- The program
- The accommodation
- The feeding
- Entertainment and sight-seeing
- Volunteers’ safety
- Minimum qualification required
- Rough estimate of total cost involved
- Apply for this program
- Next steps — after you have been accepted
- Other relevant facts about the program
- Sign up for our Newsletter
- Submit a question
The program
The volunteer-intern would assist in some or all of the following areas (in accordance with their level of relevant training): Physicians consulting room, recording patients vital signs, maternal and childcare services, treating uncomplicated illnesses, observing surgeries, pharmacy department, physiotherapy department, drafting programs to educate the public on health issues, medical outreach programs by community midwives,etc. The place of work is a community hospital, health post or teaching hospital.
Program locations: Hospitals in the Central and Western Regions of Ghana. Back to top
You will be staying with host-families. All host families live within 30 minutes of the hospital. There are always other people in the house as well; and they would be willing to provide you some assistance. Volunteers coming as a pair or couple will not be placed with other volunteers in the same bedroom. The volunteer(s) have their separate room – with a lock and key. There are two beds in the volunteers’ room; each with a mattress and in most cases a table and chair. It is advisable to bring along a mosquito net and a spare bed sheet. Many homes have a shower and flush toilet. In others you would have to manage with a bucket of water and a pit toilet – more likely in smaller towns and villages. Laundry is usually done with a couple of buckets. Back to top
View more VIGS-GHANA volunteers’ accommodations
The feeding
You will be served three meals daily. Breakfast is usually tea/ coffee/ oats or corn porridge and bread with jam/ butter/ egg omelet. Lunch could be plantain or rice or yam with vegetable stew or similar. Dinner could be rice, yam, pasta or plantain with vegetable sauce or stew or soup. For dessert you’d be served an orange or pineapple. Back to top
Entertainment and sight-seeing
Weekends are free days. You may choose to travel out of town to see the many interesting sights and sounds in other parts of Ghana or hang out with your fellow volunteer(s) and/or locals in the neighbourhood. VIGS-GHANA frequently puts together sight-seeing trips: as a volunteer on one of our programs, you’ll first be given the option to sign-on to our tours. The remaining slots will be offered to the general public. Back to top
Volunteers’ safety
Your safety is of paramount importance to VIGS GHANA. As such we give you all the relevant safety tips, plus we place you only in places where good medical services are within easy reach. In addition, we’ll give you a smart phone – so you can call or text or email or Whatsapp the in-country supervisors whenever the need arises. Our in-country support staff are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Back to top
Minimum qualification required of interns or volunteers for the program: Applicants must have successfully completed at least one year of study in a recognized institution that trains people for the healthcare sector. Back to top
Rough estimate of total cost involved
- Flight to and from Ghana: US$600-1250 (Round-trip)
- Ghana visa: US$80-170
- Vaccinations: US$150-250
- Travel Insurance: US$70-320
- Miscellaneous personal items: US$300-900
- Personal Spending money whilst in Ghana: US$200 upwards
- VIGS GHANA Program fee: starts from US$450
So, a rough estimate of the total cost for a two-week program duration would be about US$1,870 – 3,560. Check the equivalent in your currency. Back to top
Next steps — after you have been accepted
After you have been admitted to participate in the program, you would now have to execute the following:
- Book a flight. See our Ghana flight information page. The earlier you book and confirm your flight, the better.
- Go through the suggested checklist of things to do and bring and start getting (or packing) them
- Send us your flight itinerary
- 60-30 days before your departure date, you must start processing for your Ghanaian visa. VIGS-GHANA will provide you with the needed references in Ghana — which are needed to obtain a Ghanaian visa. Back to top
Other relevant facts about the program
- Minimum volunteering/internship duration: 1 week.
- Maximum duration: 6 months.
- Age range accepted: 18 – 75 years.
- We will send you a document on how to fund-raise for your trip – after you’ve confirmed your participation.
- We will meet you at the Airport in Accra (ACC) on your arrival day.
- We will give you a smart phone with internet and IDD (International Direct Dialing) capability on your arrival day.
- The average work day is 3-8 hours for this program.
- Saturdays and Sundays are free days.
- You can contact VIGS GHANA local staff on cell phones all the time — 24 hours a day — seven days a week.
- We can give you a Testimonial on successful completion of your volunteer or internship work.
- You can pay the program fee through any of the following methods:
- PayPal or debit/credit card.
- Cash installments (or full payment) upon arrival into Ghana.
