Volunteer Care projects in Ghana, work with children in orphanages, day-care centres, care homes and disabled centres

Volunteer Care work with children overseas in Ghana

Voluntary care work in Ghana is an ideal way to get involved and help improve conditions for local children. You can contribute towards this vital development work during a gap year, career break, or just a holiday. Volunteers with qualifications and experience are welcome but you do not need to have either to volunteer. Energy, passion and commitment to the work at hand should see you through.

Ghana in West Africa is a country of rich natural resources and ancient traditions. However, due to the onslaught of HIV/AIDS, which has left many children with no family members to care for them, there is a low life expectancy and high infant mortality rates. Many of Ghana's children are struggling to survive, which is why our volunteer Care projects are so important.

The number of orphans in Ghana is a massive problem for the country's rudimentary social welfare services. In the orphanages that do exist, staff struggle with limited resources to feed, clothe and educate the children in their care. Staff all too often simply don't have the time to provide the individual love and attention that these children need so they can have as normal a childhood as possible.

Voluntary Community Development and Orphanage work with Projects Abroad

We have various different volunteer options for you in Ghana, working in both orphanages and care homes. We work in a number of areas, from the urban Accra, Ghana's capital city, to more rural locations such as the Akuapem Hills. There are also care placements available in Cape Coast, Ho and Kumasi.

Up to five volunteers work in the country's largest state-run orphanage in Accra, looking after around 150 children between them. Each volunteer is assigned to a particular house, or to the nursery, in order to get to know a small group of the orphans well.

We also have placements in smaller care homes, day care centres, an HIV educational centre and a home for mentally and physically disabled children.

Volunteering abroad on a Care Project in Ghana

In whichever volunteer care project in Ghana you find yourself, you need to be ready for a challenge. Many of the children are desperate for attention and there will undoubtedly be children present who have health problems and who need special attention due to disabilities.

It is in your role as a volunteer - spending time with the children, playing with them and putting a smile on their faces - that Projects Abroad volunteers are so valuable.

Whether you are taking a group out for an afternoon on the beach, helping older children with school homework or playing a game with the younger ones, you will be an essential part of their development. Any extra interests or skills that you have can be put to good use, and please let our local staff know about them when you apply.

This project is available for two weeks if you don't have time to join us for a month or more. This project has been selected by our local colleagues as being suitable for short term volunteering for both the host community and the volunteer. Although you will gain a valuable cultural insight and work intensely within the local community please be aware that you may not be able to make the same impact as someone volunteering for a longer period.

If you would like to get more involved in the local Ghanaian communities, please follow this link to our Community Building Project.