11 UK staff members went on a trip of a lifetime to Ghana, experiencing exactly what it is like to go on one of our volunteer trips and seeing first-hand the impact volunteering has on the lives of children in Ghana who attend our partner schools.
Each of the destinations we work in offers a unique experience. Ghana, known for its proud West African culture and friendly community, offers a traditional African experience. Our team were never far away from the sound of a beating drum.
After a night spent in the capital, Accra, the team travelled down to Woe, driving through the rural farming landscapes and villages.
The group stayed at Volunteer House, in the heart of the community and the base for the Ghana staff office.
Volunteering at Rhema School
The group was matched with Rhema School, where their goal was to improve the school’s facilities and provide extra support in classrooms, impacting 335 children.
Students gave the group a traditional warm Ghanaian welcome, meeting them at the front of the school and walking them to see their planned performance. Students danced, sang, and drummed, and even got our staff up to join in.
Improving the learning environment
The group got to work improving the learning environment for Basic One students by repainting their classroom, which hadn’t been touched in 10 years.
They refreshed the classroom interior and the blackboard to make it easier for students to read. Additionally, they painted the windows and doors to prevent them from rotting, as well as the exterior of the classroom.
Constructing the perimeter wall
Rhema School is situated next to farmland, and currently, there is no clear perimeter around the school site. They experience farmers coming onto the school site using it as a cut-through.
The group continued with the construction of the perimeter wall by mixing concrete to create blocks, laying the blocks and constructing the pillars.
They then also laid the next foundation to continue the perimeter wall, which will be picked up by the next group in 2026.
Teaching
Rhema educates children between the ages of 4-17, but with many children working from a young age in the agriculture and fishing industries to help support their families, they miss out on attending school and start at a later age. The classrooms are mixed in terms of abilities and student ages, making the 1:1 support our teaching volunteers offer even more important.
Lessons taught
The group also led some of their own lessons.
For English, they taught the difference between verbs and nouns, having students come up to the board to circle a noun or a verb and act out the action. They also went through the phonetic alphabet and then sang rhyming songs to help remember the sounds and words. Incey wincey spider was a class favourite and encouraged group participation.
For Maths, the group used bottle tops to help explain adding and subtracting. With limited resources, the students took turns coming up to the front and having a go at counting.
Multiple science lessons took place for different year groups, where the group went over different parts of the body and their key functions. For the younger classes, the lesson ended with signing “head, shoulders, knees, and toes”.
An important lesson on self-esteem was delivered, encouraging students to think about who they are and the positive behaviours they should demonstrate to carry on through education and work.
Many of the students did not have an exercise book or a pencil. This meant they couldn’t join in with the class activities and instead would just sit there whilst their peers developed their understanding of the lesson. As part of the donations the group took with them, they had pencils and exercise books, which the teachers gave to the children who didn’t have them.
Sports day
Friday evening, Mawulolo, our Senior Driver, hosted a UK staff vs Ghana staff sports day, with local children also getting involved! The teams competed in musical chairs, tug of peace, lime and spoon race and the sack race.
Sports day ended with the local children having a dance competition, which everyone then joined in with.
Exploring Ghana at the weekend
River Cruise Day
The group set off on a traditional boat and cruised down the Volta River to experience what a traditional Ghanaian fishing village looks like.
The first stop was Rum Island, where the group met Jubilee, who showed them his distillery and taught them how he distils rum before they sampled some of the liquors produced there.
After lunch, the group headed to their final island stop for the day, where a traditional Ghanaian drumming troop and dancers met them. With the sun setting behind them, the group put on an amazing performance, which even saw some of our staff get involved and learn a few moves!
Taste of Ghana Day
On Sunday, our group had an all-around cultural experience learning about Ghana on the Taste of Ghana Day. It started with a talk by a local about Ghana’s history, its different regions, and their cultures.
Red Red was a popular dish throughout the week that the group enjoyed it for dinner, and they had the chance to learn how to make it, along with other traditional dishes, during the cooking lesson. Henri, the Head Chef at Volunteer House, led the session, giving us the chance to try the ingredients and have a go at cooking them over the fire. For lunch, the group got to try all the dishes that were cooked.
After lunch, the group headed to Fort Prinzenstein, Keta, which was once used to hold slaves awaiting exportation to the Caribbean. It was a moving history lesson that highlighted the importance of why we include this in our Taste of Ghana Day.
In Ghana, you’re never far away from a beating drum. The day ended with a drumming lesson led by Mawulolo.
Our team have come away with memories to last a lifetime, spending time with our in-country team, immersing themselves in the beautiful Ghanaian culture and seeing how education can truly impact the lives of children. We can’t wait for our Ghana 2026 programme to start in March, where volunteers will leave their mark and make a lasting impact at our partner schools.
To plan your own group trip to Ghana, check out our trip planner.
