At a glance
- Take part in community volunteer work in Ghana while working alongside people your own age to support disadvantaged children.
- Care centres are overcrowded and understaffed which is why we need your help to give local teachers and caregivers the support they need.
- You’ll live and work with other teenagers in Akuapem Hills, and stay with a local host family. When you’re not working, we’ve organised social and cultural activities, as well as weekend sightseeing trips.
- Volunteer Service Hours: 40 to 80
- Download a sample itinerary for this project.
Is a Childcare & Community High School Special in Ghana right for me?
If you want to support children in need, and get your hands dirty working for the benefit of local communities, this project is perfect for you.
You’ll get childcare experience, which could help you with your future career. You’ll also learn important personal skills like teamwork, leadership, and planning. These skills can be applied to any career you pursue. Doing this project will also give you interesting points to talk about in an application or interview.
This High School Special is specifically designed to give you as much support as possible, and our staff are always on hand to help. You’ll be part of a group with other teenagers your age throughout the trip, whether you’re working or sightseeing. You don’t need any previous experience to join. All you need is enthusiasm and a willingness to work hard!
Childcare & Community in Ghana runs on fixed dates, so all you need to do is pick the dates that fit your schedule.
What will I do on this project?
In Ghana, you’ll get involved in practical work with children and the local community. Here’s what you can expect to do:
Your work will focus on the following areas:
Help children learn through play
By encouraging children to learn through play, you’ll support the work of local teachers. Your main focus will be on playing games and running other fun, educational activities. This can include:
- Reading books
- Puzzles
- Drawing and colouring in
- Arts and crafts
Your supervisor will have plenty of activities planned for you to do with the children at your placement. But if you’re feeling creative, you’re welcome to come up with your own ideas for lessons, games, and activities.
Community work
You and the other volunteers will work together to make physical improvements at schools and care centres. You can paint classrooms and create colourful educational murals. Or, you can help with building desks or playground equipment. You can also make use of coloured cardboard and crayons to make flashcards, posters, or any other educational materials you can think of.
Everything you do is for the purpose of improving the children’s learning environment. This is important work, as the kids will continue to benefit from your efforts long after you’ve completed your project.
Expanding your horizons
On this project, you’ll get to travel to a different country and meet like-minded high school students from across the globe.
During your free time, we have a range of activities planned for you to make the most of your time abroad. You’ll take a trip to the Cape Coast, with a visit to the old slave fort and the canopy walkway at Kakum National Park. You’ll also do social or cultural activities together in the evenings, like a cooking class and drumming lesson.
Where in Ghana will I be working?
Akuapem Hills
This project is based in the Akuapem Hills. This is a rural area not far from the capital city, Accra.
You’ll work in a small community care centre or school. These centres and schools often struggle with limited resources and staff to care for the children. They’ll appreciate having extra pairs of helping hands to assist with the children’s education.
You will learn a lot about another culture as you explore and get to know different areas of Ghana. You will be hosted by a local family, which allows you to become fully immersed in the Ghanaian way of life.
What are the aims and impact of this project?
The aim of this project is to support the work of local teachers and caregivers at disadvantaged schools and care centres in Ghana.
These placements have limited funds and lack proper playgrounds and learning materials. This makes it more difficult for teachers to run classes, and for children to learn and play. With your help, we create better learning environments to support teachers and children.
We do this by asking our volunteers to help with various tasks. You’ll run educational activities and games to help children learn through play. This work you do is part of our long-term efforts to improve early childhood development in Ghana.
You’ll paint a classroom, repair a floor at a care centre, or build playground equipment. Over the course of your project, you will likely see a community work project through from start to finish. And you’ll leave knowing that you have added something tangible to the students at the school where you work!
Join this Childcare & Community High School Special for teenagers and use your time to give children the support they need.
Management plans
We set out the aims and objectives of our projects in documents called Management Plans. We use them to properly plan the work you’ll do. They also help us measure and evaluate our achievements and impact each year.
Ultimately, our Management Plans help us make our projects better. This in turn means you get to be part of something that makes a real impact where it’s needed. Read more about our Management Plans.
Measuring our impact
Every year, thousands of High School Special volunteers and interns actively make a difference around the world. During their time abroad, they contribute towards achieving long-term goals and make a long-lasting positive impact on the communities where they work.
We produce an annual High School Specials Impact Report, which documents some of these achievements. Find out more about the impact of these projects, and read the latest report.
Food and accommodation
You'll stay with a host family in Accra, Akuapem Hills, or Cape Coast. They will welcome you into their home, eager to share their customs and have you teach them about your own culture. We believe that this is the best way to immerse yourself in the culture of Ghana and have a truly unique experience.
On our High School Specials, we will always try to have you share a room with at least one volunteer or intern of the same gender and approximate age. Your room will be modest, but comfortable, clean, and safe.
Your program fee includes three meals a day.
Find out more about our accommodation.
Safety and staff support
Your safety and security is our prime concern. We have many procedures and systems to ensure you have all the extra support you need as a young person travelling abroad. Our Projects Abroad staff are there for you 24 hours a day during the week and over weekends to provide constant support and guidance. Our staff also make sure you feel comfortable and safe at your placement and accommodation. If you encounter any problems, they will be available to help at any time.
Find out more about safety and backup.
Meet the team in Ghana
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