Motivated and serious people! 

Voluntary work is a fine way of putting your shoulder to the wheel, to be engaged in a meaningful way together with and for other people. It is a great opportunity to broaden your horizon and to learn a lot. 

But, we do expect something from you as well: You have got something to offer, you’re taking your work seriously and you contribute to the project in a significant way. You either have relevant work experience or a completed study, maybe even both, furthermore you are at least 21 years of age and you are prepared to contribute to one of our partner projects for at least three months.

Professional support
NorGhaVo has extensive experience with voluntary work. Up till now we have coached more than hundred people in their job on the projects. Our professional local staff knows perfectly how to help you during your stay. And in the Netherlands you can count on a perfect preparation by our staff - we all lived and worked in Ghana for quite a while.
You can expect us to post you on the right workplace and at a nice host family. We will support you with the preparations in the Netherlands, e.g. with the help of a personal interview, infomeetings and brochures. And we give you a good picture on the country and culture you will meet in Ghana. You can also ask all kind of questions by e-mail. During your stay in Ghana you can rely on a very helpful and experienced local staff, consisting of four persons, who have followed relevant courses and training to do this work.

The right person on the right project
We consider it significant to bring volunteers into action where they really make a difference. So we definitely aren’t looking for as much workplaces as possible for as much volunteers as possible, we believe in a good gearing between volunteer and project. Only then the volunteer will have the feeling to be able to conduct and the project will benefit from the availability of an extra employee. A good fit between your wish and the Ghanian demand can lead to structural development. We look for the right people in the right place!
What do we expect from you?
We would like volunteers to shift their borders, that they are motivated and have respect for the culture. Respect for your environment is vital, since you are a guest and should adapt to the culture and habits of the country where you may stay for a while. And we expect a 100% effort and motivation. We ask all this because they like to make it something good together with you!
Arrival dates
The introduction program in Ghana starts every last wednesday of each month. The start of your work is planned on next week's monday.

Continue reading about the program, your workplace and your host family..

Our program
For your placement you pay NorGhaVo a fee. This covers the expenses that we make in Ghana to arrange practical issues for you and for the cost of food ad lodging at your hostfamily.  Another part is allocated as aid to/for our sponsor projects (with a minimum of €50 per volunteer). For the fee we offer a proper preparation in the Netherlands, a suitable workplace, a host family that takes care of your breakfst and dinner, a several day introduction in Ghana and a hostile welcome and proper support in Tamale or Navrongo.
Workplace
The work you are going to do depends on your experience, motivation and education. We cooperate with various projects in need of enthusiastic volunteers. Finding a workplace is done in consultation, we are looking for a project that suits your education, experience and motivation best.

Host family
By living in a Ghanaian host family you will get optimally acquainted with their rich culture and hospitability, and foremost you will have a temporary new home! A nice and good host family therefor is extremely important. We arrange a suitable host family in which you will meet daily life, customs, habits and the art of cooking. Your host mother takes care of breakfast and dinner are included in the program fee.

Introduction and guidance, the Netherlands
Proper preparation and guidance are very important. You will go to a developing country with conditions totally different from those in your own country. On this website you can already find a lot of information. The team of NorGhaVo-Netherlands will always be standing by with tips and advice. Ask your questions at the infomeetings (4 times per year) or via email. In case you are going to Ghana with NorGhaVo, the infomeeting is a mandatory/compulsary part of the preparation. On the infomeeting also old volunteers are there to share their experiences and to answer your questions. If you wish we can bring you in touch with the volunteers who will travel to Ghana in the same period as you do, this makes you can share a part of the preparation fun with other future volunteers.

Information package
Before you leave you receive (by enail) a information package. In this you will find the necessary tips and tricks which are useful during your stay and info about the culture differences between the Netherlands and Ghana. Next to that you will receive a brochure about health (how to stay healthy and how to recover quickly when you might fall ill). Finally, you will also receive a language guide. When you will be working as a volunteer on a schoo you will receive a brochure about the educational system in Ghana.

Introduction and guidance, Ghana
On arrival in Ghana, you will be collected at the airport of Accra. Take the regular days of arrival into account, see date of departure. You will go to the (a?) guesthouse by taxi. A member of the Ghanaian staff of NorGhaVo will show you around in the capital Accra. There you can become accustomed/used/adjust to your/the new environment/surroundings and become a little familiarised. Among other things you will get information about culture, health, food and bankingaffairs?  You will also eat a meal, exchange money and you will learn (by copying) how to hail a taxi. During the bus ride to Tamale you can already see something from the country. When having arrived there the introduction will start with meeting your hostfamily. You will get a tour through the city to get acquainted with the most important places, like the bank, the internetcafe and the NorGhaVo-office. You will be officially received in our office, in the course of the reception we will go into a number of matters/things again. Soon one of the staffmembers will introduce you to your workplace.  You’ll meet colleague-volunteers and wil be making Ghanaian friends and are cycling through Tamale. The NorGhaVo-office is opened regularly, so you can always fall back on someone, if necessary. 

We give you a free hand/a lot of liberty/freedom/  we allow a lot, but on the other hand we do expect discipline and respect. Discipline at work is required since your project is entitled to complete effort and a serious attitude towards work, you’re after all no tourist! Respect for your environment/surroundings is essential/necessary/vital since you are a guest and should adapt to the culture and habits of the country where you may stay for a while. Furthermore we would like to emphasise that the choice and the responsibility to go/travel to Ghana are entirely yours! Whether or not your stay will become a success depends largely on your own attitude and motivation. Surely external influences may influence the success and you won’t at all have everything under control. Try to respond in a positive way to this with initiative and flexibility. After all you are visiting a country that is quit different in a lot of ways from the Netherlands. Of course you can always count on our assistance/help, both in Ghana and in the Netherlands.

Included

• · Arranging your workplace
  · Arranging your hostfamily
  · Breakfast and dinner with your hostfamily (in the evening you will eat what’s cooked/going. Breakfast usually exists/contains of bread, thee and an egg)
  · A –lockable- room of your own, with a bed and a fan
  · Toilet and bathroom;
  · A three day introduction (including a cultural oriëntation)
  · All transport costs during the introduction will be paid by NorGhaVo, as well as lodgings in the guesthouse in Accra (); · Appropriate/Required information during the preparations;
  · Aid/Assistence, coaching and information during your stay;
  · A €50 donation to the sponsor projects;

Not included
· Meals, drinks, costs for lugagetransport to Tamale (=weight dependend) and personal activities and purchases during the introduction;
· lunch at your hostfamily;
· Bed sheets and a mosquito net

Teaching practice
On a regular basis we get requests for trainee posts. The opportunities of this/ for this purpose mainly depend on de demands your education make regarding your trainee post. NorGhaVo has no formal trainee posts, we cannot supply on site coaching with respect to content neither can we supply a final evaluation. Yet there are ‘regular’ volunteers who do teaching practice on their own initiative in Ghana via NorGhaVo .In such a case you will be considered a ‘regular’ volunteer! In case you are interested in this, contact your teaching practice supervisor regarding the demands. However, keep in mind that just like the other volunteers you must at least be 21 years of age!