Program Reviews

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.

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.

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!

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 :)

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.

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.

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.

Atlas is an incredible organization dedicated to helping Ghanaian kids in the Abetifi region of Ghana. So glad I had the opportunity to get involved with this group. Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a way to travel that is safe, affordable and helps others. Sam, Libby and Frank were available for help or questions at all times both before and after arriving in Ghana. Meeting other volunteers from around the world was extremely eye opening and unexpected. The kids we got to know were sweet and always eager to learn. We never felt unsafe while travelling. All in all a great experience.

Thank you Atlas Volunteer and thank you Ghana for all those contagious beautiful smiles that I was lucky to observe everyday. Kids and adults, locals and volunteers, friends and strangers, in Pepease and nearby towns, made me feel part of the community since the beginning. I feel very lucky to have found Atlas Volunteers - since the first moment we established contact, the coordinators were very helpful and prompt in their responses. While in Ghana, they were always ready to help in anyway we needed. From what I could observe, it is an organization that is very transparent and very focused on the social impacts in the communities. They know the area and the people around very well and that makes everything much easier and more reliable when it comes to starting and to continuing volunteer projects. I highly recommend Atlas to any person who is seriously thinking about a volunteer program in Ghana.

My time in Ghana with Atlas was simply phenomenal! At every level.

Atlas is a group of beautiful people always ready to help every single volunteer and that I admire since day one. They are always concerned about our well being and making sure that things are going well. Receiving all this support from an organization that we don't really know (at first) in a totally new country made me feel very comfortable since the first day :)

They are also always ready to listen to our ideas and discuss them, so no need to be shy :)

Working with the children was very special, challenging but very special. They are so genuine and pure! They are kind, really worry about us and are very curious. The teachers are also very helpful and friendly and are always ready to understand how to improve their teaching skills (I found this super important). When in the school you get a lot of freedom on what to do. Therefore, you get the chance to talk with the teachers and really understand what subjects/topics they need help with. Easily you become friends with the teachers and everything gets easier.

Ghana is a wonderful country with so many beautiful things to see and places to go, a massive culture to discover, delicious food and more important than everything: lovely and kind people!

Safety was never an issue and travelling between places is also easy. Free time activities were also not a problem, we just have to be creative. There are many interesting things to do!

There are still many more things to say about this fantastic programme and about ATLAS but to sum up: I stayed in Ghana longer than what I was meant to and that was the best decision I made in the last couple of years ;)

Medase ATLAS!