About The Placement
This placements offers a varying level of involvement depending on your previous experience and enthusiasm. We are currently providing placements in the following areas:
Why This Placement?
Schools
in Ghana not only need your help to cope with the growing size of
classes, lack of a 'subsitute' teacher process but also to bring a
fresh approach to lessons which are traditionally very dictation
focused. Physical Education is not common in the majority of schools, they often have school football teams for example but nothing to include the whole class/school.
We aim to improve on the standard of physical education for the youth to maintain physical fitness, improve concentration during school hours as well as skill and motor skill development to name just a few.
What Is Included In This Placement?
Support Staff - Accommodation - House Utility Bills - Pre Departure Support
We charge cost price for this project just so we can cover your
stay and employ local support staff to increase loyal employment. This
placement includes accommodation
in a modern style house for the semi rural area of which we are based
with great views and surroundings of the local towns and rainforest. All
house utilities are included for your time, you will have use of the
kitchen,
electricity throughout the house and running water which is a luxury
among the area of Kwahu. You will have a member of our local support
team living in house or close by depending on the volunteer numbers so
there is always someone on hand for any questions or support you may
need.
How Do I Get To The Placement?
Budget an additional 10 - 40 Ghana cedis per day for transport costs.
We work with a number of schools within the local community and slightly further out. Volunteers will usually take taxis back and forth to their placement site. It is very easy to take shared taxis in town and they are very reasonably priced. Most of our schools will require volunteers to pay transport between 5 cedis and 40 cedis a day, with the average being about 10cedis. The more remote village schools are usually located down tracks and therefore cost a little bit more to reach. Our team will be able to assist volunteers group together for transport and where to find taxis etc. Volunteers are usually able to head off into the town after school easily to shop for food supplies, grab a cold drink or meet up with friends before heading home and the ease of taxis offer a really flexible experience for the volunteers.
What Will I Be Doing?
Who Will I Be Working With?
If the number permits we aim to group volunteers together at a particular school or project. You will work closely with a teacher and report to the Headteacher when placed in the schools should you have any issues. When visiting the academy you will be dealing with the management team there on site. A member of our team will also spend a portion of their day at the project to assist in anyway and offer any guidance should it be needed. Most volunteers strike up a strong bond with the teachers and are treat as another member of staff as if you were always there. It is not uncommon to be invited round their homes for dinner at an early stage as a way of saying thank you.
What Do We Expect From The Volunteers?
Sports or coaching qualifications/experience is not compulsory for this
placement, your level of experience and confidence will gauge what
level of students would best suit and will be discussed between the
team and yourself on your first day introduction. The greatest traits
of a volunteer are enthusiasm, empathetic and the ability to adjust
to alternative cultures. You will get the most of our your trip by
opening your mind to new experiences and beliefs whilst also bringing
your own to the table.
We expect volunteers to visit their
placements Monday - Friday, exceptions can be made for long weekends
of travel etc but we hope for the children and yourselves to get the
most of your placement this is kept to a minimum.
What Can You Expect From Us?
We will be on hand any time of any day to support you in your placement and trip as a whole. There will always be someone you can speak to or get a hold of should you want to discuss anything or require any guidance, from organising after school clubs to changing your placement. Our team living in the volunteer house will also be able to offer advice regarding travel plans and the local area so you will soon feel at home.
What Should I Bring?
Regarding your placement we advise bringing any sports or coaching equipment you can as these items are not available in our local area and only cheap children's footballs and used football boots can be found at the markets.
What Happens During School Holidays?
During
school holidays if a volunteers placement falls within these dates
then we can arrange either a holiday school depending on the number of volunteers or we can run sports clubs and competitions for the local children at one of the fields in town.
The school holidays usually fall three times a year; few weeks
around easter, few weeks around August and a few weeks during
December.
Please note this an example of a schedule. Times vary on different schools and term time.
After school volunteers are free to go shopping in the local markets, return to the volunteer house or visit the local swimming pools.
Mid Week Free
Time
After school and evenings offer these
local opportunities around the local area:
Weekend Free Time
Most volunteers will travel at
weekends, across Ghana we have many amazing experiences which you can
discover. Here are just a few ideas:
We are on hand to offer any advice that you might need.
Atlas Volunteers was setup to remove the business element out of
volunteering so rest assured your fees are simply to cover the expense
of your stay with us.
The support you receive from our UK and Ghana based management teams is provided free of charge and on a voluntary basis to ensure the cheapest fees possible for you.
We currently have 2 x three bedroom volunteer houses located in the
peaceful town of Pepease overlooking the rainforest. Later in the year
we aim to move to a larger 13 bedroom house in a nearby town.
Bedrooms -
Bedrooms
are shared usually between 2 - 4 people. Most bedrooms are a medium
size and come with a mix of single, double or bunk beds. All doors and
windows in the house are covered by mosquito netting or covered
completely however you are more than welcome to bring a mosquito net for
your bed although usually not necessary.
Bathrooms -
There
are 3 shared bathrooms in the house so offer plenty of space and
privacy during your stay. Most of the time we have the benfit of running
water which is a local luxury so showers and toilets will work as
usual. We ask to consider others when using the water as it's a valuable
commodity in Ghana.
Kitchen -
We have one large
kitchen with modern facilties such as gas stove, fridge freezer and a
range of utensils. It is a self catered placement however plenty of food
stuffs can be bought from the market such as bread, rice, pasta and
many fresh ingredients. We also have connections with local people in
the town who will be able to prepare your meals or teach you how to cook
local dishes.
Living Room -
There is a large living
room with sofas, TV and a dining set for use by the volunteers. Evenings
are often spent in here and volunteers are welcome to bring DVDs or
memory drives with movies to watch although local television channels
are provided.
Garden -
Surrounding the house is a
fenced garden, this offers privacy for relaxing in the sun or sitting
out in the evenings. There is also a washing line space for volunteers
to use.
Store Room -
We have a small store room where
we keep left over teaching materials and resources for new volunteers to
use. You are invited to leave any items you may not use here for the
next person to continue the flow. Master copies of activity sheets or
lesson plans are a key item we hope to see keep growing in the store.
This placement is available throughout the year. You are welcome to
arrive with us any day of the week or flight arrival time and we will
adjust your airport collection accordingly.
How Do I Get From The Airport to Volunteer House On Arrival?
We can arrange for one of our vehicles to collect you from the airport and bring you directly to the volunteer house although fuel, airport parking and toll fees must be covered by yourself - payable in US dollars or Ghana cedi on the day. (As of June 2022 this is around 500 cedi | You will be shown the costs for transparency as it's completely not for profit).
Sports Development and Coaching
Run a variety of sport focused programs from physical education lessons in school, after school sports clubs to coaching local academy teams.
$58/week
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