GVI, Ethical Impact: Volunteer in Ghana

There are so many wonderful parts of this GVI program I can go on and on about. In order to keep it short I will just mention a few parts.

1. The people you meet/help are grateful and appreciative of the work you do in the schools/communities.
2. You as the participant are in-charge of the kind of impact you want to have/leave.
3. The culture created on base is that of a working and supportive family.
4. The weekend excursions are a blast! The are a way for you as the participant to see other parts of Ghana as well as get to know the other participants better.

The best experience I’ve ever had. Amazing people and an amazing community. As a previous education volunteer I spent a lot of my time in the local schools. Working with the children was by far the best thing. They were so enthusiastic to learn and were always full of energy. During school I would work closely with individual children helping them with Maths, Reading and Phonics. In the school library there were helpful learning resources that helped me in providing good lessons for struggling children.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you GVI Ghana! I can’t say I’m not looking forward to having Libby home next Saturday, after a month in your care, but we will be forever grateful to you for the wonderful experience she has had and for the friends and memories she had made, all of which will always be part of her. As a post A’level student on a gap year, this is the first extended period we have had apart from Libby and her first extended time away. We couldn’t have wished for her to be taken better care of. From the moment she arrived with you and we received our reassuring introductory email, to the birthday celebrations, banners, birthday breakfast, party and party games along with her favourite chocolate cake, all lovingly organised by the staff 2 days later (and of course, including us in a bonus FaceTime call as she blew her candles out!) we knew she was in wonderful hands. I know the idea is that volunteers come over to you to 'give back’ and I’m sure (or hope!) she has, but, it's clear from the phone calls we’ve had, that she is getting so much back herself and gaining so much personally from the experience. The varied activities with the groups of children and women have given her such rounded experiences along with a sense of autonomy and appropriate levels of independence and choice in leisure time. As she begins her last week with you, I hope she can savour every moment, take in every sight, sound and interaction to enable her to hold this special time close to her heart for a long time to come. To any parents out there considering this type of experience for their child, I can’t recommend GVI highly enough. Let them do it, you won’t regret it; staff members Will, Carly, Esther Libby and Matt are fantastic and will make sure your son or daughter has the best time, looking after them responsibly as they would their own families.

Anyone that gets to experience GVI Ghana is one fortunate person. If you’re prepared to work hard and fully embrace the experience, then this will be life changing.

I couldn’t speak more highly of the staff at GVI Ghana, the impactful projects and the level of security in place to protect the volunteers. The base accommodation is well looked after, and the food made in the week is delicious. The staff are extremely supportive, have diverse backgrounds and make you feel at ease almost instantly. There is a large variety in projects, with constant reflection on their impact on the community.
I took part in a female empowerment project and a project focussed on physical education, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed. The projects are structured with varying flexibility, based on what the person is comfortable with, and I really enjoyed the level of freedom I was given to run with my ideas (ensuring they aligned with the project objectives and aims).
Kokrobite is a vibrant friendly community that GVI has integrated well
into, and the partnering schools are a joy to work with.

During my time it was clear that it didn’t matter what age group, life experience or work experience you had prior, but all that mattered was a willingness to get involved and be proactive.

This experience has developed my communication, teamwork and adaptability skills as well as boosting my overall confidence. These skills are fundamental in any professional setting, so it has provided a great chance to show how I have strengthened them.

Overall, it is very clear why this base has so many volunteers that either extend their stay and/or return. If one review makes up your mind today, I hope it is this one as I couldn’t recommend this experience with GVI Ghana anymore.

Had an incredible time with GVI Ghana; spent one month working in local partner schools with primary aged children assisting with one to ones to support literacy and maths. Work was very rewarding, kids were very engaged and you could see their progression. Felt very well looked after, food provided was a lovely mix of Ghanaian and western. Had plenty of cultural activities including African dancing, trip to Cape coast slave castle and hiking trip to the lush Volta region. Overall an incredible experience I am eager to go back!

I had such an amazing time in Ghana. I met so many other great people who were volunteering or staff of GVI. I made friends for life with some of them. My program was so great working with kids every day and being able to watch them grow in their English, Math, Science, etc. The community Kokrobite is so welcoming and some of the nicest people I've ever met. I have no bad things to say about my trip except that leaving was very hard. I would definitely recommend this program to anyone and everyone, it was seriously one of the best experiences of my life and I will definitely be going back.

I couldn’t have imagined how amazing my month in Ghana could have been. Not only did it give me a different cultural experience and perspective to various issues in my women’s empowerment programme; it helped me gain more confidence in my abilities both socially and on the projects. The projects were amazing and working with the local community and the kids was so rewarding. The social aspect was also so much more than I expected. Weekends away, social nights and the freedom to explore gave me the independence I didn’t think I had and helped me make some amazing friends.

Trying to describe my time in Ghana is one of the hardest things. I don’t think words can adequately express how incredible my 8 weeks with GVI was and the impact it has had on me, but I’m going to give it a go!
The most heart filling, sometimes challenging, but always rewarding, fun, and exciting experience I could have ever imagined, which greatly surpassed any expectations I had.
I signed up for the international development internship, and through which I helped organise the GVI Ghana Earth Day event and fundraising. This consisted of going into three local schools in Kokrobite to give a presentation on reasons for keeping the community clean in how this can be done. Following this we hosted a mass beach clean collecting 900kg of rubbish with 100 members of the Kokrobite community coming together with us to start to make the change. This then developed into the Keeping Kokrobite Beautiful (KKB) Campaign, which aims to continue and develop the beach cleaning as well as starting the KKB Action Team which is working towards finding viable solutions to the lack of waste disposal for all those in the community.
I loved the flexibility GVI Ghana offers. Although I signed up for the International Development Internship, I was able to also get involved with our partner schools. I spent everyday getting to know, learning from and being inspired by the amazing children of Divine Home.
The weekends also offer so much, being able to explore the bits of paradise in Ghana. Travelling up and down the coast with your friends, seeing some incredible places and meeting even more beautiful people.
If you travel to Ghana with GVI you will have a life changing experience in which you gain so much from the people you are surrounded by, and are driven everyday by the impact you have.
I miss this country, community and everyone in it so much, and I’m hoping to travel out next year.
If you are reading this thinking twice about signing up, do it, please. Best 8 weeks EVER!!!❤️❤️❤️