts to reduce poverty in their region.

For example, you could assist a small group of Ghanaian seamstresses and tailors in setting up a sewing training program for local youth. The local youth would then provide the labor for an orphan fund project that sews new school uniforms for orphans in the region. By helping the group of seamstresses and tailors be more effective, you are actually helping all the youth they come in contact with and giving them the skills to build other projects in the future. In this way you are volunteering for a short time with a long-term effect.

The ultimate goal is to help local groups get to the point where they can approach and collaborate with the international development community as solid partners. In order to do that, we need volunteers with a wide range of skills and experience and a strong belief in the value of sustainability. For this program, volunteers will need to be self-starters, happy to use their own initiative to make things happen.

Program Location

Our partner\’s regional office is in the town of Ho, the capital of the Volta Region. Volunteers typically work and live in the same community, not more than 15 miles from Ho. You will be accommodated in a homestay situation, usually living with your assigned Ghanaian Counterpart and their family.

Community Development Program

This is a program for those interested in development projects who wish to play a leadership role and get highly immersed in a local project. Volunteers will bring the most value in their organizational skills, reliability, project and people management, and basic enthusiasm.

You will work with one of the various local groups our partner is connected with. These groups each have their own individual goals which include educating orphans, providing vocational training, protecting the local environment through eco-tourism initiatives, or starting a youth center. With the help of volunteers, even more projects can be added over time. Each volunteer will work with a local counterpart who will help assist in achieving project goals, and will have access to the regional office for technical support.

This program is not structured on a day-to-day basis, and relies on volunteers who will work without specific direction to acheive their goals. Therefore, we ask for volunteers to be self-starters with plenty of initiative, enthusiasm, and independence!

Applying

Program Requirements

Volunteers for the Ghana Community program must:

• be between 18 and 60 years of age
• be able to walk long distances (up to 1 hour continuously) and be able to tolerate heat
• be a self-starter and able to work under your own direction
• be available for a minimum of four weeks
• be able to speak English fluently

If you are interested in joining this project and would like further information, please click here

To view other Global Volunteer Network projects, please visit their website http://www.globalvolunteernetwork.org/