Projects Abroad Internships in Ghana

The time I spent with Projects Abroad was one of the best experiences of my life. I learned so much, gained so much experience in the field of human rights, met the most amazing people and was lucky to see the beauty of Ghana. Despite coming alone, I made great friends who I travelled with and I stayed with an amazing host family who looked after me so well. I cannot recommend this experience enough, it helped me grow as a person and in my career, thank you Projects Abroad for making it so memorable.

Projects Abroad Ghana was one of the best experiences I have ever had. I did the medical project where I would volunteer at a nearby hospital as well has do outreaches at local schools. Everyone involved with projects abroad looked after me so well, made me feel extremely welcome and allowed me to volunteer and gain experiences I wouldnt have been able to otherwise. I was given the opportunity to help clean wounds, take vitals, assist midwives during deliveries and so much more. The medical professionals I works with conoketky took me under their wing and encouraged me to get involved and learn as much as possible. It was also great to be able to explore Ghana during weekends which the help of Chief. I would definitely volunteer with them again and if you are thinking about it I would definitely say go for it! You will not regret it.

In June I went to Ghana with projects abroad to take part in a medicine internship. It was my second time visiting Ghana with projects abroad and I had such an amazing time! As a medical student the experience of the hospital system and how it differs from the uk system was invaluable and I learnt lots about tropical diseases not seen in the uk. I also went to the leprosy camp as part of my project and got the clean and bandage wounds. It was good to be able to get so hands on and it felt like we were really helping the community by being there. The projects abroad staff were all so helpful and supportive and you never felt like you were on your own. I was staying with a host family with a couple of other volunteers and this meant I felt I had a more immersive experience of the Ghanaian culture and made my time there much more enjoyable.

This was a once in a lifetime opportunity. An amazing chance to learn the culture and politics of another country and engage with other people. Being a journalist abroad was different and helped me to think about how I could do things differently back in England. Projects abroad was helpful in proving information from the very beginning of my journey; booking myself a place on this trip. They offered support and advice and the niche website made for me to go through all the details I need to do to complete this internship. The support continued in the country ensuring that I was safe on my way to work and also proving great entertainment and a chance to learn the culture through extra activities like dancing, learning the native language and cooking Ghanaian food. The internship itself was amazing I was helping with reporting on stories at landfill sites, waste sites, I met the MPs, I reported at monumental sites and so much more great stories. It was an amazing experience that I’d happily do all over again.

Volunteering with Projects Abroad has given me a new perspective on life! I traveled to Africa in 2017 and spent time in Ghana working in the medicine program. Projects Abroad's staff has made the transition very smooth and seamless with their detailed web pages and a great support team who answered all my questions and prepared me for my project.

I spent some invaluable time with my host family as they taught me about the culture in Ghana and day-to-day life here. Everyone was extremely friendly and working at the hospital proved to be the greatest experience of all. I got life changing hands on experience working at multiple wards and made solid long lasting connections with many of the doctors, nurses and staff. The leprosy camp outreaches gave me a chance to develop solid connections with the camp residents and learn their life stories.

On our free time, we traveled around the localities, historic landmarks, and eat local foods. I met people of all different ages, backgrounds and countries and have developed some strong bonding with them. Volunteering abroad teaches you to appreciate and be open minded about everyone and every culture, as it throws you out of your comfort zone.
It helps you build confidence, empathy and expands your mind to the greater beyond. Especially, in the medicine program it teaches you to cope with adverse environments and develops your patience to empathize with your patients.
But let's not forget, this entire journey is never walked alone, as the great management from both off and on-site staff of the Projects Abroad has laid out a solid road for me to complete my project.

"In terms of my internship, it’s been an incredible experience. There isn’t much speech therapy going on in the school, so this is why volunteers like myself are necessary! The students I worked with were amazing. Joe* is an 8 year old boy I worked one-on-one with. He has autism and severe ADHD. He is nonverbal and clearly not much has been established for him in terms of speech services because other than pointing and gestures, he cannot communicate at all. There are no communication boards, PECS systems, or any other alternative forms of communication for him. Behavior is a big issue as well. Although they reprimand the kids, there is a lack of corrective feedback and DRI. The kids get yelled at but behave more out of fear than because they know right from wrong. So corrective feedback is essential in therapy but culture differences and lack of training in the field contribute to that.

The other children are Jake* (16) who has autism, Jesse* (16) who has Down Syndrome, Isa* (11) who I has cerebral palsy, seizures and feeding difficulties, Andy* (7) who has autism and Griffin* (8) who has autism as well. All of the children in my classroom were nonverbal except for Isa* who speaks very little, and mainly repeats echolalia. The kids are awesome though and so sweet. The teachers definitely do their best given the circumstances and genuinely care about the kids. Each day is very routine, and they even adopted the visual schedule system which is great for children with autism"

This is an excerpt from my blog that I kept over the course of my internship in Ghana. The Projects Abroad staff was unbelievably supportive through my transition into African life, and are some of the most friendly people I have ever met. I am currently a senior studying Speech Language Hearing Sciences at Loyola University Maryland in the USA, and felt that this internship was the perfect opportunity to gain some real life work experience before applying to graduate school. I thoroughly enjoyed going to work every day and the children and staff at the school are all incredible.

I highly recommend going through Projects Abroad if you want this type of immersion experience. They help book flights, provide information such as how to obtain a visa, what to pack, and what to expect once in Ghana. When I arrived, a staff member picked me up directly at the airport, sporting his green Projects Abroad shirt for identification, and brought me directly to my home stay to help me settle in. I never once felt unsafe or nervous, and felt very comfortable in the care of Projects Abroad. My housing accommodation was awesome, the friends I made through volunteering were amazing, and one of the staff members is even willing to write my letter of recommendation for graduate school. Regardless of how much experience you have in the field, or how comfortable you are with traveling, I am here to tell you that I managed just fine and I traveled this journey alone. Luckily, I had the supportive Projects Abroad staff to help me navigate through it.

Thank you Projects Abroad! Volunteer with them, you'll be glad you did!

Volunteering with Projects Abroad was the BEST decision I've made! The staff were extremely friendly, responsive, caring and made sure I was feeling happy at all times with my accommodation, work and social activities. My host family were friendly, cared for my well-being and respected my privacy. My time at the office and field work were an eye-opener and I am glad I had the chance to work alongside experienced and intelligent people on some interesting projects. Out of the four projects I worked on, my favourite was Slum Profiling where I got to witness the poor living conditions of residents, and conducted interviews and participate observations to understand the health affects living in the slum. My time-off from work were amazing as I had the chance to travel in the weekends to some of the most breathtaking places, and engage in social activities during the week with the rest of the volunteers. I'm grateful for all the people I met because they enriched my experience. I will always cherish my time and memories I've created in Ghana.

Doing a placement in Ghana, for however long, is certainly an eye-opening experience. If you go with an open mind, the culture difference will be fascinating but not daunting.

Ghanaian people are known for being friendly and this is certainly true. They are all keen to help you out and as long as you are friendly but firm (when they all want to encourage you to get on their tro-tro) then things will be fine.

A few words of advice:

1. If you are based in a major city, be prepared to hear lots of car horns. Drivers love to use their horns, it seems to be a sign of their dominance on the road! And taxi drivers seem to think it is a sure fire way of gaining a passenger even if that person has no interest of hailing a taxi!
2. Ghana Time! If someone offers to meet at 2pm, it will mean 3pm! Everyone is so laid back that the idea of starting on time or even early is unheard of!
3. Linked into number 2 is a word of warning when going to a restaurant in Ghana. Do not arrive at a restaurant dying of hunger in the hope of eating quickly. Service is notoriously slow and even so called fast food restaurants can be slow to produce the food. Think of it as another aspect of the Ghana laid back culture!
4. Be careful of gutters! They are mostly not covered so be careful of your footing (I speak from experience!)
5. Although not overly spicy, the food can sometimes take some adjusting for some volunteers. Stomach upsets in the first few weeks are common, don't worry!
6. People often advice to wear long sleeved tops and trousers in the evenings to avoid mosquitos. If you are in more remote areas this is certainly true. But if you are in major cities, you can wear short sleeved tops. As long as you are wearing insect repellent!!!

In terms of Projects Abroad, I can not praise them enough. Some people say it is quite expensive, but they are friendly, help you pre-departure and constantly whilst you are there. From meeting you at the airport, to the inductions (including helping you get a Ghana SIM card and changing money), to the weekly quiz nights, to the regular feed backs with the placements and accommodation, it is reassuring to know that they are there if you need them. But they also give you the space to be independent and have a great time.

I would go back there tomorrow if I could! (I even miss the drinking water sachets, heaven forbid!)