Where we do it > Ghana

Facts & Figures Population: 23 million Capital city: Accra GDP per capita: $2,480 HDI ranking: 135 out of 177 countries * Life expectancy: 59

Country background

VSO Ghana volunteers work in the areas of disability, education and secure livelihoods.

Disability

VSO Ghana has gained recognition for its work in disability through the production of Protect Yourself, the first ever HIV and AIDS awareness video for both deaf and hearing people. VSO has also supported the Special Education Division of the government to develop a strategic plan and a draft policy on special needs education in Ghana. Volunteers are working with community-based organisations that promote livelihood options for people with disabilities, access to quality basic education by children with disabilities and the rights of women with disabilities. Volunteers focus their activity on improving management structures of institutions and community organisations and developing networking, awareness raising and advocacy activities.

Education

For many years education volunteers in Ghana were mainly fulfilling classroom teaching roles, but in recent years there has been a shift to placing volunteers in management and training roles within district education offices and teacher training colleges. These volunteers are working to improve the quality of teaching; supporting Ghana Education Service staff to implement effective school management systems and increasing awareness of HIV and AIDS prevention. Volunteers are also supporting civil society organisations to advocate on educational issues as well as encouraging community involvement in school development as a means to addressing barriers to girls’ education.

The shortage of classroom teachers continues to be addressed through our national volunteering programme. VSO Ghana has been working with the National Service Secretariat to offer support and guidance as they develop the National Volunteer Programme to recruit newly qualified Ghanaian teachers from urban areas to volunteer in rural areas. When the programme was launched in 2003, 54 teachers took part; in 2006/07 more than 8,000 volunteers participated and in the 2007/08 academic year 13,000 volunteers were posted to all the ten regions of Ghana.

Secure Livelihoods

This is VSO Ghana’s newest area of work and focuses on reducing poverty in four of the poorest regions of Ghana by increasing opportunities for individuals and communities to earn an income. Volunteers with organisational development and management backgrounds are working with government offices, local non-governmental organizations and community based organisations to improve their ability to provide efficient services and support for disadvantaged communities. Volunteers are also supporting enterprise development programmes, market facilitation and providing technical support to farmers.