Ghana Teaching & Childcare Project

Become a mentor in a fantastic education project!

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Volunteer teachers in classroom teaching students in ghana

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Group Size: Avg. 5-15

Trip code: GHTO

Duration: 2-12 weeks

Childcare or teaching focus
Explore Ghana in your free time
Ghanaian run programme

With a rich history, beautiful beaches, lush national parks and delicious street food, sunny Ghana is the perfect introduction to Africa. This Ghanaian-run volunteer programme offers you the opportunity to have a real impact on the lives of local children, immerse yourself in local culture, add some skills to your CV, and experience the wonders of this laid-back country. Choose either teaching or childcare as your focus and spend 4 – 6 hours a day immersed in the local community in schools and childcare centres. You’ll stay in our super-friendly volunteer house that’s like a home away from home, and spend your free time exploring the local area and experiencing Ghana’s incredible nightlife.

Trip Highlights

  • Work alongside the local team to make a real difference teaching in a local school or supporting young people in a childcare centre
  • Make friends for life in our lively volunteer house in Teshie, where staff and volunteers live together like a big family
  • Immerse yourself in Ghanaian culture with party and cultural nights out in the local area
  • Spend your weekends exploring Ghana’s amazing wildlife, national parks, and beaches on our optional excursions
  • Take on additional volunteering opportunities including supporting an incredible youth development programme, and a school for children with additional needs
Gap 360 Trip Notes

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What's included
  • Accommodation in the volunteer house
  • All meals during your stay
  • Teaching/Childcare placements
  • Airport pick-up and drop off
  • Pre departure help and advice
  • Full project induction
  • Accra city tour
  • Local area orientation
  • In-country induction pack
  • 24 hour emergency support
What's not included
  • Flights
  • Travel insurance
  • Visa
  • Vaccinations
  • Transport to/from placement
  • Laundry
  • Snacks, soft drinks & alcohol
  • Optional activities
Further trip information

You’ll need to choose between the teaching and childcare volunteer roles at the time of booking rather than mixing and matching when you arrive. There’s a 2 week minimum stay on the project, but our recommendation is that you spend 8 – 12 weeks in Ghana to really get the most out of your experience. 

Teaching volunteer role

If you choose to focus on teaching, you’ll be based in a local school not far from the volunteer house. Ghanaian schools operate at three levels (nursery, junior, and senior). We’ll place you with an age group that you feel comfortable with. You’ll have the opportunity to teach a broad range of subjects and will be working alongside the teachers delivering lessons to up to 40 children. If you feel comfortable, there may be opportunities to run sessions alongside another volunteer.

Childcare volunteer role

If you choose to focus on the childcare volunteer role, you’ll be based at a childcare centre in Accra. Working alongside local staff, you’ll help as a teaching assistant in the school (helping with lessons and offering classroom support), and provide care in the childcare centre (helping with homework, playing games, helping with meals). You’ll be working with children from newborns up to age 16.

Weekly itinerary / a typical day on the programme

Both the teaching and childcare volunteer programmes begin on Saturdays throughout the year. You’ll be working for 4 – 6 hours a day from Monday to Friday. Meals are all served back at the volunteer house with fixed mealtimes (breakfast 6.30 – 8.30am / lunch 12.50 – 1.50pm / dinner 5 – 6.30pm). 

The volunteer house & transport

The volunteer house is based in the coastal town of Teshie, close to Accra. Accommodation is basic but comfortable with single sex dorm style rooms, cold showers (although with Ghanaian temperatures you won’t mind!), a communal living room, and an outside space with seating. Staff live on site, and there’s a real family feel to the house.

It’s your responsibility to arrange and pay for your own transport between the volunteer house and your placement. Schools are usually within a 15 minute drive and most volunteers use Uber to get there (£1 - £3).

Free time

With only 4 – 6 hours of volunteering a day, and weekends free, you’ll have plenty of free time to enjoy the wealth of activities on offer in the local area. From beaches and cultural markets to bustling bars, go-karting, and salsa lessons, there’s always something to do!

Evening social activities are regularly arranged by our local team, from African dancing or drumming to bar crawls in Accra, cooking classes, and local sports games, and there are a number of incredible weekend group trips on offer (extra cost), including visits to Cape Coast, Mole National Park, and the Volta region.

Please note, if you're are volunteering in August, the school will be shut for the summer holiday. During this time, you will instead help teach and volunteer on a summer school project.

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Booking options

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Please note that during August schools are on holiday so therefore normal lessons do not go ahead, and volunteers will instead help at a holiday programme. Over Christmas, teaching does not take place, but volunteers can help out in other roles.

Online booking is unavailable for this trip

Online booking isn't currently available but if you'd like to enquire please use the form below. Alternatively if you'd like to discuss alternate trips or if you have any other questions please don't hesitate to contact us.
Call us on: 01892 527392
Email us at: [email protected]
Flights from £336

Cheapest flights between London and Accra for the next 6 months.

*Prices updated every 72 hours

Cheapest: £336 May, 2024
Most expensive: £720 March, 2024
Arrival information

Fly into Kotoka International Airport (ACC) in Accra on your agreed placement start date. You can arrive any weekend of the year. You’ll be asked for your yellow fever vaccination card by immigration, so make sure you have this in your hand luggage.

You’ll be able to connect to Wi-Fi as soon as you arrive in the airport so you can communicate your whereabouts with the local team. Drivers aren’t allowed in the airport so once you’ve retrieved your bags you’ll need to exit the airport to find our team member. You'll get sent a photo of them a day or two before you travel on Whatsapp so you’ll be able to spot them easily. There is likely to be a large group of people waiting to collect passengers outside the airport so make sure you only leave with the team member you recognise from the photo. They should also be holding a sign with your name and flight number on it.

The accommodation is about half an hour’s drive from the airport. When you arrive at the volunteer house, the team will do a thorough orientation session covering house rules, cultural differences, safety, and placement details, as well as taking you into the local area to get SIM cards, cash if required, and to show you around.

You should book your departure flight for the end date of your project, unless you’re planning to continue your travels in Ghana. Your departure date will always be a Saturday and we will transfer you back to the airport in time for your flight. 

Accommodation & meals

Accommodation

You’ll be staying in a shared volunteer house, where you’ll get to meet and mix with other volunteers (up to 40 people at any time). In a great location in Teshie, a small coastal town in the Greater Accra region, the house may be different to what you’re used to at home. It’s basic but comfortable with easy access to shops, bars, restaurants and a beautiful beach.

Rooms are single sex dorm style with 4, 6, and 8 share rooms (private rooms may be available at an extra cost on request). All rooms have fans but air-conditioning is also available at an extra cost. Rooms have mosquito nets on the windows so there’s no need to bring your own. There are lockable wardrobes in the dorms, and a safety box available onsite for your valuables. Showers are cold water only, but with the kind of temperatures you’ll experience in Ghana, we guarantee you won’t mind! The house is spotless with a cleaning service provided daily and there are traditional hand wash facilities which you can either use yourself, or for a charge our staff will be happy to do your laundry for you.

Staff live on site as well as some local people who are involved in the programme, and there’s a real family feel to the house. There’s a large communal living room which is a great social space, and an outside area with seating where you can soak up the year-round sunshine! It’s the ideal environment to easily make new friends and there are plenty of opportunities for group outings and planned trips too.

The house does not have Wi-Fi, but local SIM cards with data packages can be bought very cheaply and there are internet cafes locally.

Airport transfers are included but you are responsible for your own transport to and from your placement. The main centre for this programme is a 20-40 minute taxi ride from the volunteer accommodation (taxis are cheap and plentiful in Ghana). There is a taxi rank outside the house but most volunteers use Uber.

Meals

Our amazing live-in chef prepares three meals a day for our volunteers but there is also access to a kitchen where you can make something for yourself whenever you fancy it.

Provided meals are a mix of traditional Ghanaian and western food (menus are posted in the common room). A typical breakfast consists of fruit, bread, and hot drinks. Lunch is a mixture of sandwiches, wraps, pasta and Ghanaian dishes. Dinners include everything from yam chips with chicken to jollof rice, and chicken curry. You’ll also have the chance to try some traditional local dishes like fufu (fermented cassava), red red, and plantain and groundnut soup. Water is treated and supplied at the accommodation but you’ll have to buy bottled water when you’re out.

Our chef is very happy to cater for dietary requirements from vegan to halal – just let us know before you travel.

Minimum age & eligibility

You’ll need to be 18 or older to join this programme. We don’t require any specific qualifications or experience but some subject knowledge is useful when teaching older children, completing a TEFL course may be helpful, and you will need to have a keen interest in childcare or teaching!

Visas

All volunteers need a visa (temporary tourist visa) to enter Ghana. You’ll have to arrange this yourself before departure. The standard application costs £60 and takes 10-15 working days from the date the application has arrived at the High Commission. Faster express services are also available at an additional cost. There are a lot of stages to the visa application process but we’re here to support you at every step of the way, including providing you with supporting documents.

Your Ghana visa will become valid once it is entered into your passport. Therefore, you should not apply for your visa too early as it may expire before you enter the country. It is recommended that you apply for your visa approximately 6 weeks prior to departure. Once in Ghana, you can then easily extend it during your stay and the local team will assist you in this.

Health

You’ll need to be vaccinated against Yellow Fever before travel into Ghana and present a certificate to confirm this on arrival. Speak to your GP about vaccinations and up to date health information before you travel.

DBS checks

On this particular programme, as you’ll be working with children, you’ll need to have a clean criminal record and to undergo an enhanced DBS at an additional cost.

Once we receive your booking, you’ll be sent an online application link for the DBS check. After you’ve completed the application, the DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) will need verification of your identity. To do this you’ll need to take 3 original documents to your nearest post office and use their DBS and ID verification service (there is a small cost for this which is payable directly to the Post Office). Once the Post Office verification is done it usually takes around 2 weeks for your DBS to be processed, and your DBS will be sent to you directly in the post.

Please note: Visa rules are subject to change. You should check with the relevant embassies before travelling. Enhanced DBS (criminal record) checks can take 6-8 weeks to come back, so please ensure your start date allows enough time for your DBS check to be completed.

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