We are looking for volunteers who are hardworking, environmentally conscious, adaptable and open-minded about new cultures, and, of course, passionate. Volunteer duties can shift daily, so volunteers must be flexible. Depending on your skills, experience and interests, and also the needs of the local staff, your daily activities involve, but are not limited to:

- Assisting tourist operations and helping the visitors of the park.

- Administrative work including documentation, data entry, research, and business systemization.

- Keeping park trails clean, updating facilities, maintaining the park and its land stewardship projects.

- Those with the appropriate skills may be enlisted for photography, graphic design, writing,population determination, and even video creation.

- Tree nursery

- Transplanting

- Choosing seedings

- Adding seed bags

- Adding water to the nursery

- Feeding the animals

- Moving the animals from one area to another

- Taking care of sick animals as well as any other duties that will be assigned to you by the officials

The National Parks are found in many of the protected habitats of Ghana. The most common volunteer placements are in Shai Hills Resource Reserve, Mole National Park, Kakum National Park and Accra/ Kumasi Zoo.

Kakum is occupied by a large expanse of rare virgin rainforest. This is the most popular of the three parks, and thus the most famous of Ghana. The park's greatest attraction is the Canopy Walkway, which is made up of seven conjoining brides that hang in the treetops.

The largest of Ghana's National Parks, Mole is rich with wildlife. Located in the Northern Region, Mole offers visitors frequent sightings of many wild animals, including hartebeests, waterbucks, elephants, baboons, buffalos, and green monkeys. Mole features very affordable prices, with one of the cheapest safaris in Africa. It offers the only safari where visitors can get close to wildlife.

Of the three parks, Shai Hills is closest to Accra. Its offerings are diverse, including archaeological sites, granite hills, and wildlife. Hiking enthusiasts are particularly drawn to the tough climbs in some of the Shai Hills caves. A great view of the Accra plains can be found at the top of the Adwuku cave.

The Kumasi Zoo is home to a variety of birds and other endangered species of animals that are indigenous to Africa.

The Accra Zoo has entertained and educated thousands of Ghanaians and non-Ghanaians on some of the tropical animals here in Ghana and it continues to have thousands of patrons most of which are school kids from all levels. The Accra Zoo is located somewhere in the heart of the Achimota forest. The Achimota forest itself is quite adjacent to the Achimota School and borders Dzorwulu to the West, Abofu to the East, and Abelemkpe to the South. The Accra Zoo boasts of having over 150 individual species of animals on display. They are healthy, well-fed and comfortable.

The guides are courteous, knowledgeable and very friendly, and patient, contributing to making the experience worthwhile. Some of the animals that exist in the Accra zoo are tortoises, rabbits, a duiker, an ostrich, an emu, a hyena, warthogs, reindeer, donkey, jackal, crocodiles, snakes, and many more. There is an aviary where birds of different species can be found; a crane, Senegal Parrots, African Grey Parrots. Macaws and many other birds can be found in the aviary. One of the main highlights of the trips to the Accra Zoo is the lion and lioness. They are caged with double and reinforced mesh and visitors are protected from these animals.

It is important to keep in mind that the National Parks and Zoos have regular visitors. Volunteers will be working while the park is running all of its normal operations. Quickly adapting to your surroundings and contributing to the work will be highly beneficial.

Your specific tasks will depend on the location of your placement, your qualifications, the length of your stay, and the park's current issues.

Typical Day

Usual working days will go from 6:30 AM to 5:30 PM and 8AM to 3PM.

After your placement you’ll get a chance to unwind with other volunteers and local team members over dinner, and we often organise games and activities of our own in the evenings. 

You will arrive in Ghana at Accra Airport (ACC). 

Most volunteers fly into Ghana in the evening. As you disembark, the first thing that you’ll notice is the humidity. You will walk across the tarmac to the arrivals building and pass through immigration control to the baggage reclaim area. Once you have your luggage, you need to go through customs. Be ready to have your bags opened by security staff as this is done routinely even when you go through the "nothing to declare" channel.

As you walk out of the airport building, you will be met by a wall of people on the other side of a barrier. It might seem overwhelming at first, but one of our staff members will be there to meet you with a Helping Hand Ghana Placard. Seeing a friendly face there to welcome you and take you to your accommodation will immediately put you at ease.

As soon as you land in Accra, usually on Sundays, you will be met by our partners and brought to the hostel. Within the next two days you will get to know Ghana and its culture through initial information workshops and activities.

The main aim of this orientation is to help you get used to the local conditions and the heat. You will also receive important information on the topics of health, money, safety, food, customs, work and travel - and maybe you will learn a little "Twi" or another Ghanaian language.

On Tuesday you will travel to your place of work and will receive another orientation event there over the next three days as well as an introduction to the community and the upcoming project work. .

Accommodation is included in the program. First you will be accommodated in Accra in a shared room in the hostel with half board. During the volunteer work you either live with a host family (with breakfast and dinner;or in the volunteer house with half board during the week and full board at the weekend.

In the volunteer house you share a room with two or three other volunteers. The volunteer house is equipped with a kitchen, shared bathroom, fan and mosquito nets. Sometimes the project also offers overnight accommodation.You can specify your accommodation preferences when booking. We try to take your wishes into account, but there are not volunteer houses in all locations.

There is WiFi access available at local cafes and restaurants in a nearby village, which is a 15 to 20 minute walk from the volunteer accommodation. You can also purchase a local SIM card with data for an unlocked mobile phone to keep connected.

Volunteers are provided with 3 meals at the host family's accommodation. Ghanaian cuisine consists primarily of starches, soups, beans, meat, and fish.

The Starches consist mainly of rice and doughy balls made from mashed cassava, plantain or yams.  Famous Ghanaian dishes include Banku and Fufu. Participants are given a mix of local and western meals.

Volunteering in Ghana is an ideal way to explore this colourful West African country. There’s a huge variety of different activities to do while you’re there, giving you plenty of exciting ways to spend your free time.

Music is a central part of Ghanaian culture. In the bigger towns, especially Accra, you will hear some great live bands and have some memorable nights out. Evenings spent at buzzing restaurants will also give you a taste of some of the delicious local cuisine.

For a look into Ghana’s history, you can tour the slave forts of Cape Coast and visit museums. Nature lovers will relish trekking through Shai Hills, Kakum National Park or Mole National Park. You can explore the country solo or connect with other volunteers and travel as a group.