Building for the Community
Coordinator | Bethany
Coordinator | Bethany
Book with Flex Option!
Choose new departure dates or change to a different volunteer program at no extra costs.
Highlights
Work in Ghana and build important infrastructure for less fortunate communities -gaining hands on experience.
Build classrooms, toilet blocks. Libraries or homes. It’s a great way to leave something tangible behind for communities to use in the future.
Learn new building techniques from local builders when arriving in Ghana.
Social activities and weekend trips for all!
Try traditional Ghanaian food from the street markets and visit national parks over weekends.
Get your hands dirty and assist with hands-on construction work while volunteering in Ghana.
This volunteer program is especially suitable for:
Age 18+
Singles
Couples
In Ghana, you’ll help with the construction of classrooms, toilet blocks, libraries, or homes in the Akuapem Hills.
Your building volunteer work in Ghana will be split into three areas:
Create homemade bricks used for construction
You will learn new building techniques from local builders when arriving in Ghana. Instead of regular brick and cement, you’ll prepare your own materials used for construction. We’ll teach you to create environmentally friendly bricks using mud and some water. This involves applying the mud mix to a press and squeezing out excess water to give the brick its shape before leaving it out to harden in the sun.
Get your hands dirty with building and renovation work
You’ll build classrooms or community buildings from the ground up by digging and preparing the foundations before starting on the structure. After the foundation is built, you’ll assist with laying mud bricks one by one and quickly construct the walls of the new building. A new classroom usually takes around one month to complete.
Finalise building work with a few finishing touches
A building is not complete until the final touches have been added. With the guidance of the local builders and your supervisor, you’ll help turn this building into something special. You’ll plaster the walls with a steady hand, assist with the laying of flooring, paint the walls and spend time landscaping or beautifying the outside areas. To help improve the learning environment for the students, you’ll also paint fun educational murals on the walls. This can be anything that will stimulate and excite the children such as ABCs, 123s, and colours.
Typical day
The tropical Ghanaian climate is hot and humid with the temperatures reaching over 30 degrees at midday. Because of this, you’ll start your work day at 8.30am and end around 12.30pm, with a 15 minute break around mid-morning.
Each morning, you’ll wake up in your host family’s home and put on old clothes you don’t mind getting dirty. To get to the construction site, you’ll catch a tro tro or a shared taxi.
Depending on the building progress, you might dig and set foundations, use a press to build bricks out of mud and water, mix cement using shovels, build walls brick-by-brick or assist with the construction of the roof. After the construction is done, you can plaster and sand the walls, paint the walls and design murals, or help with landscaping in the garden. In the afternoon, you can choose to relax or help out with community initiatives such as the reading club for children or sports activities.
In your free time, you can visit Cape Coast and learn more about the country’s history of slave trade by visiting the castles and museums in the area. With warm weather year round, Ghana is also perfect if you’d like to spend the day relaxing on the beach or exploring one of the many national parks.
Free-time activities
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.
Concert/
Music
Music
Sightseeing
Safari/
Zoo
Zoo
Hiking
Museum/
Opera
Opera
Requirements
In order to join the program you need to be at least 18 years old on the program start date. There might be exemptions if you can provide the permission of your legal guardian(s) or if your are accompanied by your parents.
You need to speak English (basic level)
No restrictions. Helping hands from all over the world are welcome.
Your helping hand will be required on
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
from
08:30
- 12:30
What's Included
Accommodation
Food (three meals a day)
Airport pick-up and drop-off
Full induction and orientation by an experienced staff member on arrival
Transport to and from your work placement
In-country support and 24-hour back-up from our team of full-time local staff
Emergency assistance from our international emergency response team
Project equipment and materials, including access to our database with thousands of resources
A supervisor/mentor at your work placement
Training and workshops from our experienced local staff
Regular social events and community activities with other volunteers and interns
Access to our local office with internet connection
Certification of project completion
A cultural awareness course
Membership to our volunteer social media groups, to share information and to get in touch
You will arrive in Ghana at Accra Airport (ACC). Our main offices in Accra are about a 25-minute drive from the airport.
Most volunteers fly into Ghana in the evening. As you disembark, the first thing that you’ll notice is the humidity. You will walk across the tarmac to the arrivals building and pass through immigration control to the baggage reclaim area. Once you have your luggage, you need to go through customs. Be ready to have your bags opened by security staff as this is done routinely even when you go through the "nothing to declare" channel.
As you walk out of the airport building, you will be met by a wall of people on the other side of a barrier. It might seem overwhelming at first, but one of our staff members will be there to meet you with a Projects Abroad sign. Seeing a friendly face there to welcome you and take you to your accommodation will immediately put you at ease.
If your placement is in Accra, you will be taken from the airport straight to your host family. If you are going to a placement away from the city, you will usually stay overnight in Accra before travelling to your region the following morning.
You'll stay with a host family in Accra, Akuapem Hills, Cape Coast, or Dodowa. 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.
Good access at the project site
Visa, flights, travel insurance or vaccinations are NOT included in the program fees.
The nearest airport is Kotoka International Airport (ACC) in Accra. We assist you to find cheap flights to Ghana.
Going abroad is an adventure and it is always best to be prepared. Sudden illness or injury, cancellation or theft - a travel insurance for Ghana provides security and is a plus to have.
If you are intending to volunteer in Ghana you should seek medical advice before starting your social journey. Check your required vaccinations for Ghana.
Dates & Fees
NO CREDIT CARD FEES
Details on arrival
Our Building Project in Ghana is available from as little as a week, and you can choose when to start at any time throughout the year. We encourage you to stay for as long as possible. The longer you stay, the more progress you make, and the more likely you are to see the final results of your work.
This program is paused due to COVID-19
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
1 - 50 weeks
Program fees
1 week
(min. stay)
$1,600
2 weeks
$1,846
3 weeks
$2,092
4 weeks
$2,337
8 weeks
$3,320
16 weeks
$5,286
50 weeks
(max. stay)
$13,640
Average fees
$936
/week
The organization charges its fees in GBP. The price table in USD is subject to currency fluctuation.
Projects Abroad
will let you know about the final price during your application process.
The deposit is simply to reserve your volunteer placement. Payments are handled by PayPal, our trusted global payment provider. If you don't have a PayPal account, you can also pay using a credit card.
Your final payment will be agreed with Projects Abroad during the application process. Common solutions are either via bank transfer or a cash payment at the project site.
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Building for the Community
Get your hands dirty and assist with hands-on construction work while volunteering in Ghana.
$743/week
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