Does anyone know of a good place to volunteer in Osu Accra, Ghana?

Question

I am looking to volunteer in Osu Accra, Ghana this summer (from June to September). I would prefer to work with women or children, but any kind of volunteer work would be nice. I already know where I will be living so I don't need a place to supply me with accomodations/meals. I would like to make a donation to the agency, but I don't want to pay a huge fee to volunteer my services (this is usually asked in exchange for accomodations, which I will not need).

Does anyone have any suggestions? I will be staying in Osu, Accra so I am looking for a place that is within walking distance (10-20 min. walk at the most). Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. And if you have any experience with volunteering in Accra, please share.

Thank you!

Answer 1

There are many possibilities as there are a number of Non Governmental Organizations (NGO's) that operate in Accra who often take on voluntary workers. Your best bet would probably be to contact some of the NGO's and see what openings they have. A word of warning... Ghanaians are very easy going and laid back and plans sometimes don't come to fruition. If you make arrangements with an organization in Ghana be prepared for unexpected changes, if your arrangements are through a US or European organization they're more likely to pan out as planned. Don't let that put you off, Ghanaians are extremely accommodating and it would be quite feasible to turn up without having arranged anything and to quickly find volunteer work.

Knowing someone in Accra would be a great help as there's often not much info to be found about Ghanaian organizations - many don't have websites and if they do the site could be quite basic. Similarly, most don't publish brochures or other literature explaining what they do. Ghana is a very poor country and in many cases finances don't run to creating websites, brochures etc.

You may consider looking further afield than 10 to 20 minute walking distance. Accra is a hot, humid, dry, dusty and dirty city and walking isn't the best way of getting around. Taxis are everywhere and reasonably cheap although fuel costs are comparable to the US and about half that in Europe. A 10 mile taxi journey would cost about $5. If you took a trotro it would be about $0.50 (a trotro is a minibus taxi, often held together with bits of string and where people are squashed in four or five abreast). Trotros run along all the main roads and getting around using them is quick, easy and cheap.

My time in Accra was spent just to the north of the city at Pantang Hospital (2 miles beyond Adenta, 4 miles beyond Medina) and I also spent timat at the Bawku and Bolga hospitals in the Upper East Region (600 miles from Accra).

If you have a medical background I may be able to find some openings for you. On Thursday a good freind of mine is arriving here and he's the administrator at Pantang Hospital, I also know various surgeons and doctors who may know of possible placements. If this may be of interest please e-mail me and I'll see of I can get some contact details for you. These placements would be in hospitals and may not specifically be with children or women although, as with most hospitals, they do have paeds and gyne wards.

Here's some websites that might help. The foirst two are specifically for NGO's in Ghana...

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/directory/cat32.html
http://www.businessghana.com/portal/directory/index.php?op=getSubDirectoryContents&category=NGOs&subcategory=NGO%20-%20Local&cat_id=66&id=244
http://www.ngo.org/
http://www.workingabroad.com/
http://www.vso.org.uk/ (UK site but very good)
http://www.travellersworldwide.com/
http://www.gvi.co.uk/

Answer 2

Osu Children's Home (Orphanage)will be a nice place to volunteer.It is located opposite Labone Secondary school.

Answer 3

Get in touch with one of those overseas groups.