At a glance
- Volunteer in Ghana and help us improve the lives of disadvantaged young children.
- Work in daycare centres or special needs schools, providing support to local staff.
- You’ll live with a local host family who will welcome you with open arms; this will be your home away from home.
Is a Childcare Project in Ghana right for me?
This project is ideal for anyone who wants to help where it’s really needed and improve the lives of young children. You’ll gain practical experience of working in childcare, which could help your future career. It’s also the perfect project to help you develop important life skills such as teamwork, leadership, and planning.
If you have loads of energy, take a playful approach to life, and enjoy the antics of little ones, childcare volunteering in Ghana is definitely for you. No experience in childcare? No problem! As a volunteer working with children in Ghana, you’ll support the local teachers and caregivers and have Projects Abroad staff members close at hand to help guide you along.
Our Childcare Project in Ghana runs throughout the year and you can join at any time. The longer you stay, the bigger the impact you'll have on the children you work with.
What will I do on this project?
You'll work in a kindergarten, daycare centre, or special needs centre. However, you won't be on your own! Your main role is to support local teachers and caregivers with early childhood development work. Here are some of the tasks you can expect to do during your placement:
Your work with children in Ghana will be divided into four main categories:
Help teachers pay attention to children equally
Classes are often full beyond capacity, so teachers and caregivers don’t always manage to attend to each child throughout the day. You will play a huge role in being an extra pair of hands and eyes to help pay attention to children who need it most on any given day.
Give teachers and students a break from regular class routine by offering to lead a fun creative lesson. This could include arts and crafts, reading, or even introducing them to a new game. After classes end and before their parents collect them, you can help children with their homework or arrange sports activities outside.
Work with other volunteers
One of the best things about joining one of our volunteer programmes is the fact that you get to meet other volunteers from all over the world. Make the most of this opportunity by sharing ideas for activities, lessons, and games you can play with the children. You can also share these ideas with placement staff who can add them to their existing class routine to add a bit of variety.
Present hygiene awareness workshops
Some of the children you will work with may never have learned about the importance of basic hygiene. You can help improve this by teaching them how to brush their teeth properly and to wash their hands regularly throughout the day. Make this fun with songs, games, and little class challenges.
Assess children and identify specific placement needs
One of the ways in which we keep track of the children’s development and the specific needs of placements, is through specially designed checklists. We will train you on how to use these checklists. You will assess the status of each child on a daily basis in areas related to:
- Numeracy
- Literacy
- Fine motor skills
- Emotional abilities
- Social skills
- Hygiene
During regular workshops with our local team, you will upload this information to our Global Impact Database. This database enables us to keep track of each child’s development and track the work we do throughout the world on all of our different projects. Read more about how the database works.
Where in Ghana will I be working?
Depending on your interests and/or skills, you will work at one of the following placements:
- Kindergarten
- Daycare centre
- Special needs schools
Akuapem Hills
Located in the Eastern Region of Ghana, the Akuapem Hills form part of the Togo mountain range and are characterised by vibrant green vegetation and rich red earth. This is where most of our childcare placements are located.
Accra
With a population of 2.7 million people, Accra is the largest city in Ghana and also the country’s capital. If you would like to experience the humid buzz of this burgeoning West African city, there are a number of placement options here, including a special needs school.
A typical day as a Childcare Volunteer in Ghana
A typical day will run from about 8am to 5pm, coinciding with kindergarten and daycare centre hours. You will be working closely with teachers and caregivers to keep energetic young children fully engaged and entertained.
Every day at work will be different. On certain days you might help run an arts and crafts programme, while others may include outdoor sports activities or basic English lessons.
During the hours you aren’t working, you’ll have ample free time to explore with your fellow volunteers.
Since you will be living with a local host family, breakfast or dinners offer great opportunities to get to know them better and fully immerse yourself in their way of life.
What are the aims and impact of this project?
The aim of this project is to improve early childhood development in Ghanaian communities by helping give young children a well-rounded educational experience. Projects Abroad has elected not to work with children in orphanages in Ghana, but rather focus on promoting education through community-based programmes that allow children to remain within their families.
With primary school classrooms, kindergartens, and daycare centres often being overcrowded, local teachers and caregivers struggle to divide their attention equally. Because of this, certain children may have trouble learning certain skills, depending on their interests, strengths, and weaknesses.
As laid out in our Childcare Management Plan for Ghana, we’ve identified five sustainable goals we hope to achieve with our volunteer childcare project in Ghana:
- Promote early childhood development
- Increase literacy
- Improve hygiene levels
- Increase numeracy
- Improve the quality of life for those living with disabilities
Help us achieve these long-term goals by joining us as a Childcare volunteer in Ghana.
Volunteering for professionals
This project is also perfect for qualified professionals. With your skills backing up our ongoing efforts, we can make an even bigger difference together. We'll match you to the placement where your skills are needed most.
This means you can share your training and and knowledge with others. You can work hand-in-hand with our partner organisations and local communities to support sustainable development.
If you have relevant skills or qualifications, read more about how you can make use of them with Projects Abroad.
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
Our projects work towards clear long-term goals, with specific annual objectives. Every volunteer and intern we send to these projects helps us work towards these goals, no matter how long they spend on our projects.
Every year we take a step back and look at how much progress we've made towards these goals. We put together a Global Impact Report, which documents our achievements. Find out more about the impact our global community of volunteers, interns and staff make, and read the latest report.
Food and accommodation
You'll stay with a host family in Ghana. 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.
We will always try to let you live alongside at least one other Projects Abroad volunteer or intern at the same host family. Your room will be modest, but comfortable, clean, and safe.
Your programme fee includes three meals a day.
Find out more about our accommodation.
Leisure activities and free time
Volunteering in Ghana is an ideal way to explore this colourful West African country. There’s a huge variety of different activities to do while you’re there, giving you plenty of exciting ways to spend your free time.
Music is a central part of Ghanaian culture. In the bigger towns, especially Accra, you will hear some great live bands and have some memorable nights out. Evenings spent at buzzing restaurants will also give you a taste of some of the delicious local cuisine.
For a look into Ghana’s history, you can tour the slave forts of Cape Coast and visit museums. Nature lovers will relish trekking through the rainforests of Kakum National Park or Mole National Park.
We run a wide range of projects in Ghana so there’s sure to be other volunteers there during your trip. This means you can explore the country solo or connect with other volunteers and travel as a group.
Safety and staff support
Your safety and security is our prime concern. We have many procedures and systems to ensure you have the support you need to enjoy your trip with peace of mind. Our Projects Abroad staff are available 24 hours a day to help, and will be on hand to make sure you settle in well at your accommodation and placement. If you encounter any problems, they will be available to help at any time.
Find out more about safety and backup.
This placement is fully researched, safety audited, and risk assessed in accordance with the British Standard BS8848 for the Adventure Travel Sector.
Meet the team in Ghana
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