Ghana Projects
Our conservation volunteer projects in Ghana have a strong focus on ecotourism and sustainable development, with the aim of relieving poverty through direct benefits and employment for the local communities. If you have a specialist skill or experience, or are looking for a project as part of an internship or elective, we can also assist with arranging individually tailored volunteer placements.
Based on a beautiful stretch of golden beach on the West Coast of Ghana you will contribute to valuable efforts to conserve the local environment, habitat and nesting turtles and promote the importance of doing so within the surrounding fishing communities and to tourists.
Give something back as a volunteer in Ghana
Ghana is one of the few English speaking countries in Central and West Africa. In Accra, the commercial capital, a diversity of cultures and peoples come together in a lively, colourful and quite hectic melting pot under Ghana’s baking sun. As you continue west along the Cape Coast you will pass many bustling towns with their colonial forts, rural fishing villages and long stretches of golden sand beaches.
Ghana is a stable and safe country compared with others in the region, which combined with some of the attractions on offer make it a popular travel and volunteer destination. From unspoilt beaches to the cool respite of Lake Volta, from remote waterfalls and National Parks to a vibrant music and club scene, Ghana has something to appeal to most visitors.
Ghana also has a wealth of mineral resources and is a major exporter of gold, diamond, bauxite, manganese, timber and cocoa. Oil exploration and recent discoveries of increased reserves provides additional revenue. Despite this relative stability and productivity Ghana is still affected by poverty and inequality in the distribution of wealth. There is also a significant dependence on foreign financial and technical assistance.
Whilst government reports indicate a dramatic decrease in the level of poverty over recent years, the 2007 UNDP Human Development Report showed almost 45% of Ghana’s population to be below the international $1 per day guideline for extreme poverty. Child mortality and poor health services, particularly in more rural areas, remain a problem, due to a combination of poverty, malnutrition, malaria and HIV/AIDS.
In addition to the Ghana Turtle Conservation Volunteer Project we also offer a Teaching and Orphan Care Project in Northern Ghana. Full details will be available on the website soon, but if you are interested in this project and would like more information please contact us.