Location
  • Ghana
    • Accra
    • Cape Coast
    • Kumasi
Length
1 to 52 weeks

Program Details

Age Min.
18
Age Max
70
Timeframe
Short Term Spring Break Summer Winter Year Round
Housing
Apartment Host Family Hostel
Groups
Small Group (1-15) Medium Group (16-30) Large Group (31+)
Travel Type
Budget Family Older Travelers Solo Women

Pricing

Starting Price
85
Price Details
This price is for a 1 week stay with us. Some education placements require a 4 week minimum duration with us to ensure a high social impact and chance for you to experience a new way of life. The longer our volunteers join our program, the lower the program fees reduce - dropping down to $70 per week.

This weekly program fee covers your pre departure support, accommodation, utility bills, support staff and orientation day.
What's Included
Accommodation Some Activities
What's Not Included
Some Activities Airfare Airport Transfers Equipment Meals SIM cards Transportation Travel Insurance Visa Wifi
Mar 27, 2024
May 02, 2024
22 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

Atlas offers the lowest volunteering fees in Ghana and various volunteering placement types providing a high and meaningful social impact. Our projects are located around the Abetifi district which is based on top of the Kwahu mountain plateau and Akwidaa coastline.

The shared volunteer houses and surrounding rainforests offer breathtaking views. We focus our placements across Education, Sports Development, Renovation, Eco Protection and Sea Turtle Conservation.

Our placements run throughout the year and there's always a team of volunteers out with us, so you can plan when fits best with your schedule to join us. As previous volunteers in the local area we set this organisation up to remove the business element out of volunteering and work with the local community to assist in their development, one step at a time.

Ghana is often referred to as Africa for beginners and offers a safe, serene environment for your trip whilst experiencing new cultures and warm welcoming people.

Video and Photos

Program Highlights

  • Low Cost - Lowest available weekly fees in Ghana. Starting from only $65 per week.
  • Support Staff - A wide range of support staff will be on hand to answer any question you may have, from drivers to project coordinators.
  • Shared Housing - You will stay with your fellow volunteers in a shared volunteer house overlooking the rainforest - the perfect backdrop to create friends for life.
  • Sustainability - We work alongside the local communities in all our projects to ensure that our impact has a long and lasting affect.
  • Free Time - Weekends are free to travel the local waterfalls, national parks, safari and canopy walks.

Program Impact

You will be working directly alongside the local communities and authorities to provide assistance and further development where we can. Depending on your placement and area of focus we aim just a small travelling distance from some of the most remote communities off the beaten track. Projects and proposals are Ghanaian led to ensure that we are making as strong and relevant an impact as possible.

Related Programs

Program Reviews

4.98 Rating
based on 80 reviews
  • 5 rating 97.5%
  • 4 rating 2.5%
  • 3 rating 0%
  • 2 rating 0%
  • 1 rating 0%
  • Impact 4.85
  • Support 4.9
  • Fun 5
  • Value 4.95
  • Safety 5
Showing 49 - 56 of 80 reviews
Default avatar
Angela
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

An unmatched, authentic experience

Atlas Volunteers provides you the resources and opportunities to create an experience of a lifetime! I cannot stop telling all my friends and family about how truly amazing this experience has been. It offers full immersion into the local culture with the opportunity to create an impact in whichever way you would like. As a volunteer at the school placement sites, I was able to teach independently and implement my own lesson plans to engage students in new learning strategies.

Not only that, but I had the opportunity to collaborate and teach side-by-side with the wonderful Ghanaian teachers at the school site. As a school teacher in the United States, I was able to implement my own teaching strategies AND learn so much from the Ghanaian teachers and students.

I think the BEST part about Atlas is that they offer you the flexibility to pursue whichever project/program you would like. There is plenty of flexibility and NUMEROUS ways to achieve impact here. The staff within Atlas, as well as the local staff at schools, is very supportive of allowing volunteers to implement special projects/programs during and after school. For those who may not have a clear vision of what they would want to do, there are still many ongoing projects to choose from! Sam, Frank, Gem, and the rest of the Atlas staff are extremely helpful and supportive in making sure each volunteer is comfortable at their placement site. The staff goes above and beyond to ensure you are able to create an impact in the way you would like! I can only sing praises of how wonderful, meaningful, and authentic my overall experience in Ghana with Atlas Volunteers has been. You will not regret the decision to join Atlas Volunteers!

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
Make the most of your time at the school sites! There are plenty of opportunities to join other volunteers in after-school club activities or start your own activity for the students.
89 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Jo
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Incredible experience- could not recommend it enough

I simply could not recommend going to Ghana with Atlas Volunteers enough. I had one of the greatest experiences of my life. I really felt looked after and that Sam, Frank and Libby cared about me. The support and kind words that they would offer me was always appreciated. I loved living in the small town of Pepease. I definitely recommend staying a minimum of two months. It is Ghana and things take a bit of a while to get the ball rolling so it takes about a month to get into a routine. I initially booked to be in Ghana for only 5 weeks but after being there for a week I immediately extended my stay to two months. I wish that I could have stayed even longer but I had to return home to begin my studies. It was an experience that changed my life and I left Ghana with new life long friends.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
Spend a minimum of 5 weeks there to get the full experience!
83 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Emma
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

AMAZING time as a Volunteer

My time in Ghana was simply incredible and I am very glad that I chose the Atlas organisation.
Everything is very familiar and I felt right at home.

Through the observation in the first few days, you are really integrated into the place and can slowly let Ghana take effect on you.
You were free to work on all kinds of projects in the schools and the Atlas coordinators were happy about every idea and helped you organise them. They also have very progressive projects that you can do as a volunteer, helping local people and also showing them recycled examples, like a mural made from recycled glass bottles for schools.

They were always very open and helpful with travel tips and made our trips wonderful and memorable.

In Pepease, the place where we lived, and the surrounding area, I always felt very safe and the local people were very friendly and welcomed us immediately.
There you could also taste the incredible Ghanaian food or take a taxi to the next town to end the evening in a bar.
This gave us many opportunities to get to know the Ghanaian culture, to taste the delicious food or to listen to the amazing Ghanaian music in the local bars.

The volunteer house had a beautiful view of the tropical nature of Ghana and in the big garden you could just pick a mango or play football or volleyball with the other volunteers.
Meeting volunteers from all over the world gave me the opportunity to experience different cultures and meet incredible people.
By cooking together and being together in the house, everything was very familiar and you got to know each other. We also had amazing barbecues, games and film evenings together.

I can only recommend the Atlas organisation, as I had an amazing time in Ghana, they always offered help no matter what was needed, I have gained incredible experience, made amazing memories and always felt at home.

What was the most unfamiliar thing you ate?
On my first day in Ghana we went to an incredibly hospitable family who prepared fufu, a Ghanaian specialty, for us.
Fufu is made from cassava and fried plantain, which are pounded together in a wooden vat. The stomping together is quite time consuming, because the cassava and fried plantain are very hard. In the end, the result is a sticky and mushy mass, which impulse eat together with a delicious peanut soup or a meat soup.
The unusual thing about fufu, however, is that you can't chew it because of the sticky and mushy mass, you have to swallow it straight down. At first, it was very wired, because you always had the desire to chew. But you quickly got used to swallowing, because chewing fufu was simply not possible, because everything got stuck in your teeth.
However, once you get used to swallow it tastes just incredible. You can also eat it with meat or fish, which is also very delicious.
83 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Pippelijn
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Unforgettable experience!

I have been lucky enough to spend almost five weeks with atlas volunteers and I absolutely had an incredible time! I loved every minute of my stay in Ghana and I would recommend going there to everyone! I have been taken under the wing of atlas volunteers from the moment of my arrival until the end of my stay. The combination of teaching during the day and exploring the area in the afternoon or in the weekends with the other volunteers is perfect. The house where the volunteers are staying is located in a truly beautiful environment. Therefore, going for a little walk to get some bananas, eggs or avocados is always a fun activity to do during the afternoons. In other words I loved living in the volunteer house in Pepease! Concerning the teaching program; working at the school was a challenge in the beginning since the children’s level of English was not as good as I expected it to be. However after a week I found myself getting more comfortable teaching and together with one of the other volunteers I started focussing on stimulating the creative side of the kids. So we started giving music lessons, creative arts classes and PE lessons. Doing this was heart-warming and really fun to do. I loved how the children and even the teachers got excited when for example making music with a cup. The freedom that the organisation offers you makes the volunteering special and unique and gave me the idea I actually made an impact. The support given by atlas volunteers proved itself again when I asked them to help me purchase new uniforms for the school with money I fundraised at home. They guided me throughout the whole process making sure everything was taken care of. So once again thank you atlas volunteers! Hopefully I will be able to come back in the future because I am missing life I Ghana already!

80 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Jolanda
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Thank you for such a lovely time! :)

My time at Atlas was one of the best experience in my life. The accommodation and the environment was just amazing. Everyone was really helpful and supportive and whenever you have new ideas you will definitely get good support. You will get help from day one and whenever you need help or you have unanswered questions Frank, Sam or Libby will always be there to help you out as much as their can. I really loved how relaxed everything was and how everything worked out at the end. Even if you work a lot and you are busy you still have enough time at the weekends to explore the area and Ghana. You can plan some nice weekend trips to Accra, Kumasi or you can explore Abetifi and the whole area. If you have any questions about travelling Im sure one of the lovely coordinators can help you out. All in one it was more than worth it to go and experience the culture and learn more about the way of teaching and learning. All the kids are very lovely and all of them are really excited to meet you and have you as a teacher. So I highly recommend to join Atlas Volunteers :)

85 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Laureena
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Unique experience in Ghana !

I arrived in Ghana on the 5th of October and stayed there for about 4 months. If I wanted to tell the story of my stay in Ghana, it would take hundreds of pages and i don't think it's a good idea anyway because every experience is unique. However, what I can say is that these 4 months deeply changed me. First of all, I met so many incredible people, including volunteers from all around the world who will remain friends forever. I was teaching to 4 different classes in primary school, from P3 to P6 and I met kids with a deep desire to learn and such inspiring personalities. During the Christmas national holidays I got the opportinity to travel around Ghana with other volunteers and it will always be one of my best memory of Ghana. In the day to day life, I really enjoyed spending time with the other volunteers in the house, going shopping in the towns near our village to buy tasty fruits (pineapples, mangoes, papaya ...) and vegetables (avocados, yam, plantains...) or the beautiful colored fabrics, or relaxing in the pool of the hotel near the house. I'm feeling so grateful for all the good things that happened to me during this trip and all the people I met. Thank you AtlasVolunteers.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
Don't forget your mosquito net ! (and for the rest : just enjoy !)
73 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
cathal
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

This is the one you should pick. trust me

Absolutely amazing project to be a part of, felt as though there was a real contribution made to the local community and that the work we did was greatly appreciated. The volunteer group & staff were brilliant, very compassionate & really helpful in adjusting to the new environment . There's no doubt in my mind i'll be back in Abetifi again someday, you'll understand why as soon as you arrive, such a beautiful place, with the people to match. Great times were had & great memories made, I can't recommend this programme enough.

What was the most unfamiliar thing you ate?
Hand on heart, the skewered mystery meat you can get cooked roadside & drowned in that seasoning was some of the best scran i've ever had.

Beware of the women selling boflot, that is easily the most addictive snack out there, replaced most of my daily meals.
70 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Louise
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

A new School in Suminakese

I had the chance to join a beautiful building and renovating project in Suminakese, in a remote village. Indeed I built with my colleagues a new school and managed the whole construction site whilst meeting people of the village, collaborating with local artisans and playing with the children. This was a great opportunity to learn a lot from each other and witnesss directly on the field the incredible impact of our project. Finally this amazing exprience allows you to share unforgettable memories.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
Roll your sleeves up! Here youth shakes the world!
65 people found this review helpful.

Questions & Answers