Building

Volunteers live in the heart of an African village and play a vital role in the charity’s life changing development work. Volunteers have helped to build schools, health centres, rain water harvesting taps and toilet blocks to improve sanitation. Depending on what stage the building work is when you join your volunteer role may involve:

• digging foundations
• laying cement
• building walls
• plastering
• painting

Experienced local masons, carpenters and builders will teach you the required skills and will supervise your work so no previous building experience is required. However volunteers with building experience are greatly appreciated since they can share their skills with the local team.

Working days and hours

Volunteers normally work 5 days a week with 2 days off. Generally volunteers start at 8am and finish at 4pm however this can vary.

Other volunteers

Building, Child Care, Sports Coaching, Teaching and Photography volunteers in Ghana all live together and there are generally 1 to 5 volunteers in total however this may vary. Some volunteers choose to combine the different volunteer roles while in Ghana.

Child Protection

Pod is fully committed to safeguarding and promoting the wellbeing of children and vulnerable adults - please see our Child and Vulnerable Adults Protection Policy.

All volunteers are required to have a criminal records check, which we will arrange with you.

Start Dates

2017: 1 Jul, 15 Jul, 29 Jul, 12 Aug, 26 Aug, 9 Sep, 23 Sep, 7 Oct, 21 Oct, 4 Nov, 18 Nov, 2 Dec

2018: 6 Jan, 20 Jan, 3 Feb, 17 Feb, 3 Mar, 17 Mar, 31 Mar, 14 Apr, 28
Apr, 12 May, 26 May, 9 Jun, 23 Jun, 7 Jul, 21 Jul, 4 Aug, 18 Aug, 1 Sep,
15 Sep, 29 Sep, 13 Oct, 27 Oct, 10 Nov, 24 Nov

Closure Dates

Closed from 15 Dec 2017 - 7 Jan 2018

Volunteer Reviews

Read about volunteer experiences and challenges in our Ghana volunteer reviews.

Volunteers work alongside the local team assisting with the current community building projects such as building schools or health centres, rain water harvesting or improving sanitation by building a toilet block or hand dug wells.Your time assisting the local team will have a direct impact on the local African community.

Without the funding from volunteers, the community would not be able to afford the local building developments which help to improve the local standard of living through access to safe drinking water and toilets.

With assistance from volunteers, the team run hand washing and sanitation projects in 10 communities in Ghana. They have taught the importance of good hygiene to over 3,000 children and this also had a positive impact on the local community since now 90% of the parents of those children taught understand the importance of germs and hand washing.

Local buildings in Ghana are traditionally made from a mud and stick structure, when there is wet weather the school buildings often become unstable meaning that during the rainy season it is often unsafe to go to school. The new school buildings and resources has led to the children having an increased pride and enthusiasm to attend and learn throughout the year which has resulted in to better results and futures for the children.

The new water harvesting hand washing facilities and health education projects are aiming to reduce preventable diseases to improve the health of the community. Increasing health education and the understanding of hygiene means that less children fall ill from preventable diseases and thus less time is taken off school unwell.

The charity that you will work alongside in Ghana started their work in 2006 when they completed their first well which allowed a village of more than 300 people to access safe drinking water. Since then, they have helped many other villages to alleviate poverty with the help of volunteers on projects which include building wells, a clinic, schools, toilets, improving education and health initiatives.

Ghana is regarded as the one of the friendliest African countries. You will be based in a small friendly village, nestled in a jungle in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The village has no running water and there is electricity around 70% of the time.

In the village volunteers sleep in bunk-bed dormitories. Although efforts are made for each dormitory room to be shared on a single sex basis, this cannot be guaranteed. There is a traditional mud hut available for couples. At the volunteer base there is a common room and simple kitchen area. The accommodation is clean but very simple, with long drop toilets and bucket showers.

Volunteers can visit a colourful bead market in nearby town of Koforidua, Boti falls or umbrella rock at weekends.

Before you go:

• Carefully selected and vetted volunteer project
• Support from our friendly and highly experienced Pod UK team
• Single point of contact - Sarah is your dedicated placement manager
• In-depth Volunteering Guide on your volunteering placement
• Travel information - visa, health and safety advice
• Help arranging criminal record checks
• Discounted online TEFL course
• Access to specialist travel insurance at exclusive rates
• Recommended travel agency for flights and tours
• Access to special deals and resources
• Fundraising guide and support
• Financial protection for monies paid to Pod

On your placement:

• Community volunteering placement
• Airport pick up (Accra)
• Accommodation - shared
• Food - all main meals
• Induction and training, including health & safety and culture
• Local introductions and tours
• Local language lessons given by the Headmaster of the school
• Onsite support from local team
• Support from Pod UK office by phone and email
• 24/7 emergency back up
• Incident Management and Emergency Response Plans

On your return:

• Contact from your placement manager
• Feedback scheme
• Volunteering certificate (on request)
• References (on request)
• Member of the Pod community

Not included: Flights, travel insurance, visa, criminal records check. Budgeting guidance is provided in our Volunteering Guide which we will email you when you apply.