Ghana
The people of Ghana, like many Africans, endure many hardships, including
recurrent droughts that severely affect agricultural activities; deforestation;
overgrazing; soil erosion; poaching of wildlife populations; water pollution;
and inadequate supplies of potable water. 
Despite all of this, Ghana is
filled with friendly people with a fascinating history and culture. From
rainforests to beaches and lagoons to dry savannah and open woodland,
Ghana has as much beauty and diversity in its natural habitat as it does
in its people. Volunteering in Ghana, you will make friends from countries
all over the world. You will learn to do work that you have never done
before and you will be introduced to a culture unlike anything that you
have ever experienced. Above all, you will have the satisfaction of having
worked with others on a project to help a community in need.
The Partnership
Voluntary Workcamps Association of Ghana (VOLU)
The Voluntary Workcamps Association of Ghana (VOLU) was founded in 1956. It is a nonpolitical, non-sectarian voluntary organization. VOLU
organizes and runs voluntary workcamps in Ghana in collaboration with other
voluntary organizations, such as Amizade. VOLU helps poor communities do
work which they would otherwise be unable to do themselves. VOLU furthers
intercultural and interracial understanding by inviting people from abroad
to their workcamps and by sponsoring Ghanaians to go to workcamps abroad.
The Commitment
Amizade, along with VOLU, organizes a variety of projects, including the construction of primary or secondary schools, roads, and hospitals, as well as reforestation, cocoa plantation, literacy projects, community development, oil palm production, and AIDS awareness campaigns. The function of the camps, however, is not to do the work for the various communities, but rather to assist them in "helping themselves" by working with them on the projects. The common denominator is that the community development work of VOLU, in addition to being self-help, is sustainable. Local communities decide which projects are needed and feasible.
The Impact
By working with VOLU’s already effective and existing programs, Amizade volunteers learn about community organization and gain important organizational and management skills. VOLU projects that volunteers have impacted are varied. Past volunteers have worked on construction projects, environmental projects, educational projects and projects involving community development. The impact of this volunteer experience is immediate and long lasting.