Exploring Ghana.
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ACCOMMODATION
For all our volunteer programs we provide home stays or independent accommodation. You will be welcomed into the community and treated as a member of the family. Living with a local family will allow participants to mingle and will boost their understanding of Ghanaian culture. Being a Voluntary Organisation, we have access to budget accommodation, such as the Grace Jones Hostel. |
HOMESTAYS
Helping Hand Ghana will allow you to choose a placement which you think you will suit you. The home stays we offer are the best we can find. You will mingle with Ghanaian families, and they will teach you the Ghanaian culture. Host families will take you to local festivals, funerals, weddings, church services and many other interesting places if you wish to go. They will provide you with Ghanaian dishes and the warmest Ghanaian hospitality.
LEARN GHANAIAN DRUMMING AND DANCING
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Helping Hand Ghana ( HHG ) has within its scope of administration, competent drummers and dancers who will teach you some moves and some local dances. You can choose to have a week's course on drumming and dancing - and you will be amazed at the dancing skills you have acquired.You will also have the opportunity to own a locally made drum. |
LANGUAGE
Improve your experience in Ghana by learning a local language which would give you the opportunity to interact with the local people. Although English is widely spoken, the major Ghanaian languages are Hausa, Ga, Ewe, Twi and Dagomba. You can also take a one week course in Twi which is commonly spoken. You will be pleased with how much better you can interact with Ghanaians.
THINGS TO KNOW
WHEN YOU ARRIVE AT THE AIRPORT.
There is only one international airport in Ghana, the Kotoka International Airport (KIA), located 12km from Accra. After safely touching down at KIA, pick up your luggage (free baggage trolleys are available) and look for an HHG representative, waiting either in the arrival hall or, more probably, just outside the airport (open area). In the open area, look for our representative holding a HHG Sign in red letters on a white background with the HHG Logo. You will be transferred for your overnight accommodation.
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If you cannot find us, please go back to the baggage area with your luggage and wait for a while, or call one of the emergency numbers from a telephone booth. Local phone cards are also sold right in the baggage area from only $4.00. If you decide to take a taxi, ask a registered porter (identified with his name and number on his breast pocket) to help you. It is advisable to take the number of the cab that brings you to your hostel and do not pay more than $7 - 8 for the journey. Shuttle buses and taxis are always available. |
If your luggage has been damaged or lost please report it immediately to the airline desk and receive a formal irregularity report.
At the airport you may be ask to declare the total amount of money you brought for this trip. Please note that there are no restrictions on the amount of foreign currency that could be brought in Ghana. However, if you declare the amount, make sure to keep all exchange transaction receipts that may be inspected when you depart form Ghana.
Ghana customs keep the right to search your bags. If this happens, please be polite and patient. You can bring personal items duty free, but there are some restrictions. Contact the customs, excise and preventive service or the nearest Ghanaian diplomatic mission.
There are opportunists in all international Airports and Ghana is no exception. Do not make instant / immediate friends with those who offer to help you at the airport even though you perceive the offer as being a genuine one.
YOUR FIRST WEEK WITH HHG
| The program begins with a six-day arrival orientation that includes accommodation and breakfast. The six day orientation will be given in Accra and your host region (1 day). During the orientation, we introduce you to such aspects of your program as Ghanaian culture, immigration and visa issues, health, money, transportation and food matters. We also provide a city tour of Accra and tour of your host place. |
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You will also be introduced to local language through a few hours of language lessons. Upon completion of the orientation program, you will be transferred to your work place and permanent accommodation.
PRICES
The first month of the project will cost 650 euros. This includes the pick up from the airport, accommodation and the excursions in the introduction week, transport to your host family, accommodation and food with the family, plus pick up transport back to the airport. For every further month the cost will be 150 euros. 50% of the cost should be paid when you sign up for the project and the balance one month before the project starts.
BANK
Banks (Barclays and Standard Chartered) and forex Bureau are accessible in all regional capitals. Banking hours are from 08:30 - 16:00 Monday to Friday. These banks have branches in all the university campuses in Ghana. ATMs are available in the cities.
Travellers Cheques are the most convenient and safest way to finance your travel since they are refundable if lost or stolen and can be purchased at any bank. However, many Forex Bureau in Ghana do not accept traveller cheques.
Like many places, the black market in Ghana is growing. Changing money on the street should be avoided as you may be given counterfeit. The exchange rate may be higher than offered by the banks, but you could be ripped off. However, when crossing the border of Ghana and its neighboring countries (Cote d` Ivoire, Togo and Burkina Faso); you can change the money on the streets. The rate of exchange is often much higher than that of the banks. You are still advised to plan ahead and avoid exchanging money at the border.
TRANSFERRING MONEY
You can receive remittance or transferred money from the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia through Western Union (Eco-Bank and Agricultural Development Bank) and selected post offices.
COMMUNICATION
You can either use a payphone on the street or telecommunication centre payphone are cheaper and operate by using a phone card that can be bought near most telephone booths. Local telephone directories can be obtained free of charge at the main post office where you can also buy stamps. Internet cafes are available in the large urban area of the Country. Using Internet for one hour cost from 6,000 - 10,000.
We advise you to carry US$50 worth of local currency and have US$1-200 (perhaps in a secure money belt) for emergencies.
As travel is relatively cheap in Ghana you will want to see as much of the country as possible during your stay. Two major bus companies STC (Tel. 221912) and KINGDOM TRANSPORT SERVICES (Tel: 231493), with good safety and comfort records, link Accra to the major towns in the country. There are also numerous individual spacious and air-conditioned buses that ply from Accra to all the regions.
Trotro (mini vans) and taxis are also widely available. We do have a domestic airline operation from Accra to Kumasi and back, as well as from Tamale to Accra and back. There is a rail service between Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi. However like most African countries the rail service is erratic in Ghana. The most reliable one is the night service from Accra to Kumasi. (Accra to Tarkoradi, Kumasi to Takoradi and Takoradi to Accra.)
There is a ferry form Akosombo to Yeji, which is the mid-way between southern and northern Ghana. For enquiries please call the following numbers 664439 / 0251 689 or 0251 684. The ferryboats depart Akosombo to Yeji on Monday and return on Wednesday. However excursions are available.
COURIER SERVICE: Almost all the international acclaimed courier organizations – i.e. DHL, TNT, FREDERAL EXPRESS, PNA, BKB, and UPS have their branches in Ghana.
AFTER THE FIRST WEEK
Your accommodation
We make accommodation arrangements for you to live either in a guesthouse, independent dwelling or in an approved home stay with a local family. You should be provided with 2 meals on weekdays and 3 meals on weekends. The accommodation will have basic furnishing and inn some instances there may be no running water or electricity.
You will need to buy your drinking water (bottled mineral water or treated water). However, if you live with a host family, they will assist you in treating drinking water to reduce expenses if you prefer.
LOCAL DISHES
| Soups, more like sauces, are the mainstay of Ghanaian cuisine. They’re usually fairly thick broth and are eaten with a starch. Popular stews include groundnut, garden egg, fish bean leaf and stew, a fish or meat mixed with tomato and a little oil. Other main courses are jollof rice, a paella like dish with meat, gari foto, eggs, onions, dried shrimp and tomato accompanied by gari (course manioc flour) Another ubiquitous staple is fufu which consist of cassava, yam plantain or manioc that has been cooked, purred and mashed into a ball, kelewele (a spicy dessert of fried plantain seasoned with chili pepper and ginger, is a popular street stall item, as is ice kenkey (a cool, white, non alcoholic beverage made from corn). |
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Pito (Millet beer) is popular in the north. Tuo Zafi a dish of corn and green leaf soup.
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