Ideal Volunteer Experience for Making A Difference, Not a Donation

I spent 2 weeks teaching reading to 7th graders at a parochial school in late November 2011, but CCS usually requires a 3 week volunteer minimum and we overlapped with some recent college grads on longer internships. The local CCS staff were organized (especially by African standards), diligent, warm and friendly. We stayed in a newly built, comfortable, dormitory-style compound (4-6 people to a room with a shared bath) surrounded by a waist-high wall and took a mini-bus or taxi to our volunteer jobs each day where we worked for 3-4 hours. This doesn't sound like very long, but you work hard! In my case, the teacher completely disappeared for the entire 2 weeks after the first hour the first day leaving me completely on my own, though this may have been because I came well prepared. Afternoons were reserved for language lessons, cultural lectures, field trips to outdoor attractions and some free time to relax or walk into town to shop and explore.

The homebase was spacious, with electricity to run fans and lights plus running (cold) water for toilets, showers and washing. We arranged for brief, nightly internet access for work purposes, but in general CCS discourages volunteers from spending lots of time on computers. There were internet cafes in town (a 30 minute way to the center), but there were lengthy waits for erratic and unreliable connections. As more mature volunteers unwilling to risk getting sick we ate all our meals at the homebase which were prepared by professional cooks using imported meats (mostly chicken) and local fruits and vegetables. CCS provided unlimited bottled water, but you're on your own if you want soda and they have a no-alcohol policy during the week and at the homebase. Only one person in our group suffered a GI illness. We had guards for the compound, but their main job seemed to be keeping neighborhood goats, chickens and kids out of the yard. None of us ever felt unsafe while in Ghana where tourists are warmly welcomed though women need to stick with modest attire.

CCS met us in Accra, the capital, when we arrived and arrangd transportation to and from Hohoe, a 4-6 hour drive (depending on traffic) to the Volta Region. We found out our volunteer assignments about 2 weeks in advance, but you should come prepared to be flexible as the local situation is fluid and can change quickly. For example, one microfinance organization shut down without advance notice for a week to allow their staff to travel to a funeral. My school didn't inform CCS of upcoming exams that would prevent regular class instruction until the Thursday before exam week. If you come prepared to integrate into the local organizations on their terms rather than arrive with an agenda then you'll be fine. In my case, I felt less anxious by having more structure so I partnered with a local school to bring books, curriculum plans, and tests to use then I donated all of it to CCS at the end for future volunteers. If you're working with younger students then there were some craft supplies and books at the CCS homebase, but if you have something special planned to share or something from your culture then bring it as local supplies are hit and miss. We were free to travel personally over the weekend, but note that bus connections are prohibitively time consuming for a weekend so you must rent a car and driver to get anywhere. It's 7 hours minimum to the coast to tour the Slave Forts and about 3 hours to Lake Volta. This wasn't a problem for us as everyone wanted to go somewhere, but you're responsible for organizing it which is best done in advance. CCS can help you find a local driver, but they're not travel agents.

If you're looking for a volunteer assignment that requires you to live on the local economy, fend for yourself in most instances and really suffer, then CCS is not for you. CCS approaches the volunteer assignments in a fairly structured (though flexible) way that alternates time volunteering with cultural lectures, language lessons and a modest amount of free time. You will get a flavor for life in a low resource country (cold water showers, hand-washing your laundry) without having to actually suffer through the worst of it. If you accept the premise that personally interacting with organizations on their terms and helping them advance their mission, not yours (i.e., you are not allowed to donate anything but your time) is the approach you want to take then CCS is perfect. If you have a high need to make donations directly and live on the local economy with lots of free time then I would look elsewhere.