Overview
Tailored specifically for school groups, our Orphan Care and Community Upliftment volunteering package in Kumasi, Ghana, gives students the opportunity to care for orphaned and vulnerable children, assist with building and refurbishment projects and participate in community upliftment programs.
Start Date: Ongoing throughout the year
Arrival/Departure and End Point: Accra – Ghana
Language Requirements: Basic knowledge of English
This Program is Open to: Worldwide participants – High Schools, Colleges/Universities, Clubs, Organizations etc.
Age Ranges: 15 and over
Typical Living Arrangements: Group living – Home stays during volunteering and Hotels during travelling
Participants Travel to Ghana: Groups (5 – 5 0).
Accommodation: Host families/Hotels
Food: 3 (three) times daily African dishes/continental meals.
Activities: 10 Day Volunteer Project and 10 Day Travel (See details below)
Special Needs: Participants need to be in good health.
Cost: $3,600 per head
Details
School groups volunteering on our Orphan Care and Community Upliftment project will participate in a mix of fulfilling, fun and impactful activities. Each group itinerary is tailored to meet the specific requirements of each group. Your volunteering package may focus on orphan care or building and refurbishment work, along with a combination of various community upliftment activities such as sports development, arts and crafts classes, and after school activities.
Specific activities will also depend on the needs of the community at the time. Volunteering as a group means that you can make an even bigger impact through a unified effort and teamwork!
This package is for group travel only. If you would like to volunteer on your own, please write an email to director@passionateyouthvoluntary.org with your interests.
Orphanages in Kumasi/Akomadan
There is a huge need for assisting orphans and vulnerable children living in orphanages and children’s homes. There are several orphanages in Kumasi-Ghana that we are involved with. These children come from backgrounds that have been affected by HIV/AIDS, abuse, poverty, or illness. These children are in need of love and attention. Many of them are developmentally delayed and need extra attention in order to promote their development. The children’s ages range mainly between 1 and 15 years.
The orphanages offer opportunities to become involved in:
• Helping the children with fun revision in short sessions to help catch up the term’s learning.
• Join in doing general chores are such as preparing and cooking for the children’s meals, cleaning dishes, chopping wood or other chores and activities to promote the well being of the children.
• Assisting orphanage workers in offering moral support and guidance to the children, training of basic life skills and any activities for various rehabilitative programs in the orphanages.
• Building/improving the facilities to make it feel more like home for the children: by painting pictures on the walls etc. Some of the orphanages we partner with are building to expand and improve their facilities and your pair of hands will be greatly appreciated in this practical work.
• Creating and teaching the children various arts and sport activities that make creative use of their time and hone their hidden skills and talents!
• Engage the staff and children with life skills workshops in health, safety, nutrition, first-aid, learning difficulties, lesson planning, courtesies, oral and general hygiene, etc.
• The children are very energetic and will gladly challenge you to a game of basketball or soccer. You will have a chance to make a huge impact on these children’s lives by spending time with them, and contributing to their learning and development.
Quick Facts
(1 – 10 Days) PROGRAMME IN SEQUENCE.
PYVO will be offering you 2 remarkable projects for you to support. These include:
- Orphanage Work (DAY 1-4): Organize physical and sports activities, develop creative programs such as arts, music and dance, assist the staffs in counseling the children, and teach basic Math and English, help the home in making their daily chores, helps in laying their beds, provide other activities to make the children’s life more better, etc.
- Education – Teach Children in Schools (DAY 5-9): Teach basic Math and English and also use creative arts, crafts and recreation activities to teach children about social, environmental issues etc.
WEEK 2 TOUR PROGRAM (DAY 11-20)
After the completion of your volunteer project, you will also have the unique opportunity to explore new cultures, engage in new adventures, discover exotic flora and fauna and meet new people. This stage is a time to relax and explore after knowing that you’ve done your part to help others in the world. Your group can experience amazing wildlife, fascinating landscapes, historical locations, museums, beautiful beaches, animated markets, endless adventures, and a diversified culture. Below gives a day by day breakdown of third week travel itinerary.
DAY 11: KUMASI – ASHANTI TOUR
After lunch go on a city tour of Kumasi, visiting the Manhyia Palace Museum, the National Cultural Centre, Prempeh II Jubilee Museum, Okomfo Anokye Sword, University of Science and Technology School of Art and Sculpture and the Kumasi Central Market – the largest open-air market in West Africa. Visit the craft villages to observe craftsmen at work and to purchase souvenir gift items from the wide assortment of handiworks on sale. We move to the next craft town called Ahwiaa which is known for its woodcarvers and their fabulous walking sticks, masks and fertility dolls, followed by another craft town called Ntonso, a village famous for its production of adinkra cloth with many hand-stamped designs. Before lunch we finish with a visit to the home to Ghana’s legendary Kente cloth called Bonwire, the hand-woven cloth worn by royal families. Check into your hotel and enjoy an evening and overnight at a 3 star hotel around the Kumasi.
DAY 12: KUMASI – TAMALE
Depart on a scenic 6-hour drive at 6am into the Northern Region after breakfast. Drive past several rustic farming communities and arrive early afternoon in Mole National Park. The park is a vast reserved that is protected as parkland. It is home to thousands of animals and is one of the few places in Africa where visitors can experience a safari on foot. After lunch at the lodge(on your own), go on an afternoon game drive or foot safari to see antelope, buffalo, monkeys, warthogs, crocodiles and other species of mammals, reptiles and birds for evening game viewing. Dinner and pass the night at Mole Park Motel.
Lodging: Budget
DAY 13-14: TAMALE – KINTAMPO
Rise early for a morning safari to see more exciting game viewing in the Mole national Park, Ghana’s largest wildlife park. It’s a home to about 600 elephants plus baboons, monkeys, monitor lizards, bushbucks, other antelope and many bird species. The waterhole near the Lodge is an excellent spot to see animals gathering to drink and to witness bathing elephants. Return to the Lodge for breakfast and visit the ancient’s mosque and the mystic stone, followed by our departure for the return drive to Boabeng Fiema Monkey Sanctuary where we will see different kinds of monkeys. The monkeys are humanly friendly. After this tour we will continue to the Kintampo Waterfalls spend some time there and then to your hotel room for the night at Kintampo.
Lodging: 3 Star hotels
DAY 15-16: KINTAMPO – CAPE COAST
Depart from your hotel room after breakfast to the Cape coast Castle and the West African Historical Museum for a conducted tour. The slave Trade has left its mark on Ghana, where several forts and castles dating from the colonial era have been preserved as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Thousands of visitors gain insights into this sad chapter of history with visits to Ghana’s best known slave forts. We continue on to visit Elmina Castle, built by the Portuguese in 1482, for a comprehensive guided tour. This monument is actually the first structure built by Europeans in sub-Saharan Africa. We will also visit Kakum National Park where we will experience and enjoy a walk on the Canopy walk way, the only one of its kind in Africa and the highest among the only three in the world. Enjoy lunch at the Hans cottage. We set off to Busua Beach Resort in the Western Region and check into your hotel room. Dinner and pass the night at Busua Beach Resort.
Lodging: 3 Star Hotels
DAY 17-18 CAPE COAST – NZULEZU
Depart after breakfast to visit the Ankasa Forest Resource Reserve and National Park. The Park covers an area of 490 kms of wet virgin rainforest and is a zone of great botanical richness with up to 300 plant species per hectare. One of the highlights of a hike in this reserve is a journey through the enchanting bamboo forest, creating a tunnel effect. From Ankasa, we continue to Nzulezo, the “Stilt Village”. This unique village is located on the Amunsure Lagoon where a small isolated community’s lifestyle is completely dominated by its proximity and dependence on the Lagoon. After Lunch we finish our tour of the Western Region with visits to well preserved forts: Fort Apollonia at Beyin (90 kms West of Takoradi) and Fort Groot Frederichsburg at Princess Town with its beautiful beach. We return to your hotel in the late afternoon with the balance of the day leisure. Pass the night at Busua Beach.
Lodging: 3 Star Beach Front Resorts
DAY 19-20 CAPECOAST – ACCRA
Depart from your hotel room after breakfast to Accra. Spend the rest of the day at your leisure, with last minute shopping and packing for the trip back home. You might enjoy the afternoon at the La Pleasure Beach, Accra’s weekend playground. Relax on the white sand and listen to roving musicians, while you soak up the sights of acrobats and hawkers with souvenirs. Dinner and pass the night at 3 Star hotel in Accra.
DAY 21 LAST DAY
Check out of the hotel at 12.00 noon and put your bags in the bus. Enjoy a Farewell Dinner outside the hotel and then you would be transferred to the airport for departure and your flight home.
What is the minimum stay?
3 weeks
Where exactly is it?
Kumasi-Ghana
What will I be doing?
Help care for orphaned and vulnerable children, and tour around Ghana.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Assist in orphanages and baby rescue centers.
• Work with disadvantaged and vulnerable children.
• Get a taste of the Ghanaian culture, Ghanaian cuisine, and learn a bit of Ghanaian Language.
• Enjoy cultural tours and a safari!
WHAT’S INCLUDED
-
- Airports pick up and hotel transfer – Participants rest the first night in Accra.
- Transportation from Accra to project site – All round transportation from the beginning to the end of the program.
- Accommodation from the beginning to the end of the program. Participants live with host family in a big house for the duration of volunteer work and hotel for the duration of tours.
- Three (3) times daily African dishes/continental meals
- In-country introduction/orientation
- Introduction to host family and program
- Placement and supervision in program
- Support/24 hour back up from PYVO
- Donation to project
- A letter of recommendation or certificate to participants after program
- Entrance fees to tourist locations (i.e. museums, wildlife parks, etc.).
What the fee excludes:
- Flight/Air transportation from homeland.
- Visa
- Insurance
- Vaccinations
- Drinks/smoking and clubbing
- Buying gifts/souvenirs for friends and family members back home.
- Internet access/ Phone calls
- Mobile phones/SIM cards
- Medical bills
- Damage to or loss of properties – luggage
DO I NEED EXPERIENCE
No experience necessary.
AGE LIMIT
We accept chaperoned school groups ranging from primary to university school students.
ANYTHING EXTRA I NEED TO KNOW
Our minimum group’s size is 5 students/individuals.
If you would like to volunteer on your own or stay for an extended period of time, please send an email to director@passionateyouthvoluntary.org.
